Phillies: Can anything be salvaged from Nick Williams?

Phillies outfielder Nick Williams showed promise early on in his career, but where did it all go?

Following a few years of some below-average baseball, the Phillies committed to a full-time rebuild after trading away Cole Hamels in 2015. The last remaining players from the 2008 squad hung in for two more years with Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz being traded to the Dodgers and Ryan Howard leaving after 2017.

In the Hamels trade, the Phillies received what was thought to be a pretty good haul at the time. In exchange for Hamels and Jake Diekman, the Rangers sent C Jorge Alfaro, RHP Jake Thompson, RHP Jerad Eickhoff, RHP Alec Asher, LHP Matt Harrison, and OF Nick Williams.

Alec Asher once got suspended and spent last year with the Brewers, appearing in two games. Matt Harrison was just to make salary needs work, and never pitched a game for the Phillies. Jake Thompson, although the number-55 prospect in baseball entering 2016, ultimately struggled and hasn’t seen the majors since 2018.

Jerad Eickhoff looked like he could have been a solid #3 starter posting a 3.44ERA in his first two seasons (41 starts). But, after multiple injuries and stints on the DL, he never found it again. The Phillies parted ways with Alfaro for J.T. Realmuto, who we should re-sign.

All that’s left is Nick Williams.

Williams impressed his rookie year, batting .288 with 30 extra base hits in only 83 games. In 2018, he wasn’t as good, but still showed some glimpses of All-Star potential. However, in 2019, he only recorded 16 hits in 67 games and was optioned to Triple-A.

Is there any chance Nick Williams can make an impact in this shortened season?