Daniel Nava delivers in leadoff spot but Phillies lose again

When the Phillies signed Daniel Nava to a minor-league deal, there were zero expectations attached. Nava was 34. He had produced a .574 OPS in his previous 114 games over two seasons for four teams. He had grappled with injury and ineffectiveness. The Phillies debated between Nava and another veteran, Chris Coghlan, for a roster spot until the end of spring training.

Now Nava is the Phillies' leadoff hitter. He boasts a .408 on-base percentage after three hits and a walk Wednesday in the Phillies' 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh at Citizens Bank Park. His play could prompt a contending team to acquire Nava as a reserve outfielder.

He will not fetch a prospect, but it would be a reward for Nava, whose career began in independent ball and culminated with a World Series ring in 2013 as a bench bat for Boston.

"I'm just trying to really keep it simple," Nava said. "I know that sounds corny. But sometimes we get in our own way."

There are 19 games until the trade deadline. Until then, the current outfield dynamic qualifies as interesting for the last-place Phillies. Manager Pete Mackanin did not start his most productive hitter, Aaron Altherr, for the second time in three days. Altherr is 3 for his last 22 with 10 strikeouts. His season OPS has dipped to .857. It has not been that low since April. He has cooled down, but that does not diminish how the Phillies feel about him. He'll continue to receive regular at-bats.

Odubel Herrera and Nick Williams are pieces, too. Herrera signed a $30.5 million contract before the season. Williams is regarded as one of the organization's better prospects. They'll have to play. Herrera singled twice  and struck out twice Wednesday. Williams tapped an infield single, then struck out three times.

Rookie Cameron Perkins, who replaced the disposed Michael Saunders on the roster and started six of his first eight games in the majors, is reduced to infrequent at-bats.

Williams will probably sit Thursday so Nava can remain in the lineup.

"I'm going to get him in there as much as possible," Mackanin said. "He gives us the best at-bats on the team. Quality at-bats. I'm going to get him in there as much as we can."

This season is about rebuilding and learning about which players are a part of the future. Nava is not one of them. So those disparate goals will have to align, somehow.

The rest of the game was about as nondescript a nine innings as possible — even for the hapless Phillies. Ben Lively was hit hard; he pitched just four innings. He was the first Phillies starter not to complete five innings since Nick Pivetta was shelled in Arizona on June 26.

Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh's struggling ace, struck out eight Phillies in six innings. Maikel Franco blasted a two-run homer in the first inning. The lead wilted by the fourth.

Nava is not without his flaws. He is a switch-hitter, but his numbers are so skewed (a .951 OPS vs. righties and a .506 OPS vs. lefties) that a contending team would not view him as anything more than a platoon bat.

"I've been in situations," Nava said, "where you don't know what's going to happen — whether it's this or in spring training, making the team — and those things are so far outside of my control that the more I think on those things, the worse it is for me."

Nava came to the plate in the ninth, with the tying run on deck, and struck out on five pitches. It was a sour end to what was an otherwise productive night for the veteran who could escape the worst team in baseball with a few more solid weeks.