Is Bryson Stott now the Phillies’ regular shortstop while Trea Turner is out? He’s flexible.

A transition to second base was a bigger adjustment for the longtime shortstop, who will play at his old position as much as the Phillies need him to with Trea Turner out.

Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott will try to keep his readjustment to shortstop simple. "A ground ball is a ground ball. It’s just the throw that is a little farther," he says.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Alex Coffey

Published May 6, 2024, 4:12 p.m. ET

Bryson Stott spent most of his college and minor league career at shortstop, so when Phillies manager Rob Thomson asked him on Sunday night about making a start there on Monday, he wasn’t too concerned. In an ideal world, Stott would have taken ground balls at shortstop on Saturday and Sunday, but he wasn’t able to because it rained.

Neither he nor Thomson is anticipating any issues. If anything, his transition to second base last season was more difficult, because it was a position Stott wasn’t as familiar with. But despite that unfamiliarity, Stott finished the year as a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at the position.

This is the kind of defensive player he is.

“After the [2022] World Series, we knew we were going to go get a shortstop,” Thomson said of the Phillies, who signed Trea Turner to a $300 million contract that winter. “And I asked Stott, as he was exiting the building, ‘If we go out and get a shortstop, would you feel comfortable at second base?’ He said, ‘I’ll play anywhere, as long as I’m playing.’ So, that’s kind of his mindset. I don’t think there would be any added pressure or anything that other guys might put on themselves. He won’t.”

When he took the field on Monday, Stott was making a start between second and third base for the first time since Game 6 of the 2022 World Series. Turner expects to miss about six weeks with a left hamstring strain, so it’s possible Stott could be the regular shortstop for that span.

Thomson hasn’t gone as far to say that yet. He could play Edmundo Sosa at the position, but Sosa isn’t used to playing every day, so Thomson doesn’t want to overload him. Stott is going to be flexible.

“I think I was way more — not nervous, but it was, ‘Oh crap, I’m playing second base tomorrow,’” Stott said. “Because it was a completely different side of the field. Before, I was playing third and then short, so it was the same side. And then they were like, ‘You’re going to play second,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, god.’

“But now that I’ve done it for [222 games] there, my whole offseason, two spring trainings now, I’m way more comfortable over there. But it’s kind of like with anything: The more you do it, the more comfortable you are. I’m obviously really comfortable at second, but I played short for forever. Is it going to be difficult for maybe a day? Maybe.

“But I’m just going to try to dumb it down as much as I can, and say, ‘A ground ball is a ground ball.’ It’s just the throw that is a little farther.”

Stott has been seeing some gains in the batter’s box lately as well. After getting off to a slow start, he batted .389/.560/.583 over his last six games going into Monday, with two home runs, seven runs batted in, four stolen bases, six walks, and just two strikeouts.

Earlier in his career, he might have overthought his slow start, and tinkered too much. But not anymore.

“I’ve been feeling good,” Stott said. “I feel like my swing has kind of been where I wanted it to be most of the season, so far. Obviously the results weren’t there at first, and that’s just kind of baseball. Everything is just so magnified at the beginning of the year, because that’s all you have. I don’t even think I’m at 100 at-bats yet [99 going into Monday’s game].

“So, just keep getting to the box, keep taking good at-bats and good swings, and taking those walks and doing stuff like that, especially when you aren’t getting the results you necessarily want. Taking a walk, you could turn an 0-for-4 into an 0-for-3, it’s just things like that.”

He added: “I think that’s kind of everybody’s first move — I just went 0-for-12 and I need to do something. But then you look and it’s like you hit eight line drives and they just caught them. So it’s little things like that. A couple of years ago, I might’ve had a leg kick by now, but yeah, just staying with it and going from there.”