#OnDeck: A look at the Phillies' 2015 Opening Day roster
There's little doubt in my mind that the Phillies will finish 2015 with the worst record in major league baseball. Perhaps the Rockies give them a run. We'll handicap that race some other day when we have time to kill. For now, let's take our first look at the likely Opening Day roster. You could say that every night will be 90's Night at Citizens Bank Park.
A few notes:
1) The biggest issue, as you can plainly see, is that the Phillies are extremely left-handed, to the point of liability. At the moment, Carlos Ruiz and Darin Ruf are the only two pure right handed bats in the lineup. It's why I wouldn't be surprised if the Phillies bring in one of the cheap right-handed free agents on the market (Scott Hairston, Jonny Gomes, Ryan Doumit, Ryan Ludwick, Reed Johnson). At the moment, I have Jeff Francouer penciled into that spot, but Francoeur hasn't OPS'd higher than .665 since 2011. Although .665 was about par for the course in the Phillies outfield last year. Keep in mind, the Phillies might not be focused on competing for the postseason next year, but they want to create an optimal environment to evaluate and develop their young players on the major league level. And allowing an opponent to run a line out of lefties out to the mound for the final third of every game is not an optimal (nor realistic) environment for Cody Asche, Domonic Brown, etc.
2) Yeah, I have Howard in the lineup, because I just don't see any other scenario that makes sense. Pooh-pooh service time considerations all you want, but that's the kind of thing a rebuilding team should be thinking about. At the moment, Franco has 27 days of major league service time. If he starts 2015 on the Opening Day roster and never spends another day in the minor leagues, he will be a free agent after the 2020 season. But if he spends a measly 40 days in the minors before being called up, he would not be eligible to become a free agent until after the 2021 season. Why in the world WOULDN'T the Phillies start him at Triple-A? Imagine if Jayson Werth didn't become a free agent until after the 2011 season? Werth wasn't a service time issue - the point is, one extra year of a right handed power bat could prove to be the difference between a World Series and not, or between trading three of your top prospects for a right handed bat and not. Keeping Franco in the minors for a couple of months doesn't mean Howard is a lock at first base. Ruf could play first, and Sizemore could play left. But if the choice is between Howard and Sizemore, I guess there is no real downside to running Howard out there for a couple of months in a desperate, last ditch effort to see if they can salvage some value from him.
3) The players with the asterisks next to their name are projected to start the season in Triple-A. Pettibone is coming back from shoulder surgery and Martin is coming back from a shoulder injury as well, so they are big unknowns. Same goes for Adam Morgan.
Lineup
1. Ben Revere CF (LHB)
2. Freddy Galvis SS (SHB)
3. Chase Utley 2B (LHB)
4. Ryan Howard 1B (LHB)
5. Carlos Ruiz C (RHB)
6. Cody Asche 3B (LHB)
7. Domonic Brown RF (LHB)
8. Darin Ruf LF (RHB)
Bench
1. Grady Sizemore (LHB/OF)
2. Cesar Hernandez (SHB/2B)
3. Odubel Herrera (LHB/IF/OF)
4. Jeff Francoeur (RHB/OF)
5. Cameron Rupp (RHB/C)
Rotation
1. Cole Hamels LHP
2. Cliff Lee LHP
3. Aaron Harang RHP
4. David Buchanan RHP
5. Jerome Williams RHP
6. Wandy Rodriguez LHP*
7. Kevin Slowey RHP*
8. Jonathan Pettibone RHP*
9. Adam Morgan LHP*
Bullpen
1. Jonathan Papelbon RHP
2. Ken Giles RHP
3. Jake Diekman LHP
4. Justin DeFratus RHP
5. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez RHP
6. Andy Oliver LHP
7. Elvis Araujo LHP
8. Mario Hollands LHP*
9. Ethan Martin RHP*
10. Hector Neris RHP*
11. Luis Garcia RHP*