Philadelphia Phillies: 5 fatal flaws that will come back to bite them

The Phillies still have no answer in center field and more questions at third base.

The season was supposed to begin with Matt Vierling and Odubel Herrera in a center field platoon. The latter went down with an injury and thanks to a hot spring, Mickey Moniak was going to share some time out there. Then, Moniak got injured, too.

This has given Vierling most of the starts in center field. A promising player from last season, he hasn’t been a particularly good hitter. Neither has rookie Simon Muzziotti, the guy who has shared some of the duties out there.

The Phillies ended the 2021 season with a lot of questions as to who would be their future center fielder. They failed to solve it with a trade or free agent signing. About two weeks into the season, all of those same questions remain.

A similar sentiment could be said about third base. Bohm is hitting but his defense remains a primary issue. Rookie Bryson Stott hasn’t hit well through the early going, forcing manager Joe Girardi to play Johan Camargo a little bit more at the hot corner because of the balance he brings.

Bohm and Stott could still have a future with the Phillies. Stott is their starting shortstop next season while Bohm, well, who knows? He is not a third baseman. And with first base occupied by Hoskins and the DH taken over by one of the corner outfielders, it doesn’t make much sense to keep him around.

Strap in, Philadelphia Phillies fans. These fatal flaws are already biting the team and could ultimately doom them and continue the playoff drought.