Photo: Ian D'Andrea/Wikimedia Commons/Fair Use
With Bryce Harper out, the Phillies still remain competitive with a five and three record since he was hit in the hand and only one game out of the wildcard. In that span different guys have stepped up for them, Rhys Hoskins has four home runs in five games and just won player of the week, Kyle Schwarber has been mostly fantastic, and several key contributors throughout their run.
One question that remains unanswered however is what the Phillies should do with the outfield rotation. The only outfielder anyone in the fanbase should have confidence in right now is Schwarber, so what should they do? Here is an outline of the "all offense" approach, the "all defense", and the "in-between". I will cheat a little and use the DH if I want to just to make this a little easier.
The one last note to make is that Nick Castellanos needs to play every day, he signed a five-year contract, and his career reputation warrants the opportunity to figure his season out so I won't do anything too drastic.
All Offense
If you told anyone in May that Matt Vierling would have a higher OPS than Castellanos, Odúbel Herrera, Alec Bohm, and JT Realmuto come July you are probably being taken to a mental institution. Yet he does with an OPS just over .700 and an OPS+ of 102.
Since being called back up in June he has a .919 OPS with as many walks as strikeouts. So if you are looking to score more runs, he's easily a part of the equation.
For the corner spots, you are probably looking at Schwarber and Castellanos since Herrera has looked mostly terrible this month and most of us doubt Mickey Moniak will help produce runs.
Darick Hall as a DH makes the most sense but he won't play against lefties which makes this scenario trickier. If we just stick to the outfield part, this is all correct. Matt Vierling probably earns the right to play every day regardless but in this scenario, he is easily the best pick for the outfield rotation.
All Defense
Going all defense without Harper in the lineup is something they have considered and will consider in the future.
The first step is picking which of Schwarber or Castellanos to take out of a corner spot. Schwarber has been mostly fine in left field given his severe limitations so when comparing the two he probably wins out. Next, it's deciding between Vierling, Moniak, and Herrera for the next two spots.
If we are strictly talking about defense Herrera is one of their best options with an Outs Above Average of three, the highest of any outfielder. Vierling does have some potential as an outfielder if he can get used to playing there but for right now he won't make the cut with a negative one OAA.
Moniak does grade out as a plus defender with a one OAA so if you are looking for defense he is your best bet in a corner spot.
Is a Schwarber, Herrera, Moniak outfield something to be excited about? Probably not but there is a situation where this could work if given the time.
In Between
This might be their best bet considering the lineup also has its limitations without Harper. While Schwarber and Hoskins have been great, Castellanos still needs to figure it out and Realmuto has been better but not great.
Once again Castellanos is the likely DH in this scenario to make the defense a little better. Herrera is probably back to center since they don't have anyone else and Vierling to left field.
The Phillies did try this and it went so well that they abandoned it and called up Darick Hall during the Braves series so if they try it again, pray for a different result.
The best idea is probably having Vierling get the reps in center so he can get used to it more and they will need the offense while Bryce Harper is out.
