The Philadelphia Phillies only have two roster decisions remaining before Opening Day arrives, and they both feature one-on-one battles.
While most of the spots were fairly solidified coming into camp, the main four areas up for grabs were the fourth outfielder role, backup catcher, the utility bench spot and one of the final openings in the bullpen.
Rafael Marchan won the battle over Garrett Stubbs to be the secondary option behind J.T. Realmuto, a function that is expected to be more important than it’s been since the star backstop was acquired by the Phillies.
The outfield was made crystal clear when Brandon Marsh was announced as the everyday center fielder and Johan Rojas was picked to be the fourth outfielder over star prospect Justin Crawford.
As for the final two — bench spot and bullpen opening — those are still ongoing.
The battle between Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy likely wouldn’t have gotten this far had Weston Wilson not gotten injured, since the versatile slugger was expected to be part of the Opening Day roster.
With the opportunity there for someone to take advantage, Clemens and Kennedy are the only two who remain after Philadelphia made a bevy of roster decisions that sent some others in the mix to their minor league affiliate.
If everything was based on spring numbers, then Clemens would be the easy choice.
He has slashed .314/.364/.510 with two homers, five extra-base hits and seven RBI across his 19 games and 53 plate appearances compared to Kennedy’s line of .16/.347/.432 with three homers, four extra-base hits and seven RBI in 10 games and 47 plate appearances.
But like all things in life, there are other circumstances that go into this decision.
The Phillies want a right-handed batter off the bench, and that’s something Kennedy provides. If they go with Clemens, then that would leave Edmundo Sosa and Rojas as the only pinch-hitting options against lefties.
Further complicating matters, neither Clemens nor Kennedy have minor league options remaining, so if they don’t make the Opening Day roster, then both will be passed through waivers.
Because of that, I believe Philadelphia will go with Clemens.
He’s been the better player during his time in the Majors, and while he doesn’t have the outfield versatility like Wilson or Kennedy provides, they have also been putting Sosa in the grass this spring which could play into this decision, too.
Clemens is the better choice for this team, and I think that’s what the Phillies will do.
When it comes to the pitching staff, the battle is between Tyler Phillips and Michael Mercado.
Now, there is a chance both right-handers make the roster — and that’s what I think will happen — because Matt Strahm and Ranger Suarez are dealing with issues that could cause them to miss the early part of the season.
But in the case that Strahm recovers and is given a spot, then Phillips looks like the clear choice.
Mercado has options remaining while Phillips doesn’t, so unless Philadelphia is ready to move on from the latter by putting him through waivers, then it seems clear that the pitcher who got into eight games and made seven starts for the team last year would break camp with the team.
