Mickey Moniak has secured a spot on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster, will he land the starting job in center?
With just three games left in Spring Training before Opening Day, the Philadelphia Phillies are working on finalizing their roster. Yesterday, the Fightins’ had a lineup that looked to be close to what we can expect to see on Opening Day against Detroit, beating the Tigers 8-7 thanks to multi-home run games from both Bryce Harper and Mickey Moniak.
Before the game yesterday, Joe Girardi reportedly told Mickey Moniak that he had officially made the Opening Day roster. As stated above, Moniak then went out and hit not one, but two home runs to power the Phillies to victory.
Mickey Moniak two home runs
Mickey Moniak, who wasn’t even being considered to make the Phillies roster has proved everyone wrong this Spring by slashing .310/.310/.931 in 29 at-bats, with 5 HRs, 9 RBIs, 7 runs scored, 9 hits, and 3 doubles. Thanks to an Odubel Herrera injury and an Adam Haseley trade, Moniak is now a legitimate outfield option for the Phillies heading into the 2022 season.
Moniak has played 29 total games in the majors over the last two years, hitting just .128/.241/.192 in those at-bats. Moniak needed to find his swing during the offseason if he wanted any chance of making the team and with the help of new hitting coach Kevin Long, it looks like he’s done just that.
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Matt Vierling was the favorite to land the starting centerfield job, but Moniak has made the race a lot closer than anyone expected. Vierling was in a Phillies uniform at the end of last season, appearing in 34 games, slashing .324/.364/.479 with an .843 OPS.
Vierling notched 23 hits in 71 at-bats with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and six RBI. However, he hasn’t really impressed this Spring, slashing just .194/.242/.597 with six hits and six RBI in 31 at-bats. That could lead us to Mickey Moniak being the starting centerfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, when they open up the 2022 season at home against the Oakland Athletics.
Crazy.
Joe Girardi still has plenty of decisions to make regarding the final roster and we’re just four days away from watching regular-season baseball.
Up Next for the Phillies
The Phillies take on the New York Yankees today at 1:05 EST.
Mandatory Credit: Getty Images
[…] Girardi told Mickey Moniak he officially made the Opening Day roster…but will he end up getting the starting centerfield job as […]
[…] Moniak’s name listed in centerfield. It will be even more crazy if he is announced as the starting center fielder tomorrow when the Phillies take the field against the Oakland […]