PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies vowed to play regular games against Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott when both were included on the opening day roster.
They said they wouldn’t jeopardize either player’s development by letting one sit on the bench and rot.
The Phillies picked Stott for Monday’s Triple-A Lehigh Valley to play every day. According to MLB Pipeline, Stott is the organization’s #1 prospect and the #44 prospect in baseball. But he hadn’t started in Colorado since April 18. He hadn’t played since a pinch hit in the ninth inning Tuesday at Coors Field.
He has been hitless in his last 18 at-bats.
Bohm, meanwhile, took over the day job at third base and Johan Camargo holed up at shortstop while Didi Gregorius recovered from a bruised left hand. Gregorius was cleared for the game, giving the Phillies an opportunity to make that move.
“We knew there was going to be a balancing act between developing and winning in the major leagues,” said Sam Fuld, Phillies general manager. “It’s a really difficult juggling act. I don’t know if there is a right answer. There’s a lot of development that happens just by being with the best players in the world, even if you’re getting 40 percent of the reps here that you would get in triple-A. There is value in being among the best in the world.
“We just felt at that point that it was a good opportunity to bring Stott to Lehigh, get back into a routine, get regular reps and continue his development. But it all depended on Didi’s readiness and we got the green light this afternoon.”
The Phillies selected outfielder Roman Quinn’s contract to take Stott’s spot on the 28-man roster. To make room for Quinn on the 40-man list, they placed left-hander Ryan Sherriff on the 60-day injured list.
“In honor of Didi, Camargo and Bohm, they all created this good issue,” Fuld said. “They showed a good performance. We knew we could act out a situation like this. Because of this, you simply monitor it continuously and again juggle these two criteria. We felt this was the right time to do it. But of course this is not possible without the performance of Bohm, Camargo and Didi.”
Fuld said the majority of Stott’s time at Triple-A will be spent at shortstop, although he will continue to see some time in third and second.
Fuld was asked if there were any regrets in taking both Bohm and Stott to the start of the season.
“There are always learning experiences,” Fuld said. “Many of the game’s great players will tell you that their first adversity in the major leagues was ultimately a positive learning experience. You never want that. They’ll never root for it, but I think this brief look at the major leagues, this brief fight with some fights, I think will be a long-term benefit for Bryson. Clearly, [he] earned his spot on the team based on his performance last year and at spring training. So we have no regrets and we knew this result was possible.”
Quinn, who was drafted by the Phillies in 2011, rejoined the organization after being released by the Marlins at the end of spring training. He spent the first five seasons of his career with Philadelphia. In a May 2021 game at Tampa Bay, he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, ending his season.
“We’ve all seen how Roman can impact the game,” Fuld said. “Firstly, he has shown that he is healthy and back to being a top athlete, that he has overcome this injury. We have just as much faith that he can influence the game with his legs as much as in previous years. If it’s a pinch run, if it’s a defensive back-up, it’s obviously a versatile racquet with its switch strike. Just a lot of ways he can affect us, especially late in games. And with the DH spot, you just get a little more flexibility to use a guy with Roman’s unique abilities.”