Johan

Rojas

Gelb points out that Soto “has maintained a close relationship with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long” and that the Phillies will certainly not let payroll get in the way of any improvements that could be made to the team this offseason. While Nick Castellanos is likely returning with two years left on his contract, Gelb suggests the team could move on from one or both of Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas in order to free up space for Soto. “The Phillies, at least, could raise the price for a rival to sign Soto” which means we should see the Phillies involved in the Soto sweepstakes for a while this offseason. If his primary objective is to win a World Series, he won’t find many teams with a better chance in 2025.

Brandon Marsh is moving to center field for the contest, and Johan Rojas will retreat to the bench. Wilson was a solid surprise for the Phillies in 2024, and now will get a chance to make an impact in a must-win game for Philadelphia. The full lineup: DH Kyle Schwarber, SS Trea Turner, 1B Bryce Harper, RF Nick Castellanos, 3B Alec Bohm, C J.T. Realmuto, 2B Bryson Stott, LF Wilson and CF Marsh.

Hays is back after missing five weeks with a kidney infection. Weston Wilson has cooled off of late, but the Phillies decided to keep him and demote Cal Stevenson, giving them three right-handed outfielders, along with Johan Rojas, for two spots in games against lefties. Just one of them will play alongside Brandon Marsh against righties, and it looks like Rojas’s defense might give him the upper hand for now.

Rojas had as many hits tonight as he did in his previous 12 games combined, and he drove in his first runs since Aug. 17. He’ll have every chance of winning back his job with Austin Hays on the IL. He doesn’t need to be great offensively, either; he just needs to prove to be adequate.

Rojas is back after just eight Triple-A games in which he hit .382/.417/.500 and swiped six bases. The Phillies will probably go back to him as their primary center fielder, and those in need of steals might want to see if he can keep the hot streak going.

Rojas is probably still the Phillies’ best center field option in spite of his .566 OPS, but it’d be nice if he were better and playing in Triple-A — something he’s actually never done before — might allow him to work on his approach in a way he couldn’t at the major league level. This also allows the Phillies to retain David Dahl, Cristian Pache and Whit Merrifield, none of whom can be optioned. Dahl will likely play left field against righties, with Brandon Marsh moving back to center.

Rojas plated Edmundo Sosa with a run-scoring single off of Trevor Rogers in the second inning that extended the Phillies’ lead to 2-0. He then clobbered a 388-foot (100.6 mph EV) solo shot off of Eli Villalobos in the seventh inning that made it 7-0. With his three-hit attack, the 23-year-old is now hitting .234/.281/.336 with a pair of homers, 10 RBI and eight stolen bases.

Nick Castellanos had already tied the game with a solo shot before Rojas provided the difference maker. It was Rojas’s first homer in 91 plate appearances this season. Fortunately, he’s continued to play his usual excellent defense, and Whit Merrifield hasn’t been able to force his way into the lineup. Rojas isn’t a mixed-league guy right now, but with his ability to steal bases, he doesn’t need to be all that much better offensively to get to that kind of level.

Interestingly, it will be the right-handed hitting Johan Rojas who slides to the bench with left-handed Brandon Marsh hitting ninth and playing left field. Perhaps this could signal a path for Merrifield to see more regular playing time if Rojas isn’t able to hit enough to be in the regular starting lineup. The Phillies full lineup is: Kyle Schwarber DH, Trea Turner SS, Bryce Harper 1B, J.T. Realmuto C, Alec Bohm 3B, Nick Castellanos RF, Bryson Stott 2B, Whit Merrifield LF, Brandon Marsh CF

Pache improved to .286/.342/.514 in 38 plate appearances. Johan Rojas, meanwhile, is at .176/.192/.275 in 52 plate appearances. Reports indicate that the Phillies are still leaning towards going with Rojas in center initially, but Pache is there as a fallback option, probably in tandem with projected left fielder Brandon Marsh, if the team believes Rojas would benefit from Triple-A time.