Pete Mackanin’s mystifying comments about Tyler Goeddel

The last month of the 2016 season will be all about seeing more of the players who the Phils feel will be a part of future Phillies teams.

That’s what manager Pete Mackanin said on Tuesday, anyway. Mack said he plans to play Tommy Joseph a lot more during the final month of the season (which is good), and that Aaron Altherr will continue to pile up the plate appearances (also very good), and why we will continue to see Jimmy Paredes in the lineup almost every day (that’s aweso...)...

Wait a minute... Jimmy Paredes?

Something doesn’t make sense here. Why does Paredes, who has been dropped by more than one team over the last year and is batting .231/.264/.403 in 141 plate appearances this season, continue to make starts in the outfield for the Phillies at the expense of the Phils’ Rule 5 pick, Tyler Goeddel? Why does Peter Bourjos and his .250/.295/.381 slash line continue to see the field?

Mackanin himself on Tuesday called Paredes "an extra player," and "not an everyday player right now here for us."

So why has he been getting more starts than Goeddel, someone who Mackanin has admitted is going to be a part of this franchise next season? Mack’s own reasoning is totally disconnected from his own stated purpose for what September is supposed to be about (quotes via Ryan Lawrence).

"I’ve seen enough of Goeddel to know – we’ve kept him (on the roster) this long and we’re going to keep him (as a Rule 5 pick) and we’ll see where we go next year wth him," Mackanin said. "I don’t see a need to play him, especially after he hasn’t played so much. What’s the point?"

What’s the point? Seriously?

What’s the point of playing Paredes? What good does sitting on the bench do Goeddel? Why not put Goeddel out there just to let him get the experience of facing Major League pitching on a regular basis?

And who’s fault is it that he hasn’t played that much? And why not try to change that over the final 30 games?

Let’s not forget that, in the one stretch this season when Goeddel did get regular playing time, he was actually pretty good. He hit .297/.350/.500 in a 22-game stretch between May 5 and June 1 when he started almost every day. But that all ended when Cody Asche returned from AAA and Peter Bourjos got hot.

Now, Asche is gone and Bourjos is no longer effective. There is no reason not to play Goeddel. None.

And yet, Mackanin sees no need.

In the second half, Goeddel, who is 23, has played 23 games and had 47 plate appearances. For a rebuilding team. The 27-year-old Paredes has played in 32 games and piled up 67 PAs. And the 29-year-old Bourjos has played 25 games and accumulated 92 plate appearances.

And as Lawrence noted, Goeddel has started 21 of the 78 games the Phils have played since June 1.

This makes no sense.

No one is saying Goeddel is a future star or even that he is guaranteed to be on the 25-man roster next year. He may not even turn out to be a Major Leaguer long-term, and the best place for him to start 2016 is probably with the Iron Pigs.

But doesn’t it make more sense to get as much information on Goeddel as you can over the last few weeks of the season? Especially if those at bats are coming at the expense of two veterans you know won’t be here next year?

Pete Mackanin has done a good job managing the 2016 Phillies. But his comments on Goeddel and his lineup decisions in this regard are totally contradictory to what he himself said September is supposed to be all about.

Play the young players. Anything else makes no sense.