Felix Reyes was a surprise call-up back in early May and made a strong first impression. He homered off of Chris Sale in his first at-bat, but he couldn’t carry that momentum forward, as he hit just .158 with a paltry .421 OPS through 38 MLB plate appearances across 12 games.
Reyes was sent back to Triple-A on May 19th and has been on fire ever since. As of June 2nd, Reyes is hitting .321 with nine extra-base hits including six home runs across 13 games at Lehigh Valley since his demotion. He’s stuck
out 10 times and has walked five times across 62 plate appearances.
Despite this impressive production, Reyes’ short time in the Majors and his status as a non-highly touted prospect makes it appear likely that he is your typical AAAA player, meaning a player too good for Triple-A and not good enough for the Majors. It may be too early to declare that definitively, but it is certainly trending that way.
But the Phillies are in need from some offense somewhere, especially in one of Reyes’ positions. Adolis Garcia has been abysmal at the plate this season, particularly in the month of May. He hit .125 in the month with a miniscule .400 OPS and a gigantic 37.6% strikeout rate. It’s probably too early for the Phillies to consider releasing Garcia, and his stellar defense in right field does carry some weight, but it’s at least time to consider something else.
When Reyes was first up, he was primarily used as a platoon option and therefore spent most of his time on the bench. It’s hard for anyone to get into a rhythm that way, but it’s especially difficult for someone getting their first taste of MLB pitching. That doesn’t mean that more regular at-bats will turn Reyes into a serviceable hitter, but it’s at least something the Phillies haven’t tried yet. If he were to be recalled again, perhaps he could get some more runway as the starting left fielder while Garcia receives playing time either platooning with Brandon Marsh with Marsh starting in right when Reyes plays or platooning with Justin Crawford with Marsh starting in center.
This is admittedly just a theory, as the Phillies have not publicly expressed any desire to cut back on Garcia’s playing time. But maybe they should start. Reyes is not a permanent solution by any means, but maybe they could catch lightning in a bottle for a few weeks. It may seem desperate, but the Phillies have a lot of questions offensively and not many answers.
So, is it time for the Phillies to try Felix Reyes again?
