Phillies rookie Weston Wilson and his wife have a place to stay for call-ups: Nick Castellanos’ house
The veteran outfielder has welcomed the utility man and his wife into his home. "It speaks to who he is as a person."
Weston Wilson arrived in Clearwater, Fla., this spring with the Phillies as a 28-year-old journeyman with no big league experience. He was joining a new organization after spending six years in the Brewers’ minor league system. One of the first players he connected with was Nick Castellanos, which seemed funny to Wilson, considering their career paths.
Castellanos is 31 and in his 11th season. Wilson is in his first. Castellanos made his MLB debut at 21. Wilson made his on Aug. 9, at 28. Castellanos hasn’t played a minor league game since 2013. Wilson spent most of this year with triple-A Lehigh Valley.
» READ MORE: ‘I think I’m going to go deep tonight’: Inside Weston Wilson’s memorable MLB debut with the Phillies
Nevertheless, in February, they ended up in the same big league clubhouse and became friends. They don’t remember why. Castellanos thinks he asked Wilson a question in camp, and he liked the way Wilson answered. But regardless, after the season started, they stayed in touch.
When Wilson was called up by the Phillies in August, Castellanos invited the utility man and his wife, Madison, to stay at Castellanos’ home. He knew the Phillies would cover Wilson’s housing for the first few days of his time in Philadelphia, but not all of it.
“I know that everything can be a whirlwind,” Castellanos said. “Finding a place to stay, the schedule, the big leagues, the expectations, this, that, so I just said, ‘Hey man, if it makes it easier for you, I have a basement that’s wide open. And you and Madison are welcome to stay here, if it makes your life easier.’
“I just wanted to take things off of his plate, so he can feel comfortable and focus on baseball.”
Wilson added: “He was like, ‘Wes, save every penny you make. ‘Don’t be spending it on a hotel. Come stay with me.’ He and [his wife], Jess, were very welcoming for us.”
Wes and Madison took the Castellanos family up on their invitation. Every time Wilson has been summoned to the big leagues, he and his wife have stayed in Castellanos’ basement. That has remained true in the playoffs. Wilson, who was added to the roster for the wild-card series against the Marlins, is still staying with Castellanos. It’s an open invitation.
“He knows my situation and wants me to save my money,” Wilson said. “I’m very fortunate to have somebody advocating for me like that. It speaks to who he is as a person.
“I knew we had a special friendship, even back in spring training. I don’t know what it was, but right away, we kind of clicked. He just took me under his wing. Gave me some advice.”
This living arrangement has only caused the rookie and the veteran to grow closer in recent months. Castellanos gives Wilson advice from time to time. Wilson said Castellanos has helped him put less pressure on himself this season.
“He was like, ‘Dude, you’re an athlete. Just go out there and have fun. Compete. Let your abilities play. Trust your abilities,’ ” Wilson said. “I think I’ve put a little pressure on myself in the past to perform too much. And that’s just kind of been a big release this year and has allowed me to have success.”
Wilson has played in only eight big league games, but he has already made an impression. Over that short span, he has gone 8-for-16 with six walks and one home run, which he hit in his first big league at-bat on Aug. 9. In late September, he became the first Lehigh Valley player to have a 30-steal, 30-homer season in franchise history. The Phillies have been encouraged by his maturity.
“He’s had a really steep uphill journey,” Castellanos said of Wilson. “And he’s persevered, and persevered, and as the old saying goes, it’s going to be worth it in the end. I think he’s reaping the benefits of everything that he’s put into his career at this moment.”
Castellanos is reaping some benefits of Wilson’s success, too. Wilson took up tattooing this season, after a former teammate gave him a tattoo gun. He began working on some of his teammates in Lehigh Valley, and mentioned it to Castellanos a few weeks ago.
“I think we were about two bottles of wine deep,” Castellanos said. “And he was like, ‘Oh, I have my tattoo gun here! And I was like, [bleep] it, I’ll get a tattoo.’
“Jess has an N on her hand. So I just said, ‘All right here, Jess, you get to draw a J on my hand.’ And Wes tattooed it. Completely spontaneous, but honestly, he did a great job. And Jess is pumped about it.”
Consider it Wilson’s way of repaying Castellanos for doing him a favor this season. There will be more memories over the course of October. If Wilson isn’t on the NLDS roster, he’ll be with the taxi squad.
But Castellanos has a strong opinion about that.
“[Adding him to the postseason roster] is the right move,” he said. “If we’re going to win a ring, he’s a body that we need active.”