Amaro: No plans to send Dom Brown to the minors

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With an 0-for-3 night in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday, Domonic Brown's batting average has hit the Mendoza Line. He's hitting just .138 with five walks and 17 strikeouts for the month of May, a stark contrast from a year ago when he hit .303 and belted 12 home runs on his way to NL Player of the Month honors.

I'm not sure anybody has quite figured out what's going on yet. Andrew Unterberger outlined some potential issues last week—while posing the question whether Brown is actually any good or not. Hitting coach Wally Joyner had a lot to do with unlocking Brown last year, but he's gone now. Maybe the kid just has a little Pat Burrell in him.

Whatever the case exactly, the Philadelphia Phillies are stuck with Dom for now. The only option the club really has is to demote the guy and let him work it out in the minors—which, according to Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News, isn't going to happen. General manager Ruben Amaro tells the newspaper there is no plan to send Brown down at this stage.

Wouldn't it serve the Phillies and both players well if they changed positions, with Ruf getting a look as the team's regular leftfielder and Brown getting regular at-bats in the minor leagues, where results don't matter and the spotlight isn't nearly as bright?

"Not at this stage," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told the Daily News when asked if sending Brown down as an option. "We have to get Dom right here before we start thinking about that stuff."

I'm not sure why they would have to get Brown right before thinking about a demotion. Getting him right is kind of the reason for the demotion, no?

In any event, Amaro doesn't seem to be considering that option at all for the moment. And Phils skipper Ryne Sandberg hasn't given any indication he's going to quit giving Brown regular starts, either. So I suppose the only question left to ask is how far will Brown's numbers sink before he turns it around?

>> Phils' Amaro sticking with Brown [DN]

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