TAMPA, Fla. — Rodolfo Castro approached the Phillies with an idea for a major change.
A switch hitter since his first minor-league season in 2016, Castro recently asked the team if he could stop hitting from the left side of the plate. He’ll now bat right-handed against both left-handed and right-handed pitchers. It’s a process that Castro started during Philadelphia’s Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox on Tuesday in Fort Myers.
“He asked if he could just hit right-handed,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Friday night, “so we’re in agreement. He didn’t want to hit left-hand anymore, so we’re in agreement.