Phillies acquire former top-prospect outfielder from Athletics, will make Opening Day roster
With under 24 hours until the first pitch of Opening Day, the Phillies acquired a low-risk, high-reward talent from the Oakland Athletics.
24-year-old Christian Pache is heading to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor-league arm Billy Sullivan, the team announced earlier.
Phillies Acquire Christian Pache for RHP Billy Sullivan
To make room for Pache on the 40-man roster, 1B Rhys Hoskins has been played on the 60-day injured list. Pache doesn’t have any remaining options, so he will start the year on the 26-man roster and will more than likely take Dalton Guthrie’s place as the last bench outfielder.
Pache was once a top prospect just two years ago, and at 24 years old, still has a lot of potential. His bat hasn’t panned out at the major league level, as he’s hit just .156/.205/.234 in 115 games. He’s struck out 92 times and has logged just 48 hits, but has some big moments that give the Phillies some hope.
The Phils are in on Pache because of his glove. He’s flashed the leather throughout his entire baseball career and is a very quick, smart defender in one of the most important positions in the game. Pache will be used as a defensive replacement late in the game for Castellanos/Schwarber and will hit 9th and play center on days that Marsh needs a break.
The potential is there. Pache slashed .302/.362/.419 in 43 Spring Training at-bats in 2023. We’ve seen Kevin Long fix many different bats in the Phillies lineup, most specifically Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, and Edmundo Sosa. Hopefully, Christian Pache is next in line for the Kevin Long experience.
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