Phillies Mailbag: Playoff Seed, Suárez, Playoff Bench

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  Each week we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in Tuesday afternoons to hear your questions answered on the air.

What playoff seed do you want the Phillies to have?  The first or second?
~Jayden

The Phillies currently hold the top seed in the National League.  And, since they have more wins than any American League team, they would hold home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  They are one game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and three ahead of American League opponents.  I would like to see it stay that way.

The first reason is pretty obvious to me: Is there a team in baseball that has a better home field advantage than the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park?  If you have ever been to a playoff game, you'd recognize the electric atmosphere.

Phillies players that belong thrive on it.  Enough of the opposition find it to be too much.

So for that reason, I would want to see the Phillies play as many home games as possible.  To do that, they need to finish the season with the top seed in the National League and the American League as well.

I am guessing the question might have something to do with looking at playoff matchups.

To me, I do not think the matchup matters.  Do you want to be the best team in baseball?  Well, you have to beat the other teams, no matter who comes the Phillies' way.  I do not think that they should think, "Well, if it's the Mets we can beat them, but then we have to worry about the Braves."

Just win, get to the playoffs as the top seed.  Then that's it.  You win.

Should we worry about Ranger Suárez? The playoffs await.
~Jason

It is true that Ranger Suárez has not been his old self since returning from the injured list.   What did Suárez in on Monday night was his walks.  When Suárez has better command and is not walking hitters, obviously, they will not score.  Two of his three walks led to runs Monday night.

I think that Suárez will simply have to pitch through this.  He will have two more starts before the season ends, should the Phillies not burn a game or two at the end of the season.  I think it's important that as long as his pitch count is not excessive, he should be given a longer leash so he can pitch through some of these struggles.

While Monday was a game one might say he "struggled", he was facing a playoff team and allowed three runs in five innings.  That should be more than enough to stay in a game.  But I think he stayed in the game thanks to some of his positive attributes.

First, Suárez is smart.  He knows how to pitch, not just throw.  Every pitch is strategic, well-planned with his catcher J.T. Realmuto.  I think he is self aware and will use his intellect to work around any struggles he has on any given day, regular season or playoffs.

Second, Suárez is calm.  Even though he might struggle against a batter or two, he is able to keep a level-head.  Even when the bases are loaded, he puts his head down and goes to work.  He is not frazzled.

So the probable path forward is that Suárez will be the fourth starter in the playoffs.  While I think he still has time to sharpen up, he will be just fine.

Who would you put on the playoff roster? A lot of the bench players are stepping up.
~David

The Phillies have gotten some really nice contributions from their young bench players in recent days.  At the trade deadline, the Phillies indicated that even after the release of Whit Merrifield, they felt they had better options in-house at Triple-A, compared to those who they might acquire.

The Phillies win on Saturday has been referred to as "The Cal Stevenson Game" by Phillies fans.  He had two big his last week that led to two Phillies wins.  He made a tremendous catch in center field, too.

It also seems like Kody Clemens comes up big when the Phillies need him most.  He bailed out Bryce Harper after Harper did not run out his warning track ball.

Let's not forget Buddy Kennedy, who has come up with a big walk and a big hit in the last couple weeks, too.

What to do with all these subs on the postseason roster?

The playoff roster will include 26 Phillies.  Last offseason the Phillies carried 12 pitchers for the Wild Card series, but 13 for the National League Championship Series and National League Division Series.  Will they carry 13 again?

Taijuan Walker did not pitch in the playoffs for the Phillies.  If the Phillies went with 12 pitchers - and they do not need a fifth starter - they would have room for an extra bench bat.

I tend to think that Clemens deserves that bench spot, especially since Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson are right-handed.

If the Phillies carry a standard bench, would they leave off Johan Rojas for someone like Stevenson? I would have to think that's at least somewhat possible.  Stevenson might provide more polished speed and good defense in center field.

I think that Stevenson has a shot.  Let's see what happens in the final few series.

I think Kennedy is a likely miss; I believe he will be optioned back to Triple-A once Sosa returns.  While I think they have no problem carrying him on the roster if there is an infield injury, I think that if all is healthy, Kennedy will be left off.