PHILADELPHIA — Since the Phillies selected Bryson Stott in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft, his biggest advocate has been fellow Las Vegas native Bryce Harper.
Never has that been more true than after a 9-1 win Tuesday evening over the Athletics, a contest that saw Stott homer for the third time in five games. Harper made clear where he stands on how Stott should be utilized moving forward.
"He's an everyday player," Harper said of Stott. "When you have a guy that needs to play every day ... lefty, righty, it don't matter ... he's gonna keep having good at-bats. He's an everyday guy, he always has been. When you take an everyday guy out of the lineup, it's tough for them to kind of get it going each day. I think you guys have seen that over the past couple days. I hope he gets that chance."
Bryce Harper said he hopes Bryson Stott gets the chance to play every day.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/8EooQHTnFJ
The Phillies have had a stretch of right-handed pitchers in recent days, which is why Stott has gotten consistent playing time. For the bulk of his career, he's been platooned with Edmundo Sosa, who not only provides a spark, but has typically mashed left-handed pitching in his career. Sosa has hit .268 with a .789 OPS against lefties in his career. Stott, entering the night, was a .252 career hitter with a .676 OPS against southpaws. However, while Stott was off to a very slow start prior to this past weekend's roadtrip in Miami, he did have four hits in 18 at-bats against lefties (.308) coming into play Tuesday.
What Harper is suggesting is that regardless of what it means for the rest of the infield, Stott needs to get a chance to play every day.
The first real test for interim manager Don Mattingly will come Wednesday, with the A's set to give the ball to lefty Jeffrey Springs. This could be a good place to test Stott and/or Brandon Marsh getting more consistent at-bats against lefties. While left-handed hitters haven't fared as well as righties so far this season against Springs, he has reverse splits for his career. Across parts of nine MLB seasons, lefties have a .740 OPS against Springs, while righties have a .692 OPS.
Mattingly could consider starting Stott at second base Wednesday, but also getting Sosa in the lineup at third base. That would mean Alec Bohm — who has gotten off to an ice-cold start in 2026 — would be on the bench.
Prior to Tuesday's game, Mattingly was asked whether there's a point where the Phillies will consider alternative arrangements at the hot corner if Bohm doesn't begin to hit.
"Whenever that is, it's not now," Mattingly said. "I've seen Alec, he's another big sample, he's always hit. Smaller sample, he's not hitting right now. And I think last year he may have started out slowly also. So it's not like this is totally out of the norm. Obviously, he doesn't wanna struggle, we don't want him to struggle. But from my standpoint, I'm confident in him bouncing back."
Bohm went 1-for-3 with a walk and a single Tuesday, so it's not as though he had the type of performance where putting him on the bench tomorrow would necessarily make sense. Aidan Miller continues to not be in play, so right now, Bohm is the best option for the Phillies at third base. They need him to get going to be good.
So Mattingly has some tough choices ahead of him Wednesday.
For his part, Stott was pretty forthcoming when asked about how playing every day might help him to stay in a rhythm at the plate.
"Obviously, it's something that I want to do," Stott said. "Just kind of been a career thing for me of the more I play and the rhythm I can get in and do things like that ... and we faced a few righties in a row now, kind of feel just that rhythm of the game and the season and things like that.
"I mean, that's not up to me, as much as I would want it to be," Stott added. "We're just here to win, and win a bunch of games."
Bryson Stott on Bryce Harper saying he’s an everyday player and what getting those consistent at-bats would mean
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/dHFLBsKWOS
