Phillies Mailbag: Clemens, Catcher, Long-Term Third Base

We are back once again with a 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  We take your Phillies questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill each and every Tuesday afternoon.  As your questions at any time to @FrankKlose on X.

Has Little Rocket (Kody Clemens) earned a spot on the major league roster and is their room for him when/if everyone is healthy?
~Tim

When the Phillies acquired utility player Kody Clemens in a trade with the Detroit Tigers, the deal revolved around reliever Gregory Soto, who had just come off an All-Star season for the Tigers.  Bringing Clemens to Philadelphia in the deal helped the Phillies replace infielder Nick Maton, who went in the deal.  But ever since then, Clemens has been on the roster bubble.

Clemens got his first opportunity during Bryce Harper's paternity leave and made his mark, hitting a home run.  And since Trea Turner hit the injured list, Clemens has been a useful player.  Overall he is hitting .294 with two home runs and seven runs batted in.  His OPS of 1.118 is stellar.

And of course, Clemens can play multiple positions; in 2024 he has appeared at second base, first base, and third base; he can also play the outfield.

But I think without an injury he is still on the bubble.  I personally would have taken Clemens over Johan Rojas initially.  The Phillies instead opted to carry both Rojas and other right-handed center fielder Cristian Pache.  Both have done well enough to stick around.

I think Clemens remains the first man up should someone be injured.  He will get a good look between now and mid-June when Turner return.  But I think Clemens will remain the 27th man.

Will the Phillies find a decent backup catcher before the trade deadline? Garrett Stubbs has not been the answer behind the plate this season and I am concerned about how many games J.T. Realmuto can play this season as starting catcher.
~Greg

This seems to be the question we keep getting every year.   Historically, the Phillies have needed their backup catcher less than any other team.  With J.T. Realmuto behind the plate reliably, there is simply not a need.

I am in agreement that Realmuto needs to rest more, and as he ages likely will need to.  That said, I have no problem with Garrett Stubbs being the backup catcher.

Why?  Well, I would first ask what you mean that Stubbs has "not been the answer?"  I'm going to guess that you are referring to the .125 batting average he has had coming into play on Tuesday.  Yes, that's not a wonderful average.

But I would instead look at his numbers as the receiver.  Are the Phillies winning the games that he is calling behind the plate?

Those numbers would indicate that yes, he is doing just fine.

I think the emphasis on a backup catcher is the play calling and ability to be consistent with the starting catcher behind the plate.  Stubbs is in all the meetings that Realmuto is and the pitchers are comfortable with him catching.

Therefore, I think that this is just fine.

If Phillies extend Alec Bohm (which they should), what do they do with the infield when Aidan Miller is MLB ready? Miller outfield? Turner to left? Maybe Harper back to RF?
~Mike

I think that Alec Bohm has arguably been the team MVP so far in 2024.  Whenever there are runners on base, I would want to see Bohm up every time if I was the Phillies.  He simply makes contact.  His .331 average and .991 OPS are sure an indication.

Bohm has two years after this one remaining.  So there is not a sense of urgency to address that spot yet.  I would like to comment that his defense continues to show improvement and be much better than the scouts predicted of him.

MLB Pipeline currently targets 2027 as Miller's rise to the major leagues.  Miller, ranked the number three prospect in the Phillies organization behind Mick Abel and Andrew Painter, is the top offensive prospect the Phillies have.

The 2027 estimate could be a little conservative.  But it is worth reminding folks that Clearwater is an additional step behind in the Phillies system compared to the past.  Prospects will generally move from Clearwater to High-A Jersey Shore, then Double-A Reading, Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the major leagues.

At just 19 years old and turning 20 years old in June, I think that it's very possible that he won't go further than Jersey Shore in 2024.

I would imagine he would get a Spring Training invite next year if all goes well this year, and it's not out of the realm of possibilities that he starts 2025 at Double-A Reading.  But all would have to go well there for a late-season promotion to Triple-A in 2025.

I'm going to take a personal guess and say that some point in 2026 might be a possibility for Miller.

Therefore, I would suggest we wait and see what happens.