The Philadelphia Phillies could look to shake up their roster as they prepare for a possible postseason run, but their options remain limited.
While president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is never afraid to search outside the organization for reinforcements, Philadelphia’s farm system has become noticeably thin. That issue only intensified after the club promoted Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter to the major-league roster earlier this season.
“MLB Pipeline recently released their Top 30 prospects for each club. They ranked the Phillies’ system 20th,” Cole Weintraub of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote earlier this year. “In other words, it’s thin.”
The Phillies currently have only two prospects ranked inside MLB’s overall Top 100: shortstop Aidan Miller and pitcher Gage Wood. However, Miller’s development has been slowed this season because of back problems.
Now, despite already dealing with limited infield depth and Miller being sidelined, Philadelphia has moved on from one of its more experienced infield options.
According to the team’s official transaction log, the Phillies released switch-hitting shortstop Sergio Alcantara not long after signing him to a minor-league deal.
Alcantara originally broke into the majors with the Detroit Tigers during the shortened 2020 season before later spending time with the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.
Over parts of four MLB seasons, Alcantara posted a .207/.278/.340 slash line. His most productive stretch came with Arizona, where he hit .241 with six home runs and 26 RBI across 71 games.
He appeared in only one game for the Giants last season before signing a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals that included a Spring Training invitation. However, he was released before making the Opening Day roster.
Philadelphia then signed him in late March, and Alcantara went on to appear in 35 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley before once again being let go.
During his stint with the IronPigs, Alcantara batted .223/.389/.348, numbers that apparently were not enough for the Phillies to keep him around despite their lack of infield depth.
Still, there is a chance Philadelphia could eventually regret the decision, especially if Miller’s path to becoming a reliable major-league option continues to stall.
Meanwhile, franchise shortstop Trea Turner still has seven years remaining on his massive $27 million-per-year contract, but his production at the plate has started to raise concerns. And although Alcantara was never viewed as a long-term answer for a contender like the Phillies, keeping extra infield depth available may have proven valuable.