Just one week ago, Ruben Amaro spoke to the media and made some interesting comments regarding the teams' current second base situation.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was asked if Utley will be the Phillies regular second baseman again upon his return on Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
"Not for me he's not," Amaro said. "Cesar Hernandez is our best second baseman." [Philly.com Sports]
With Chase Utley sidelined, Cesar Hernandez has filled in admirably. Hernandez leads the Phillies with 25 walks and is hitting a serviceable .280 this season with 31 runs scored, 10 doubles, a triple, a homer and 19 runs batted in. In addition to that, Hernandez has stolen 12 bases and shown some impressive range at second base. Were Amaro's comments to harsh regarding Hernandez's play and Utley's status upon his return? He has no regrets.
"No, I don't regret it," Amaro said of the comment. "I was just being straight and honest. Maybe that would hurt some feelings. But Cesar, at the time, is playing very, very good baseball. That may change. And when Utley gets ready and ready to play, as I said, he'll get opportunities to play. We'll just have to have that be a difficult decision for Pete. Hopefully it's a situation where Chase is playing well and Cesar is playing well, and we'll have to mix and match and make sure guys get as much playing time as necessary." [CSNPhilly.com]
Though Hernandez has just two hits in his last 21 at-bats, prior to the Phillies series against the Giants, he had been on fire. In the 25 games before the Phillies played the Giants, Hernandez drove in 10 runs, scored 16 and stole 11 bases while hitting .354. Chase Utley this season? He's hitting .179.
Before Utley's stint on the disabled list, it seemed likely that he'd reach 500 plate appearances, making his $15 million option vest. Now, that doesn't seem too set in stone, sitting at 249 on the season. With Cesar Hernandez playing well, that number is even more in jeopardy. If he doesn't reach that mark, Utley has a club option for $2 million, which the Phillies can easily buy out if they'd like. Despite Amaro Jr.'s comments and Hernandez's recent success, interim manager Pete Mackanin was hesitant to guarantee anything before Utley is healthy.
"I would like to think that Cesar has proven that he deserves a chance to be the everyday second baseman," Mackanin said. "That remains to be seen. I don't know. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Let's just wait to see when Chase is healthy and how he feels and we'll go from there." [Allentown Morning Call]
This past weekend in San Francisco, Utley was on the field taking grounders at second base and even fielding balls at first. His timetable of return is still unclear, but it will be interesting to see how much he plays when he is ready to go.
