Will the Phillies limit Chase Utley's playing time due to contract?
Chase Utley is in the midst of his worst season of professional baseball, and yet he's on pace to be guaranteed another eight-figure season with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki notes in a recent blog post that Utley is 256 plate appearances away from hitting the 500 plate appearances he needs to activate a club vesting option that will guarantee him a contract in 2016 for $15 million.
Throughout his 13 seasons in MLB, Utley has averaged 4.3 plate appearances per game, which would put him on pace to cross the threshold of 500 plate appearance at 60 more games played.
However, Utley's futility at the plate this season is poised to offset that trend.
After 64 games this season, the 36-year-old second baseman is hitting a mere .182/.258/.280 with four home runs and 25 RBI.
While manager Ryne Sandberg has hinted that Cesar Hernandez will be getting the start at second for the Phillies more often, the front office insists that it has no say in lineup decisions.
"That's up to the manager," president Pat Gillick said about Utley's playing time. "We don't have anything to say about that.
"Ruben [Amaro Jr.] to my knowledge and myself, we've never dictated to any of the managers their lineup," Gillick insisted. "They're free to make their lineup and play whomever they wish."
(h/t MLblogs.com)
