A number of veteran free agent infielders could help the Phillies improve their depth

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Veteran Jose Iglesias could help the Phillies infield depth

Most of the talk surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies and the pursuit of further free agent help rightfully surrounds the big names of outfielder Bryce Harper and infielder Manny Machado.

However, the club could still use a more veteran option as a reserve infielder. That would cease to be the case if Machado is signed and both Hernandez and Franco remain with the team, but that scenario seems like a long-shot at best.

As things stand today the Phillies starting infield would be made up of first baseman Rhys Hoskins, second baseman Cesar Hernandez, shortstop Jean Segura, and third baseman Maikel Franco.

Manager Gabe Kapler has also announced that Franco would be directly challenged in spring training by Scott Kingery, who remains blocked at his natural position by the presence of Hernandez, who is in the final year of his contract.

Only two other infield options are currently on the Phillies 40-man roster. One of those is 21-year old Arquimedes Gamboa, who is not likely to see big-league action this season, and who isn’t much of a prospect in any event. The other is Mitch Walding, a 26-year-old corner infielder who has 19 big-league plate appearances to his name.

The club has a handful of players with infield experience who are signed and participating at spring training as non-roster invitees: Malquin Canelo, Phil Gosselin, Austin Listi, Gift Ngoepe, Gregorio Petit, Austin Romine, and Sean Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was probably the most attractive of those options, the one with the best chance to actually help the Phillies at the big-league level. The 33-year-old has 11-years of experience in Major League Baseball and has played every position on the diamond except catcher and pitcher.

Unfortunately, Rodriguez has now reportedly suffered a torn right meniscus (knee tendon) and may require surgery. Depending on the severity and the pace of his recovery it could mean that he won’t be able to play until later in the summer.

There do remain some veteran free agent options should the Phillies decide to look outside of the organization for infield bench help. One of those is former two-time NL All-Star Josh Harrison, who has started in MLB at both second base and third base, and who has also filled in at shortstop and the outfield. I wrote about him here at Phillies Nation almost exactly one month ago.

Looking for veteran versatility for the bench could lead Phillies to Josh Harrison

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Harrison could help the Phillies as a versatile veteran off the bench

While all of Phillies Nation waits on verdicts in the Bryce Harper and Manny Machado cases, the team is not sleeping on other moves to improve the overall roster.

A glance around the Phillies depth chart reveals, assuming the club’s power brokers actually want to contend in 2019, that a couple of important bench pieces may be missing.

Those two pieces would be a veteran infielder with proven ability at multiple positions, and a power bat who would be comfortable coming off the bench as a late-innings pinch-hitter while seeing limited opportunities otherwise.

For fans who were around during the 2008 championship heyday, think Greg Dobbs and Matt Stairs. For older fans who can harken back to the 1980 championship team, think Ramon Aviles and Del Unser.

The Phillies are reportedly looking into one such player. MLB insider Jon Heyman of Fancred sports  tweeted out the following on Sunday afternoon:

Jon Heyman

✔@JonHeyman

Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Phillies and Rays are among teams in on Josh Harrison, a great and versatile defender

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1:21 PM - Jan 20, 2019

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Harrison would fit perfectly into the role of a versatile and experienced infielder who could capably handle multiple positions. Now a free agent after spending the first eight seasons of his big-league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Harrison has seen action at five different positions.

A native of Cincinnati, the now 31-years-old Harrison was the sixth-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of Cincinnati.

At the July 2009 non-waiver trade deadline, the Cubs shipped Harrison to the Pirates as part of a three-prospect package to acquire a pair of veteran left-handed pitchers, Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow.

Harrison broke into Major League Baseball with Pittsburgh in the 2011 season, and finally became a regular during a breakout 2014 campaign. That year, Harrison hit .315 with 58 extra-base hits, making his first NL All-Star team.