Johan Rojas makes the Phillies’ big-league club despite continued struggles at the plate
He's hitting just .170 in spring training after hitting .093 in the playoffs, but the brain trust believes his defense offsets his offensive issues.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Fewer than 24 hours after manager Rob Thomson voiced the Phillies’ concern regarding struggling young center fielder Johan Rojas, the picture regarding Rojas’ immediate future got clearer.
The Phillies on Sunday morning traded Jake Cave to the Colorado Rockies for cash considerations. Cave was one of three players vying for two outfield spots. Another was Cristian Pache, a talented 25-year-old player who is out of options. The third was Rojas, who is an elite defender with unmatched speed on the base paths but a poor hitter. Rojas, 23, skipped triple A as an emergency replacement when Pache was injured last summer. Rojas stunned the club by hitting .302 in 59 major-league games last season, but he went 4-for-43 (.093) in the playoffs and is 9-for-53 (.170) this spring.
» READ MORE: Phillies should send struggling Johan Rojas to the minors to avoid another Scott Kingery disappointment
“We have to do the right thing by him, and that is making sure that we don’t bury him offensively at the big-league level and then have to send him out,” Thomson said after Saturday’s game. “We’ve got to be very, very sure that he’s going to be able to perform and just keep his head above water.”
Apparently, Thomson and the brain trust were a lot surer Sunday morning than they were Saturday afternoon.
“He’s improving,” Thomson said. “For me — as long as he doesn’t get buried — we’re a better team with him on the club. We are. Just because of the defense.”
He’d better play otherworldly defense, even though he’s becoming a tougher out.
“If he has the type of game he has today, where he doesn’t get a hit, and he sees 18-20 pitches in that 9-spot, and he gets a walk, and gets on base — then all hell breaks loose,” Thomson said. “He’s an exciting player. He makes people nervous when he’s out there on the bases. Any way he can get on base is great. And if he can chew up pitches, he’s really good in that nine spot.”
Pache had no options — he could have been claimed off waivers had he been sent down — and you get the idea that the Phillies consider Pache insurance against a possible Rojas collapse. Saturday against the Yankees, Pache he made a nice catch at the warning track, then followed it Sunday against Toronto with a catch against the netting in foul territory down the left-field line.
“He’s probably not in Rojas’ class, but he’s pretty close, as a defender,” Thomson said. “You saw the play in left field today.”
Cave’s departure left the Phillies without a dedicated left-handed bat off the bench. Cave, 31, hit .212 with five homers and eight doubles in 184 at-bats in his first year with the Phillies last season. He was hitting .333 with three doubles in 30 at-bats this spring, his second strong spring with the club, but Thomson said the superior defense of Rojas and Pache made Cave expendable.
The Phillies have Brandon Marsh, who is expected to platoon in the outfield, and backup catcher Garrett Stubbs as potential left-handed hitters off the bench. Thomson said he’s comfortable with utility man Whit Merrifield pinch-hitting against right-handers, since Merrifield hits right-handers (.282) nearly as well as he hits lefties (.289).
The Phillies can afford to have a hole at the bottom of a lineup full of big-money sluggers like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, but should they risk ruining a talent like Rojas? Because they know it’s a risk.
“All we want him to do is make sure he doesn’t get buried, mentally and emotionally,” Thomson said.
Have they seen signs of that during his awful spring?
“Nope,” Thomson said. “Not one bit.”
Of course, it’s just spring training.