The five worst Phillies since the turn of the century
While the Phillies had some good seasons since the turn of the century, there were still plenty of bad ones, and some bad players on those teams.
The seasons following the turn of the century saw some of the best Phillies baseball the franchise had ever seen. Contributing to those great teams included some of the best players in the team’s history.
However, there were still some bad seasons since 2000 with more than enough bad players. Here are just five of the worst to come through Philadelphia in this century.
No. 5: Cody Asche
Third base has been a hole in production for the Phillies for several years now. Placido Polanco offered a few brief years of respite, but as a whole the position wasn’t great. Perhaps the worst of anyone who manned the position since 2000 was Cody Asche.
Asche made his debut in 2013, just as the team was starting to plummet to the bottom of the standings. His rookie season was unspectacular as he hit .235 with a .691 OPS. He peaked in 2014 with a .699 OPS, but after that his stats continued to dip and he was replaced by Maikel Franco in 2015.
In 2016, Asche dealt with injury before serving exclusively as a backup left fielder. He hit just .213 with a 69 OPS+ that year in 71 games. After the year was over, the team non-tendered Asche and he became a free agent, ending his unproductive tenure in Philadelphia.
No. 4: Danys Baez
The 2010 and 2011 Phillies were the best teams of their five-year streak of division titles in terms of regular season wins. However, those teams still had some bad players, one of whom was reliever Danys Baez.
Baez had eight major-league seasons under his belt – including an All-Star season in 2005 – before he signed with Philadelphia after the 2009 season.
Baez made 51 appearances in 2010, posting a 5.48 ERA, 13 percent strikeout rate, and 10.7 percent walk rate. His walk rate dropped in 2011, but so too did his strikeout rate. With his ERA at 6.25 and -0.8 WAR already under his belt through July that season, the team released Baez and instantly made their bullpen better.
No. 3: Michael Martinez
The Phillies plucked Michael Martinez from the Washington Nationals in the 2010 Rule 5 draft, hoping to employ his versatility as the team’s utility man. Martinez did just that, playing every position besides first base, catcher, and pitcher during his three seasons in Philadelphia.
The issue was Martinez only stood out for his poor numbers. He was able to stay with the team the entire year despite the fact that he had a .196/.258/.282 line in 88 games.
Martinez got even worse in his 45 games in the majors in 2012, posting a .461 OPS (24 OPS+). His OPS dropped even further in 2013 to .350, with a -2 OPS+. After that abhorrent year, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.
No. 2: Brian Sanches
The Phillies were still working their way towards a division title in 2006 before winning their first one in nearly 25 years in 2007. One player on the team that did not help them reach that point was reliever Brian Sanches.
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Sanches was traded to Philadelphia for a player to be named later in 2004 from the Padres. The former Kansas City second-round pick had lost his luster by the time he came to the Phils and made his major-league debut in 2006.
Sanches struggled with control in the major-leagues, walking 6.3 batters per nine innings between 2006 and 2007. He had a 5.75 ERA, 7.60 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.694 WHIP in that span.
He was granted free agency after the season ended.
After another poor season in Washington, Sanches actually had a few solid seasons with the Marlins between 2009 and 2011. He even re-signed with Philadelphia for the 2012 season, but he only had a few unspectacular appearances in the majors that year and was released mid-season.
No. 1: Domonic Brown
Domonic Brown has the case for both the worst Phillies player since the turn of the century as well as the most disappointing. The former No. 1 team prospect was supposed to help the team sustain their run of division dominance; instead, he was part of the team’s downfall.
Brown was unspectacular through his first three major-league seasons. From 2010 to 2012, Brown hit 12 home runs, drove in 58 runs, and had a .703 OPS in 147 games.
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May of 2013 was when Brown finally showed that top prospect potential. He hit 12 home runs that month with a .991 OPS and 25 runs batted in. He finished the first half of the season with a .273/.320/.535 line and 23 home runs, earning an All-Star appearance.
Brown fell back to earth in the second half of that season as injuries started to plague him. The second half of that year, Brown hit just four more home runs and a .723 OPS. The next two seasons, Brown had a .233/.285./349 line with 15 home runs and 88 RBI in 207 games.
As a whole, Brown was worth -1.5 fWAR in his career with the Phils.
If you take away his 2013 season, he was a career -3.3 fWAR player.
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Brown was granted free agency after the 2015 season and has not been back to the majors since.