With Howie Kendrick on the disabled list for the next few weeks, Aaron Altherr is set to get some time in the limelight for the Phillies.
With three top-tier outfield prospects in Triple-A and Odubel Herrera‘s offseason extension, Aaron Altherr seemed to have fallen out of the Phillies outfield plans. Why should he be anyway? He managed a .597 OPS in 2016 after coming back from injury and looked nothing like the guy who had 19 extra-base hits in 39 games in 2015.
Altherr opened the 2017 season as the team’s fourth outfielder after the Phils went out and acquired Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders to play the corner outfield positions. With both expected to be in the starting lineup most of the time, playing time for Altherr looked slim.
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Then Altherr’s fate changed when Kendrick sustained an injury making a diving catch April 16. It was originally diagnosed as an abdominal strain, but that diagnosis was changed to an oblique strain. With this change, Kendrick is expected to miss more time than originally thought.
In the interim, Altherr has taken charge. He started the last five games for the Phils, and in that time has eight hits.
Four of Altherr’s hits have been for extra-bases, including a solo home run in Sunday’s win over the Braves.
On the season as a whole, Altherr has a .364/.417/.667 line with two home runs and six RBI. His 0.6 fWAR is second to only Cesar Hernandez among Phillies position players.
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Altherr’s continued success will equal more playing time, especially with Kendrick on the shelf for some time. Unfortunately, that playing time may go away once Kendrick returns from the disabled list. The club hopes to be able to trade Kendrick at the deadline for a meaningful prospect, and they will want to showcase Kendrick to make that happen. This would, unfortunately, spell the end of Altherr’s time in the starting lineup until an eventual Kendrick trade.
However, if Altherr keeps playing this well, he could become a trade chip as well. As mentioned earlier, the team has plenty of outfield depth.
That depth is only increased when you look down the minor-league ladder with players like Mickey Moniak, Cornelius Randolph, Jhaiyln Ortiz, and Carlos Tocci all also in the system. If a team is in need of Altherr’s services as a solid fourth outfielder who is serviceable in the starting lineup, the Phils have plenty of depth to make up for it.
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For now, Altherr will stick in Philly’s starting lineup and do his best to play his way into a starting role down the line, whether it be in Philadelphia or somewhere else.