Fare thee well, Uncle Rico
It’s near time for the final form of the Phillies roster to take shape, which means that the regulars need work. To get that work, they’ll need to take more time from players that were on the cusp, so cuts had to be made.
Following today’s game, the Phillies optioned RHP Mick Abel to Lehigh Valley (AAA) and reassigned C Paul McIntosh, INF Otto Kemp and OF’s Matt Kroon & Gabriel Rincones Jr. to minor league camp.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 11, 2025
Thus closeth the book on the attempts of Otto Kemp and Matt Kroon to make the initial roster.
Nothing surprising here, of course. None of these players mentioned above were considered to be a shot at making the Opening Day roster. However, there are some good things to see. Gabriel Rincones, Jr. had a marvelous camp and opened up some eyes with his performance. Whether or not he can handle left handed pitching will determine his ultimate role in the major leagues. Kemp and Kroon are nice players, but the likelihood of their being even role players seems small at this point. The team always seems to be looking in the other direction when considering players for the bench. McIntosh will serve as a backup catcher at some point if enough injuries hit the team. We just don’t want that to happen.
Mick Abel is an interesting case. At some point, the plug may need to be pulled on the idea of his being a major league starter. He still is struggling controlling his still quite good stuff when put through starts, which makes one wonder if he ever will. He’s still young, 23 years old, but he’s coming up on his clock in the minors where the team will have to make a decision soon. If he still cannot throw strikes with enough consistency, maybe the best idea for him and the team will be a move to the bullpen.