Phillies news: 5 plans for filling a DH role in 2020
A new batch of Phillies news looks at a potential return for baseball
Phillies news surrounding a return to play is picking up with league executives reportedly eyeing the start of regular season play in July.
Given the timeline of it currently being early May and knowing pitchers need about a month to prepare, the deadline would be approaching to get a plan in place, whether it be a one city, three city, or traditional hometown plan for baseball.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post laid out some of the details regarding what Major League Baseball is looking to do.
In the middle of his report, Heyman threw out a single sentence that he basically avoided for the rest of the story despite the fact it’ll open baseball’s Pandora’s Box.
The gist of the plan emerged over the weekend and I can add a wrinkle — I heard that a DH will be used in both leagues, in part to protect pitchers who will have to ramp up to pitch in a shortened second spring.
The DH is obviously a heated debate in baseball between people who like the additional offense and those who prefer the strategy of the game. Personally, I believe it makes sense to expand the DH. Seeing more home runs is better than seeing National League pitchers hit a combined .131 last year.
If the Phillies do get an opportunity to use the DH they have several options to lean towards in a year where they’ll likely play about half of a normal season.
Jay Bruce
The Phillies could keep this conversation as simple as going with the traditional DH already on their team. Jay Bruce has typically found his way onto the field no matter where he goes, but he’s reached the point where playing DH could extend his playing career.
Bruce has only started 15 of his 1,608 games as a DH after breaking out as an outfielder in Cincinnati. He’s played the outfield and first base in New York, Cleveland, and Seattle before coming to the Phillies, but right now there’s no everyday job for him if there’s no DH.
Bruce certainly fills the “Matt Stairs role” as a big power hitter who can change the game with one swing. He’s done that 312 times in his long career and having him as an everyday DH would be a great move for the Phillies.
Getting Bruce consistent at-bats while rotating McCutchen, Haseley, and Quinn in the outfield could be the best of both worlds as well.
Neil Walker/Josh Harrison
The Phillies entered their first spring training with four infielders fighting for one or two spots on the 26-man roster. With rosters likely to expand even more this year to protect pitchers, more non-roster invitees could make the team and play a bigger role in 2020.
Neil Walker is such a professional hitter and would be a great asset off the bench for Philadelphia. Though he’s older and may not be able to play as many positions as he once did, he can still rake. Last year he hit .261 in 337 at-bats, proving he still has more left in the tank.
In nine games as a designated hitter, Walker has done exceptionally well, granted in limited time. He’s hit .321 with two doubles (nine total hits) as a DH and though he won’t bring the traditional power to the DH role he gives the Phillies another quality bat in the lineup.
Josh Harrison is the second utility man with a real shot to make the big league team. He only played 10 spring training games and hit .182 with two home runs, but his ability to play all over the field makes him a valuable weapon for the Phillies.
Harrison is like Walker where he doesn’t have a ton of pop but he can hit consistently when given the at-bats. In the majority of his nine season he’s hit over .270 and he’s a two-time All-Star. There could be more for Harrison to do and getting at-bats as a DH could help him revive his career.
You could also look at the other two utility players pushing for jobs with Phil Gosselin and Logan Forsythe. Gosselin certainly doesn’t have any home run threat in him and Forsythe’s batting average might keep him out of the lineup. Forsythe has a history of hitting dingers with 17 home runs in 2015 and 20 the year after, but it’s been a while.
Jean Segura
Having Jean Segura as your designated hitter is, once again, not a conventional move for a job typically earmarked for guys who hit home runs.
But hear me out: DH Segura and start Alec Bohm at third base.
It’s not the smoothest way to do this, but here’s how it could actually work out.
Segura is being moved from short to third because his defense was horrendous, committing 20 errors last year on top of two consecutive years with 17 errors before that. While hit bat can be incredibly valuable in a lineup, Segura is a liability on the field.
He’s also never played third base in a regulation game. He got some time during spring training and improved after a rocky start, but he’s certainly not an above-average player at third.
What makes Segura valuable is his bat.
Then there’s Bohm, the Phillies top prospect who could miss an entire minor league season in 2020. That’s a ton of development time for a player who the Phillies hope can be the cornerstone for their franchise going forward.
While Bohm isn’t the most natural third baseman, that’s where he played in college and where some project him to play in the big leagues. If there is no minor league season, you might as well let him play and grow.
We’ll have to see what the league does as far as service time, but Bohm might have been destined to play 60 games in the big leagues anyway this year. What’s it matter if it’s half a full season or the entire shortened season?
This option gets your best hitting prospect onto the big league field and takes perhaps your biggest defensive liability off the field. It’s unconventional, but it just might work.
You could also move a certain first baseman into the DH role and start Bohm across the diamond.
Rotation of sluggers
The Phillies have built a quality team with players they hope to have on their club for a long-time. Be that Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, or Rhys Hoskins.
They’re all relatively young but they’re coming into important years in their careers. Realmuto will be a free agent, Hoskins is potentially in line for a contract, and Harper is looking to build after a good but not great first year with the Phillies.
It wouldn’t be the worst thing to rotate those three players through the DH role to get them off their legs and preserve them long-term.
The Phillies have 11 years of Harper left after 2020, a long ways left for a player who seems destined for the Hall of Fame someday. His defense certainly improved last year after many raised questions regarding his play in Washington, but given the investment the team has in him it might be best to allow Harper to take some games off from the field.
Looking for his big pay day, Realmuto’s legs see the most wear out of anyone on the team. The biggest issue right now would be the fact that having Realmuto DH puts Andrew Knapp’s bat in the lineup and his glove behind the plate. If the Phillies had a better backup catcher than this might work better, but if Realmuto needs a day to get off his legs the Phillies might have the opportunity to DH him.
Someday Hoskins could move exclusively into a DH role and that might start in 2020. He’s not the most nimble player at first base and he proved he can’t play in the outfield. The Phillies could do the Bohm plan with Hoskins and mix him in or look for Jay Bruce or Neil Walker to play first.
Rotate the outfielders
This plan would mainly focus on a mix of three outfielders: Andrew McCutchen, Adam Haseley, and Roman Quinn.
Every Phillies fan knows the McCutchen situation; he’s coming off ACL surgery but the extended offseason could mean he’s healthy to play in left field more than expected. When McCutchen played last year the Phillies were contender with his presence atop the lineup. They need McCutchen to play well and as much as possible.
The Phillies also need to learn what they have in Adam Haseley, a first round pick not that long ago who played very well last year despite coming up early due to injury. In 67 games he hit .266 with five home runs with adequate defense in center field.
More from That Balls Outta Here
- How Phillies’ Ranger Suárez is set to build on 2022 postseason dominance
- What can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?
- 3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing
- 11 Free-agent deals the Philadelphia Phillies wish fell through
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
Then there’s Roman Quinn, whose speed changes the game both on offense and defense. Having him on base completely changes an at-bat for the pitcher and hitter and there’s almost no ball he can’t catch in center field. Keeping him in a rotation could also help him stay healthy by limiting his time on the field while still getting production.
The Phillies could implement a plan where they rotate these three guys through to get them the at-bats they need and maintain the best defense possible. You could have Haseley in left and Quinn in center with McCutchen DH’ing one day, then DH Haseley with McCutchen back in left.
This can all be dictated by matchups as well if you don’t favor Haseley versus lefties or you need more power and don’t want Quinn playing every day, if he’s even capable enough.
This might be one of the better plans for the Phillies because it protects McCutchen and Quinn from injuries while letting Quinn and Haseley get consistent at-bats.