Why an extra bat would make more sense on Phillies’ playoff roster than an arm originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
MILWAUKEE — The Phillies have just three regular-season series remaining after leaving Milwaukee and Rob Thomson has started to offer small peeks within games of what they could prioritize on their NLDS roster.
Teams carry 26 players in the postseason, same as they do from April through August before rosters expand to 28 for September.
In October, teams carry either 13 position players and 13 pitchers or 14 position players and 12 pitchers. Most opt for the additional arm, the 13-13 split, but the Phillies appear more likely to go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers, especially in the Best-of-5 Divisional Round.
J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs, Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas are 11 locks among position players.
Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Carlos Estevez, Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks and Jose Ruiz are 11 locks among pitchers.
That’s 22 of 26, leaving four roster spots total for Austin Hays, Weston Wilson, Cal Stevenson, Kody Clemens and Buddy Kennedy among position players, plus pitchers Taijuan Walker, Kolby Allard, Tyler Gilbert, Max Lazar and potentially Spencer Turnbull.
You look at the list of pitchers and wonder whether any of them would serve an actual role in a seven-game series, much less a five-game series. Walker, Allard, Gilbert or Lazar would only appear if a game is lopsided or extends deep into extra innings. Having two pitchers from that group on the postseason roster would seem redundant, especially with off-days leading up to the NLDS and after Games 2 and 4.
In contrast, the extra position player allows for a bit more managerial strategy and likely a platoon advantage in one more plate appearance per night. In the postseason when every at-bat counts, that could matter.
On Monday night in Milwaukee, Thomson pinch-hit the right-handed Kennedy for the lefty-hitting Stevenson in the seventh inning against a southpaw. The Brewers countered by bringing in right-hander Colin Rea and Thomson responded by replacing Kennedy with left-handed-hitting Clemens, who lined out.
It was a three-player move, the kind you might not be able to make with just four extra position players rather than five. The Rojas-Stevenson lineup spot is the one where Thomson would…