We are a day late today on the Phillies mailbag, but so much happened yesterday in terms of Phillies moves it would have gotten buried, and some of the questions were already answered with the Phillies moves. Every week we take your questions and then talk about them on 97.3 ESPN Atlantic City on Tuesday afternoon.
Do you see Vincent Velasquez having a big season in the 5th spot of the rotation?
~Dalton
I think that Velasquez has the tools to pitch very capably in the Phillies starting rotation. Velasquez had an up and down year last season bouncing among the bullpen, starting rotation and AAA club for the Houston Astros. He has never had a real look as a starting pitcher on a permanent basis in the Major Leagues. This is his chance.
As we saw in his start yesterday against the Toronto Blue Jays, he has the ability to strike a lot of guys out with a mean fastball. The Phillies will give him a shot to see if he can go deep in games. If he is unable to sustain the heat and consistently pitch through the sixth inning, maybe he ends up in the bullpen someday. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, some scouts have written that they think Velasquez can be as much a lock-down closer as Giles has been in his young career. While the Phillies have tons of pitching depth, the closer's position long-term has yet to be filled. It may be filled by one of their young pitching prospects, and that could end up being Velasquez.
What will the Phillies outfield look like Opening Day?
~Ryan
This is a question that if I got to answer it yesterday morning would have been very different. The Phillies added outfielder Will Venable to the mix Monday, and on Tuesday sent outfielder David Lough to minor league camp. That leaves the following healthy players in camp: Odubel Herrera, Tyler Goeddel, Cedric Hunter, Venable and Peter Bourjos. That makes five outfielders for what usually are five outfielder spots.
The one problem on the Phillies roster is that the Phillies are using two roster spots for one position. Ryan Howard and Darin Ruf will split first base. My eye is on Ruf in the last week of Spring to see if he sees any action in the outfield. If Ruf can serve as a fifth outfielder in a pinch, the team might be comfortable with four of the aforementioned outfielders in camp, possibly leaving Hunter as the odd man out. Had Asche been healthy enough to be on the team, he could have served as infield insurance, too.
So, the Phillies might use their second infield bench spot to find someone who can play the outfield, too. Keep an eye on Manny Burriss. Burriss has hit pretty well this Spring, and the Phillies are giving him looks in the outfield. Burriss is a switch-hitter and could back up shortstop, second base, and third base, and if he can add outfield to his repertoire, he could make the team.
The possibility also exists that the Phillies grab an outfielder released by another team, if they feel the fit is right. That leads us to the next question.
Shane Victorino was released by the Cubs. Could the Phillies sign him?
~Tim
Unfortunately, it looks like the end of Shane Victorino's career is approaching. If Victorino was healthy and the Phillies could add a switch-hitting outfielder who can play all three outfield positions, I might be in favor. However, Victorino has not played in weeks as he battles a right calf injury. If the Phillies add an outfielder, they'll look for a healthy one, since injuries are their problem right now.
The Cubs are offering to re-sign Victorino to a minor league deal where he would report to AAA Iowa if and when he gets healthy. Victorino is free to sign with anyone at the moment, but I am not sure that the Phillies would be interested. A Shane Victorino signing would be purely sentimental; I am not sure he fits the Phillies need for a healthy outfield to fill in for Asche and Altherr.
