Phillies: Expected improvements
By Tal Venada
Growing pains:
On a Phillies site, Santana received many negative comments, but the best was the poster who stated the first baseman had been a signing mistake before the ink had dried. And the front office should designate him for assignment because the local was right and general manager Matt Klentak by implication was wrong.
In other words, the red pinstripes should eat $60 million and pay all but the MLB minimum of almost $1.6 million (the contract’s duration) to play for another club. Yes, some are giving up on an acquisition with only 153 plate appearances.
On the other hand, Maikel Franco received glowing reviews from the fandom. Wasn’t he the same third baseman you wanted to demote to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the last two summers? Answer: Fast judgement is poor judgement.
Although Nick Williams hasn’t played much recently, this situation is only temporary due to the hitting of Altherr and the slumps of Santana and recently Hoskins. But Williams will also have the same opportunity to contribute offensively as a struggling Altherr did.
When the Phillies reactivate J.P. Crawford, he will also get enough at-bats regardless of Scott Kingery‘s production. However, Hernandez and Franco will have more starts: The leadoff man is at .273 with a .394 OBP, and the slugger is averaging .278 with six homers and 26 RBIs.
As for Kingery, he isn’t having difficulty due to lacking a set position, isn’t returning to Lehigh Valley, and isn’t sitting because of Pedro Florimon. But if he doesn’t improve and Crawford hits after his reactivation, Kingery might require the motivation of being an IronPig again.