Philadelphia Phillies’ Ruben Amaro Jr. hints he will not buy outfielders externally - MLB Update
General Manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruben Amaro Jr. has talked about the outfield combination for the team during the upcoming season.
Having not filled some vacant spots in this regard as yet, he has stopped short of saying that the Minor Leaguers will be given opportunities in the 2013 season.
The Phillies tried hard to fetch some outfielders from the free agent market last year, but they failed to do so, because they could not meet their asking price.
Recently, a few outfielders ended up signing contracts with other organisations as they found the Phillies reluctant to offer what they wanted.
The Phillies are unwilling to spend a huge amount of money, because they are apprehensive about the credentials of the free agents this year.
This, along with the fact that they suffer budgetary constraints, makes them go home empty handed from the free agent market.
Only choice before them is to call up talented prospects from their farm system.
Some of them played for a couple of weeks during the last season. Though, they showed a potential to perform consistently, largely they were platoon players.
For example, Darin Ruf and Domonic Brown can play together for a single position, as they are not considered reliable as regular outfielders.
Amaro has accepted that the options are limited for him, but he is hopeful that the Minor Leaguers will be up to the mark, while they play matches during the upcoming season.
“We’re likely going with what we’ve got,” Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “There’s some risk in going with a possible double platoon or letting the guys we have battle it out for playing time. There are some advantages to that, as well. The best-man-wins type of scenario
can be created and likely will be created in spring training. At the same time, a lot of these guys are not proven everyday major-league players. But that doesn’t mean they cannot become them.”
Indeed, the Phillies are going into the season with some loop-holes present in their outfield.
These can turn out to be fatal, to the extent of resulting in their early exit from the season.
Unless the Minor Leaguers do something exceptional, the Phillies can face serious problems ahead.
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