Rise and Phight: 7/26/2023

Making lineup chairs is, to me, akin to shuffling deckchairs on a ship. It doesn’t really do that much other than placate the angrier corners of the fanbase. Sometimes it does work, but more often than not, the manager goes back to his preferred set of batters.

With the Phillies, it might be time to see someone else batting the two hole.

Trea Turner has been pretty bad this year and has now combined that with a rough patch for the offense which is struggling to score runs. If ever there was a time to shuffle things up, now might be it. The only question is who? Most might prefer to see Bryson Stott hitting second, but that would place three left-handed hitters in a row. That’s not optimal. A right-handed hitter is probably what Thomson would want to put there, but who is the best option?

In this writer’s humble opinion, I wouldn’t mind seeing Alec Bohm get some plate appearances there. J.T. Realmuto would maybe be a better option, but he’s not hitting either. Nick Castellanos ain’t doing it either and Johan Rojas is a platoon player right now. I might give Bohm some run in the second spot and see how the lineup responds. Can it get worse right now?

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Johan Rojas got another start last night, which could help make lineup decisions a lot easier.
• You know you want to read national prognosticators give their take on what the Phillies need around the trade deadline.
• Andrew Painter had his Tommy John surgery yesterday. He’s out an estimate 15-18 months. Godspeed, young man.
• This current rough patch is giving the front office a lot to think about as the deadline draws nearer.

MLB news:

• Like I said yesterday, we’re going to need daily rumors from the national guys. Here’s what Passan is hearing....
• ...and here is what Ken Rosenthal is hearing.
• The Dodgers added some depth, bringing back Enrique Hernandez from Boston.