September 27, 2024
Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports
Will it be Cal Stevenson or Kody Clemens on the postseason roster for the Phillies? Or will it be both?
Phillies manager Rob Thomson has second-guessed himself for nearly a year.
He’s brought up his decision to let Johan Rojas bat with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series multiple times this season. As you no doubt remember, Rojas struck out, and Philadelphia later lost a heart-breaker to the Arizona Diamondbacks to end its playoff run. Thomson wishes he would’ve sent a pinch hitter to the plate.
Maybe the decision would’ve been easier in the moment if the Phillies had an extra option on the bench. It’s something worth exploring this postseason, even if only for the upcoming five-game NL Division Series.
This year, it would be to Philadelphia’s advantage to carry a fifth bench bat for a total of 14 position players. Postseason rosters consist of 26 players with a maximum of 13 pitchers. With a 28-man roster to close out the regular season, the Phillies will have some time to figure out exactly how to cut that down after securing a first-round bye and setting up an NLDS opener on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Citizens Bank Park.
Assuming left fielder Austin Hays — who the Phillies traded for at the deadline but has struggled and just returned from a kidney infection — will make the roster, the locks for the playoff bench will be catcher Garrett Stubbs, infielder Edmundo Sosa and one of Hays, Rojas or Brandon Marsh, depending which two start on a given day. Weston Wilson, with an .838 OPS in 37 games, appears to be the frontrunner for that fourth bench spot as the best source of right-handed power the team can choose from.
A potential fifth bench player is a weapon the Phillies can wield, especially in the NLDS. With four solidified starting pitchers, they should be able to navigate through the series without needing too much pitching depth. Instead, the team can use that extra hitter to supplement its situation in center field.
While not without flaws, Philadelphia has a fairly deep lineup with some different options for the batting order. The Phillies’ predicament when it comes to matchup-based playoff baseball, however, is that the only two regulars they’d want to pinch hit for are the only two players on the current roster capable of playing center field. Rojas, a defensive savant, was exposed last October and has a .601 OPS this season. Marsh has turned in another productive season, but has continued to crumble against left-handed pitching with a .572 OPS with 33 strikeouts in 87 left-on-left plate appearances. Ideally, the Phillies could pinch hit for both these players in unfavorable matchups when critical situations come along.
Utility player Kody Clemens strengthened his case to make the playoff roster with his fifth home run of the year on Wednesday night, and he might be the most likely man for the job if the Phillies roster 14 hitters. He’s certainly had moments this season in his 40 games in Philadelphia, but his on-base skills have been lacking as he’s slashed .218/.246/.455. Most importantly, Clemens has never played center field in his professional career.
While Clemens may be the one the Phillies go to, perhaps the best option for the fifth bench spot would be a player recently sent down to their training complex in Clearwater, Fla. Center fielder Cal Stevenson helped Philadelphia for 18 games this season while he was in the majors, but the Phillies optioned him to clear room for Hays’ return this week. He reported to Florida to stay ready; Thomson noted this week that Stevenson will indeed be eligible for the NLDS roster since it will begin more than 10 days after he was sent down.
Stevenson had a .708 OPS in his brief major-league appearances, changing a recent game in the Phillies’ favor with a go-ahead double and a home-run robbery in center. He had a .907 OPS in 101 Triple-A games with 29 stolen bases. It’s been a very impressive season.
Clemens certainly has more pop than his fellow left-handed hitter, but Stevenson’s overall production has simply been better in both the majors and minors this year. Stevenson can pinch run and play center field defensively. He’d allow Thomson to be aggressive with his substitutions without sacrificing too much in the field.
Here’s the scenario where having Stevenson as the extra bench player would benefit the Phillies: If Rojas and Marsh are both playing against a right-handed starting pitcher and another big spot rolls around in the early part of the game with Rojas due up — imagine that Game 7 against the D-backs — Thomson can summon a pinch hitter; maybe that would be Stevenson, or maybe Hays or even Wilson.
That would let Marsh to slide into center if Hays or Wilson enter, or Stevenson could remain in the game in center field. Then, if Marsh comes up in a key spot later in the game and the opposing team inserts a left-handed reliever, the Phillies could counter with their best remaining righty on the bench. Stevenson could play center for the rest of the game.
Having Stevenson on the roster would allow the Phillies to still have a quality center fielder for late-game defense, even if they pinch hit for both Rojas and Marsh. Thomson could unload the clip without having to worry about throwing Hays in center for the first time all year or consider having Marsh face a tough lefty in fear of a later defensive miscue.
Ultimately, the final roster construction will also come down to which team will visit Philadelphia for the start of the NLDS, but it’s not hard to envision a scenario where that extra spot proves to be beneficial — or where the lack of an extra bench player costs the Phillies.
A move like this would deviate from how Philadelphia has operated in each of the previous two playoff runs. The Phillies did not carry an extra bench bat in either of the last two NLDS rounds. All three of Noah Syndergaard, Kyle Gibson and Bailey Falter made the 2022 NLDS roster as the club kept 13 pitchers. After rostering Wilson as an extra position player in the Wild Card Series last year, the Phillies swapped in pitcher Michael Lorenzen for the NLDS.
Taijuan Walker stayed on the roster throughout the 2023 postseason despite never pitching in a game. The Phillies have prioritized keeping 13 pitchers for any series longer than three games.
There’s reason to think that should change as they head into this postseason with sky-high expectations.
The margins are razor-thin in the playoffs, and the World Series-hopeful Phillies should want to have every edge possible. Carrying Stevenson would give Thomson the pieces necessary to mix and match his way through this NLDS. There’s no more time to second-guess.
