The Philadelphia Phillies finally punched their ticket to the postseason on Sunday. They will face their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves, in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the NLDS.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, they are not going into the postseason at full strength. The Phillies’ main acquisition at this year’s trade deadline was three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the San Francisco Giants, adding another All-Star to an already dangerous lineup.
While Arraez has taken a step back at the plate since joining Philadelphia, he is historically one of the most reliable contact hitters in baseball, and when strikeouts rise in the playoffs, he is exactly the type of hitter you want in the batter’s box.
Unfortunately, he will not be available for the wild card round. Arraez suffered an ankle sprain last week during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Although X-rays were negative for a fracture, it is a bad sprain and he has not played since.
On Monday, manager Don Mattingly spoke with reporters and announced that Otto Kemp would be joining the active roster and taking Arraez’s spot, per Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation.
With Arraez down, the Phillies now have a decision to make at second base. The obvious answer, and what they have done over the last four games, is to have Bryson Stott revert to his natural position up the middle.
Stott has been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball and should still provide production near the bottom of the order. Across 155 games, the 28-year-old posted a .256 batting average, .334 on-base percentage, .736 OPS, 10 home runs and 67 RBIs.
However, Stott has historically struggled in the postseason, hitting just .184 with 34 strikeouts in 114 at-bats across 37 games. If those struggles continue in a do-or-die situation, Mattingly could turn to Edmundo Sosa at second base with Kemp potentially sliding in at third.
Either way, replacing Arraez against a Braves pitching staff that includes Chris Sale is not an ideal situation.
