After pulling off trades to bring new key players to the lineup and back end of the bullpen, the Phillies don’t seem to be rushing to pull off another move to add to their group of reserves.
Veteran executive Dave Dombrowski, Philadelphia’s president of baseball operations, addressed his satisfaction with his club’s bench situation over the weekend.
“We feel pretty good where we are at this point,” Dombrowski told reporters at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. He expressed confidence in the bench players that the Phillies have at the big-league level, along with some of the depth further down the organizational ranks.
The Phillies’ bench, on most days, currently consists of glove-first center fielder Johan Rojas, infielder Edmundo Sosa, backup catcher Garrett Stubbs and right-handed-hitting utility player Weston Wilson in the final reserve role — referred to as the “extra spot” by Dombrowski. Kody Clemens, a left-handed hitter who’s spent multiple stints as a contributor in Philadelphia over the past two seasons, is another bench option in Triple-A.
It’s a list of players who all have their advantages, but the bench unit still leaves an obvious deficiency in certain matchups. With newcomer Austin Hays set to play every day in left field, Rojas appears to be the team’s choice to relieve Marsh in center field against left-handed pitching. It’s not a set rule as Marsh started against a lefty in Sunday’s loss to the Guardians, but Rojas will probably see the majority of the starts versus left-handers despite his .403 OPS against them. It’s a less-than-ideal fit for a club without a perfect answer on the roster.
It’s not hard to envision the benefits of a bench outfielder — or a regular outfielder that potentially moves Hays to more of a platoon role — to keep Rojas as a pinch runner or an important defensive replacement in end-of-game situations. Still, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Sunday that the team is “likely done adding” pieces to bolster the bench. The Phillies appear to have prioritized other aspects of the roster, and the heavy lifting ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline could already be behind them. But it’s too early to completely rule out the idea of a new bench addition, as a deal that Philadelphia isn’t expecting could present itself to the front office.
“Again, if something better happens for us, we’re open minded to it,” Dombrowski said.
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