Weston Wilson might be playing himself into playoff role for Phillies
Buddy Kennedy and J.T. Realmuto delivered the two biggest hits in the Philadelphia Phillies’ come-from-behind win over the New York Mets Sunday, but it was Weston Wilson who broke the ice.
With the Phillies trailing 1-0, Mets starter David Peterson came back out to start the bottom of the eighth inning. He was greeted with a double into the left-center field gap by Wilson. The aforementioned Kennedy drove him in to tie the game in the next at-bat.
It was Wilson’s only hit of the day, but he had previously hit a ball hard to right field off of Peterson in the bottom of the second inning that was caught. There’s been a trend that you don’t need Baseball Savant open to notice with Wilson — he, particularly against left-handed pitchers, almost always hits the ball hard. And that may earn him a real role in the postseason.
Wilson entered the day with a 1.120 OPS in 37 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. It’s a small sample size, but still hard to ignore. The Phillies could have looked to make an external upgrade over him for the final bench spot before the trade deadline. They didn’t acquire anyone, and Wilson has made them look smart for it. He’s now hitting .371 against lefties this year.
Of course, Wilson’s role has been larger than the Phillies anticipated at the trade deadline. Outfielder Austin Hays was acquired to be the starting left fielder in late July. But not long after joining the Phillies, Hays went on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. He was back for less than 10 days before a kidney infection sidelined him. Hays admitted this week that there’s not really a playbook for how to bounce back from a kidney infection as a baseball player, so he’s taking things day by day. When asked Friday if he expects Hays to be back during the regular season, manager Rob Thomson said “possibly.”
Even if Hays is able to return to the active roster for the Phillies before the end of the season, it’s unclear if he’ll immediately get to — or even be able to — play every day in left field again. Hays could play in left field against left-handed pitchers, with Brandon Marsh playing at that spot against right-handed pitchers. But Hays has hit .254 with a .693 OPS in 82 games this season between the Baltimore Orioles and Phillies. It’s not his fault that the Orioles had a surplus of outfielders or that he’s had bad luck with health since joining the Phillies, but Hays hasn’t necessarily done anything this year to be guaranteed a certain role when he comes back.
It may be that when the Phillies face a lefty in the postseason — be it Peterson, Chris Sale, Max Fried — Wilson will be the best option in left field. And if someone needs to come off the bench and hit against a tough lefty reliever in a key spot, it’s hard to argue with Wilson getting the first look the way he’s hit down the stretch.
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