Girardi: 'I believe in the guys in that room'

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Joe Girardi politely disagreed Tuesday when a reporter suggested that he might have been the Phillies’ most significant acquisition of the offseason.

Girardi knows that players win championships.

But a good manager helps. So can a good pitching coach and a good hitting coach. An informal poll of Phillies players shows they believe that Girardi, pitching coach Bryan Price and hitting coach Joe Dillon can make a significant difference in 2020. If so, maybe the Phils will surprise people and make the postseason for the first time since '11.

Phillies pitchers and catchers will work out for the first time on Wednesday at Carpenter Complex. Here are five highlights from Girardi’s 25-minute session with reporters on Tuesday:

Do the Phillies have enough?
Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA standings project the Phillies to finish fourth in the National League East with 76.8 wins. It is no surprise that Girardi believes they are better than that.

“I think there’s a ton of talent,” Girardi said. “I really do. I thought this team changed a lot when Andrew McCutchen went down. We’re going to get Andrew back. That’s really important. We added some players to make the team stronger than it was last year. But the biggest thing is I believe in the guys in that room and how hungry they are and they want to win, so to me, I think that’s a good formula for success.”

Who’s healthy?
Health is always a factor in how well a team plays. Girardi said right-handers Seranthony Dominguez and Victor Arano and left-hander Adam Morgan are healthy entering camp. Right-hander Tommy Hunter took his physical on Tuesday. If it goes well, the Phillies could announce his Major League contract on Wednesday. The Phils will place right-hander David Robertson on the 60-day injured list to make room for Hunter on the 40-man roster.

Girardi expressed some optimism that Robertson, who had Tommy John surgery last year, will pitch for the Phillies late in the second half.

“You get a Seranthony Dominguez that can stay healthy for the whole year -- that’s a huge addition,” Girardi said. “You’re talking about a guy that was a closer and an eighth-inning guy that wasn’t there a good portion of the season. Hopefully at some point we get D-Rob back. You get a David Robertson back sometime in the second half -- that’s [like] a Deadline trade that can be a difference-maker.”

Now, does that mean that everybody will be going 100 percent when camp opens? No. McCutchen, who had left ACL surgery in June, probably will not play in early Grapefruit League games. Girardi said it should not alarm anybody.

“I’ve always felt that players can probably play three weeks of games and be ready,” Girardi said. “There’s no rush to get him in Game 1, Game 2, Game 3. When he’s ready, he’s ready. But we’re happy with where he’s at, too.”

Hot corner
The expectation is that Jean Segura will open the season at second base and Scott Kingery will open at third, but Girardi is not publicly committing to anything.

“Jean will do work at third base and second base, as well as Scott,” Girardi said. “The one thing I want is the sum of the parts, not just one person individually and how it is best for us.”

Finish strong
Gabe Kapler is not the Phillies’ manager anymore, because his teams faded hard in the second half in 2018 and '19. Girardi’s teams typically play well in the second half.

“I think part of that is making sure players aren’t worn out in September,” Girardi said. “You start to ask a little more from players when you’re competing for a spot in [the postseason]. For example, I’m not a guy who uses relievers three days in a row, but in September, if I feel the player can handle the workload, I might ask him to do it one September day. I think so much of it is handling their workload throughout the season and understanding when players need a little break or they are physically tired, because the last thing we want is for anyone to go on the [IL].

“The prize is really in the month of October and not in the month of April.”

Hustle
Phillies fans thought Kapler needed to drop the hammer more on players when they did not hustle. Girardi has been asked numerous times about how he will handle lollygagging.

“It’s almost like a temper tantrum,” Girardi said. “It’s helping players learn to control their emotions.”

He used Bryce Harper as an example.

“We all know that Bryce plays hard every day,” Girardi said. “He runs hard all the time. So all of a sudden Bryce doesn’t run out a ball hard in the sixth inning for whatever reason. I’m just going to use him as an example. I’m not saying that he’s one of those guys. And then I take him out of the game. And you’re down a run with runners on first and second and two outs and Bryce Harper is not your hitter, because I took him out of the game. ... There’s a huge tradeoff there that you’re like, myself, the front office, the ownership, all the players on the team, all the fans would love to have Bryce Harper up in that situation.”

Girardi believes in playing hard. But this is not Little League. It is not high school. If a player does not run hard, he is not automatically yanked from the game. But the new skipper will not tolerate repeat offenders.

“I’ll deal with each guy on an individual basis,” he said.