The Phillies might be without their best pitcher on opening day
After four Phillies players (Scott Kingery, Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, and Ranger Suarez) were placed on the 10 day disabled list with no specific injury, people began to realize there were several other players still not at spring training in Philadelphia.
Ace Aaron Nola, projected starting center fielder Adam Haseley, and backup catcher Christian Betancourt are still not accounted for in spring training, according to the Phillies beat writers.
When asked about those three players, manager Joe Girardi told writers “we’re working through it.”
Teams can not publicly announce if a player has contracted COVID-19 unless the player grants them permission to do so. The Phillies have previously announced that several unnamed players tested positive and MLB announced that a handful of players across the league tested positive upon reporting to camp.
Already without their starting second baseman Scott Kingery and closer Hector Neris, the Phillies could be a horrendous place if they do not have their best pitcher to start the season.
Pitcher Cole Irvin told writers that COVID-19 would cost a pitcher six weeks of an already shortened season: two weeks of quarantine, two weeks of playing catch, and two weeks of bullpen work. That would be about half the season if everything went as planned.
The Phillies need Aaron Nola healthy this season
If Philadelphia doesn’t have Nola for even the first two weeks of the season, that’s critical time in a scenario where time is everything.
Philadelphia’s greatest strength is not their rotation, so having a Cy Young candidate not available is a scary thought. Thankfully the Phillies added Zack Wheeler to the staff, but behind him remain a lot of questions with Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta, and Vince Velasquez.
Not having Nola could push the Phillies towards introducing top pitching prospect Spencer Howard to the big leagues sooner than they imagined.
Not having Adam Haseley complicates the Phillies outfield
Should Adam Haseley not be available to start the season, the starting center field job is automatically awarded to Roman Quinn. Already in place are Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen in the corner spots, then Jay Bruce coming off the bench or as the DH.
If the Phillies want Bruce to be their DH, then McCutchen will get more time in the outfield than planned coming off his knee injury. Mikie Mahtook might have an opportunity to win a job as a non-roster invitee and Phil Gosselin could also fill in.
The Phillies don’t have many major league ready outfield prospects ready to step in. Mickey Moniak wasn’t added to the original camp roster, but that could change. Still, he isn’t ready for the big leagues and starting his service time now is not ideal.
If the Phillies wanted to go big, Yasiel Puig is still a free agent.