With October nearing, Castellanos’ comments, Phillies’ reality are not that complex originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PHOENIX — As the sun rises and the heat builds to uncomfortable levels here in the desert, eight more regular-season games await the Phillies before their playoff march in what they hope will result in the organization winning its third World Series.

And it is a good time for the team. It has won 16 of its last 21 games. A first-round playoff bye is almost a certainty as the No. 2 seed, with the possibility of catching the Brewers for the top seed. Injuries are healing in a timely fashion, starting pitching has been more than solid, the bullpen is good and deep and possesses one of, if not the, best closers in the game. The hitting has been productive, particularly the outfield. Since the trade deadline, that group is hitting .282 with 55 extra-base hits, which is third most in all of baseball.

That outfield group, which has been shuffled endlessly since the deadline by manager Rob Thomson, has been stabilized with the addition of Harrison Bader in center. Since early May, Brandon Marsh is hitting .306 and has belted eight hits in 16 at-bats as a pinch-hitter this season. Max Kepler has hit .289 over his last 25 games with 10 extra-base hits, 17 RBI and 17 runs scored. And Nick Castellanos had two hits, a home run (the 250th of his career) and three RBI in Friday’s win over the Diamondbacks.

Castellanos didn’t start the game, coming in as a pinch-hitter for Kepler in the sixth inning. He has been held out of the lineup numerous times by Thomson over the past month, even though the manager did say around the trade deadline that Castellanos is an “everyday player.”

But things have changed. And, not surprisingly, Castellanos is not happy.

After Friday’s game, Castellanos was made available to the media. Much has been made of the questioning, his answers and everything in between. I’m here to say it’s all OK. Reporters weren’t trying to ruin what should be good times, as many have stated on social media, and Castellanos wasn’t being anything but honest with his feelings.

Let’s take a look at it from a 10,000-foot view.

The shuffling of the outfield has been going on since the Phillies were swept by the Mets in New York back in late August. Thomson, who is made available to the media before and after each game, has been asked endlessly about it and his reasonings have been reported. The manager has basically said that he’s riding the hot bats, and Castellanos hit .180 in the month of August with two home runs and three RBI in 89 at-bats.

There is also the defensive factor. Simply stated, the outfield of Marsh in left, Bader in center and Kepler in right is a solid one. Better hitting and better fielding is probably the way Thomson looks at it and that’s why Castellanos’ at-bats have been limited of late.

From a pure baseball standpoint, that seems pretty logical.

Now to the reaction by Castellanos to the questions posed on Friday.

It was the first time since he’s been platooned that reporters have spoken to Castellanos after a game as a group, so, naturally, the questions about his feelings on not being the everyday outfielder were posed. It probably is the biggest subject surrounding the team and getting answers to it is our job.

“I don’t know, man. It’s still brand new,” Castellanos said. “I’m just making stuff up as I go along. I hit batting practice today, maybe I’ll hit it again tomorrow. I think anything that I do more often, I’ll get better at it, for sure. I’m here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring. So whatever role that looks like, just do the best I can with that. Any time that I step into the box, there’s a chance that something good can happen.”

Pressed further about it and how it has all been handled, Castellanos continued:

“I don’t really talk to Rob all that often. I play whenever he tells me to play, and then I sit whenever he tells me to sit. Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience. But also, I grew up communicating with somebody like my father which was really blunt and consistent.

“There’s been times when things have been said and then over the course of years I’ll have expectations because I’ll latch to what’s being said and then actions will be different. And then I’m kind of left, just thinking and whatnot. It is what it is. I have to do what I can. At the end of the day, we’re here to win the World Series. I have a good relationship with the guys in this clubhouse. I’m here to win. John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series.”

So, here’s a person who has been an everyday player for almost all of his 13-plus seasons in the league, trying to deal with not being that right now. Should we be surprised that he’s disappointed? Wouldn’t you be?

Castellanos did say the right things about wanting to win, about how he gets along with his teammates, about how he’ll do what’s told. His tone and irritability with reporters may have told a bit of a different story, but so what? The man wants to play the game he loves to play. That’s been taken away from him. It’d be a real problem if he didn’t care.

The communication thing probably isn’t ideal. When asked about it before, Thomson said, “Nick hasn’t said a word.” That could be interpreted as the two don’t talk or there has been no complaining from Castellanos. Whatever the case is behind closed doors, again, it doesn’t seem ideal.

But if we look at this with a longer lens, the breakdown really comes down to this: the manager of the team is fielding what he thinks is the lineup that gives his club the best chance to win the game on that day. It has worked well enough to produce the second-best record in baseball and a real chance to grab that coveted World Series ring.

In doing that, a player is disappointed that he isn’t a part of that lineup as much as he would like to be or believes he deserves to be. It’s a tough time for Castellanos, who has one more year remaining on his contract and will be 34 at the beginning of next season. But his part-time status hasn’t appeared to affect his play at all.

The coldness of sports is that winning is the main thing and keeping everyone happy in trying to do so is a rarity. That’s just normal. Just like the reaction of Nick Castellanos on Friday.

Jimmy Butler reveals unique way he’s preparing for first full Warriors season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jimmy Butler is locked in and preparing for his 15th NBA season, but not the way you might think.

The Warriors star recently got involved in the rapidly growing sport of padel, a racquet sport played by two or four people on an enclosed court that combines elements of tennis and squash. Butler is Reserve Padel’s honorary chairman of the Reserve Cup, which is an annual padel tournament in Spain.

But Butler’s involvement in the sport isn’t solely for entertainment purposes during the NBA offseason, as he explained how padel actually is helping him become a better basketball player.

“I get to be better on the basketball court because of this, I mean it,” Butler said Friday during an interview on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” from Spain. “Now hear me out: I like to play so many different sports to train for whatever upcoming season. This is another one. So I would like to say that my biggest investment is I kind of get to get better at basketball throughout this entire thing for myself.”

Interesting.

Butler was traded to the Warriors at this past February’s NBA trade deadline, and in 30 games with Golden State, he averaged 17.9 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field, with 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.7 minutes.

It’s also no secret that Butler revived the Warriors’ postseason hopes, as the team posted a 23-7 record with the six-time NBA All-Star in the lineup.

But now he’s doing every little thing he can to commit to the Warriors in his first full season with the organization, which apparently includes padel, as he further explained how the sport could help improve his hoop skills.

“Hand-eye coordination, reflexes, being able to pivot when a ball comes off the wall,” Butler said. “All the movement. All the conditioning you do. Seeing these guys work up a sweat, it’s super incredible. I don’t know if I have it in me to do it for that many straight sets, I won’t lie to you. But it looks exhausting and it can definitely help on a basketball floor, I promise you.”

Getting involved in any physical extracurricular activity always poses the risk of potential injury.

And at age 36, Butler can’t take that risk as the Warriors are trying to go all in on their win-now mantra.

But Butler is taking appropriate precautions with padel.

“Yeah, of course. I’m not going super hard,” Butler explained. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the game like these pros that I get the opportunity to be around. Yes, I do play, but I’m not going all out. I’m not trying to hit the ball out of the arena. I’m not trying to run outside and hit it back in.

“But I do like to pretend I’m a pro. I would like to think that sometime soon, I’m going to be ranked No. 1 in the world.”

The Warriors will need that confident mindset to translate from the padel court to the hardwood with the 2025-26 NBA season opener just about one month away.

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Why Jonathan Kuminga can’t ‘be the player he wants to be’ on Warriors’ roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Like any agent worth his commission, Aaron Turner is his client’s biggest cheerleader, as he is first among those who believe Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is a starting role away from becoming a perennial NBA All-Star.

Maybe he is, but that’s not happening in Golden State. Not as long as the core trio – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler – remains intact. And if there’s no room for Kuminga in the starting lineup, he can’t be the player he wants to be.

“It’s probably true,” Turner said Friday during a guest appearance on “Dubs Talk.” “But that doesn’t mean that it can’t work, or it’s not OK for the time being. JK’s an ambitious 22-year-old. I’m not going to take that away from him. I love that. He should be. (He’s) young. You want to keep growing and get better.

“The way JK moves is he wants to keep pushing the envelope, and I’m not going to take that away from him. I actually agree with it. Can he be the player he wants to be here, right now, with this roster composition? No. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to win and he’s not willing to sacrifice for the group.”

That concession is bound to have an impact on any contract offer. How high are the Warriors willing to go for someone slotted to come off the bench as a sixth or seventh man?

Golden State’s latest offer, roughly $75 million over three years, really is a two-year deal because Year 3 is a team option. That offer was made with considerable reluctance, and bumping up to $100 million or more is does not seem to be on the horizon.

Turner acknowledges that Kuminga’s contract value is lower than most of his fellow lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, largely because he entered the league with a team with an incumbent superstar. A team built not to develop but to chase championships.

“Those other guys didn’t really go to teams that were winning,” Turner said. “If the Warriors didn’t win in ’22, (negotiating a new contract) is probably very fluid and easy. But they did, and that kind of complicated things.”

Five of the six players selected before Kuminga in the 2021 NBA draft signed extensions last summer.

No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham (Pistons), No. 3 pick Evan Mobley (Cavaliers) and No. 4 pick Scottie Barnes (Raptors) received five-year $224 million rookie maximum deals. So, too, did No. 8 pick Franz Wagner (Magic), who was selected right after Kuminga. No. 2 pick Jalen Green (Rockets) took a three-year extension worth $106 million and No. 5 pick Jalen Suggs was extended for five years at $150.5 million.

Each of those players joined a rebuilding team. Cunningham, Green, Mobley, Barnes, Suggs and Wagner were starters from Day 1.

So, too, was Josh Giddey, selected sixth overall by Oklahoma City. The Thunder studied him for three seasons before tapping out last summer and trading him to Chicago. After one season with the Bulls, Giddey received a four-year extension worth $100 million.

Four years into their careers, each has been identified as a cornerstone for his current franchise. The same can’t be said of Kuminga, who also entered with much less experience.

Blame it on the circumstances, if you will, as there is no way to project how high JK might be flying if he had been drafted by a team without an established core.

Kuminga is acutely aware of the nine-figure contracts among his peers and dreams of having one. He is worth it, according to Turner.

“JK does a good job of running his own race,” he said Friday. “He’s not too caught up in what everyone else is doing. He understands his circumstances are unique and accepting of that.

“But does he think he’s on the level of those guys and the money they’ve gotten? Yeah, he does. He does. And, frankly, I do too.”

The Warriors have no desire to offer Kuminga $100 million or more. Four seasons into his NBA career, they do not unanimously perceive him as a franchise cornerstone. They hope he can be the path to acquire a veteran who would be more compatible with their core.

If Kuminga enters next season with the Warriors, he’ll be a reserve. Someone who can come off the bench and change the direction of a game. With so many veterans expected on the final roster, his youthful energy will have tremendous value.

It’s one thing to accept such a modest role, quite another to embrace it with joy.

“If you look at any championship team, sacrifice is required,” Turner said. “It needs to come from somebody with talent. That’s just part of it. JK’s probably got to be that guy. Not saying the other guys don’t have to do it on the team as well, but he’s going to have to sacrifice his personal ambitions and goals, which he’s not gotten a chance to chase yet.

“He hasn’t gotten that part of his career like some of his peers, where he gets to kind of figure out exactly who he is. That’s kind of been suppressed by the first championship the Warriors won in ‘22 and then kind of everything they came after that.”

Coming off the bench doesn’t speak to Kuminga’s heart. Barring a last-minute trade – and such discussions have a way of being revisited – he’ll have to land an opportunity where he can become a starter. And be the player he wants to be.

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Clayton Kershaw got a farewell worthy of his 18 years at Dodger Stadium on Friday.

One day after announcing his plans to retire following the 2025 season, the three-time Cy Young Award winner made his final regular-season start at the only professional home he’s ever known. Facing his longtime foe the San Francisco Giants, he was pulled after a strikeout of Rafael Devers in the fifth inning, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, hugs from his teammates and no shortage of tears from his wife, Ellen.

“I can’t even put into words how special this night was to me,” Kershaw said after the game.

It wasn’t a perfect night, with the Giants scoring a couple runs off Kershaw, including a leadoff homer from Heliot Ramos, and the game being watchable for Dodger fans only on Apple TV+. He struck out six while allowing two hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings of work, a solid night in a solid final season.

Still, every athlete should be so lucky to get one moment like that on their way out, with so many former teammates rushing to be there. Former Dodgers Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Chase Utley, Austin Barnes and A.J. Pollock were all in the stands for Kershaw, as was his former high school football teammate, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Ethier and Martin were both in the Dodgers’ lineup when Kershaw made his MLB debut in 2008, with Martin catching him and Ethier providing the walk-off hit. 

“I remember it was a long time ago and he was a puppy,” Martin told the Apple TV+ stream. “I was there for his first game and it felt natural to be there for his last start.”

The Dodgers also got their only run with Kershaw on the mound Friday via a solo homer from Miguel Rojas, who was playing third base for the team when Kershaw threw his only no-hitter in 2014. Shohei Ohtani added a few more runs after Kershaw left with a three-run homer in the fifth inning, guaranteeing Kershaw wouldn’t take the loss.

The game ended as a 6-3 Dodgers win. Los Angeles clinched a postseason berth minutes before the final pitch via a Philadelphia Phillies win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and also expanded its NL West lead over the San Diego Padres to four games with eight left to play.

With the Dodgers using a six-man rotation, Kershaw’s final regular-season start is on track to be a road game against the Seattle Mariners next Friday. The book is now closed on his Dodger Stadium career, though, with a 2.26 ERA in 228 starts.

Clayton Kershaw’s final start on the Dodger Stadium mound?

Friday was widely presented as Kershaw’s final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, because he could get a start there in the postseason. That is by no means a guarantee.

On most teams, a pitcher with Kershaw’s numbers would be a safe bet for the playoff rotation. Unfortunately for these purposes, he plays for the Dodgers.

While the rotation has been an issue for most of the season, the group has more than rounded into form over the past month, with six different starters looking more than solid.

When picking four starters for the playoff rotation, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow all appear to be locks for the unit. Shohei Ohtani should be, too, especially after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts all but shot down the possibility of him transitioning to a reliever to aid the Dodgers’ ailing bullpen.

That leaves Kershaw and Emmet Sheehan as the odd men out. Sheehan figures to take a long relief role, as he’s done in the past, but the question is if the Dodgers will have Kershaw do the same. Roberts said Friday he thinks the Dodgers will have a roster spot for him.

All of the above presumes everyone will stay healthy and not experience a perplexing loss of form in the next couple of weeks. Still, it all adds up to Friday being Kershaw’s final Dodger Stadium start, full stop.