The Philadelphia Phillies have won 10 of their last 13, finally putting the pieces together and reminding folks just how good this team can be. Are there weaknesses? Of course, but no matter your thoughts on what Dave Dombrowski has (or hasn't) done, very few rosters stack up as comprehensively as the Phillies.
Blessed with an elite rotation and a veteran lineup laden with power, the Phillies are clearly a contending force in the National League. That said, there are holes in need of plugging, lest Philadelphia run into the same problems it has in recent playoff runs. Perhaps the most obvious is in centerfield.
Brandon Marsh was given a chance to earn full-time centerfield duties this season, but it has been a struggle so far. He sits at .193/.288/.298 with a single home run through 57 at-bats and 23 games. Marsh has struck out 19 times.
The Phillies are mid-takeoff right now, but it's difficult not to view Marsh as a potential inhibitor long term — and a player Philadelphia may need to replace around the trade deadline if his season doesn't turn around quickly.
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Phillies will need to consider finding Brandon Marsh's replacement if struggles continue
Nothing much has changed in terms of his profile — Marsh has always been a hard-hitting, strikeout-prone lefty with more platoon utility than full-time mettle. He's still laying solid wood on the baseball when he makes contact, but Marsh has struggled with his approach, especially in comparison to other options on the roster. He was also sidetracked recently by a hamstring strain, which put him on a rehab stint for a while.
There are positive indicators, such as a solid hard-hit rate and an expected slugging percentage of .334 — well above his current mark. Still, overwhelmingly so, Marsh has struggled, and it's hard to imagine the Phillies riding this out for an entire season if things don't change. His most logical replacement, Johan Rojas, is equally inept at the plate, so Dombrowski will need to consider external options.
Internal replacements also exist, however. Weston Wilson has swung the bat well in limited MLB exposure, while the multi-positional Edmundo Sosa continues to quietly outpace the majority of the team when he gets to the plate. Sosa has been deployed almost exclusively as a utilityman or platoon option in the infield, but there's a world in which he yanks the starting job away from Marsh and shakes up the outfield depth chart. Trea Turner moving to centerfield so Sosa can occupy shortstop or second base is the sort of move Phillies fans have been dreaming of for ages.
To his credit, Marsh has steadily begun to swing the bat better of late. He's 4-for-8 in his last two appearances, smacking two doubles and picking up a couple RBI. It's fair to wonder if Marsh will ever adequately hit lefties, but there's reason to believe he can stabilize and return to form as a potent left-on-right threat at the bottom of the lineup. Marsh's speed on the base paths and glove at a premium position are why Philadelphia has stuck with him for so long.
So, maybe the switch does flip. The Phils still clearly believe in Marsh, who has time to grow at 27 years old. That said, if Marsh recedes back into another slump, don't be shocked if the win-now Phillies go looking for this season's version of the Austin Hays trade.