Phillies Decide on a Platoon in Center Field

Batting eighth and playing center field for the Phillies will be - a platoon.

The Phillies announced on Monday that Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn both made the teams Opening Day 26-man roster, meaning former All-Star Odubel Herrera would open the season at the teams alternate site in Allentown, PA instead of with the big league club.

The Phillies will open the regular season on Thursday with a platoon of Haseley and Quinn in center, with Quinn likely getting the opening day nod. The Braves will trot out southpaw Max Fried to start the season against Aaron Nola.

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While Herrera is not opening the season with the team, that doesn't mean this is the last of him, as manager Joe Girardi stressed that being on the team on Opening Day doesn't mean you'll be there all season long - if you're not producing.

With Herrera in Allentown, the pressure is on both Quinn and Haseley to produce, knowing that if they don't, the Phillies have options in Allentown to re place them. One is a former All-Star waiting his turn, plus Scott Kingery and Mickey Moniak are both in the minors, should the team need to get a jump-start in center at any point this season.

While Herrera showed impressive power numbers in the Grapefruit League, with a team leading four home runs, his final spring numbers simply weren't good enough to acquiesce a potential PR mess if they kept him on the team. Herrera hit a paltry .231 with a .245 on-base percentage and 11 strikeouts after serving an 85-game domestic violence suspension back in 2019 and missing all of the 2020 season, being left off the Phillies player pool.

Haseley is far from a sure bet to stick around all season, the left-handed hitting center fielder missed 16 spring training games with a groin injury.  However in the seven games he appeared in Haseley impressed enough to remain, hitting .316 with a .381 on-base percentage.

As for Quinn, he has had constant injury issues during his time in the Phillies organization, meaning Herrera is one hamstring injury away from getting a call from Dave Dombrowski. Quinn had a solid Spring Training, hitting .270 with a .341 on-base percentage in 27 at-bats, adding four stolen bases.

While the Phillies have decided on a platoon to open the season, there is no guarantee that the end the season that way.