Philadelphia Phillies: Rebuilding the Lineup
By Tal Venada
When 2016 began, the prediction here for Franco was a .280 mark with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. But he tried to carry the offense on his back, which led to frustration for himself, the field staff, his teammates, the broadcasters and the fans. Swinging from his heels! So, he must accept his solid ceiling and reach the expectations of his skipper, who recently gave him an earful to ponder during this winter. And when the games begin anew in March, he will hear the clapping and the “Let’s go” shouting of Herrera, but what will he see besides the emphatic pointing? Those bull horns!
Considering the missing link between Franco and Tommy Joseph, Klentak will scour the other 29 MLB rosters for a left-handed bat with 20-homer power, which includes trade talk during many phone conversations with other GMs. Meanwhile, he’ll offer free agents a two-year deal with a club option for 2019 if it’s attainable.
While questions swirl around the hitters in the order above Joseph, the doubt for him entering the next campaign is the right-handed pitching he’ll face. He only saw major league righties 28.3 percent of the time. In other words, those hurlers won’t know his weaknesses in April but will have a slight advantage in the early going nonetheless.
Joseph’s stats including a projection against southpaws:
- LH opposition: 89 AB, .281 Avg., 7 HR, 15 RBI and a .912 OPS.
- LH projection: 226 AB, .281 Avg., 18 HR, 38 RBI and a .912 OPS.
- RH opposition: 226 AB, .248 Avg., 14 HR, 32 RBI and a .774 OPS.