Haseley making final push for roster spot
Adam Haseley¡¯s chances to make the Opening Day roster are alive, even with only five Grapefruit League games left to play.
Haseley entered camp as a favorite to win the Phillies¡¯ job in center field. He hit an opposite-field leadoff home run on the club's second pitch of the spring on Feb. 28, only to strain his left adductor on March 4. The organization thought he might be sidelined until Opening Day on April 1, but Haseley returned to action earlier than expected. He went 1-for-2 on Tuesday and 0-for-3 in Wednesday¡¯s 4-1 loss to the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
¡°I¡¯ve felt good for the last 10 days or so,¡± Haseley said. ¡°A couple jumps today in the outfield, I felt like I had to turn and run pretty hard after a ball. That felt fine. Just getting out of the box and [Tuesday] I went from first to third, too. It definitely felt good to do that in a game.¡±
Roman Quinn might be the latest front runner to be the Opening Day center fielder, based on his recent play. He is batting .323 (10-for-31) with two doubles, one home run, one RBI, three walks, 12 strikeouts, three stolen bases and an .866 OPS. But if Haseley shows enough before the Phillies play their final Grapefruit League game on Monday in Clearwater, Fla., he at least could open the season as an extra outfielder.
¡°I know there¡¯s not a lot of time, but we¡¯re still in a competition,¡± Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. ¡°I still value that it¡¯s a competition.¡±
Haseley¡¯s presence on the bench would allow the Phillies to start Od¨²bel Herrera in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The benefit there is that Philadelphia will not have to clear a 40-man roster spot for Herrera, who went 1-for-4 on Wednesday.
After a hot start, Herrera is batting .225 (9-for-40) with three homers, three RBIs, one walk, nine strikeouts, one stolen base and a .694 OPS, although Girardi has made a point to mention that Herrera has faced a lot of left-handed pitching this spring and his plate appearances have mostly been good.
¡°His at-bats are competitive,¡± Girardi said.
Scott Kingery also is in the mix. He went 1-for-3 on Wednesday. He is batting .139 with a .455 OPS.
¡°As far as someone just saying, 'This is mine and the rest of you guys can go away,' I don¡¯t think that¡¯s been the case,¡± Girardi said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to make a decision where we put someone out there on Opening Day. But again, what we have Opening Day doesn¡¯t mean what we¡¯ll have May 1, June 1.¡±
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Mathis granted release
The Phillies announced on Wednesday that veteran catcher Jeff Mathis requested, and has been granted, his release. He came to camp as a non-roster invitee, but with J.T. Realmuto and Andrew Knapp both expected to make the Opening Day roster, the move was not a surprise.