With Harper at first, where does Hall fit in with Phillies?

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The opportunity Darick Hall had worked his entire career toward was ripped away in less than a week last year, but there was no time for the Phillies' first baseman to dwell on it.

Well, not in the moment anyway.

Even when Hall felt something in his right thumb as he attempted to dive into second base in an April 6 game against the Yankees last season, he didn't immediately realize how much things were about to change -- for both himself and the Phillies.

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Hall, who had stepped in as the Opening Day first baseman after Rhys Hoskins tore his left ACL last March, temporarily stayed in that game in the Bronx. He exited one inning later, however, and would soon find out he needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.

"At the time, I just kind of put it to the side, to be honest," Hall said prior to the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Twins on Saturday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark. "I didn't have time to really sift through it. I felt like I was on a mission. Even after I got hurt, it was just, 'Hey, let's get as healthy as we can and back to playing and try to help the team.'"

But by the time Hall returned nearly three months later, the Phillies were just a couple weeks away from deploying Bryce Harper at first base -- a plan that had been in the works since shortly after Hall's injury. With Harper and Kyle Schwarber splitting the DH reps, and Harper and Alec Bohm splitting time at first, there simply wasn't a spot for Hall down the stretch.

Hall returned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he put up some of the best numbers of his career. He hit .311 with a .941 OPS and 18 home runs in 74 games with the IronPigs last season -- but it just wasn't what he envisioned when he broke camp with the Phillies.

"There was a lot more reflecting that went on in the offseason, you know? It was a really hard year," Hall said. "It was a hard year on the body, the brain, the spirit. I was coming off the best year I ever had and I had a chance to make the team in spring [last year] and I actually make the team -- then, I go down and it changed a lot of things."

What if Hall had stayed healthy and hit anywhere near the level he did at Lehigh Valley? Would Harper still have taken up first base? Even if so, would Harper be the everyday first baseman this year? Would Hall?

Of course, it's still possible Harper would have undertaken the challenge to learn the new position. After all, it wasn't only because the team had lost both Hoskins and Hall. It was also to free up some DH days for Schwarber instead of reserving the position exclusively for Harper, who was unable to return to the outfield coming off Tommy John surgery.

But with Harper now cemented as the everyday first baseman, it's unclear where Hall stands.

While Hall is in the running for the final bench spot on the Opening Day roster, it's more likely that an outfielder -- specifically, Cristian Pache or Jake Cave -- has the inside track. After all, Harper is going to play every day, and on the rare occasion he needs a breather or a DH day, the club has Bohm -- and possibly Whit Merrifield -- ready to fill in.

"Who knows what's going to happen with that last guy on the roster once we get down to the end," manager Rob Thomson said. "Are we going to take a left-handed bat off the bench? Are we going to take one more extra left-handed-hitting outfielder? Who knows?"

So what's his message to Hall this spring?

"Just be himself, and he's doing that," Thomson said. "Strange things happen."

Hall knows as well as anyone that plans can change in an instant. It happened on March 23 last year when Hoskins went down at BayCare Ballpark … and again less than two weeks later when Hall went down at Yankee Stadium.

"Anything can happen, right? That's why you've just got to stay locked in," Hall said. "I'm always trying to do the best I can, because you never know when your name is going to be called. It's not always on your time, but you have to be ready for it."