The Philadelphia Phillies, coming off of a heartbreaking NLCS loss, came into spring training with one question mark: will Johan Rojas be the starting center fielder?
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was non-commital to the starting center fielder position. The Phillies are fortunate enough to have a few players with elite defense at the position, but they all struggle with their bats.
Johan Rojas
Johan Rojas was called up from Double-A Reading on July 15th and finished the regular season with a .302 batting average, two home runs, 23 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Not to mention he was the one with the walk-off against the Pirates that sent the Phillies back to the postseason.
He struggled in the postseason, going .093 with a .114 on-base percentage. His struggles brought to light the fans’ biggest concern.
Has he been “figured out”? Will this continue into 2024? And does he need to start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley to get his mechanics right? This was a big conversation all off-season and into spring training.
Cristian Pache
Cristian Pache is a former top prospect of the Atlanta Braves. He was in the trade that sent Matt Olson from Oakland to Atlanta in the 2021 offseason and was sent to Philadelphia in exchange for Billy Sullivan after the 2022 season.
Like Rojas, Pache has elite defense but struggles with the bat. Pache’s bat did better this season in his limited at-bats. He hit .238 with two home runs and had a .319 on-base percentage. He draws a lot of walks, so it’s not a surprise to see his on-base percentage as high as it is.
Who Will the Phillies Choose?
The battle is only a week in, but it’s already looking like a fun competition to keep an eye on. Pache came in to try and make the roster but it’s looking like he’s going to be giving Rojas a run for his money for the starting spot.
Rojas is batting .231 with a .231 on-base percentage in 13 at-bats while Pache is batting .333 with two home runs and a .400 on-base percentage. Pache is exceeding expectations, but it is still Rojas’ job to lose. I don’t see Pache being the Opening Day starting center fielder, but I don’t see how the Phillies can leave him off the roster.
We are only a week into spring training, and anything can change in an instant, but Cristian Pache is solidifying his spot on the roster early.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
