The Philadelphia Phillies begin working on building depth and versatility but in their own timing.
The veteran baseball writer attached his garden variety, spring training Philadelphia Phillies piece to a very interesting tweet, reading in part:
"“Versatility will be stressed in Phillies camp. With that, Tommy Joseph took ground balls at third base this AM. Roman Quinn, SS turned OF, took balls at SS, and 2B Scott Kingery took some at third.”"
This was Jim Salisbury’s report on infield practice for the Fightin’ Phils the day before pitchers and catchers reported (Feb. 14). Of course, the vast majority of MLB players show up for spring training early now, and particularly so when they are young and fighting for a spot on the roster, or a stable spot in the lineup.
They tend to show up knowing what the bosses want as well. Fielding versatility was highlighted by Phillies team management when they signed Carlos Santana to play first base this winter and told young slugger Rhys Hoskins, an experienced first baseman; he would be playing left field in 2018. Of course, new manager Gabe Kapler made sure quickly after acquiring Santana to call Hoskins to let him know about the move. Said informative call most surely involved some soothing words about how much the Phillies value their young star in the making.
In no actual position to make waves about this, Hoskins showed up in Florida a week early this winter to work with outfield coaches Andy Abad and Sam Fuld.
Was Josh Harrison the First Super Utilityman?
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The notion of the super-utilityman probably began percolating in serious fans’ minds in 2014 when the Pirates’ Josh Harrison made the NL All-Star team on his way to hitting .315 in 143 games while playing six different positions. Oh, there had been other such players before – you probably have your favorite. (Did he play 143 games, though?)
And really, .315 with an .837 OPS while moving all over the field? Harrison played 72 games at third, fewer than that everywhere else. It could be done and done well. Undoubtedly, all baseball executives and managers now cough into their fists when asked about versatility, and then try to look honest while saying, “Hell, we were thinking about a guy like Harrison in ’05.”
We are told that Philadelphia’s Kapler has in mind Dodgers super utilityman Chris Taylor as the model for his new players in red pinstripes. Taylor hit .288 for the LA squad last season while playing, like Harrison in ‘14, six different positions.
Next: Phillies’ Unique Backup Plan
A word of caution, however, for the manager: not everybody in the clubhouse will be a Michael Jordan, a multi-skilled shooting star. Also, not everything about this versatility push will go smoothly. Chris Taylor made five errors at second base last year in only 22 games.