WASHINGTON -- Ruben Amaro Jr. made it quite clear why he let Delmon Young go on Friday.
“He was great in the clubhouse, better than I thought he would be,” Amaro said. “I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about him. Other than that, I don’t think he performed consistently enough to warrant being on the club and taking at-bats away from Darin Ruf and Domonic Brown.”
Young became the second Phillies’ outfielder to be designated for assignment this week, joining Laynce Nix. Nix was let go when Brown came off the disabled list. Young got his pink slip after the Phils acquired more versatile outfielder Casper Wells off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
The Phillies are out of the race. They want to look at players who might help them next year. Brown, who made the NL All-Star team in July, is a no-brainer. He stays in left field while Ruf will get looks in right field. Cody Asche is another young player who was recently brought up from Triple A. He will continue to see action at third base.
“This is important for Ruf and Asche and anyone who is playing to be on the team or playing for a contract or something like that,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “This is a big time for them. Great chance. Sometimes you don’t get a chance like these guys get.”
Asche, 23, went 3 for 5 with a double and a homer on Thursday. It was his best game since joining the Phillies at the end of July. In nine games with the club, he is hitting .231 (6 for 26) with a homer and three RBIs.
Ruf, who recently turned 27, is hitting .303 (27 for 89) with five homers, nine RBIs and a .960 OPS in 89 at-bats since coming up a month ago when Ryan Howard had knee surgery.
Ruf has performed better in a month in the big leagues than he did in 83 games at Triple A this season. He hit .266 with seven homers, 46 RBIs and a .749 OPS in those games.
Amaro signed Young late in the winter because he was looking for a right-handed bat in the middle of order. Young, who turns 28 in September, missed the first month recovering from ankle surgery and was inconsistent over the next four months. He hit .261 with eight homers, 31 RBIs and a .699 OPS in 272 at-bats over 80 games.
In hindsight, the Phillies might have considered a right-field platoon of Ruf and Nate Schierholtz, or possibly John Mayberry and Schierholtz. The Phillies did not tender Schierholtz a contract last winter and he has since put up good numbers (.273/15/46/.842 OPS in 96 games) with the Chicago Cubs.
“We’re not perfect and we probably made a mistake on Schierholtz,” Amaro said. “We thought we had enough coverage from the left side. Whether he would have performed for us the way he performed for the Cubs, who knows?
“But at the same time, we have to move forward. If we don’t take chances on guys or do things to improve our club, what’s the point of doing this job? I thought (Young) was a low-risk, high-reward kind of a guy to bring on.
“As far as Ruf is concerned, it was a difficult option for us to bring him in for spring training and put the pressure on him to make the club because he was still learning to play the outfield. Once he got his feet wet and he was able to play more consistently, he got better and his confidence grew.”
Friday night marked Ruf’s third game in right field. A first baseman by trade, he began to learn left field last summer.
“He is not going to be a Gold Glover, but what we think he can bring to the table offensively warrants he get as many at-bats as possible, even if we may sacrifice some things defensively.”
Young signed an incentive-laden contract. He ended up making $1.75 million of a possible $3.5 million. The Phils have 10 days to dispose of Young’s contract, either by trade or release. Amaro said there has been “very little” trade discussion involving Young, but that Young wants to continue to play.
“Who knows?” Amaro said. “Someone may lose an outfielder or need another offensive player off the bench. Something like that could make him valuable to them. We’ll see what happens.”