Phillies: Those illusory last four seats on the bench

Philadelphia Phillies: starting the pressure for the marginal players

It seemed possible that Phillies manager Joe Girardi could send two of them away on or about Aug. 7 without even seeing them play, but after Opening Day that seemed unlikely. In the Phillies first game with Miami, a 5-2 loss, the three least experienced pitchers among their surprise players all played.

Somewhat oddly, Girardi chose the hard-throwing Ramon Rosso to be the first pitcher out of the 2020 Phillies bullpen when he decided to replace Aaron Nola in the sixth inning July 24. Rosso was making his major league debut and promptly fired two wild pitches against the three hitters he faced. He gave up an earned run.

After the game, his manager expressed confidence in his hurler despite that.

McClain and Kelley also pitched, McClain facing three Marlins, and Kelley facing a total of six. Neither of them allowed any runs.

The begging question is why Girardi didn’t use more experienced relievers in his first game as Phillies manager unless his thinking was simply that he would save the veterans for use if his team tied the Fish or went ahead in the game.

The following afternoon, roughly two and a half hours before game time, the Fightin’s announced the fourth of their unlikely six, Phil Gosselin, would be the starting DH. “Barrels,” as he’s been dubbed by teammates, then went out and hit two home runs and a single, drove in three runs, and went to the locker room after the game with a 1.000 batting average, 1.000 OBP, and 4.000 OPS.

So, unless he somehow falls into a deep slump in the next week, without playing every day, don’t expect Gosselin to be one of the first two cut.

The fifth of the Improbables, Deolis Guerra, pitched the ninth inning of the Phillies 7-1 win, striking out two and inducing an infield groundout.

Girardi seemed committed to seeing all his marginal players early, and seemed to be doing it responsibly – or maybe that’s just a winning score talking.

Philadelphia Phillies: the rubber game

Kyle Garlick wasn’t in the starting lineup on July 26, but another guy who could end up on the chopping block in the next three weeks, Neil Walker, was. (Why should Gosselin start two days in a run just because he was 3-for-3 with a walk the day before?) Yes, Walker could disappear quickly – except for the fact that Girardi announced he had definitely made the team a few days before the very last slots on the team were filled.

Then, Sunday afternoon under beautiful skies, the Phillies went out and made an excellent argument that 30 players aren’t enough – or that for their organization, 30 pitchers may not be.

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But they got second looks at two of their marginal players, McClain and Gosselin. And another player, Cole Irvin, definitely added himself to the mix for a potential ticket to Allentown, where the other Phillies just playing catch this summer are working out. Garlick never got off the bench in the 11-6 loss.

Gosselin replaced Walker in the fourth inning against a left-hander, and stayed in the game, reaching base in two of his four trips to the plate. McClain faced six batters this time around. Unfortunately, while it appears the young right-hander may have better control than he did in Seattle, one of the batters he faced homered.

Irvin just looked the way he did last year in the 16 appearances he made for the Phillies – too hittable at the MLB level. His one advantage when his manager begins to mull over who stays and who goes is that he is left-handed.

However, roster changes for the Phillies and all other teams are winging swiftly toward them, and fewer players certainly don’t look like an advantage for a team that has started 1-2 against the weakest team in their division.

In any event, for 120 MLB players now dressing in big-league locker rooms, the first month of the 2020 season may still become an illusory season in an empty stadium.