Phillies: Will Carlos Santana signing lead to Odubel Herrera trade?
By Tim Boyle
After a busy week, the Philadelphia Phillies could soon trade one of their outfielders. Is Odubel Herrera the casualty of their full roster?
The decision to sign first baseman Carlos Santana has created a unique problem for the Philadelphia Phillies. How can they possibly get everyone enough at-bats in 2018?
Santana isn’t a one-year rental. Adding him wasn’t like acquiring Howie Kendrick or signing Michael Saunders. The Phillies inked Santana in hopes of winning a few more games than they did last season before inevitably contending again.
Some have speculated that the Phillies have another deal in the works involving one of their outfielders. Rhys Hoskins is safe, but the other three outfield options could wear another team’s uniform in 2018. As the most expensive among them, Odubel Herrera looks like a trade candidate.
From my viewpoint, they don’t need to trade anyone. Santana can start at first base every day with the other four rotating between the three outfield positions.
There’s no telling how many of their outfielders will perform in 2018. We can assume Santana is the surest bet based on his consistent eight-year MLB career. The outfielders are a far different story.
Aaron Altherr and Nick Williams need more than last season’s success to convince me they are MLB starters.
Since Altherr bats right-handed and Williams takes his hacks from the left side, I could see then platooning in right field. Williams could also take over for Hoskins in left field against tough righties every so often.
By keeping four outfielders capable of starting, the Phillies begin 2018 with a solid bench. Let’s not forget, the immovable Tommy Joseph should also park his butt there. As hazardous as it may seem, Joseph’s potent bat in a reserve role is a great weapon to have.
If the Phillies don’t make any other moves this offseason, they could have a stack of position players that look like this:
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Catchers:
Jorge Alfaro
Cameron Rupp or Andrew Knapp
Infielders:
J.P. Crawford
Maikel Franco
Cesar Hernandez
Tommy Joseph
Scott Kingery
Carlos Santana
Outfielders:
Aaron Altherr
Odubel Herrera
Rhys Hoskins
Roman Quinn
Nick Williams
Conceivably, Quinn and Kingery may have to wait to earn their way to the big leagues. We could see their spots above replaced by more experienced players.
If not, the Phillies will at least give us a good season with lots of position battles.
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Unless the Phillies can snag better pitching in a potential trade involving Herrera or any of the other starting outfielders, I can’t buy the move.
The market for Herrera is likely not a very good one. Other than including him or one of the other outfielders in a package to acquire a big-name piece, the right thing to do is begin next year with great depth.