Arizona Fall League Provides Showcase for Phillies’ Bench Hopeful
It will be interesting to see what kind of moves the Philadelphia Phillies make during the upcoming offseason to keep their championship window open.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, they were one of the best teams in baseball. But, their postseason stay was a short one.
Their National League East rivals, the New York Mets, defeated them in four games in the NLDS. It was an incredibly disappointing outcome as the team’s bullpen imploded when they were needed most.
Heading into the offseason, one goal for the front office could be getting younger. Their core is rapidly aging, as most of their most important players are going to be on the wrong side of 30 when Opening Day 2025 rolls around.
Shuffling a few pieces is certainly possible, as some trades could be made to fill voids on the roster. Finding a full-time answer in center field is important, as is a backend starting pitcher and maybe a bullpen piece or two depending on how free agency shakes out; Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez are both hitting the market.
In their lineup, shaking up the depth chart feels inevitable.
How much they spend to make that happen is anyone’s guess. But, if they go the economical route and look within, one player who could find himself in the mix is Otto Kemp.
The versatile player would provide manager Rob Thomson with some incredible flexibility when filling out lineups. A large chunk of his playing time has come at third base, but he has also played innings at second base, first base, shortstop and the outfield.
Becoming a super-utility man could be his ticket to the Major Leagues. Also, it will be hard to keep him off the roster if he continues hitting at the clip he has in the Arizona Fall League.
He has produced a .294/.500/.647 slash line with two home runs and seven RBI. During Week 2 of the competition, he was one of the better performers on the field.
“The 25-year-old Kemp is one of the older players in the Fall League, and though his sample size was a little smaller than others on this list, he made his hits count this week. Kemp homered twice in the Desert Dogs’ 19-9 romp of Peoria on Oct. 15, and enjoyed a two-hit, two-run game a few days later against Surprise,” wrote Joe Trezza of MLB.com.
As an older player, you want to see them take advantage of the opportunity and to this point, Kemp has done that. He should be on the team’s radar for a bench spot this offseason after playing through four levels in 2024.
