Cesar Hernandez aiming for Phillies' second base job

Share

As a group of reporters hovered nearby his locker in the Phillies’ clubhouse on Sunday, Cesar Hernandez was dumbfounded when he found out it was to interview him.

Hernandez obliged and sure had something to say, even if it wasn’t at great length and needed the help of Phillies first base coach Juan Samuel as translator.

“He definitely feels like he could be the second baseman of the future and he’s trying to take advantage of the opportunity he is getting right now,” Samuel said, relaying Hernandez’s words after the Phillies’ 9-2 win over the Cardinals.

The opportunity is receiving more starts as Chase Utley’s season-long slump prolongs with each passing game.

Hernandez started at second base Sunday and delivered what manager Ryne Sandberg called the biggest at-bat of the game. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Hernandez lined a single to right-center to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. It was a situation in which the Phillies had failed time and time again this season, but Hernandez is hungry for opportunity and wasn’t about to let it go to waste.

“What I was thinking is trying to stay up the middle,” Hernandez said. “I thought it was an important thing to keep the rally going to score a run. But the whole mindset was to stay up the middle with the pitch.”

It stuck out to Sandberg.

“That was probably the key offensive swing of the day was Hernandez,” Sandberg said. “Two outs, we had an opportunity, he came up with the two-out hit and that was big. He played a good game. I also thought he played a very good game at second base, made some good plays.”

The Phillies have tried sprinkling Hernandez across the infield to get him playing time this season. The 25-year-old has made 13 starts at second base, eight at shortstop and five at third base.

After Sunday, maybe more are to come.

“Possibly,” Sandberg said. “Cesar, I’d like to see him play more. I’ve been trying to get him in there. He does a nice job, so going forward ... wait and see.”

Hernandez is second on the Phillies in walks (17) despite not playing every day. He’s hitting .225, but just last season he hit .340 at Double A. In 2013, .309 at Triple A. The Phillies have always liked his bat, it was just matter of finding him a spot. That’s why they tried him in center field for 22 games during 2013.

But it sounds like Hernandez wants second base.

“I feel really good and my timing is better now that [I’m] playing a few games in a row,” Hernandez said. “[I’m] feeling more comfortable the way [I’m] playing out there.”

Contact Us