Philadelphia Phillies need to choose how to stabilize center field

Buried in a recent account of Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi making questionable decisions about relief pitchers was a note about a defensive matter Philadelphia will have to address soon. In their 6-5 loss on May 24 to the Braves, a ball fell between two Phils outfielders, Roman Quinn, in center, and Nick Castellanos, in right.

This put the batter on second base, and he ultimately scored the winning run, whereas if the ball had been caught, in this game, it would have only been a game-tying sacrifice fly, and the Phillies might have played on and won.

The Philadelphia Phillies must choose a center fielder from among three in about three days.

Golly, it seems a shame that neither of these veteran outfielders could come up with the ball.

Yes, Quinn’s career has been interrupted several times by injuries, and thus, he sometimes seems like an inexperienced player, but he really isn’t. Perhaps he feared colliding with his somewhat larger teammate. Also, the excited fans in Atlanta were inconveniently noisy.

As for Castellanos, he has clearly been playing long enough to know to defer to the center fielder, generally.

But let’s consider only center field, for a moment. Because of necessity, Castellanos and Bryce Harper will eventually share both right field and DH, assuming Harper’s arm heals somewhat. The Phillies problem in the outfield, it can be argued, is that there is no stable centerfielder — and there hasn’t been for quite a while.

On May 24, the Phillies went with Quinn in center because he had contributed significantly to the team’s wins in their two previous games. Those contributions were, in order, in base running, defense, and hitting.

However, very soon Mickey Moniak, who may finally be ready to play in the major leagues, is about to return to the team after having his hand broken with a pitch.

And then, there’s also the local fans’ least favorite, Odubel Herrera, who recently got an endorsement from the Phillies president.

So, what’s Joe Girardi to do? Mix and match these three centerfielders while he’s solving the puzzle of his bullpen?

That seems ill-advised, although the Phillies may well choose this course, perhaps waiting for Trader Dave Dombrowski to find them yet another center fielder shortly before the trade deadline.

Both Kyle Schwarber in left and Harper/Castellanos in right are average ball chasers at best. Harper does have a strong arm and is improving as an outfielder before the catch as he gains experience. Moreover, he always hustles. He just can’t play the field right now while resting a supposedly minor UCL tear.

The Phillies outfield needs a consistent quarterback, preferably a fast runner who can catch a ball.

When Moniak returns, then, here’s one thing that could happen. Girardi platoons Moniak and Quinn, alternating games strictly for 10 days or two weeks’ worth of games, without regard to stats or opposing pitchers, and may the best man win.

Then stick with the winner. Assuming Quinn doesn’t replace Moniak on the Phillies injured list, the bet here is that Quinn would win, but if Moniak outslugs the smaller speedster who suddenly seems to have a very powerful arm, so be it.

They’d never do that, you say? The Phillies must win each game, and consider the best center field choice every day? That’s what they’ve been doing, and the numbers are horrible. You could look it up.