PHILADELPHIA -- Exactly one month after being sent to Triple-A for a reset, Otto Kemp is back with the Phillies.
Kemp was recalled from Lehigh Valley prior to Monday's series opener against the Reds at Citizens Bank Park. Felix Reyes, who was promoted in place of Kemp last month, was optioned to Triple-A as the two again switched places.
Following an offseason in which the Phils lauded Kemp as the right-handed-hitting half of a left-field platoon, he went just 2-for-20 with one walk and nine strikeouts in 10 games before being optioned to Lehigh Valley. The 26-year-old converted outfielder also had his struggles in left field, a position he's been learning on the fly.
Playing every day at Lehigh Valley, Kemp hit .262 (22-for-84) with three homers, 21 RBIs and a .792 OPS in 24 games with the IronPigs. He also got plenty of action in left field, while also making a few starts at each infield corner.
"It's nice to be back," Kemp said. "It was nice to go get at-bats every day and kind of get my timing back, get my direction back. I kind of feel more like myself."
Of course, Kemp will now have to readjust to once again playing sporadically.
He was in Monday's starting lineup against Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo, starting in left field and hitting ninth. Cincinnati is expected to start another lefty (Andrew Abbott) in Wednesday's series finale, though it's unclear right now how exactly the Phillies will deploy Kemp this time around.
While Brandon Marsh has been getting more opportunities against left-handers, some of those have come in center field at the expense of rookie Justin Crawford. Reyes had made a handful of appearances in left, while Edmundo Sosa has also gotten a couple of starts in left recently.
Sosa, however, was at third base on Monday as the Phillies shuffled their lineup in Kyle Schwarber's absence. With Schwarber feeling under the weather, interim manager Don Mattingly took advantage of the opportunity to get Bryce Harper a day at designated hitter. To do so, the Phils moved Alec Bohm across the diamond to first base and started Sosa at third.
It remains to be seen how exactly Kemp will slot back into the left-field picture under normal circumstances, but he's confident he's in a better spot to navigate the inconsistent playing time.
“I obviously had a little bit of a trial run at the beginning of the year," Kemp said. "So now, coming back, I'll just make a little bit of an adjustment to my routine, from playing every day to who knows what the stretch is gonna look like now?
"... Just kind of treating every day like I'm going to be out there, regardless of what the lineup says. So just always staying ready.”
As for Reyes, the Phillies are hoping to give him a similar reset to the one they just gave Kemp. After homering in his MLB debut on April 18, Reyes went just 5-for-35 (.143) with one double, eight strikeouts, zero walks and a .314 OPS in 11 games since.
"The younger guys, it's hard to just let them sit here when they don't play, don't get the at-bats," Mattingly said. "Next thing you know, they're not swinging the bat the way they can. So Kemp gets to go down, he plays every day, gets his at-bats, and hopefully he’s swinging good -- he’s been swinging good down there.
"And now, Felix gets his opportunity to go down and get himself going and continue to develop."