Phillies Spring Training Discussion 2024

[BostonRoss]

There were a lot more opportunities at 3B for Harrison last year when Bohm played 1B. Unless Harper gets hurt, that won’t happen this year. While Harrison was still around, Stott still started 90% of the time. As andyb notes, Stott has now shown he can hit LHP, and so I think he’ll start at 2B even more of the time, unless he (or Turner) gets hurt. When Merrifield does start at 2B, I hope it’s due to a favorable matchup.

[zambonir]

Yeah but Sosa was the go-to 3B last year when Bohm played 1B or otherwise (65 starts). My recollection is Harrison mostly played 3B when Sosa played SS (which he did in 18 games, more than I remember!). Now they still have three RHB 3Bs, none of whom are necessarily better than the other against RHP (Sosa is theoretically better defensively but didn't look it last year; Merrifield is theoretically better offensively but that's based mostly on when he was younger, and he hasn't really played the position that much).

It will eventually all take care of itself: how Marsh, Rojas and Stott all hit (Marsh and Stott against LHP and Rojas in general) and whether Merrifield has something left.

[andyb]

I think Bohm will get maybe 10 starts at 1B when Harper rests or goes to DH. If I had to guess, Sosa will be more likely to play 3B than Merrifield in that situation. Like it or not, but we probably want to get Sosa a start a week somewhere if we can. Merrifield will take away his 2B starts, so he is likely to get the SS and 3B starts absent injury.

[zambonir]

If Merrfield is hitting he could just as easily play 1B against LHP. I know Bohm already played there in Clearwater but I thought they really wanted to stop doing it.

[andyb]

There is no indication they want Bohm to stop playing 1B if needed. They will probably want the flexibility of having Bohm, Merrifield, Realmuto, and maybe the last OF (Cave) to be able to play 1B. The question you should really ask is which bat should remain in the lineup on the days that Harper rests or plays DH.

[allentown]

I don't worry even a tiny amount about that. The continued improvement of Stott can be nothing but an unalloyed boon to the Phillies present and future. If he is good enough to slurp up more ABs, he's young and able to handle the load and his output will only improve the Phillies. If Merrifield gets few AB as a result and departs after one season, that's really not such a bad thing. The Phillies can use a homegrown star position player.

[andyb]

I worry about the team giving Merrifield 400+ AB because they think he is a veteran who was in the All Star game last year. Where would those AB come from?

[Florida_Sunshine]

It's a long season, we're not accounting for injuries. Even then, I find it hard to believe that he will get 400 AB's.

[allentown]

I worry about the team giving Merrifield 400+ AB because they think he is a veteran who was in the All Star game last year.

That is a real worry, but a breakout year for Stott would be a blessing, not a cause for worry.

[zambonir]

This is classic Old Phillies derangement syndrome (not saying I don't share it). Merrifield's not David Bell and Stott's not Chase Utley. All indications are they are high on Stott and were very clear with Merrifield about his role. His ABs are still going to come mostly from Marsh and Rojas, but twice a week is also a vote of confidence in them vs. some of the other guys who would have been more likely to play 4-5 times a week (with Marsh also playing more CF).

And, the old Phillies would have kept Josh Harrison last year (though I'm sure the short bench made that as easy to do as the cheap salary).

I don't think Harper is going to have that many days off or DH days either. His injuries were to his wrist and elbow, not his lower body, and he is that guy who refuses to take a day off and prefers to be in the field.

The reality is they won 90 games last year with a whole lot of Kody Clemens and Jake Cave and Sosa (and without Harper plus those slow Turner and Schwarber starts). Short-term injuries and slightly below replacement-level bench guys stepping in won't be the thing that keeps them from catching the Braves or holding onto the top wild card this year either.

[andyb]

Giving players playing time because of injury (Clemens, Cave, Harrison) is different than giving veterans playing time because the manager feels they deserve it. And David Bell was younger than Merrifield and actually gave us a 4.4 WAR season. Merrifield is older than when Bell retired and 3 years removed from his last good season. Worrying about him playing too much is very real. Marsh against LHP is probably better than Merrifield too when defense is part of the equation.

[BostonRoss]

I for one am not going to worry that the Phillies will not put the best team on the field . If Merrifield plays a lot, it is going to be because he is playing better than someone else (for a particular situation), or someone else is hurt--not because of what he's done in the past. I'm just not concerned the Phillies are turning back the clock ten years or that Thomson is going to turn into Sandberg or MacKanin.

[allentown]

I for one am not going to worry that the Phillies will not put the best team on the field . If Merrifield plays a lot, it is going to be because he is playing better than someone else (for a particular situation)

I'm not as confident as you are. Phillies, including current administration, will excuse prolonged slumps by vets. Merrifield will benefit from the severe overpay, which his contract represents (compare to roughly same age Adam Duvall, who had over twice the rWAR of Merrifield in fewer AB last season),

[zambonir]

I don't even think Mackanin was that kind of manager. Those vets weren't blocking anyone and were supposed to be flipped (or the front office failed to flip them soon enough). Plus the team wasn't supposed to win!

Optimistically, the Phillies overpaid for Merrifield specifically because he was willing to accept reduced playing time for more money (as well as a chance to win), and because even if Pham or Duvall would have signed with them, that would have definitely meant less playing time for Marsh or Rojas.

And if they are right about him and he's actually capable of hitting like he has in the past and did for some of last season, he'll deserve the extra playing time. But I don't think his salary is going to dictate his playing time. That is old Phillies thinking because the old Phillies saw this as a lot of money. This front office doesn't, any more than they did with Tai Walker and Lorenzen.

For now, of course, he's tearing it up in Clearwater, but if that really meant anything they'd also break camp with Kody Clemens (a better fit!), Scott Kingery (younger!) and Aramis Garcia. Darrick Hall on the other hand, has done nothing to increase his already tiny chance.

I do wonder if Dahl has a chance to beat out Cave. And still think it's going to be hard to just cut loose Pache for nothing (or near nothing).

Twilight game today, 6pm @Houston. Prospects games for other teams already going on now.

[Callison]

For those who think this decision is already made or If you haven't seen it: https://www.phillyvoice.com/phillies-spring-training-roster-rumors-johan-rojas-stats-analysis-jake-cave-cristian-pache-news/ Anything can happen but Rojas needs to get off "stop" today.

Makes the point that the Phils' pitchers really want Rojas out there. Then continues to consider what if Rojas is sent down but never goes anywhere than to observe Merrifield could see more PT.

Looks like JT will bat cleanup. Better than Bohm, but not a lot. Big Rob will not even try Schwarber at #4, nor Stott at #1, but Merrifield might get some time at #5, one step in the right direction.

The lineup is written on the wind until the Rojas decision is made. The Phils seem to want to keep him regardless of his weak hitting. But his present level may cause them to reconsider.

[phillychuck]

Out of curiosity, who is Big Rob? I know Rob Thomson is called Topper, but I don't know anyone who refers to him as "Big Rob". Is Big Rob someone behind the scenes who determines the lineup? Or Bryce Harper's imaginary friend?

[zambonir]

He is also known as Philly Rob or Tommer (supposedly he doesn't like Topper), but yeah. Maybe AF can start using it and Callison can start posting about the "TDL" in return.

It would not be the end of the world if they broke camp with Pache and Rojas came back in a month or two (ideally). But it also wouldn't be the end of the world if Rojas started in MLB and went down if he had a bad first month. That's how it was for Stott in 2022 (and he really only came back up and started playing because of injuries, just like Rojas last year).

Still don't think the spring training numbers mean much, whether you are talking Rojas, Merrifield or Kody Clemens.

I hope Merrifield is better than he has been but still not sure he's actually that much better than Dahl or Cave against RHP without a time machine. He'd be better than Pache but not by much (if at all, with defense factored in).

Defense matters. Marsh is not a great defensive CF and Pache is a significantly better defensive LF than anyone other than Marsh. It's not just about what Rojas does or doesn't provide.

[phillychuck]

He is also known as Philly Rob or Tommer (supposedly he doesn't like Topper),

I don't think he will read the Phorum, so we are safe.

[julio]

Rojas isn’t having much of a spring. But you know, I took a quick look at the spring stats for the Phils… and Schwarber’s spring OPS is lower than Rojas’. Should we be obsessing over whether Schwarber is done, should be released (he can’t be optioned)? Or is it just that Rojas is young, and young players are held to different (more demanding) standards than old ones?

[Austinfan]

Young players are held to higher standards b/c they're fighting for jobs and lack track records.
Schwarber has a long history of starting slow then tearing it up once you get to June or so.