The Philadelphia Phillies anemic offense will need an infusion by the end of July if they hope to continue to contend. Here are two setups for that.
It’s no secret the Philadelphia Phillies offense has floundered for a month with the modest exception of Carlos Santana, whose typical cold start is finally warming up. He’s still hitting only .221 (through June 10), but his team-high 37 RBI is a good indicator of both his relative worth and the Phillies struggles. That figure is tied for 33rd best in MLB.
Is it time to think outside the box and at least shake up the clubhouse? Perhaps. Here’s a way to do it: Promote Jan Hernandez from Double-A Reading to South Philly.
Who? It’s true that Hernandez is not in any way a household name, but I’d suggest that his promotion would be a shake-up move that could be useful, and might work out beyond a clubhouse wake-up.
Hernandez is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound right fielder, but he was drafted as an amateur shortstop and has also played third base. Thus far this season, the 23-year-old is hitting .313 with an OPS figure of .836. In the past ten games, he has hit .308, with eight RBI in the past six games.
He has fielded reasonably for his first full season in the outfield. In 101 total chances, he has only four errors. He has had three assists and started two double plays.
On the downside here, he’s not a gazelle, and to date, has a range factor of only 1.94 this season. On the upside, he has a strong arm, the highest rated actual and potential asset when he was drafted as a teen.
At his draft point in 2013, part of one scouting report read “ will have one of the better third base arms in the future.” So there’s that as well since nobody seems to want to function particularly well at third base for the Phillies.
Now is this a no-brainer move? Absolutely, not. However, it will also allow something else to happen. Aaron Altherr should go to Triple-A. Apparently, he’s not out of options, and this is difficult to type, but Altherr has to play every day for a bit, hit about .360 for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and come back later when he is still the only guy there you want on the Phillies.
Next: Manny Machado heading to Philly?
Altherr is now 27, and despite his apparent or fading potential, something isn’t working for him this season. Maybe he can be replaced by Hernandez as the platooned right-handed hitter in right field.
And perhaps, after a bit, one or the other of them will be suitable trade bait by the end of next month.