The Philadelphia Phillies‘ questionable decisions on and off the field this week negatively impacted their performance. These decisions, in part, led to a series loss against the Miami Marlins at home. The most notable of these involved how manager Rob Thomson handled the pitching staff. After losing the series, the Phillies sit at 78-64, a distant second in the NL East and 15 games behind the Atlanta Braves, who have a magic number of six to clinch the division. The two teams play seven games against each other in the next two weeks. Luckily, in the NL Wild Card race the Phillies are four games ahead of the last spot and hold a two-game advantage over the Chicago Cubs for the top NL Wild Card position and home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card Series.
Phillies Make Questionable Decisions On and Off the Field
On Sunday, Ranger Suarez set a new career high for strikeouts in a game with 10. However, there would not be a storybook ending to his outing. Suarez allowed the game to be tied before departing in the seventh inning. This is where the first of the Phillies questionable decisions came. Thomson decided to hand the ball to Matt Strahm and Seranthony Dominguez. Strahm put Dominguez in a situation with inherited runners. Dominguez continued his recent struggles by allowing a go-ahead three-run home run. In his last seven games, Dominguez has a 1-1 record with a 5.68 ERA. He also had a blown save during Friday’s game against the Marlins, moving to 2-for-9 in save opportunities on the season.
Ranger Suárez’s 9th and 10th Ks. #RangerDanger
Thru 6…and 🤫 pic.twitter.com/NHnizd3hbz
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 10, 2023
The Phillies’ questionable decisions were not limited to tactical decisions by Thomson. On Friday, the team needed to option a player to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Trea Turner being activated from the paternity list. Of the players that could have been sent down, the Phillies elected to option Weston Wilson. This was not a surprise per se because he was called up when Turner was placed on the paternity list. However, looking at the numbers, the Phillies sent the wrong player down. It is clear that the Rodolfo Castro acquisition at the trade deadline has not worked out. Castro could probably use a reset stint at Triple-A because of his performance.
In 11 games with the Phillies, Castro has a .095/.174/.095 line with no home runs and one RBI. He also has a -23 OPS+. Meanwhile, during five games in the majors, Wilson has a .333/.667/.833 line with one home run, one RBI, and a 310 OPS+. Wilson has also set a new single-season home run record at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season with 31. Looking at other advanced statistics, Castro has a .283 wOBA and a .272 xwOBA along with a 73 wRC+. In comparison, Wilson has a .588 wOBA, a .635 xwOBA, and a 280 wRC+ this season. It likely would have served the team’s interests better to send down Castro rather than Wilson.
Thomson Makes Lineup Adjustment
Thomson made adjustments to the batting order during the Marlins series by moving Nick Castellanos to the eighth spot in the lineup. So far in September, Castellanos has a .167/.225/.278 line with no home runs and five RBI. These numbers necessitated the adjustment in the batting order. While this is a good decision, Thomson is continuing to make questionable decisions in other areas of the lineup. The most notable of these decisions is his continued insistence that Jake Cave play on a regular basis instead of Johan Rojas. The continued use of these platoons by Thomson is hurting the team in many instances on both offense and defense.
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Looking at Cave and Rojas, it is clear who should be a regular starter. Looking simply at defense, Cave has a DRS of one this season compared to Rojas’ 13 DRS. This comes as Rojas leads the team in defensive runs saved and ranks sixth overall among outfielders in the category. Going forward, Rojas should be the starting center-fielder with Brandon Marsh being the starting left-fielder. This is necessary for the long-term development of Rojas since he will be a key player going forward. With Rojas and Marsh in the outfield together, the Phillies have two Gold Glove-caliber outfielders. This is much needed for a team that has been held back by its defense for a while.
Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
