Before the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers made their big trade in mid-December, Phillip Ervin seemed to be a near lock to make the 2019 opening day roster. But when the Reds went out and acquired Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, things got a bit dicier. It wasn’t a crazy idea to still think that Ervin could make the roster as an outfielder. Especially since the team wasn’t sure that they had a center fielder and he’s capable of handling the position.
But within the last month we’ve heard Cincinnati manager David Bell note multiple times that he thinks the team will have a 13-man pitching staff for most of the season. And that would leave the team with a bench that would include three position players and whoever the backup catcher would be. That makes it very tough to see where Phillip Ervin could play his way onto the roster. That is unless injuries happened or a trade before the season begins opened a spot.
That’s not going to stop him from making it a tough decision. And through five games played, that’s exactly what Phillip Ervin is doing. He’s hitting .455 with three walks and just one strikeout. He’s also homered twice and doubled. Small sample size alert, of course, but he’s killed the baseball when given the chance thus far.
When you look at the skillset of Phillip Ervin, he makes a lot of sense as a backup outfielder. He can play all three outfield spots capably. There’s a little bit of pop in his bat, and he’s got a solid understanding of the strikezone. That gives him value as a pinch hitter and spot starter. But he’s also a good base runner, too. He hasn’t run a ton in his big league career, he’s 10-for-12 in 106 games played. But he’s stolen 30+ bases in the minor leagues three times in his career. When looking at the 90-foot running splits made available via Statcast, Ervin is the fastest Red on the team in 2019. He’s got value in multiple aspects of the game, even if he may not be a starter at this point.
Despite being a rather well-rounded bench player, there just doesn’t seem to be room for the former 1st rounder on the Reds roster. With an outfield that seems like it’s going to include Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel, Matt Kemp, and Scott Schebler, and the short bench – the roster spot just isn’t there. If the Reds wind up going with a 12-man pitching staff, that probably doesn’t open up a spot. That could leave the bench with two of the previously mentioned outfielders, Derek Dietrich, Jose Iglesias, and the backup catcher.
If there’s not a spot in Cincinnati for Phillip Ervin, he’s probably heading back to Triple-A. Last year he put together his best season there since the year he was drafted. In Louisville he hit .289/.373/.491 for the Bats in 48 games and 202 plate appearances. The sample size is only a third of the season, but he performed quite well and probably doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors. But he’s got options and that’s likely going to come into play.