Philadelphia Phillies fans got pleasant news with the activation of third baseman Alec Bohm a day earlier than expected from the injured list Sunday. But while Bohm is back in the lineup, the All-Star will hit fifth, with Nick Castellanos remaining in the cleanup spot, at least for now.
Manager Rob Thomson was asked Sunday morning why he elected to have Bohm hit fifth, rather than reinserting him in the cleanup spot that he’s spent most of the season in.
“Just leave Casty where he’s at. He’s swinging the bat good,” Thomson said.
So does Thomson anticipate moving forward that Castellanos will be the cleanup hitter?
“Yeah, as long as he’s swinging the bat,” Thomson said.
Last month, Castellanos explained why he believes he’s more effective hitting in the middle of the order, rather than near the bottom.
“So, is it important to me? It’s not important in a sense of like selfish,” Castellanos explained. “But knowing that my style of hitting … which is always like glorified batting practice, right? … I don’t really have an approach, I look for the baseball and hit it as hard as I can … having protection behind me usually forces the pitcher to throw to me more.
“If I’m on, let’s say, the cliff of the lineup where the power starts to drop off,” Castellanos continued, “now the approach is like ‘We don’t have to throw this guy a strike.’ You know? That’s hard for me because I don’t think I’ve ever gone to the plate looking to walk.”
Wherever Bohm is hitting, the Phillies are happy to have one of their top run producers back in the lineup. Even after missing a couple weeks with a left hand strain, Bohm still has the most doubles among NL hitters at 44. He also leads the Phillies with 89 RBIs.
Bohm went 2-for-4 in a rehab assignment yesterday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and that’s all the Phillies needed to see to activate him. Thomson acknowledged Sunday that he initially estimated Bohm would need two rehab appearances just in case one wasn’t enough.
The Phillies designated catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment to clear space for Bohm on the 28-man roster.
