After a furious altercation, Phillies manager Rob Thomson was removed in the sixth inning against Baltimore.
Baltimore — During a heated disagreement over a hit batter ruling in the top of the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles, Rob Thomson, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, was removed.
Garrett Stubbs of Philadelphia squared to bunt with his club behind 8-2, but Corbin Burnes’ pitch bounced in close to one of Stubbs’ feet. After consulting, the umpires decided to bring Stubbs back to continue his plate appearance instead of sending him to first base.
At that moment, plate umpire Mike Estabrook approached Thomson as he emerged from the dugout. Thomson, who was usually fairly mild-mannered, became more heated, and Estabrook dismissed him.
“First base was given to Stubby by Mike. The umpires convene after (Orioles manager) Brandon Hyde exits the field, according to Thomson.
Thomson claimed he was informed he may utilize his challenge if he didn’t like the resolution.
‘But you’ve already given him first base,’ I said. Would you please force them to accept the Orioles’ challenge?” stated Thomson.
The play was reviewed after Thomson was thrown out by the Phillies, who did contest the play, but the field call—that there was no hit batter—remained valid. After that, Burnes flew out Stubbs.
“If he awards him first base, then there’s not enough to overturn it, and they lose their challenge,” Thomson said. “Now it’s flipped.”
Baltimore went on to win 8-3.br/]
The Phillies are likely going to be busy in the outfield market this trade season, and it might not end with one single addition.
Jim Bowden of CBS Sports and The Athletic recently appeared on MLB Network Radio and said the club would like to add a starting and a fourth outfielder — and that he’s been told as much firsthand.
Bowden had already reported in early June that the Phillies were targeting outfield additions, and specific names of interest have surfaced elsewhere, but it’s somewhat new information that the team would like to add both a starter and a fourth outfielder.
It’s relatively easy to find a spot for a fourth outfielder on the current roster; perhaps such an addition could take the spot of Whit Merrifield (though his ability to man an infield spot is a plus), Cristian Pache or even David Dahl, who’s cooled off but would have to be DFA’d to be removed from the 26-man roster.
Tougher is figuring out who exactly the new starter would usurp.
Nick Castellanos is slashing .208/.267/.353, but in reality, $20 million is the more important figure as far as his status is concerned. He’s not going anywhere. Brandon Marsh has struggled mightily against lefties, but he’s a lock to be in the regular lineup against righties down the stretch. The odd man out would likely be Johan Rojas, but that would require the outfield addition to be a center fielder specifically — or the Phillies putting Marsh in center, even against lefties (assuming Pache isn’t starting too many meaningful games down the stretch).
The team has several alternatives to choose from, ranging from measured to, well, not. It appears that the current outfield position is untenable, which is the only evident thing.
The Phillies’ outfielders rank 27th with an 80 wRC+ and 26th in MLB with 0.6 fWAR this season; perhaps this will change before the July 30 deadline. That’s a division you can win. Not a World Series, perhaps. They appear to be conscious.
