Categories: Features

The deadline will likely create an odd man out in the Phillies’ outfield. Weston Wilson is making his case to stay.

Weston Wilson has a chance to make an impression. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire)

MINNEAPOLIS — The Phillies’ front office tends to run a tight ship, especially around trade season, but everybody knows where they’re looking as July 30’s 6 p.m. ET deadline approaches. They want to add an outfielder.

Who, exactly, is anyone’s guess. But every addition to the active roster necessitates a subtraction from it. Whoever the Phillies bring in, someone will have to go.

“I don’t really pay attention to it,” Weston Wilson told Phillies Nation Wednesday in Minnesota about the deadline chatter and ensuing roster crunch. “There’s so many things out of my control in this game. You know, I got called up again, I’m coming up here to do a job, which is have quality at bats, help this team win. And as long as I’m doing that, I’m doing my job.”

Wilson’s name may come up if and when the Phillies have to make a decision on their outfield depth. So will Cristian Pache’s. Wilson brings more offensively. Pache is a premier defensive center fielder. Wilson can play more positions. Pache is out of options.

The sample size is not huge, but Wilson is 3-for-9 with a homer and a walk against lefties this year. Rob Thomson said Wednesday he’s liked his at bats in general. “He’s being aggressive and he’s barreling balls up,” Thomson said, “so I like his approach.” He turned to Wilson against Twins righty reliever Griffin Jax in the eighth on Tuesday. Wilson took a ball, fouled one off, popped one to short at exactly 100 mph off the bat and his night at the plate was over.

Six days until the deadline.

“To be honest with you, I think I’ve matured a lot in my time in the big leagues,” Wilson said. “I think not putting too much pressure on yourself is one of the biggest things. ‘Cause you can put so much pressure on one at bat, but it’s like — everybody else is getting three to four at bats a game and some of those guys don’t get hits.

“My mentality obviously is to get the job done and to have a quality at-bat, and obviously I want to hit. But like, I could line out, I could fly out — whatever I do could be the right thing but a guy can catch the ball. I think just having quality at bats is what they’re looking for. And yeah, not putting too much pressure on yourself over one AB.”

The Phillies’ outfield situation has been in flux for the better part of the 2024 season. Nick Castellanos is in right every day. Johan Rojas is in center most days, but sometimes it’s Cristian Pache; Brandon Marsh is in left most days, but sometimes it’s Pache or Wilson or, until recently, Whit Merrifield. Playing time inherently comes at the expense of someone else.

But the Phillies have spoken all season about bigger goals — goals of a division crown and a pennant and, above all, a World Series trophy. Another outfielder in the mix won’t change any of that.

“Everybody’s got everybody’s back,” Wilson said of the outfield’s clubhouse dynamic. “I think genuinely that’s why things work, is that each person, when the other person’s in, is wanting that person to do well. That’s what winning teams have to do. That’s what they do well, and they don’t even think about it. You know? That’s just how they play baseball. So I think that’s what we got going for us.”

Whether Wilson is part of that group in August and October remains to be seen (September feels likely due to roster expansion), but he’s likely got at least another series left to bolster a case he already feels is strong.

“They’re gonna do what they want to do,” Wilson said. “It’s just one of those things. I feel like I can help this team win.”