He also made it clear that Chase Utley would not be returning to the starting lineup when he returns to action from the Disabled List.
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Utley, now 36, is still at least a month away from being activated off the DL.
Hernandez’s improvements couldn’t have come at a better time for the Phillies, as they can talk about his play being the cause for Utley’s benching, rather than having to dance around the subject of contract obligations; which is the second reason Utley won’t see regular playing time.
“Not for me, he’s not”, Amaro said. The first is the surprisingly good play of Cesar Hernandez. That’s probably not going to last, as he has a. 362 batting average on balls in play, and once that falls his line will only look pretty compared to Utley’s. Chase’s situation will kind of dictate itself, how he feels. “I don’t see him coming off the field and being replaced by Chase, frankly”. He’s hitting over.300, showing great speed on the bases and doing an outstanding job in the infield at second base. He could play some second… But as far as I’m concerned, just like what our plan has been for a long, long time, that’s to give opportunities to young men who could be part of our future. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, he hit 33 homers, drove in 104 runs and scored 113 runs.
“Not for me he’s not”, Amaro said when asked if Utley was the team’s second baseman.
That probably could have been said in a much gentler way. Currently, Utley sits at 249 plate appearances, thus needing 251 more before the end of the year to reach 500. Maybe! I’m not sure a GM should be throwing an iconic player under the bus like that though, especially when his own job security is very much in doubt.
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Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters Tuesday that Utley will not be the club’s primary second baseman when he returns from the disabled list.
