19 Washington Nationals (Sánchez, An) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Eflin)

Austinfan 2019-05-06 00:56:07 UTC #101

I think Williams' days as a Philly are numbered, Herrera is really rusty yet instead of sending him to Lehigh for a week, they throw him right in, which suggests Kapler wasn't happy with Williams.

zambonir 2019-05-06 01:19:21 UTC #102

They couldn't send him to Lehigh or Reading because they were on the road this weekend and are off tomorrow, it wouldn't have been more than two or three games anyway.

Williams' days have always been numbered. He can't start, he can't play CF, and he's getting overshadowed by AAAA players, which is not unusual for the pinch-hit/bench role when you haven't done it for very long. But now that Cutch has shown he can play CF he may see a little bit more action from double-switches until Quinn comes back.

andyb 2019-05-06 03:38:33 UTC #103

It would not shock me if Williams plays semi-regularly. The fact is that Herrera has not been good offensively or defensively since the first part of last year. With certain matchups the Phillies might be better with Williams/Cutch than Cutch/Herrera.

Part of the reason that it is a shame that Altherr failed is that neither Williams nor Herrera is really a good solution against LHP. Sean Rodriguez is probably not an answer either. In the second half if Quinn is not healthy I think there is a good chance they trade for a RH OF bat that can play CF. They'd be ecstatic if they could get Altherr to AAA, but it does not look like they will.

zambonir 2019-05-06 04:24:31 UTC #104

I have always believed they will upgrade the bench in July, especially since Quinn can't be relied on, and if they need pitching Williams is a chip.

But yeah, if anything, the brief Cutch in CF/Williams in LF experiment actually made me wonder if McCutchen could still play CF full-time through 2020. I'm still a Herrera fan, he hasn't even had a chance to settle in this year, but carrying both McCutchen and Herrera's salary in 2021 doesn't really make sense. Of course at that point you hope Halseley and Moniak are the alternatives, not Williams.

andyb 2019-05-06 10:45:35 UTC #105

I have no misconception that Cutch is good defensively in CF. It is more the reality that Herrera is no longer above average either. -1.0 dWAR last year. -0.2 in SSS this year. Cutch seems about average in a corner OF spot. He is likely below average in CF too, which is why you might make the switch against pitchers where Williams' added power is a plus.