Klentak: Kendrick trade clears log jam in outfield
PHILLIES
PHILADELPHIA » Pete Mackanin pulled out the vocabulary flashcards Friday afternoon.
What would unfold for the last two months of the season in the Phillies outfield would not be a problem, Mackanin corrected. It wasn’t quite a peccadillo, he joked. It was more of a dilemma, particularly should a deal not materialize for the oft-injured Howie Kendrick, who Friday was available but not starting due to soreness in his wrist.
But on the spectrum of predicaments the Phillies face, in shades ranging from “situation” to “disaster,” the outfield puzzle bore the benevolent hallmarks of options. So Mackanin adopted a wait-and-see approach.
He didn’t have to wait long.
By the end of a 10-3 win over Atlanta, the Phillies had finalized a deal for Kendrick, sending the veteran utility man to the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor leaguer McKenzie Mills and international slot money.
The deal made sense, even if the return was a 21-year-old South Atlantic League All-Star that Klentak deemed a “projectable major league starter” and money for the Phillies’ international scouting department.
Klentak allowed that the outfield logjam at least partially played into his thinking.
“On the one hand we have young players who are going to be with us for the foreseeable future and we want those players to continue their major league development,” the GM said. “On the other hand we love Howie Kendrick and he was hitting .340 for us, he was helping us win games. So, it’s a factor. I will tell you that.
“He’s paved the way for others and allowed others to grow and now they can take the torch from him so to speak and get more regular reps is a good thing.”
“It’s great, because you always get an opportunity when you are going into a race or being traded to a team in first place already,” Kendrick said. “You have a good chance to make the postseason and that’s what you live for. Our ultimate goal as players is to win a World Series. I couldn’t think of a better place to be going to.”
Kendrick batted .340 in 39 games with the Phillies, but his season was interrupted by a pair of disabledlist stints that threatened to torpedo the market for his services.
It’s not often that the Phillies have recently had an abundance of anything save for losses. Piecing together at-bats for Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr and Nick Williams would’ve been a challenge, and it made Kendrick’s ticket out of town all but punched.
Mackanin’s objective turns to vetting who has the potential to be a longterm piece in this enduring puzzle of a rebuild. And those three outfield figures show no signs of relenting their lineup spots.
Altherr launched a ball into the upper deck 412 feet away in the fifth inning, part of back-to-back home runs with Cameron Rupp. Altherr went yard in the eighth for his 16th of the season and third career multi-homer game. He also picked up an outfield assist at second in gunning down Matt Kemp and dove for a highlight-reel catch in the ninth.
Williams, enjoying a rookie tear, reached base three times, furthering his argument for at-bats.
“He was given an opportunity to come up here and he’s grasped it and he’s really doing well,” Mackanin said of Williams. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s got to play.”
And the maddeningly mercurial Herrera, warts and all, is on pace for 52 doubles while hitting .330 since June 1.
With Daniel Nava’s DL stint keeping him in Philly beyond the deadline and Mackanin pledging rookie Cameron Perkins is “a better hitter than he’s shown,” the pressure mounted on a Kendrick deal.
Kendrick’s departure is also about achieving comfort for young players. One fewer option stabilizes placement in the batting order. Altherr, for instance, started his first game of the year in the sevenhole, and his performance drew Mackanin some needling from hitting coach Matt Stairs. Williams has oscillated primarily between
third and fifth in his 23-game career. Herrera remains a batting-order enigma.
All those factors play into how a young player matures at the plate. And the sooner that Mackanin can whittle answers from the raw talent at his disposal, the sooner the Phillies can move forward.
“The more guys you can see and really acknowledge that perhaps they’re ready for this level, then the better we are as an organization because
we can make a trade or say that this young guy is better than the guy we have,” Mackanin said. “There’s more options for us.”
One less option as of Friday night paves the way for more options down the line.