Utley's contract status no factor in playing time, Sandberg says

NEW YORK - It is no secret that Chase Utley has struggled through the first 70-plus games of this season, and that his contract status for next year hinges on his reaching 500 plate appearances during this one.

But despite the 36-year-old second baseman's sub-.200 average and the Phillies' rebuilding status, manager Ryne Sandberg said Utley's vesting option for 2016 will not factor into his decision-making with the team's lineup.

Utley entered the series opener Monday night at Yankee Stadium hitting .182, the worst average among 164 qualified major-league hitters. His 244 plate appearances coming into the game put him well on pace to trigger his $15 million vesting option for next season.

Sandberg said he has not been issued any directives from the front office regarding playing time for Utley or the 25-year-old Cesar Hernandez, who made his second straight start at second base and batted second on Monday. Utley batted sixth and served as designated hitter.

"It's a challenge. It's a daily challenge," Sandberg said. "For Chase to play well and to show what he can do and to play well is important. And to see Cesar play and get experience, that's important. So there's two sides of it that are important going forward here, and that's the challenge."

Hernandez entered the week with just a .225 average over 120 at-bats but has shown flashes of potential. His two-run, two-out single in the second inning Sunday helped fuel the Phillies' season high of nine runs in their win against the St. Louis Cardinals. He had walked in a team-high 12.1 percent of his plate appearances coming into Monday.

Utley played first base last Tuesday. He could spell Ryan Howard there occasionally as a way for Sandberg to get Hernandez more playing time while continuing to give Utley chances to swing his way out of his struggles. That scenario would work better, Sandberg noted with a laugh, if Utley were righthanded. Hernandez also will continue to garner occasional at-bats at shortstop.

Utley "reports to me that he feels great. He feels strong. He feels healthy. There's no concerns about health with Chase," Sandberg said. "So it's more about just him just getting hot with the bat and getting hits and producing on a daily basis.

"The hard thing about that is the hole that he's in with almost 230, 240 at-bats. But then again, for him to play well, [to] get hot for two weeks would be good for everybody."

Adam Morgan will start Saturday against the Nationals as the Phillies keep their rotation in order and on normal rest despite Thursday's off day. . . . David Buchanan (ankle sprain) pitched four scoreless innings of a Gulf Coast League game Monday in Tampa. He was hurt five weeks ago in a game with triple-A Lehigh Valley. . . . Top Phillies pitching prospect Aaron Nola makes his second triple-A start Wednesday in Buffalo.