March 14, 2016
SARASOTA, Fla. – Two or three years ago, it was almost impossible to find a Phillies player on social media.
Now, with a mostly 20-something crowd dominating the clubhouse, nearly every Phillies player is active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram … and Snapchat, too.
Enter Odubel Herrera. The outfielder used snapchat to send a photo of his right middle finger wrapped in bandaging.
So the Phillies outfield, already without Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche, has another injury? Not so fast.
“He’s been playing with that and he’s been hitting rockets all over the place,” manager Pete Mackanin said of Herrera, who is hitting .391 (9-for-23) in seven games this spring.
But apparently his finger has at least been sore, since Herrera did have an X-ray on it.
“Thankfully,” Mackanin said, “it’s negative.”
Herrera suffered the injury while sliding into home plate earlier this spring. He’s played through it, but was scratched from Monday’s lineup.
“He went in headfirst at home, which we tell everybody not to do because of that,” Mackanin said.
The manager said Herrera could return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday.
Before Maikel Franco’s latest home run show, Tyler Goeddel led off Tuesday’s game with a solo home run off of Baltimore right-hander Yovani Gallardo.
It was Goeddel’s first home run of the spring. The 23-year-old Rule 5 pick went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, two walks and a strikeout.
“The thing I like about him is he seems to have good plate discipline because he takes a lot of pitches,” Mackanin said. “I even mentioned to (bench coach) Larry (Bowa) and (hitting coach Steve Henderson) this guy, the way he works the count, he’s almost like a leadoff-type guy you’re looking for, the way he works the count and makes the pitcher throw a lot of pitches.”
Goeddel is hitting .273 (9-for-33) with four walks and seven strikeouts in 11 games this spring. He is a certainty to break camp with the Phillies, who are already two outfielders short, but Mackanin wouldn’t go as far as to say that Goeddel has won a starting job.
“(We have) lot of options (out there),” he said. “We have options to look at. Possibly starting, possibly platooning.”
PHIL-INS: Ernesto Frieri served up a solo home run to Baltimore’s Adam Jones in the sixth inning of Monday’s game. Frieri has given up three home runs in four appearances this spring but hasn’t lost a chance to win a job as a non-roster pitcher in camp. “I wouldn’t say that,” Mackanin said. “He’s given up a few home runs. But we’re just going to keep running him out there. … I’m not going to condemn a guy for what he did earlier in the spring.” … Cedric Hunter, a non-roster outfielder competing for a job, went 3-for-5 and is hitting .296 this spring. … Aaron Nola will make his third start of the spring on Tuesday in Port Charlotte against the Tampa Bay Rays. Nola has an 11.57 ERA (6 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings) and is tied with Frieri for the team lead in home runs allowed.
