The Phillies will likely use a four-man bench again this season with eight relievers in the bullpen. How should the team fill it out?
The Phillies starting lineup for the year is largely set in stone. Bryce Harper was the final piece of the puzzle for an offense that should be vastly improved compared to last year. While the starters are likely set, the bench remains in flux.
Most teams carry a five-man bench with seven relievers, but Philadelphia opted to have eight relievers and just four guys off the bench last season. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com stated that this will continue this year, so the team has even less room to carry extra players.
The biggest question marks about the bench come in the outfield. Adding Harper made an already complicated situation even more complicated with a serious logjam brewing in the outfield.
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Aaron Altherr, Nick Williams, and Roman Quinn are the three outfielders vying for what is likely two spots on the bench. Quinn and Altherr are both out of options, meaning the team would have to put them on waivers to send them back to the minor leagues. Both have enough upside that a team would likely pluck one of them away if they had the chance.
Williams can be sent to the minors with an option remaining.
On the other, Williams is likely the team’s best option as the fourth outfielder. He had a .333/.385/.611 line with three home runs and eight runs batted in as a reserve last year. Williams would be able to spell Andrew McCutchen when the team goes up against tough righties like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Max Scherzer.
The club will likely be able to kick this can down the road as Quinn will likely start the year on the injured list. A strained right oblique has kept him out for much of this spring and Zolecki said it could continue into the regular season. At this point, it feels like Quinn spends more time injured than healthy, which is a shame given his talents.
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Scott Kingery will have the utility infield position handed to him to start the year. He shouldn’t have to play as much this year with an upgraded infield, but an injury to Cesar Hernandez, Jean Segura, or Maikel Franco could put Kingery into the everyday lineup. Kingery still hasn’t proven he can be a consistent major-leaguer, but the club seems content to have him as a backup.
The backup catching position also seems set in stone with Andrew Knapp. He was uninspiring in 2018, but having J.T. Realmuto instead of Jorge Alfaro will balance things out. Knapp still has options remaining (the team sent him down to the minors last year after acquiring Wilson Ramos).
They may decide they want someone like Drew Butera as the backup instead. However, that would require finding a spot for Butera on the 40-man roster by designating someone else for assignment.
The team is notably lacking a backup first baseman. Rhys Hoskins played 153 games last year (he only missed time due to a broken jaw) so he could handle 162 need be as long as he is healthy. The team worked out Dylan Cozens at first at the end of last year, but his bat is still a major question mark. Most likely, Franco would move over to first and Kingery would play at third.