Mickey Moniak will get his best (and last?) chance to show the Phillies he belongs

In a few weeks, depending on how quickly Bryce Harper’s thumb heals and how the offense fares without him, there may be urgency for the Phillies to trade for a hitter.

Right now, there’s only opportunity.

Before Dave Dombrowski rolls up his slacks and wades into a trade market in which everyone sees the hole in the middle of the batting order and the buyers still outnumber the sellers, the Phillies will explore in-house options. And nobody will get a greater chance to take on a larger role than Mickey Moniak, the former No. 1 overall pick who figures to be in the lineup against most right-handed starting pitchers.

» READ MORE: It’s almost time for the Phillies to focus on 2023 and beyond. Almost.

“Moniak’s going to play,” interim manager Rob Thomson said Tuesday.

Let there be no doubt about Thomson’s commitment. Not only did Moniak start in center field in the opener of a pivotal three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, but he faced lefty reliever Dylan Lee with the tying run on third base and two out in the sixth inning, a move that raised eyebrows considering righty-swinging Matt Vierling was available off the bench.

Thomson explained that he liked Moniak in that spot. He even dug into the 24-year-old’s minor-league career and found that he had four hits in eight at-bats against Lee. But Moniak got underneath a fastball and popped out to center field, capping an 0-for-3 night in which he struck out once and left four runners on base.

Here are some other relevant Moniak numbers: He’s 4-for-28 (.143) with 12 strikeouts this season, 10-for-75 (.133) with 34 strikeouts overall since he made his major league debut late in the shortened 2020 season. He’s hitless with nine strikeouts in 15 career at-bats against lefties.

But there’s no time like the present for the Harper-less Phillies to find out once and for all if Moniak can be part of their outfield mix, especially because they’re scheduled to face right-handed starters through at least Sunday night’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I think you have to,” Thomson said.

“That’s all you can ask for as a young guy,” Moniak said after Tuesday night’s game. “Having the confidence from Thomper is definitely huge and definitely allows me to go out there and be myself.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper set to undergo thumb surgery Wednesday; ‘no timeline’ for his return, Phillies say

For now, being Moniak also means struggling to hit offspeed pitches. Entering Tuesday night, he was 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts this season — and 0-for-16 with 14 strikeouts in his brief major league career — against breaking balls (curveballs and sliders).

Unsurprisingly, 11 of the 15 pitches that he saw from the Braves were curveballs.

Moniak said triple-A pitchers tended to attack him with curveballs, too, and he had success there this month before getting recalled last weekend after Harper went down. But the scouting report isn’t about to change until he proves that he can hit a major-league breaker. Kyle Wright, the Braves’ starter Wednesday night, happens to have a good one.

“We simulate it all the time in the cages and out on the field in early [batting practice],” Thomson said. “We did it when he went down to the minor leagues. We’re focusing on that quite a bit.”

In spring training, team officials were struck by how quickly Moniak took to working with first-year hitting coach Kevin Long, who encouraged him to move closer to the plate and change his stride direction to create more rotation with his hips.

Maybe Long can help Moniak unlock his problems with the curveball. Moniak believes it often stems from chasing balls out of the strike zone. In the sixth inning Tuesday night, for example, Lee got him to swing at a first-pitch curveball down and away. Moniak fouled off the next two pitches, both curveballs, before flying out.

“It’s the nature of the beast of being a young kid and trying to figure guys out,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber said. “They’ve got the scoop, and we’re trying to figure out how to adjust to it. You don’t want to take away your strength, but there’s going to be times where you have to take the weakness and try to flip the script.”

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Moniak hasn’t gotten an extended run of at-bats in the majors, in part because he hasn’t had the success that leads to more playing time. But the Phillies also are trying to end a decade-long playoff drought. Former manager Joe Girardi didn’t seem to feel he had the luxury of being patient with young players.

Harper’s absence may lengthen the leash on Moniak. But he’s also going to have to produce.

“I think at times I’ll be up here and in the past, maybe without the experience, tend to speed things up a little bit instead of just kind of take a step back and be myself and slow the game down, which I’ve done my whole life,” Moniak said. “The more time I spend up here, the easier that’s going to be.”

» READ MORE: The Braves won it all without Ronald Acuña Jr. Can the Phillies even make the playoffs after losing Bryce Harper?

Thomson will try to build Moniak’s confidence, at-bat by at-bat. Several veteran players praised Moniak’s work habits and desire to improve when he won a roster spot out of spring training. When he got hit by a pitch and broke a bone in his right hand on the eve of opening day, Nick Castellanos said he wanted him to be around the team while he was sidelined.

Moniak is getting similar support now.

“He’s in here working early every single day,” Schwarber said. “I’m not going to be shocked if you’re going to see him have a really good stretch here. He’ll turn it around. I’ve got no doubt. He’s a really important part of what we’re going to do here, right?”

Maybe. But only if he produces. Otherwise, with six weeks until the Aug. 2 trade deadline, the Phillies will find other solutions while they wait for Harper to come back.