Kapler still has major confidence in Altherr
PHILADELPHIA » Gabe Kapler couched a significant player demotion Monday with the usual outward expression of faith in his player.
Aaron Altherr, thought to be part of the bedrock of a crowded but flexible outfield at the start of the season, responded by not hitting at all. Altherr was playing sparingly, hitting all of .171, and was fresh off a pinch-hit strikeout in his only appearance in a doubleheader against the Padres when he was finally demoted to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs late Sunday.
Just a visit, Kapler would like to tell everybody ... especially Altherr.
“What I told Aaron and what we believe as an organization is that in order for us to be the best club that we can be, (to) go deep into the postseason and perform admirably down the stretch, we need a strong, capable, good version of Aaron Altherr,” Kapler said Monday prior to the series-opener against the Dodgers. “So this move was made with two things in mind: One, the best interest of Aaron Altherr personally, to get him rolling; pressure-free at-bats, rhythm, play every day. And secondarily, and equally important, for the best interests of the Philadelphia Phillies. And that’s basically how we make most of our decisions, the best interests of the player, the best interests of the Phillies, and combining those things.”
Kapler added that he “shared that with Aaron and he was an absolute professional about it. Expected nothing less. And the meeting went well.”
For Altherr, nothing really went well this season. He had a hit on Opening Day, then had one hit over his next 10 games (28 at-bats). That one hit was a home run, coming in his one good game of April, a 2-for-4, four-RBI performance against Miami.
He’d have five homers by the end of May, but his average was down to .190. At that point, his playing time was already suffering.
It only would get worse as Altherr had only seven hits in June, his average slipping to .176, his OPS to .610.
By then, alternating rightfielder Nick Williams had taken over as an almost every-day player, and Altherr was relegated to mostly bench duty. He hasn’t had a home run since June 6 and knocked in but one run all this month.
Even at Triple-A, he would seem to need a lengthy reconstruction program.
“Yeah, he was in a really tough spot here,” Kapler said. “The point at which Nick Williams began to really look over the baseball more successfully, take more pitches, be more selective, drive the baseball when he did get his ‘A’ swing off, he became a guy that we needed to get in the lineup frequently. And as he became more and more successful, it became more and more evident that it was going to be difficult to get Aaron regular at-bats. So he was coming off the bench against difficult relievers, some of the best relievers in the game, and it’s not a position that he’d been in before. It was a struggle for him, and very clearly so.”
Altherr was demoted along with reliever Mark Leiter Jr., who gave up three runs and six hits in two innings Sunday.
Leiter may be looking at long-term work again in the minors, with Luis Garcia coming off the injured list and Hector Neris threatening to be promoted back from Triple-A. As for Altherr, the length of his trip is really up to him.
“We wanted to put him in a position where he could catch his breath, see the baseball consistently, get regular reps and get him back on track so he can help us down the stretch,” Kapler said.
NOTES » Chase Utley Night at Citizens Bank Park (the unofficial one; the official one will be next season) began with his Little League picture up on the big screen when he came up to bat for the first time in the second inning. Utley rapped a Zach Eflin pitch to deep left center but it was tracked down on the warning track . ... The Dodgers before the game put infielder Justin Turner on the 10-day disabled because of a strained groin. They recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Class AAA Oklahoma City. Turner was hitting .259 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. ... In case you were wondering how the Philadelphia fans felt about losing the trade bidding war to the Dodgers for Manny Machado’s services, there were few boos and many Manny cheers when he was introduced and when he came up to the plate. Free agent shopping season is still ahead, Phillies fans know.