Adam Haseley won an Opening Day roster spot on the last day of Spring Training. It only took seven innings during the Phillies 3-2 win yesterday against the Atlanta Braves to put his future on the roster in question yet again.

Haseley got the start in center field on Thursday but exited early after feeling tightness in his left hamstring. He was replaced in the eighth inning by Roman Quinn, who made a fantastic throw to cut down the go-ahead run for the Braves in the top of the 10th inning before Jean Segura hit a walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning to send the Phillies to the top of the NL East standings at 1-0.

Haseley, who has consistently battled injuries throughout his young career, spent the majority of this year’s Spring Training on the injury list after straining his left groin. He strained his groin within days of making his major-league debut in 2019 and missed time last year with a sprained wrist.

Odubel Herrera lost his bid to make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster thanks to Haseley, and is currently among the 28 players at the Phillies’ alternate training site in Lehigh Valley. Mickey Moniak and Scott Kingery are also among those players looking to contribute at the minor league level and work their way back up to the majors.

Although there is no official word on the extent of Haseley’s injury, the topic of centerfield roster spots is back on the table just one day into the 2021 season. If Haseley does miss extended time, who do the Phillies call-up from their 28 player roster pool at Lehigh Valley? The first player that comes to mind would be Odubel Herrera but as we all know, any decisions around Herrera come easy.

Herrera was red hot to start Spring Training, but definitely cooled off in the closing weeks. He finished camp batting .231 (12-for-52) with a double, four home runs, a walk, and 11 strikeouts. His OBP was just .245. After losing his spot to Haseley as Spring Training came to an end in Clearwater, it would make the most sense to bring him up to the major leagues, although I’ve already had enough of the storylines and talk about Herrera after Spring Training and would rather see him get moved or spend his time in the minor leagues until his contract runs out after this season.

That would then leave the Phillies with two options in Mickey Moniak and Scott Kingery. As we all know, Kingery struggled to find his swing during Spring Training. I think the Phillies and I both agree that Kingery needs to rebuild his swing and be a productive hitter in the minor leagues before getting a call to rejoin the Phillies.

Moniak had a terrific Spring Training and entered camp bigger and stronger than we have seen in the past. The 22-year old centerfielder slashed .273/.385/.727 with a 1.112 OPS in 18 games this spring. He had six hits in 22 at-bats with a double, triple, two home runs, and two RBI. Moniak walked twice and struck out six times.

Mickey Moniak has handled himself extremely well over the past few years and has continued to progress his game. If the Phillies are deciding between Herrera and Moniak, I would have to lean towards Moniak, who had a better Spring than Herrera and is six years younger without the baggage that Herrera would bring with him to the major leagues. Although I do believe in second chances and giving people the opportunity to redeem themselves, Herrera and the Phillies have too much history to bring him back up to the major league level.

Mickey Moniak should the the number one player on the list for a call-up if Haseley misses time. Of course, that’s still undetermined. We should know more about his injury later today.

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