Phillies: 6 center fielder options for opening day

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SAN DIEGO, CA – AUGUST 10: Odubel Herrera #37 of the Philadelphia Phillies holds onto his helmet as he takes a strike during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on August 10, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The Phillies don’t have too many holes to fill in the outfield except a big one up the middle.

The Phillies front office enters the offseason with several key areas to address through free agency and the trade market. Starting pitching and the bullpen will be the most important area to address after allowing nearly five runs per game in 2019.

Another key position they’ll take a hard look at upgrading is the center field job, where seven players started a game last year. All but one of those players (Aaron Altherr) finished the season either on the 40-man roster or under contract with Philadelphia.

There are slim pickings in the center field free agent market, so the Phillies could be forced to go with an in-house option to start the season.

Here are five potential options for Phillies manager Joe Girardi when he fills out the lineup card on opening day.

Odubel Herrera

The Phillies will soon have to address the Odubel Herrera situation after he was suspended following an alleged incident in Atlantic City over Memorial Day weekend. Herrera missed most of the year and his likeness was removed around the ballpark following his arrest.

Philadelphia took a very hard stance on the situation, and it’s unlikely Herrera returns in 2020. He hit a reasonable .270 the first month of the season, but after that, he went into an all-out freefall at the plate.

Herrera has struggled to remain consistent and focused throughout his career, and unfortunately, the Phillies saw an All-Star season and power from Herrera that would net him a multi-year contract with guaranteed money through 2021.

Philadelphia can’t get out of the more than $21 million still guaranteed on Herrera’s contract between salaries and buyouts. They’ll either have to hold onto him and hope he improves (though unlikely), cut him and eat the money, or trade him for a minimum return while eating a large amount of the money.

Andrew McCutchen

The Phillies would be hedging themselves by going into the season with a 33-year-old outfielder coming off a major knee injury starting in center field in a year where they need to win. While Andrew McCutchen won a Gold Glove playing center in 2012 with Pittsburgh and made some spot starts there last season, he’s now the same player he was with the Pirates.

McCutchen is rehabbing from the injury and should be ready for opening day, but we won’t know what he looks like in the outfield until spring training. Philadelphia has to make major decisions before that time comes. If McCutchen wasn’t coming off the injury and was maybe a couple of years younger, the Phillies might be able to pull this off and have the flexibility to resign Corey Dickerson to play left field.

Could McCutchen handle himself in center field? Probably, but not for 140+ games and not as the number one guy going into the season. Worst comes to worst, he can fill in, but shouldn’t be the primary option.

Roman Quinn

A lot of baseball people love Roman Quinn, and new manager Joe Girardi appears to be one of them. Girardi talked about Quinn more than any individual player during his interview with 94WIP Monday afternoon.

“I think there are players who haven’t reached their peak, so our job as an organization is to help players reach their peak. I look at a kid like Roman Quinn. Think about what a pain in the rear, you know, he would be if he was on base all the time with that type of speed. I mean, he’s going to create problems, he’s going to create matchup problems, he’s going to cause the defense to make errors because of his speed.”

Quinn hasn’t been healthy since the Phillies drafted him in the second round of the 2011 draft. As Scott Lauber notes, Quinn has had a torn quadriceps, a torn Achilles tendon, a strained elbow, a torn ligament in his middle finger, a concussion and a broken toe over the last eight years.

Since 2017 Quinn has played 179 rehab, major and minor league games, that’s less than 60 games a season. Philadelphia can’t rely on Quinn to be their stating outfielder if he can barely play a third of the season while hitting .243 in 109 major league games.

At this point Quinn is a quality weapon off the bench who can start a Sunday day game when needed. He hasn’t been able to not only stay healthy, but contribute at the plate enough for the Phillies to trust him.

Scott Kingery

The Phillies scouted, drafted, developed, and signed Scott Kingery to be their franchise second baseman. Cesar Hernandez playing just well enough to stick on the 25-man roster has forced the Phillies hand to play Kingery across the diamond, which has highlighted his athleticism and ability to play multiple positions.

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After a disappointing rookie season where he played 119 games at shortstop (with little success), Kingery split the majority of his playing time between third base and center field, with the majority of his time in the outfield. In nearly 500 innings he made only three errors and turned a double play while holding his own for the majority of the season.

Kingery’s ability to play multiple positions gives the Phillies some flexibility this offseason when they look at adding either a third baseman or center fielder. They need one or the other, depending on how you view some of the younger players in the organization.

If making a move for an outfielder, third baseman, or starting pitcher means trading Hernandez, the Phillies should feel comfortable in knowing that Kingery can slide into second base and not miss a beat.

Should the Phillies pull a trade for an outfielder or third baseman without moving Hernandez, the starting lineup could be penciled in right away with Kingery in that open spot. He’s played well enough that you can trust him to get the job done just about anywhere in the field.

Starling Marte

Unfortunately for the Phillies, there aren’t many center fielders expected to be available in free agency or the trade market. The three center fielders due to hit the free agent market (Adam Jones, Jarrod Dyson, and Alex Gordon) are all 34 years old or older.

There are a handful of decent corner outfielders/designated hitters potentially hitting free agency this year (J.D. Martinez, Yasiel Puig, Avisail Garcia, Corey Dickerson, Brett Gardner, Marcell Ozuna) but none of them have extensive experience in center field. Puig hasn’t played more than four games in center field since 2014, Martinez is a designated hitter, and Ozuna historically has poor range metrics in center field.

The Pirates, who fired their team president, general manager, and manager over the course of several weeks, have an $11.5 million option for Starling Marte. The 31-year-old has two Gold Gloves playing left field next to McCutchen but has since taken his place in center field.

Marte would fit the Phillies lineup perfectly coming off a .295, 23 home run, 25 stolen base, 31 double season. He was someone we highlighted at the trade deadline as the perfect trade candidate prior to the Dickerson trade, and would likely hit either towards the top of the Phillies lineup driving in Cesar Hernandez while being backed up by Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins.

The big question would be what the Pirates want for Marte, which is likely a lot. Philadelphia isn’t expected to move their top two prospects (Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard), and the rest of the farm system is bare. Pitcher Adonis Medina didn’t do the club any favors last year and former top pick Mickey Moniak struggled in the Arizona Fall League.

Hernandez could be a trade chip this offseason, but Pittsburgh doesn’t need a second baseman. Would the Pirates bite on Vince Velasquez or Nick Pivetta as a high-reward reclamation project ina a less demanding market? Philadelphia can’t dump damaged goods like Velasquez and Moniak on Pittsburgh and hope to get an All-Star in return. It’ll be tough to find a deal that works for both sides, but if the Phillies can get it done without moving Bohm or Howard, Marte is the perfect fit.

Adam Haseley

The 2017 first round pick out of Virginia proved he could hold his own in center field despite not being totally ready to play in the big leagues every day.

Adam Haseley hit .266 with 19 extra-base hits in 67 games for Philadelphia as a rookie. He was thrown into the fire after Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce went down, but performed well under the circumstances.

Haseley does have to cut down on his strikeouts, punching out 60 times while walking just 14. He also struggled to hit lefties, hitting just .212 with no home runs and only two doubles. The friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park, where he hit .304 versus .233 on the road, helped pad the 23-year-old’s stat sheet.