Solving the Phillies’ Cleanup Hitting Crisis

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost seven straight and don't seem to have a lot of answers to try to revive their lifeless offense.

On Tuesday, they slid rookie Felix Reyes into the cleanup spot, where he went 1-for-4 with a single to right field.

Wednesday, they will keep Reyes in the No. 4 spot in the order, but what is the big picture plan here?  Let's say Reyes has a good game and goes 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI.

Where does he play on Thursday?

Right now, he is in the lineup, in large part because the Cubs threw a left-handed pitcher, Shota Imanaga, on Tuesday night, and they are going with lefty Matthew Boyd on Wednesday.

Do they keep him in the lineup and move him to right field for Thursday's afternoon game against right-handed pitcher Edward Cabera?

Breaking Down Reyes' Minor League Splits

Reyes is an interesting project. The 25-year-old slashed .333/.345/.654 with six homers in 18 games at Triple-A this season and .335/.365/.572 with 15 home runs and 13 steals in 95 Double-A games in 2025.

Reyes showed in the minors that he can hit both lefties and righties.

• vs RHP: .319/.349/.525 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI in 100 games
• vs LHP: .371/406/.685 with five homers and 16 RBI in 48 games

The Right-Handed Solution: Is It Reyes or a Return to the Mean?

Adolis García and Alec Bohm have failed miserably in the cleanup spot, and Brandon Marsh spent three games there against Arizona because they had no left-handed pitcher in the bullpen.

In 11 games hitting No. 4, Bohm hit just .186/.271/.279 with one home run and eight RBI. García hasn't been much better, hitting just .185/.313/.259 with 10 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances.

From Phillies Nation, from Dave Dombrowski's appearance on the Phillies Radio Network pregame show.

“You really don’t have a No. 4 hitter at this time,” Dombrowski said. “Maybe some other guys will. Maybe Bohmer will step back up. Maybe García will do it, but there’s no harm trying Reyes because he’s going to get in there and he’s going to give you a good at-bat and do everything that he can to drive the ball somewhere.”

Who hits in the spot against right-handed pitching?  I guess we will get our answer on Thursday in Chicago. My guess?  Reyes stays in the lineup, giving García a day off, and they will reconvene on Friday in Atlanta.

JT Realmuto to injured list

The news wasn't good on catcher JT Realmuto, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic; he has been placed on the injured list with lower back tightness. The team recalled Garrett Stubbs, who split time at catcher with Rafael Marchán.

Realmuto signed a 3-year, $45 million deal with the Phillies this offseason, and his slashing .259/.344/.352 in 61 plate appearances this season.