What The Philadelphia Phillies Should Do With Darick Hall
The Philadelphia Phillies have a tough decision with Darick Hall returning from injury. They’ve been absolutely red hot in the month of June, are preparing for a showdown with the NL East leading Atlanta Braves, and seem to be poised for another 2nd half of the season turn around like they had in 2022. Things have been great recently for the Fightins, and to make matters even better, they’re getting healthier as well.
With Rhys Hoskins obviously still unavailable due to his ACL surgery recovery, Darick Hall’s early season thumb injury has led to a bit of a patchwork 1st base situation for the Phils in 2023. Those times seem to be ending, though, as the Phillies spent their off day on Monday activating Hall from the 60 Day IL and sending him to Lehigh Valley to start a rehab assignment. He’s on the cusp of returning to the majors, but in his absence, the Phillies have actually found a couple strong options at his position. So, what do they do when Hall is ready to play again at the Major League level?
The Phillies have recalled INF Darick Hall from his rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley (AAA), reinstated him from the 60-day IL (right thumb sprain) and optioned him to Lehigh Valley. To make room on the 40-man roster, OF Dalton Guthrie has been designated for assignment.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 19, 2023
It’s a tough question, and one that will need to be answered sooner rather than later. The Phillies are in a mad chase to catch the juggernaut Braves, and they’ll have to play very well the rest of the season to even think about making it to the 90-win mark. That requires them to put their best lineup out as often as possible, but what does that lineup look like? There are a multitude (4) of options available at 1st base to consider, and none of them seem bad right now.
Well, one is not currently available. Bryce Harper is learning 1st base, and it’s assumed there will be a point this year when he will be cleared to play the field again. That time has not come yet, though, so we’ll save that for a later post. The other 3 options come down to Hall and the duo that has split time at the position since his injury. Darick Hall, Alec Bohm, and Kody Clemens. Ahead of the season that might’ve sounded like a nightmare rotation at 1B, but in practice, they have all earned consideration for playing time. Let’s dive into the numbers.
Hall has been out since April 5th, and since then Alec Bohm has spent the bulk of the time starting at 1st. He has 35 games started at the position since then, and has only made 1 lone error over there, way back on April 16th. That’s defensive solidity that we didn’t think we would see from Bohm, and yet, he’s shown it off in Hall’s absence. Kody Clemens has started 30 games at 1st base himself, though, and has also been very good. He too only has 1 error over at the…
What’s the opposite of hot corner? We need a catchy nickname for 1st base. Anyway, Clemens has fielded it well too. For the record, Hall had no errors in his few games at 1st before being injured. Defensively, I think it’s fair to call this competition a wash, which is a pleasant surprise.
So, the question is more about the better offensive option of the 3. Bohm is batting .268 and leading the team with 45 RBIs. He’s producing offense, but with Hall being out for so long those total numbers aren’t really an apples-to-apples comparison. The full slash line for Bohm is .268/.319/.408 for the 2023 season. Clemens, on the other hand, is slashing .248/.302/.402 with 3 less homers than Bohm, but in 100 less at bats. Bohm is the better offensive option, but Clemens isn’t as far off as you might expect.
Then we have Hall. Hall for his career is a .247 hitter at the Major League level with a .280 OBP but a .494 slugging percentage. He adds pop, at a similar average as Clemens this year. When you lay it out like that, it seems to be an easy decision. Play Bohm at 3rd, Hall at 1st, and unfortunately Kody Clemens finds himself on the outside looking in. He deserves better than what he’s probably going to get the rest of the year if Bohm and Hall are healthy, but those are the breaks of being in a competitive organization. That’s the clear best option for the Phillies the rest of the way at 1st base.
