Philadelphia Phillies: How long until a change is made out in CF?

Across 34 at-bats, the pairing of Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley have combined for five total hits. They’ve hit zero home runs, they’ve recorded zero RBIs, they’ve worked zero walks, they have just one extra base hit (Haseley double), and the Philadelphia Phillies CF duo-ship have struck out a combined total of 12 times.

Needless to say, the Phillies center field position has been nothing short of a black hole at the plate this season.

Obviously, it’s still extremely early in the season (the Phillies have only played eight games), but this is a roster weakness that plenty of people highlighted during the offseason. The team was supposed to host some sort of glorious CF battle during Spring Training between Haseley, Quinn, Scott Kingery, and Odubel Herrera – a battle that nobody really got up for. Haseley won the position by default, and Quinn only made the roster due to his lack of remaining options.

At least through the first two weeks of the season, the decision to roll with such a weak center field group is one that hasn’t particularly worked out well for Philadelphia.

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How long until the Philadelphia Phillies make a move at CF?

While the likelihood of Dave Dombrowski immediately turning to the trade market when it comes to the CF position is incredibly slim this early in the season, the Phillies still have their fair share of internal options that they could utilize. The previously mentioned options of Odubel Herrera and Scott Kingery are both available to be called up from the alternate site, and former #1 overall pick Mickey Moniak is coming off an impressive stretch of games back in Spring Training.

Herrera and Kingery obviously have their own respective issues attached to them (Odubel’s being off the field related and Kingery’s being more on the field related), but they each have pros as well. Herrera has far more slugging ability compared to Quinn and Haseley, so even if his batting average is equally low, there’s at least a chance he hits one over the wall every once in awhile.

Kingery looked like a shell of his former self down in Clearwater this spring, but his positional versatility could allow Dombrowski to part ways with a seldom used bench bat in Ronald Torreyes, clearing space for another pinch-hitter.

I hate to be the one to say that the Phillies should “give up” on Haseley – he’s a former top-ten pick. However, his inability to really provide the team with any sort of production the last two weeks has been frustrating to watch. He’s not hitting for average, he’s not working deep counts, he’s definitely not hitting for power, and his defense isn’t anything too special out in CF.

Quinn on the other hand has simply overstayed his welcome on the Phillies major league roster. His speed is genuinely exceptional, but his current .083 batting average is flat out unusable. Can’t be putting up numbers like that and getting playing time in the MLB.

Whether it’s turning things over to fan-favorite Mickey Moniak, giving Kingery a second chance, or revisiting the Odubel conversation, the Philadelphia Phillies making a switch out in center field should be something Dombrowski starts considering over the coming days. Targeting an upgrade at the position around the trade deadline should also be a priority, but that’s a ways away.