Predicting Philadelphia Phillies’ Starting Lineup Next Season

For still-new manager Ryne Sandberg and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies, 2014 will bring some changes but also many struggles. Coming off a 2013 season which saw the team score the third-fewest runs in the National League and tied for fourth-fewest in all of baseball, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. will have to get extra creative this offseason in filling the holes in the lineup, namely a right-handed power bat in the likely form of a corner outfielder.

Catcher is also a priority for the Phillies, though there’s a good chance that Carlos Ruiz could be re-signed somewhat easily. He’d like to return and the Phillies would like to have him back, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reported late last month that there’s mutual interest to strike a new deal.

The starting rotation and bullpen also have their fair share of issues, but for the sake of this piece, I’ll stick strictly to the everyday starting lineup. It’s not exactly clear what moves will shape up this offseason and it’s definitely a question as to how Sandberg will pencil in his lineup on a day-to-day basis. For now, I’ll hazard a guess. Here’s a prediction of the Phillies’ starting lineup in 2014.

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