Building a Phillies outfield platoon
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Building a Phillies outfield platoon
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
There is no optimal scenario for constructing the Phillies outfield this late in winter. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. conceded as much Monday when he suggested it is likely the team will use what it has.
The risk is obvious; the Phillies could spend $1.5 million on their starting outfield while devoting $19 million to two relief pitchers. Of the current outfield quintuplet, only Ben Revere has ever logged more than 500 at-bats in a single season.
Amaro said the best-case scenario is pitting unproven players against one another with hopes that competition creates a viable outfield. Domonic Brown will receive every chance at earning a role as an everyday player. Health will always be an impediment until Brown shows otherwise.
The likeliest spot for a platoon situation is left field, where any combination of John Mayberry Jr., Darin Ruf and Laynce Nix could form. Mayberry and Ruf both bat righthanded.
Mayberry, if anything, is an ideal platoon partner. His .868 OPS vs. lefties over the past two seasons is 22d in baseball among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances. His slugging percentage (.534) is 12th best. Used correctly, Mayberry could be a powerful part of a combination.
The only issue is this: The Phillies faced 53 lefthanded starting pitchers in 2012. Over the last five seasons, they have faced an average of 48.8 lefty starters per season. So if Mayberry strictly plays vs. lefties, he could expect approximately 50 starts with the platoon advantage.
Where will the other 112 come from?
Some of it could be Mayberry, if he is the hot hand. His 2012 splits, however, suggest that is poor usage. Mayberry made 51 starts against a lefty and 56 against a righty in 2012. His OPS was 153 points lower vs. righty starters.
Oddly enough, the Phillies could hitch their outfield fate to Darin Ruf, a player not thought of highly among front office officials and scouts until late last season. No one knows if Ruf has the offensive skills to face major-league pitching on a daily basis or the ability to regularly play left field.
Ruf hit both lefties and righties during his torrid minor-league season. Ruf has a 1.188 OPS vs. lefties and .869 OPS vs. righties over the past two minor-league seasons. Whether that can translate is the great unknown.
Nix has been used almost exclusively against righthanded pitching in his career (1,701 of his career 1,927 plate appearances are vs. righties). He is a career .253 hitter with a .744 OPS against righties. Again, the concern with Nix would be health. He has required time on the disabled list in three of the last four seasons. He missed 63 games with a calf strain in 2012.
And, as Amaro intimated Monday, this could all be a makeshift situation until a better option presents itself in a midseason trade. The Phillies should enter 2013 with enough flexibility to make such a move.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Mayberry and Brown have had ample time to prove themselves as every day players and they failed. Both are mediocre in all facets of the game. Despite only a handful of ABs Ruf looks like he can hit MLB pitching. We will see if Manuel gives him a shot. His defense will be questionable. The Company line has Revere as the next Mickey Rivers and we shall see. It is odd that no other team sees him as more than a bench player. All this leaves an aging team with a great deal of question marks. I am afraid that the ownership has regressed back to penny pinching days afraid to spend on a quality outfielder. This team is now teetering on mediocrity and possibly with its aging stars could fall into something worse. They need to scrap the platoons as well as the company buffoons.— Phillip Phan- I see Revere as a better fielding Juan Pierre, but not as good as a hitter. Granted he's young as time to get better, but I have a feeling that the Phillies will end up regretting that trade. — SteveS11
- let ruf win a position don't give him anything also for mayberry,brown, nix (revere is the starting CF) then you will know who can produce or fail...— only 9
- 78-84— BleedPhilly
- every year around this time, 2007-12, i've heard myself loudly proclaiming, yes we can! yes we can! this year i hear a barely audible squeak: i hope we can. i hope we can.— bubba church & granny hamner
- Ownership will get to witness the empty seats a losing team brings. Be like the old days at the Vet— Ssteve115
- The Phils should platoon only as a last resort. There are exceptions, but most players want to play every day, and most player who do play every day are more consistent and more productive than those who platoon or substitute. Ruf is a kid who could hit 30 to 40 homers a year or more and drive in 100 or more runs. His defense won't matter any more than Burrel's or Ibanez's did. Ruf will figure out things in left field if given the chance, and his bat wil more than make up for any shortcomings he may have as a defensive player. The key is that Ruf has to play every day. Revere is already a given as an every day center fielder and, hopefully, leadoff hitter. That leaves right field and the continuing saga of Mayberry and Brown, whose most consistent feature as major leaguers is their inconsistency. I have always been a big fan of Mayberry and think Brown still has the potential to find his game at the major league level, but the Phils need an every day right fielder who hits homers and drives in runs. Insofar as Ruiz's bat will be out of the lineup for the first month of the season, the Phils can't acquire another power hitter soon enough. Games lost in April are still games lost, and when the final tally is taken in October, extra points are not given to a team that failed to put its best team on the field on opening day. The Phils still have the ability to acquire a power hitter who can play right field every day. Morse may be available. Viciedo is and, if he is willing and able to play right field, so is Soriano. With time, Stanton and Cespedes may also become available. The bottom line here is that the Phils still need a power hitter in the lineup and neither Mayberry nor Brown currently fit that description. As a platoon, Mayberry and Brown could do an adequate job for the Phils this year - but a right field platoon will remain a poor substitute for one player who can hit homers and drive in runs on a consistent basis.— onthebucks
- Ryan - you are wrong about Ruf - and, how in the world can you think a platoon of Nix/Mayberry would be "pretty solid?" Hardball, it has been explained many times why Stanton will not happen in Philly. Because of Ruf's numbers against righties AND lefties (thank you, Dull!) - he should NOT be platooned - at least start the season that way. The only platoon that should happen is Brown/Mayberry in right, with Nix as a lefthanded pinch hitter. He is not an everyday player - even against righties.— dwp66
- Should not have traded Pence! I realize he did not pick up the slack with Utley and Howard out, but he still led the team in HRs and RBIs. Giving Brown the RF job is a BIG mistake. He is lazy and is a terrible defensive player, not to mention that he has not proven he can hit in the majors.— jicook
- Michael Morse is now being shopped by the nats since they signed laroche. He's not a great defensive player but he's righthanded and can hit for power and average. Lets go get him— blaqjaq
- Article misses a big point on Mayberry and Ruf: They can potentially sub for Howard at first base, too.
The outfield situation's not complicated: Ruf/Nix in LF, 'cause neither one can handle RF defensively. Mayberry/Brown in RF, with Mayberry more likely to spell Howard at first because Brown is more likely to hit against left-handed pitching than Nix is. If Ruf or Brown proves to be for real, more PT for that guy.
Seems more and more like the first half of 2013 rides on Dom Brown. Nervous yet?
— eman - blaqjaq: The Nats are dying to trade Morse to an NL East rival so they can face him 20 times this season. Just like the Marlins want to deal Stanton, a power stud making $800,000 a year who's under Miami control through 2016.
I have awesome swampland in Jersey for you. Please call.
— eman 
22 Hrs, 80 RBI, .260 BA, .328 OB%
That is the average per team production at the corner outfield spots in MLB in 2012.
I think, if given the at bats, Ruf, Brown and Mayberry could each exceed those numbers. And for $400K a piece. Thank God we didn't pay someone 10 mil or more to do the same thing.
Outfield will not be the issue. Chooch, Howard, Utley, Rollins and Young need to carry the offense. If they do well, that will take the pressure off of the young guys. And vice versa. Not worried about it.— zubzub- I love all the "crystal ball" so called journalists. The reality of the situation, which I predicted in November, is that Ruf will be the starting LF, Revere (whom I didn't predict, but did predict an outside CF via free agency or trade), and Brown starting in RF. Mayberry will in fact be the late inning defensive replacement for Ruf and/or a platoon righty in RF IF (and thats an if) Brown proves he cannot hit left handed pitching. Nix will continue to be the main left handed PH off the pine. Let it rest already instead of coming up with absurd scenerios. Its fairly obvious that this was the plan all along. Ruf was brought home early from Venezuela because it was determined he in fact could be servicable in LF. He needed some rest and be ready for Spring training. Give it a rest already. Done, put a fork in it.— drhoffman
By mid-season, it could be all over. Amaro is waiting until July to add real talent? I am completely disgusted by the position in which this pitiful GM, the boy wonder Amaro, has placed our Phillies. His performance has been nothing short of gross incompetence. This is how a real GM bolsters a supposed WS contender? Amaro should be ashamed of himself. His lack of performance mirrors his major league career -- pitifully substandard.
