It has been far from sunny in Philadelphia when it comes to the Phillies over the last 10 days, dropping seven of their last 10 games.
The team was out of the game before fans settled into their seats from the concession stands in Friday night’s 9-0 drubbing to Atlanta. The offense mustered just six hits with Bryce Harper responsible for half of them.
The Phillies and Braves play on national television the next two nights and the storylines surrounding the back-to-back NL East Division champs will be magnified and shared to the masses.
A story so far that consists of chapters that will tell a tale of a team with a losing record, entering Saturday three games below .500 at 8-11, the first time the Phillies have been three games under sea level since June 6, 2023, aided by the surprising lack of success at Citizens Bank Park, which has been one of the best home field advantages across baseball.
A chapter on a slow offensive start, coming into Saturday night’s clash with the 11th-lowest team OPS in the big leagues at .682 and an offense that has mustered 72 runs through 19 games, a 3.8 run per game average which is tied for sixth-lowest technically, but only one run less than the sliding Mets, the light hitting Royals, the struggling Giants and an injury plagued Blue Jays squad.The starting pitching also has not been up to par to this point of the season with Taijuan Walker’s struggles, Jesus Luzardo trying to figure out his misfortune once runners reach base as the starting five have yielded a 5.55 ERA so far this season.
Every story needs a hero.
It’s unfair to think that the 25-year-old converted outfielder will become a mainstay in the lineup as the right-handed platoon bat against lefties, but the Phillies are hoping Reyes can provide a spark to this struggling offense for the time being.
The 6-foot-4, 256 pound Bani, Dominican Republic native earned an early call to the show in a loud way.
In just 18 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Reyes slashed .333/.345/.654 with a 1.000 OPS in 81 at-bats. He bashed six homers and drove in 15 runs, including a two home run game Friday night in St. Paul Minnesota.
He was the Eastern League MVP last season in Doule-A Reading where he slashed .335/.365/.572 with a .937 OPS to go with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs in 95 games.
There is some good amount of chasing with Reyes. He doesn’t walk much at all with a 17 strikeout to two walk ratio this season and has 256 career strikeouts to just 76 walks across 1,499 plate appearances.
But when Reyes gets a hold of one, the ball jumps off his bat. That's what the Phillies are looking for.
A potential power surge from the slugger to help boost a lineup that has lost three straight by six or more runs for the first time since 2018.
To make room for Reyes, Otto Kemp was sent back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after a 2-for-20 start and some difficulty in left field.
Kemp’s struggles were a double negative both at the plate and in the field. Not for a lack of effort. It’s not easy being the short side of a platoon as a right-handed bat, but that is the lane Kemp has right now to be a part of the big league roster.
For the time being, Reyes, who has made just 40 career starts in left field and in need of plenty more reps, is swinging a hot bat.
That’s what the Phillies need. A jolt. A shot in the arm for a team that has the worst run differential in the National League at -34. The next closest team is the Juan Soto-less Mets at -24.
The Phillies are trying something.
Will it be the solution? Only time will tell.
At worst, they are in the same position they were with Kemp with less position flexibility.
