Phillies

With Haseley Back, Who the Heck Is Going to Win This Center Field Job?

By Bob Wankel

Published: Mar 24th, 2021 · 4:43 PM EDT

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The Phillies’ center field battle, or competition — or whatever you would like to call it — was already a complicated puzzle prior to Adam Haseley’s expedited return to action this week.

Now, with Haseley back in the mix, the Phillies have to decide who is coming north in less than seven days, and they have just five spring training games remaining to make one hell of a decision about how to resolve the center field dilemma.

First, a quick rundown of the candidates and their resumes to date.

Adam Haseley

After dedicating himself to the weight room and adding muscle this offseason, Haseley made a strong opening statement with a lead-off homer in his first at-bat this spring. His early momentum was halted after suffering a left groin injury, a setback that took him off the field for nearly three weeks.

The 24-year-old Haseley, who is 3-for-12 this spring and 1-for-5 since returning to action on Tuesday night, holds a career .712 OPS over 334 career plate appearances.

Odubel Herrera

We don’t need to spend too much time on Herrera’s backstory and baggage following his domestic violence arrest back in 2019– those troubles have been well established throughout the spring.

Still, that backstory remains an important contextual factor as the Phillies weigh awarding him a potential roster spot.

Following an All-Star appearance in 2016, Herrera peaked the following season with an impressive 59 extra-base hits. But that was a long time ago, and following a disastrous on-field start to his 2019 season and his eventual arrest, he hasn’t played in a regular season game in nearly two years.

This spring, Herrera got off to a good start and has demonstrated considerable pop, but he’s suddenly hitting just .231. After emerging as the projected winner of the job by mid-March, he has just three hits over his last 18 at-bats.

While he still may present the most upside of those competing for the job, he hasn’t made it a no-brainer decision for the Phillies.

Given his past troubles, many felt that it would have to be a no-brainer decision for the team to deal with the distraction his roster inclusion could create.

Roman Quinn

From a purely statistical standpoint, the 27-year-old Quinn has had the best spring. He’s hitting .323 with an .866 OPS.

Quinn brings a speed and disruption element that no other player on the roster possesses. He also has a career .770 OPS against left-handed pitching, providing the Phillies with a legit option from the right side.

His lengthy injury and durability issues aside, however, he has also struck out in 12 of 34 plate appearances this spring, furthering concerns about his ability to play to his strengths.

Scott Kingery

Following a disappointing 2020 season, Kingery’s spring has been even worse. He is just 5-for-36 with 15 strikeouts in 38 plate appearances, likely playing himself out of consideration for the job in the process.

Given Kingery’s overall versatility and Brad Miller’s current injury timeline, the 26-year-old will probably make the roster, but it’s hard to imagine he will get many looks in center during the early going.

The Options In Play

Obviously, there are a few different ways this situation could shake out.

For the purposes of this exercise, I’m leaving Kingery out of the mix because the assumption here is that he will be on the roster as a utility player. Matt Joyce goes unlisted because he is only indirectly part of the center field considerations.

In other words, he won’t play in center, but his fate could dictate who does.

The High Upside Method (Quinn, Herrera, Joyce)

In this scenario, the Phillies go all-in on upside. The team decides to give Haseley more time to prepare at the alternate site.

They give Herrera more time to see if he can find true consistency beyond the enticing flashes demonstrated throughout the month of March.

Quinn gives the Phillies decent looks from right side of the plate, while Joyce, who is the team’s best pinch hitting option, takes important at-bats late in games.

The Steady Method (Quinn, Haseley, Joyce)

Here, the Phillies roll with Quinn because of his ability to hang against lefties, while Haseley provides serviceable production from the left side. Joyce makes the team for the same reason outlined above.

The Pinch Hitting Is Overrated Method (Haseley, Quinn, Herrera)

The prevailing wisdom is that the Phillies will give Joyce a job because he significantly bolsters the bench.

What if, however, the Phillies decide they are comfortable enough with Haseley, Quinn, or Herrera filling that role on any given night?

The upside here is that the Phillies basically get an extended look in real game action at three players they probably feel each has a chance to materialize as an everyday player. The downside is, of course, they probably just let their surest bat off the bench walk.

The 40-Man Doesn’t Matter Method (Herrera, Quinn, Joyce)

What if the team decides it can afford to create two separate 40-man spots by adding both Herrera and Joyce to pair with Quinn?

In this scenario, the idea would be that Haseley can continue to work back after a three-week absence at the alternate site, while the team continues to assess what it has in Herrera. They could also do this without having to give up on Joyce.

This plan could make some sense, but it is likely correlated with what the Phillies do in the bullpen.

If they add both Brandon Kintzler and Tony Watson to the 40-man, it becomes less likely they would clear an additional pair of spots for two outfielders when they figure Haseley will soon become part of the equation anyway.

If It Were Up to Me

I don’t love the way Herrera has swung the bat over the last 10 days, but I still think he probably possesses the highest overall upside of the players currently in this battle.

Given the Phillies are playing from behind with the superior talent of the Braves and Mets (and the Nationals, maybe), I think they have to gamble a little bit and see what they have in Herrera — at least for a bit longer.

With that said, you probably noticed above that Quinn makes the team in each one of the scenarios outlined above. I’m pretty confident the team values his overall skillset enough that he makes the Opening Day roster, particularly because he provides something from the right side.

As for the pinch hitter role, it’s worth noting the Phillies’ first 13 games come against the Braves and Mets.

Given the projected starting pitching matchups in many of those games, several key contests figure to be decided late. The Phillies have to maximize the bench’s capabilities, and Joyce’s presence does that.

So, where does that leave Haseley?

Ironically, he may be the player that offers the most consistency and steady production among those involved in this battle.

But given that he has an option, the Phillies can work him back with more consistent action while at the alternate site and continue to assess the production of Quinn and Herrera. If one of them proves to be an inadequate or inconsistent performer (which is entirely possible), that player will likely be sent out, and Haseley then steps back into the mix.