ST. LOUIS – Domonic Brown got the news he did not want to hear in person from Ruben Amaro Jr. The Phillies' general manager drove to the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday to tell Brown that he had been assigned to the minor leagues.
“He was disappointed, naturally, just like anyone else would be,” Amaro said. “We’re not doing this to punish him. We’re doing this to get him right.
“We want to get him back to the big leagues as soon as possible to be a contributor on our club. We know that he can be. But he hasn’t gotten to the point where he can do that. Hopefully he gets his swing right and gets back here soon. Hopefully this is very short-lived.”
Brown, 27, opened the season on the disabled list after missing time in spring training with Achilles tendinitis. His 20-day minor-league rehab assignment was to expire after Tuesday’s game and the player said he expected to join the big club in St. Louis for Wednesday night’s game.
Manager Ryne Sandberg hinted Monday that he had other plans for Brown and Amaro delivered the news Tuesday: Brown, who is making $2.5 million this season, was coming off the DL and being optioned to Triple A. Amaro agreed with Sandberg: After getting just five hits in 36 at-bats, Brown needed more time.
“It’s an organizational decision about getting him the time that will allow him to get right and work at his whole game and be ready in all phases, especially at-bats,” Sandberg said. “It’s really for his benefit.”
Brown was once the Phillies’ most highly-touted prospect. The outfielder made the NL All-Star team on the strength of one big month in 2013, but tailed off badly and hit just .235 with 10 homers, 63 RBIs and a .634 OPS last season.
Some of Brown’s critics believe he is an underachiever. Some believe he’s just not that good. Others believe he lacks fire and desire. Phillies officials still believe there’s upside there. That’s one reason they decided to give him more time in Triple A and not have him come to the majors to work on his game while jettisoning someone like Grady Sizemore.
The possibility has also been raised that the Phillies are trying to send Brown a message, a wake-up call of sorts, one that says, “It’s time to get going.”
Sandberg was asked if he believed Brown was “hungry” enough.
“You’ll have to ask him,” the manager said.
Amaro said the demotion was not meant as a message to tell Brown that he needs to produce more. But Amaro did not sound as if he’d mind if it turned out to be one.
“All the players need to understand that. That’s a given. I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded of that,” Amaro said. “But this is about getting him squared away. He hasn’t been consistent for a while. It’s up to us to try to get him there.”
Brown was not in Lehigh Valley's lineup on Tuesday night. By major-league rule, he has 72 hours to report to his minor-league club after being optioned.