3 Phillies players who won't be on the roster by June 1
By Tim Boyle
2) Phillies need to try someone different than Bailey Falter
There are a lot of negative adjectives to describe Bailey Falter’s season with the Phillies so far. Choose your favorite. He just isn’t a major league starter right now. At 0-6 with a 5.75 ERA in 7 starts, the Phillies need to see what else they can do to replace him in the starting five. Matt Strahm has moved back to the bullpen. At the first sign of life from anyone else, the Phillies need to try someone else other than Falter.
Outside of the organization options are limited. Only players who were designated for assignment or struggling to find a job for health reasons could possibly come into the picture. If the Phillies had anyone at all they believed it, Falter would’ve been gone by now.
Nearly every starter in Triple-A has put up pedestrian numbers at best. There doesn’t seem to be any answer at all in Double-A either. Handing the ball to Nick Nelson for a start might be one thing to try. He has pitched as a starter in the minors before and through 6 starts on the farm this season at three different levels he has a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 innings of work.
We know what we’re going to get out of Falter. Nelson couldn’t be any worse, could he? The team already plans to use an opener in his next start. It could be the beginning of the end.