Philadelphia Phillies, third base prospect Alec Bohm He understands the dynamics of service time manipulation, and he understands the business sense behind stopping him in minors to start the year, according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “That is a smart business move,” said Bohm.
Bryce Harper not that accommodating, recently talking about the possibility of Spencer howard – Another Philadelphia prospect – is not on the opening day list, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. With games in the squad as such a heavy component of the Opening Day acceleration this season, Harper has seen Howard’s stuff up close and personal, and is impressed.
The rotation of the Phillies is established with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jake Arrieta ranked in the first places with some competition for the final two roles. Still, there are plenty of capable veteran weapons on hand, giving the Phils a plausible denial when they decide Howard needs more spice. Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, and Nick Pivetta they all spent time in Philly’s rotation last season, and some combination of the three figures to get the first bumpy turns.
Howard, 24 in ten days, has a higher ceiling than those three, but he only pitched as high as Double-A: He only made 6 starts in Reading last year after starting the year in High-A. Given traditional development paths, it would be surprising for Howard to do the rotation from the jump, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable.
As for Bohm, the 23-year-old is the long-term answer at third base for the Phillies. Like Howard, he made it to Double-A last season, hitting .269 / .344 / .500 in 270 plate appearances. His argument for making the major league roster out of camp gained some strength over the winter, but all indications were, under normal circumstances, that Bohm would continue to develop into Triple-A in early 2020.
Similar to the rotation, the Phillies could certainly make room for Bohm if they so wished, but there is more than enough veteran talent available to pay. Jean Segura and Scott Kingery can divide time between second and third, and veterans Josh Harrison and Neil Walker they are also in the camp as guests not included in the list. Jay Bruce He comes in as the regular designated hitter – another veteran fully capable of handling a starting role, even if he might be better suited for the bench. In a vacuum, there is room for Bohm, but it is also not against baseball wisdom to give vets a couple of weeks or more to demonstrate that they are still capable of handling the opening minutes.
With the schedule shortened, teams only need to keep their best prospects off the major league roster for the first 6 games to ensure an additional year of team control in the future. The topic, of course, has been the subject of heated debate for years, culminating in a complaint filed by Kris Bryant against the league. His complaint was unsuccessful. The problem persists year after year with players like Harper taking up the mantle to defend the rights of younger players. Service time manipulation of this kind will remain a hot topic until it is addressed, in some form or way, at the time of the next CBA negotiation in 2021.
