Phillies 2019 first half awards: MVP, LVP, Cy Young, Cy Yuk
By John Town
Least Valuable Player: Roman Quinn
The Phillies started the year with what was supposed to be a strong outfield with Andrew McCutchen, Odubel Herrera, and Bryce Harper. Harper is now the only one left after McCutchen tore his ACL and Herrera got suspended for the rest of the season for domestic violence.
This left a golden opportunity for other players to pick up the slack and make a name for themselves. Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr, and Roman Quinn were all vying for two backup outfielder roles to start the year, but none of them capitalized. With Altherr out of the organization and Williams in Triple-A, that leaves Quinn as the best choice for Philadelphia’s least valuable player this year.
Quinn has failed to make any discernable impact on the field this year, despite getting every chance to do so. He suffered his umpteenth injury during spring training but got the opportunity to play every day upon returning in mid-April. He managed just three hits and two walks in 27 plate appearances before hitting the injured list yet again with a groin strain.
Since returning from that injury, he has still failed to produce with just two hits in 20 at-bats. Overall, he has been worth -0.5 wins above replacement this year with a .333 OPS and -10 OPS+.
On top of being a sieve of production, Quinn’s inability to be optioned cost Altherr his roster spot. While Altherr hasn’t been the same player since 2017, Quinn isn’t doing any better with the bonus of constant injuries.
Since the team can neither rely on Quinn to stay on the field or produce when he’s healthy, he is the least valuable player of the first half.
Runners-up: Andrew Knapp, Odubel Herrera