Celebrate, fellow Philadelphia Phillies fans we’re finally free from the agony of watching Otto Kemp struggle through major-league at-bats. Our pleas have been answered at last.
But unfortunately, his replacement might be even more exasperating: Steward Berroa. The Phillies picked him up for cash back in April from the Milwaukee Brewers, who simply didn’t have room for another defense-and-speed-only outfielder.
Before you get too excited that Berroa will bring the glove work and basepath chaos Kemp couldn’t, consider this: he’s a career .167 hitter with a 60 wRC+ over 51 plate appearances. He played much better this year in Lehigh Valley, but he’s no answer to our prayers for a right-handed slugger.
The Kemp-for-Berroa swap is laughably sideways it solves only marginal issues.
Look, it’s not Kemp’s fault the Phillies handed him left field. His rookie season showed some promising hitting data, but his defense was always a question mark. That he failed so badly is unfortunate, though not shocking for a former undrafted free agent.
Berroa is an upgrade defensively. In limited big-league outfield time, he has +3 Outs Above Average and +5 Defensive Runs Saved, thanks to elite speed and a strong arm. If all the Phillies want is defense, fine.
But we know the real story. Kemp was sent down mainly because he hit .080/.148/.080 (-35 wRC+) in sparse playing time. He was a genuine problem in the team’s ongoing struggles against lefties. The final straw—a 37% strikeout rate proved his swing is broken.
Maybe he’ll fix it in Triple-A, but the team can’t count on it. Same goes for Berroa, a switch-hitter with a 31.4% career strikeout rate. He’s been better from the right side, but a 73 wRC+ as a righty won’t save this top-heavy lineup.
Berroa won’t (and shouldn’t) play much in Philadelphia, with Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford, and Adolis García locked into the three outfield spots. Maybe if he carries over some of his Triple-A offensive gains he posted a .761 OPS with the IronPigs he could win over Don Mattingly. But even then, this is the clearest cry for outfield help the Phillies have issued in some time.
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