MIAMI -- Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly is trying to squeeze anything he can from an outfield that has been one of the franchise’s least productive in 143 years.
But he can only do so much.
Mattingly started Bryan De La Cruz in right field on Tuesday night against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara. That put left-handed-hitting rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. on the bench. Rincones had been starting in right against righties, but he has hit .169 with 26 strikeouts in 77 at-bats against them.
“Rico’s been given a decent runway against right-handed pitching,” Mattingly said before the Phillies’ 1-0 loss at loanDepot park. “It hasn't been as good as we'd like. De La’s been getting his hits, and I know he’s going to be solid in the outfield and all that. So I don't feel like it's going to be worse than what we're seeing.”
De La Cruz’s two-out single in the fifth inning broke up Alcantara’s no-hitter. He also hit a two-out double in the seventh. But it was hardly a moral victory. Phillies outfielders this season entered Tuesday with a combined .658 OPS, which ranked 29th in baseball. It was the sixth-lowest mark by a Phillies outfield in franchise history. It was the lowest mark since 1942.
The Phillies’ front office is expected to do something to improve the offense before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. A new outfielder seems to be the most obvious upgrade. Potential outfielders available include the Royals’ Lane Thomas and Starling Marte, the Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho, the Giants’ Heliot Ramos and the Mets’ Luis Robert Jr.
Maybe more will become available in the coming days.
“I read this morning that there's 22 clubs within 4 1/2 games of a postseason spot,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told Gregg Murphy on the Phillies’ pregame radio show. “I talked to one club today that says, ‘Well, we're not so sure that we're going to move people. We've gotten within 4 1/2 games now, so we're going to wait even a few more days.'”
The Phillies have a farm system that ranks among the bottom third in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and evaluators from other organizations. Internally, the Phillies dispute this. They like their players. If they package the right talent, they should be able to make trades with somebody.
“I've never been in a position where I haven't had players to make a trade,” Dombrowski told Murphy. “Never. When I've had the strongest Minor League system, which was in Montreal, or I've had systems that haven't been regarded as being as strong, never had that issue.
“It's sometimes just a matter of who you will be willing to give up for what quality of player. So that's what you always have to weigh in your own mind. And we have plenty of good players. Now, if you start stacking up some vs. some other organizations, and you're lining up … let's say you're talking about the best player out on the market, and you're offering three players and they're offering three players. Maybe they have three better players to offer than you do, but it isn't that you don't have the players to offer.”
Besides a bat, the Phillies also need a starter and a late-inning reliever. It will be interesting to see how much they can pull off.
“You're always wide open to being in a position to improve your club, however you can,” Dombrowski said. “I think that you need to be open-minded. But you know, with a club like ours, you're pretty well solidified in many different positions. So you're really not looking to normally shake up your club at this time of the year. You’re looking to add to where you feel your weaknesses are.”