Joe Girardi’s Phillies lineup is nearly set, except for one outfield question mark
The start of the Phillies’ abbreviated 2020 season is two weeks away, and manager Joe Girardi has a pretty good idea of what his team’s Opening Day defensive alignment will look like.
J.T. Realmuto will be behind the plate, presumably catching Aaron Nola. Jean Segura will likely be the starting third baseman, next to new shortstop Didi Gregorius. Now healthy after a wicked bout with COVID-19, Scott Kingery projects as the starting second baseman. Rhys Hoskins will play first base. Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper are locked in at the corner outfield spots.
That leaves center field as the only position up for grabs.
Second-year player Adam Haseley and fourth-year veteran Roman Quinn are the primary candidates.
The 24-year old Haseley was the 8th overall pick of the 2017 MLB draft and quickly climbed through the Phillies minor league system. He played 67 games last season as a rookie and showed flashes of being a productive big league outfielder, hitting .266 with 14 doubles, five home runs, and 26 RBI. He also made a handful of spectacular defensive plays.
Quinn, 27, has long tantalized the front office and fans alike with his immense talent. His blazing speed makes him a weapon on the basepaths and allows him to cover a ton of ground in the outfield. He also has a fair amount of pop, collecting 20 extra-base hits in 139 at-bats the last two seasons. But injuries have been a common theme throughout Quinn’s professional career. He’s never been able to stay healthy long enough to show what he’s capable of over the course of a full season.
Quinn and Haseley competed for the center field job during spring training in Clearwater and will continue to do so over the next two weeks of training camp at Citizens Bank Park. The manager isn’t in a rush to name a starter.
“My mind is really open with that spot,” Girardi told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Michael Barkann earlier this week. “If one guy emerges, it’s one guy. If it’s a platoon, it’s a platoon. If one guy plays more than the other, we have that.
“The big thing is we get production out of center field, that’s what I’m looking for. And that doesn’t necessarily mean home runs, it could mean getting on base and scoring runs and a lot of different things including really good defense. I’m just going to let it play out and see who rises to the top here.”
Whoever plays center field will likely be hitting towards the bottom of the batting order. There won’t be a ton of pressure to put up big offensive numbers.
There is one other possibility to consider when it comes to the center field situation: Odubel Herrera.
The 28-year old Herrera isn’t currently on the Phillies’ 60-man summer camp roster, but he could be added at any point. GM Matt Klentak didn’t rule out that scenario last week.
On Thursday’s ‘Phillies Return to Play’ show, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury indicated Herrera could still be an option if neither Haseley or Quinn play well enough to claim the job.
There are a lot of question marks at the moment when it comes to the Phillies’ center field job. Girardi is hopeful one of the candidates will step up over the next couple of weeks and provide some answers.
Subscribe and rate the Phillies Talk podcast:
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Spotify / Stitcher / Art19 / YouTube
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.
More on the Phillies
-
Who is that masked man at first base? It might be Rhys Hoskins
-
Matt Klentak offers specifics on Phillies’ COVID-19 cases, including the mistakes
-
Phillies need to feast on weak teams in early part of schedule
