PHOENIX — The Phillies approached the 2022 offseason knowing a star-studded class of free-agent shortstops was available. So before dispersing for the winter, Rob Thomson made sure the most frequent occupant of that position in the previous season understood the rumblings he might hear.
“We knew at the end of the year last year that we were probably going to go after a shortstop, and I had a short conversation with Bryson,” Thomson said Thursday. “I said, if we go after a shortstop, how do you feel about playing second base? He said, it doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m playing someplace.”
In his first year as a full-time second baseman, Bryston Stott is a Gold Glove finalist, one of four Phillies shortlisted Thursday. He joins pitchers Taijuan Walker and Zack Wheeler plus two-time Gold Glove catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Stott is reticent to allow too much of the spotlight from an individual award to fall on him. But his shift to second is inherently a team-first move.
“Obviously it would be cool, but I think this team has eyes on bigger trophies and team-oriented stuff,” Stott said. “Obviously, it’s cool to get an individual one, but like I said, that’s not the trophy that I particularly want right now. I mean, the three other guys are very well-deserving.”
Stott made 41 of his 146 starts as a rookie at second base, mostly while Jean Segura was injured. The first-round pick in the 2019 draft played just 12 games there in the minors. But Stott understood that landing a shortstop – it would be Trea Turner for 11 years and $300 million – was the Phillies’ most obvious route to improvement from last year’s pennant run, which would mean a change for him.
He’s instantly become elite at second, fourth among all players in outs above average at plus-17. He’s become a rock for a team that entered with defensive questions marks. To his right, Turner led the majors with 27 errors. To his left, the Phillies cycled through four first baseman after losing Rhys Hoskins to injury, then helped Bryce Harper as he learned the position.
Stott’s co-finalists are in similar situations – Nico Horner of the Cubs, who signed Dansby Swanson, and San Diego’s Ha-Seong Kim, moved off short by Xander Bogaerts. (Kim is also nominated at the utility spot, where Mookie Betts is the odds-on favorite.)
Stott said the biggest adjustment was playing more with two hands, being more secure with extra time to make plays. He’s worked hard with infield coach Bobby Dickerson.
“Just the way he gets his point across. Whether it’s taking you on the side and letting you know or screaming in front of all the people watching in Clearwater, he does everything his own way,” Stott said. “I think the infield has kind of bought into his way. It’s not just his way or the highway. You can have the conversation, which I think helps as well.”
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Garrett Stubbs didn’t get into a playoff game in 2022. He got just one inning, the final one of the World Series, in 2021 with the Astros.
So Thomson getting him into the Game 2 rout of Arizona was a priority.
“I felt bad last year that we went the entire postseason – he was the only guy that didn’t play, and I felt bad because he is such a big part of our clubhouse,” Thomson said Wednesday. “He’s such a great team guy that I just felt awful, and it took me a while to get over it really.”
Stubbs, the consummate backup catcher and the Phillies’ official vibe curator, batted .264 with five homers in 46 games last year. He struggled this year with a .204 average in 41 games, his solitary homer in next-to-last series of the season.
“Stubbs has an incredible energy, and I honestly admire it because he’s one of those guys that, especially in the postseason, he knows he’s never going to play or rarely is going to play, but he embraces it,” Ranger Suarez said. “He’s going to support the team from the bench.”
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Craig Kimbrel admits it’s taken him on the order of years to understand the changing utilization of closers. Having 417 saves, eighth-most in history, and nine All-Star appearances long offered some certainty.
But Kimbrel has come to see things differently, grasping that the final three outs aren’t always those best suited for him and his team’s needs.
“Having a better understanding – with Topper, the communication that we have with each other is great – he gives me an idea of what he has in his head and then relays it to not just to me, but every single one of us,” Kimbrel said. “And just having that and knowing that prepares us to be ready for kind of like just about everything that we see in the game that might come.”
In the 7-1 start to the postseason, things have only gotten complicated once, the Game 4 close-out of Atlanta when Kimbrel trotted in for the seventh. Matt Strahm closed that game. The bullpen entered Thursday with a 1.09 ERA in 24.2 innings.
Kimbrel is a big part of that, on and off the mound.
“He’s really had a really good year for us, probably better than expected, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said. “But more than that, (it’s) what he’s done in talking with the younger relievers down in the bullpen about handling situations and slowing the game down and breaking the game down into little segments where they can work through situations.”
Source: Berkshire mont