TORONTO, ON – JULY 3: Steward Berroa #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on from the dugout before playing the Houston Astros in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on July 3, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
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The Philadelphia Phillies returned this season with largely the same roster as it had in a disappointingly brief playoff run last year.
After re-signing veterans Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto, the team appeared content to run it back. But the peripheries of the roster have seen some changes.
The Phillies called up top prospects Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford for the Opening Day roster, they swapped Nick Castellanos for Adolis Garcia and modified the bullpen.
And the team has been shuttling Otto Kemp back and forth from the minor leagues as well.
“Following an offseason in which the Phils lauded Kemp as the right-handed-hitting half of a left-field platoon, he went just 2-for-20 with one walk and nine strikeouts in 10 games before being optioned to Lehigh Valley,” Paul Casella wrote for MLB.com. “The 26-year-old converted outfielder also had his struggles in left field, a position he’s been learning on the fly.”
Philadelphia Phillies Bring In Former Toronto Blue Jays Outfielder
After starting the season in the majors, then being optioned, then being called back up, Kemp is now back in the minor leagues. And the Phillies have brought in a former Toronto Blue Jays’ switch hitter to replace him.
“They are expected to add Steward Berroa, a switch-hitting outfielder, to the active roster,” Matt Gelb reported for The Athletic. “Berroa was a waiver claim last month. He turns 27 in June and has 30 career games in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. He has a .761 OPS in 168 plate appearances in Triple A this season while mostly playing center field.”
Berroa made his big-league debut with the Blue Jays in 2024, logging just seven hits with 14 strikeouts in 37 at-bats. The Blue Jays then traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers shortly before Opening Day last year, and the Dodgers traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle of the season.
Berroa played in just two games with the Brewers’ big-league club last season and then traded him to the Phillies in April. In nearly 150 at-bats for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, the 26-year-old has slashed .250/.360/.392.
Philadelphia Phillies Take New Approach With Bench After Replacing Otto Kemp
“Berroa probably will not play much for the Phillies, but he can provide speed and defense,” Gelb added. “That is not something the Phillies have had on their bench.”
While the team seemed hopeful that Kemp would be a significant big-league contributor alongside the roster’s returning veterans, it now appears that the Phillies are willing to mix things up after that didn’t quite pan out.