The Phillies might not have swept most teams this past weekend, but fortunately, they got to go against the Angels and came away with three victories. They likely won’t have it as easy this week when they travel to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks. (Wins rarely seem to come easy for the Phillies at Chase Field.)
The Diamondbacks are holding on to the National League’s final Wild Card spot and would love to gain some ground on the Phillies who are currently tied for the first spot. Arizona will likely
have Ketel Marte back in the lineup this series, although it isn’t entirely clear if he’ll be welcomed by his teammates with open arms.
Opposition research: Ketel Marte
For Ketel Marte, talent isn’t the problem. He’s a three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner, and was (groan) MVP of the 2023 NLCS. The problems come when he decides he doesn’t want to play and just doesn’t show up.
There have been times over the past few years when Marte has asked for days off despite the Diamondbacks having important games. Last season, he took several days off due to a reported home burglary, and his absence rankled some of teammates. Probably not coincidentally, Marte was the subject of trade rumors this past offseason.
The Diamondbacks opted not to trade him, but the latest saga may have them regretting that decision. On August 17, he was experiencing some knee soreness, but the Diamondbacks expected that he would still be able to be the team’s designated hitter. Instead, he no-showed the game.
He then flew back to Arizona to have imaging on his knee and he was placed on the 10-day IL. During that stint, he was spotted at a casino while the Diamondbacks were playing a game.
He’s now eligible to come off the IL and is expected to play against the Phillies after having a meeting with his teammates who were understandably annoyed with him. Despite that annoyance, it seems like they are planning to welcome him back, because in the end, winning is what matters, and he’s the most talented hitter on the team.
It seems very likely that Marte will be on the trade block again this offseason. As enticing as his bat might look in the top of the order, if I was the Phillies, I would stay far away.
Hating on the Diamondbacks
It’s generally not a good sign when your best player doesn’t seem to actually want to play for you. Say what you will about Mike Trout and his seeming lack of desire to win, that guy REALLY wants to play for the Angels.
The Diamondbacks are a weird franchise. They can’t seem to quite decide if they’re a big market or small market team, and that might explain why they only make the playoffs once every three to five years. This is Torey Lovullo’s tenth season as manager despite as many last place finishes as playoff appearances in that time. If it wasn’t for the Diamondbacks’ fluky run to the World Series in 2023, he’d probably have been canned a while ago.
Remembering a guy who played for both the Phillies and Diamondbacks
Johnny Estrada
Starting catcher Mike Lieberthal suffered an injury early into the 2001 season, and the Phillies were forced to give the bulk of the catching duties to minor leaguer Johnny Estrada. In my memories, Estrada was a decent fill in, but according to the statistics, he was not. Estrada put up a .228/.273/.359 slash line for the season, and not completely surprisingly for a catcher with only 32 games above the AA level at that point, faded badly down the stretch. He was also one of the slowest players in baseball.
Upon Lieberthal’s return the following season, Estrada spent most of the year at AAA. After the season, the Phillies traded him to Atlanta for Kevin Millwood, which seemed like an absolute steal at the time. However, Millwood was disappointing for the Phillies while Estrada had an All-Star season for the Braves in 2004. (I’d still make that trade 10/10 times though.)
The All-Star season was apparently a fluke. Estrada had a poor season in 2005, and the Braves traded him to the Diamondbacks after the season. He turned in a solid offensive season, with a .776 OPS, but the D’Backs were apparently not all that impressed as he was included in a multi-player deal with Milwaukee after the season. After bad seasons for the Brewers and then the Nationals, his career was over.
For your viewing pleasure, here’s a clip of him getting absolutely destroyed in a home plate collision.
Additional thought about the series
Statistically, the Diamondbacks present as a team fighting for a Wild Card spot, as they don’t seem to be particularly good or bad at anything. They’re tenth in runs scored, but rank in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories. The offense has some stars like Corbin Carroll (how is he only 26 years old?) and Gabriel Moreno, but there are also some holes in the lineup. Max Kepler is getting regular at bats! And no, he hasn’t gotten any better.
The pitching staff ranks 19th in ERA, but the Phillies’ offense isn’t going to have an easy time of it in the first two games as they face Brandon Pfaadt, who seems to be finally living up to his hype, and Eduardo Rodriguez who bizarrely has become a Cy Young candidate at age 33.
I’m also slightly worried that despite playing a fellow playoff contender, with this being the last leg of a three-city western trip, and an important series against the Braves looming, the Phillies might not bring their A-game. It’s not hard to envision them pulling a no-show in Wednesday’s afternoon series finale. The Phillies proved me wrong in the last game of their most recent homestand, so let’s hope they can do so again.
