The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the best teams in MLB over the first two-plus months of the season, and it often pays off to add talent before other teams get in on the pre-deadline action.
Philadelphia could certainly use some outfield help, and it looks like they’re already assessing their options.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that the Phillies are looking into Diamondbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy – a sign that they could be making a move sometime soon.
Phillies Outfield in Need of Help ASAP
Brandon Marsh’s hamstring injury has made the Phillies’ lack of outfield depth even more apparent, but that might be for the best.
Marsh is expected to return soon, but there’s no guarantee he stays healthy, and it could be essential to have another outfielder just in case.
Marsh (.265 batting average w/ 6 HRs) and Nick Castellanos (.215 batting average w/ 9 HRs) have been solid, but there isn’t really a third (or fourth) outfielder the team can rely on.
Kyle Schwarber is a full-time DH at this point. Meanwhile, Whit Merrifield (.177 batting average w/ 3 HRs) hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Then there’s Johan Rojas (.237 batting average w/ 2 HRs), who has been serviceable but doesn’t have much pop (4 HRs in 112 career games).
Lastly, Cristian Pache has been even worse at the plate with a .217 batting average and just three extra-base hits across 60 at-bats.
That’s why looking into McCarthy makes perfect sense for the Phillies.
Jake McCarthy Player Profile
McCarthy has been an under-the-radar good outfielder in his three-plus seasons with Arizona.
He’s batted .264 with a .338 on-base percentage across 798 career at-bats and he’s kept that up this season – batting .282 with 10 extra-base hits and nine stolen bases.
His lack of pop is a bit concerning, and there’s no sign it’s going to turn around (3rd percentile in average exit velocity and 1st percentile in hard-hit percentage).
But everything else on offense is impressive.
He’s in the 60th percentile or better in: Expected Batting Average, Expected Weighted On-Base Average, Launch Angle Sweet Spot Percentage, Chase Percentage, Whiff Percentage, Strikeout Percentage and Walk Percentage.
McCarthy isn’t the best fielder in the world, but he does bring 93rd-percentile sprint speed to the table – evidenced by 61 stolen bases in 279 career MLB games.
He’s played both left field and right field and could play centerfield if needed.
It would be a strong addition that would make the Phillies an even better contender. And even if they don’t acquire McCarthy, it’s encouraging that they’re looking to add talent this early in the summer.
Stay tuned to Section 215 for more updates to come.
