Prior to the Phillies doubleheader Wednesday, there was just one team in the majors, midway through May, that had yet to see a rookie make an MLB roster this season.
It was of course, the Phillies.
Due in part to their veteran lineup, good health and depth, just 29 hitters have had an at bat for the team this season, the fewest of any team over 43 total games played.
On the mound, they've been even more discriminatory with contributions — just 14 different pitchers had thrown a pitch for the club this year prior to Wednesday afternoon (also the fewest in baseball).
With an opportunity for a 27th man to come to South Philly for a day to pitch in the rainy twinbill against the Cardinals, the Phillies elected not to go with Moisés Chace or Mick Abel, both crushing it right now in the minors and top-10 organizational talents. Those two have been starting games this season, so their lack of promotions makes sense.
The Phillies also did not choose to call up their best minor league relievers, including Max Lazar, a 25-year-old who has a 3.52 ERA and three saves for the Iron Pigs (who admittedly wouldn't be making a debut, as he pitched in 11 MLB games last year).
Nor did they bring up their first ever Japanese signee, Koyo Aoyagi who has allowed just one earned run in 9.1 innings of relief so far.
They instead called up recently acquired journeyman reliever Daniel Robert, 30, who's making just his second stint in the majors (after making one with the Rangers for 5.2 innings last season). Technically, that makes Robert still a rookie, but the Phillies are still waiting to call up someone to make his MLB debut.
A doubleheader call up does not count as a minor league option, so it was just a matter of preference in this case. Robert is a big righty who has pitched for six minor league seasons — with Tommy John surgery mixed in.
Barring an injury, it doesn't seem like the Phillies are in any rush to give anyone their MLB debut. And even if they add someone to the IL, they still might not have a Show debut to divvy out.
If the rotation needs a starter, they have Taijuan Walker ready to slot back into the No. 5 spot. They also have Joe Ross in the pen, who has recently started games as well. If they need a fifth starter a month and a half from now, Andrew Painter is starting to ramp up in Triple-A, and is expected to be big-league ready sometime this summer.
In the bullpen, more permanent relief pitching reinforcements are likely to come via trade around the July 31 deadline.
If they need a position player, Otto Kemp seems like the obvious choice. The 25-year-old would-be rookie has 10 home runs and 36 RBI through 39 games, and is hitting .322. He can play anywhere in the infield. Óscar Mercado and Christian Arroyro are other depth pieces in Triple-A likely to get a position player call up, but each has major league experience. It's possible the Phillies go for someone with experience, despite the energy Kemp might bring with him south from Allentown.
The way this Phillies team is constructed, you can be quite sure that the fewer number of players they need to use this season, the better things are going. A healthy regular season from this group of superstar (and expensive) veterans likely means they're in a very good position come October and beyond.
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