The Only Surprise of Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training
The Phillies inked Zack Wheeler to a lucrative extension on March 4. The rest of Spring Training has flown by with relatively few storylines. However, Johan Rojas and the center field position battle has emerged as a legitimate talking point.
Will Rob Thomson opt for the strong defensive center fielder on Opening Day? Will he choose a better overall offensive lineup? Has Cristian Pache outperformed Rojas?
Johan Rojas
Rob Thomson left the door open on the first day of Spring Training for Rojas to win the job as the starting center fielder.
“This kid’s done a lot of work in the offseason, a lot of work in the weight room, and he’s done a lot of work with Kevin Long on swing mechanics, staying back and not jumping at the ball… Right now, he looks really good, and we’ll see how it plays out.” –Rob Thomson
Rojas has hit just .141 in 41 plate appearances with an on-base percentage also below .200. The Dominican speedster did hit over .300 in 59 regular-season games in 2023, but he didn’t provide a formidable offensive threat with a 4/43 showing during the postseason.
Most importantly, the Phillies want that glove in the outfield. Rojas finished with an astounding 15 defensive runs saved in just 57 games in the outfield last season.
He helped cover for below average defensive talent around him, and he helped fans recover from a near heart attack in Game 4 of the NLDS when Ronald Acuna Jr. sent a ball toward the gap in left-center field.
Center Field Position Battle
Scott Lauber spoke on 97.5 The Fanatic about Rojas and the Phillies’ plan in center field. He doesn’t believe Rojas is a lock to make the major league roster.
“I think the Phillies had hoped that Johan Rojas would really sort of take the decision away by putting up numbers in Spring Training. He hasn’t done that.” –Scott Lauber
He detailed the mechanics of the growing pains Rojas has experienced in Clearwater.
“Rojas is sort of a speed guy, and throughout his career, his approach as a young hitter with speed has been to kind of lead with his hands, make contact… (and) not so much use his lower half and just make contact and run. What they’re trying to do is get him to use his legs more, get him into his swing more, and get the hands and legs working more in concert with each other.” -Scott Lauber
The 23-year-old has never played in AAA. He could develop as a hitter with the opportunity to face pitchers with major league experience early in the 2024 season without the pressure of at-bats with a World Series contender at a packed Citizens Bank Park.
How would the Phillies adjust their lineup with their hopeful center fielder out of the short-term equation? Pache provides a similar skill set with a great glove and good speed without a threatening offensive track record.
While Pache could take the roster spot if Rojas lands in AAA, Lauber doesn’t believe Thomson would use Pache as a full-time center fielder.
“There’s sort of an assumption out there that it’s a Rojas versus Pache competition. I don’t see it that way. I think it’s Rojas versus the (Brandon) Marsh in center, (Whit) Merrifield in left possibility with Pache as a reserve outfielder or platoon outfielder.” -Scott Lauber
Merrifield would provide more pop than Pache or Rojas. Marsh is a strong center fielder, but he doesn’t provide the same level as the two other speedsters on the roster.
The most passionate MLB fan base will inevitably scrutinize Opening Day lineup decisions. World Series contention magnifies all 162 games. However, a young prospect developing in AAA during the early months of the season is no reason for panic.
The Phillies valued Johan Rojas and his skill set enough to play him in center field throughout a deep postseason run. They also trust their revamped minor league development system under Preston Mattingly. Rojas still needs to prove himself as the long-term option in center field, and it looks like that will begin with a stint in AAA in 2024.
Rob Thomson on Johan Rojas making the team:
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) March 18, 2024
“We haven’t made any decisions, but he is improving. We’re going to talk here in the next couple days as a group and try to figure out what’s best for him, and then we’ll go from there.” pic.twitter.com/SUxjXRTyFM
Visit the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page for discussion about the latest breaking sports news in Philadelphia.
A Cup Of Coffee: 16 Philadelphia Phillies With Better MLB Careers Elsewhere
Juan Pierre
Pierre built a reputation as one of the best leadoff hitters in the majors in the early 2000s. He was a key sparkplug for the Florida Marlins when they won the World Series in 2003, but he didn’t make it to Philadelphia until age 34.
He spent one season in a platoon with the 2012 Phillies. It certainly wasn’t the prime of his career, but he still had a little left. Pierre hit .307 in 130 games in his Phillies career.
Jose Bautista
Bautista broke out with 54 home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010. He made six All-Star appearances and entered the MVP conversation on a yearly basis in the prime of his career.
That track record didn’t mean much by 2018. He only made 57 plate appearances with the Phillies, the third stop of his 15th and final MLB season.
Charlie Morton
The Phillies signed Charlie Morton in 2016, but he missed most of his only season in red pinstripes with a hamstring injury he suffered in April. It was a bizarre hiccup in an otherwise good career. Morton has won two World Series rings, and he even finished third in American League Cy Young voting in 2019.
Kenny Lofton
His career highlights came with the Cleveland Indians during the 1990s, but Philadelphia remembers Kenny Lofton more for a questionable press conference in 2005.
The four-time Gold Glover shied away from an aggressive play at the center field wall at Citizens Bank Park and later told reporters he wasn’t foolish enough to run into a wall. Phillies fans gravitated toward Aaron Rowand for doing exactly the opposite in a similar situation the following season.
Freddy Garcia
Jimmy Rollins talked about the Phillies as the “team to beat” entering the 2007 season. The addition of Freddy Garcia made his statement sound valid, although bold. Rollins probably didn’t think the expected ace of the staff would post a 5.90 ERA in 11 starts in his only season with the Phillies, but the team still got the NL East pennant out of it.
It’s an element of the story that doesn’t always come up when Philadelphia fans glorify the famous comments from Rollins.
Pedro Martinez
The world (annoyingly) focused heavily on Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox in the heated rivalry with the Yankees in the early 2000s. Martinez was well past his prime when the Phillies signed him in July 2009. However, he showed he still had some heat in seven scoreless innings in Game 2 of the NLCS.
It’s not the most memorable stint of Pedro’s career, but the Phillies made the right decision to bring in the Hall of Famer for a run to the World Series.
A.J. Burnett
The 2014 Phillies tried too hard to hold onto the past. Ruben Amaro Jr. insisted on adding around his aging superstars, and A.J. Burnett was the big splash to fill a rotation that had lost Roy Halladay.
Burnett had a tough season for a bad team at age 37. He’ll look back on World Series championships with the Marlins and the Yankees a lot more favorably than his cup of coffee with the Phillies.
Delmon Young
Dave Dombrowski built the Detroit Tigers into a World Series caliber team by 2012. Delmon Young provided some unlikely heroics and earned the ALCS MVP when Detroit defeated the Yankees.
He made a quick stop in Philadelphia in 2013 that only lasted 80 games. The Phillies released him by August, and he ended up getting postseason at-bats in 2013 and 2014.
Jeff Francoeur
Francoeur touched nearly every corner of the NL East during his 12-year career in the majors. His stint with the Phillies in 2015 during a forgettable era wasn’t particularly impactful.
However, he developed a great reputation off the diamond in Philadelphia that isn’t usually characteristic of a journeyman who clearly never had a long-term future with the Phillies.
Clay Buchholz
Buchholz pitched his first 10 MLB seasons for the Boston Red Sox, earning two All-Star appearances and a World Series ring. He was never a fit in Philadelphia, and his career with the Phillies ended abruptly when an injury limited him to two games in 2017. He went on to make 28 career starts after leaving the Phillies.
Michael Young
The Phillies reloaded after a down season in 2012. Ruben Amaro Jr. hoped his aging core would get healthy and regain their spot at the top of the NL East with the help of a few key additions.
Michael Young had been an excellent average hitter for 13 seasons with the Texas Rangers. However, he wasn’t a fit for a team that made it obvious their run of dominance from 2007-2011 was over. The Phillies traded him after just 126 games.
Jake Arrieta
The rebuilding years were fading when Gabe Kapler took over as manager in 2018. The Phillies signaled a change in team-building strategy by signing Jake Arrieta. He had his ups and down for an improved but still not impressive team in 2018.
Philadelphia will remember him more as an outspoken, underperforming, and overpaid pitcher through the rest of his tenure. It was a bad combination for a player whose accomplishments came in another city.
Jay Bruce
Jay Bruce reached the 30 home run plateau five times in 14 MLB seasons. The Phillies brought him in toward the end of his career in 2019, and he provided immediate pop with an early hot streak.
He finished the season with 26 longballs between the Phillies and Mariners. He also hung around for 32 more games in 2020 to finish a stint in Philadelphia that should satisfy any Phillies fan.
Jeurys Familia
Familia finished with a 6.09 ERA in 38 games with the Phillies in 2022. The Mets had gotten rid of him partly because of his checkered past, and the Phillies made a mistake ever getting involved.
Dave Dombrowski shook off the misstep, and the Phillies released Familia and fellow questionable character Odubel Herrera in August 2022. They went on an unforgettable World Series run two months later. Coincidence?
Noah Syndergaard
The move to acquire Syndergaard was involved with the roster shuffle that led the Phillies to release Familia and Herrera. The former Mets starter did a serviceable job at the back of the rotation in 10 regular-season starts and four postseason appearances.
He was more of a secondary piece in a bigger series of moves than a long-term solution. The Phillies certainly don’t regret the overall roster tweaks that helped them to a World Series appearance.
Aaron Harang
The Phillies went through their fair share of journeyman right-handers between the downfall after 2011 and the rise back to contention in 2022. Aaron Harang had an underwhelming performance for the 2015 Phillies in the last of his 14 seasons with his eighth MLB team.
