Rob Thomson Surprisingly Willing To Adjust Philadelphia Phillies Batting Order

Changes could be coming to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup for the first time.

Aug 21, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Truist Park / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

At this point in the offseason, pretty much everything is on the table when it comes to the Philadelphia Phillies finding the extra gear they need to get over the top.

While fans probably wish that involved spending for another high-profile free agent, there's been no indication that is coming before the start of the upcoming campaign, so it will be the familiar faces who will attempt to win the franchise's third-ever World Series title.

What could potentially help this offense avoid the lulls it went through at times?

An adjustment to the batting order.

Since Rob Thomson took over as manager of the Phillies, he's been rigid when it comes to the lineup and where his stars are hitting on a daily basis. The discourse surrounding if Kyle Schwarber should be the leadoff man is always a point of discussion, no matter how the slugger is performing at the plate, good or bad.

To this point, the skipper hasn't shown much willingness to alter how the order is set, but it seems like he's changing his tune heading into the spring.

"I think we'll play with it during spring training and see where it goes, see what the best fit for us is. And maybe it's a situation where if we're facing a lefty, we do one thing; if we're facing a righty, we do another thing. Maybe it's moving Schwarber behind [Bryce] Harper to protect Harper more, which maybe that moves Harper up in the lineup a little bit, not leadoff but maybe two," he said on "The Phillies Show" podcast.

That should be notable for every fan.

Again, Thomson was almost dismissive anytime the possibility of changing the batting order was brought up, so him even mentioning moving around two of his best hitters is something that's eye-opening.

It's common in today's game for the lineup to be constructed based on pitching matchups, so even if he starts with that, it would be a huge change from what's occurred the past two-and-a-half seasons.

To be fair to Thomson, it's not like the offense has been bad.

When looking at the two years he's fully been in charge, Philadelphia ranked eighth in runs (796), homers (220) and RBI (771) in 2023, and fifth in runs (784), seventh in homers (198) and fifth in RBI (750) this past season.

However, if he can put his stars in position to succeed even further, then this Phillies offense could reach another gear with all the elite hitters they have throughout the lineup.

Recommended Articles

feed