Phillies Bench
- Garrett Stubbs (C)
- Whit Merrifield (OF/INF)
- Edmundo Sosa (INF)
- Jake Cave (OF)
With the addition of MLB veteran utilityman Whit Merrifield, he becomes the Phillies' No. 1 backup. Merrifield has played everywhere, but he will be used primarily at second base and left field. His outfield experience will come in handy if Rojas can't make it work, as Merrifield has been having a great spring so far and is competing hard for as much playing time as he can get.
Merrifield will have to replace Cristian Pache on the bench, mainly because of how well Jake Cave has been performing this spring, plus the fact that Cave is a lefty. Jake Cave has nine hits, six strikeouts, one walk, and one stolen base in 27 plate appearances so far this spring.
The biggest thing with Cave is that he is a left-handed batter. That is important because out of all the bench players, Stubbs is the only other lefty. So if Pache were to get the job over Cave, there would only be one lefty to come off the bench, and teams try to avoid pinch-hitting their backup catcher. Cave's bat will be necessary for the Phillies' pinch-hitting options.
As for Pache, it seems as though it's Pache vs. Rojas for the starting center field position and not Pache vs. Cave for the last bench spot. So, if Rojas gets the job like we think he will, the Phillies will potentially lose Pache since he is out of options.