Danny

Sandoval

Sandoval went 0-for-2 in five days with the Phillies. He gets to keep a place on the 40-man roster for now, but he’ll be one of the first candidates to be dropped should the Phillies need to open up a spot.

Ramon Martinez has 14 at-bats in five weeks with the Phillies, but someone decided the team needed another utilityman. Sandoval, 26, was hitting .356/.399/.482 for the Red Barons. He might be a better use of a roster spot than Martinez, but there’s no reason for the Phillies to carry both.

An alternative at shortstop was needed with Jimmy Rollins hurting, so Sandoval fills David Bell’s roster spot. The 27-year-old made his major league debut for the Phillies last July. About all you need to know about him was that he was hitting .256/.289/.328 in 344 at-bats for the Red Barons. Once Rollins is back at 100 percent, the Phillies might send Sandoval down and try Brennan King or Bobby Scales as an alternative at third base.

We’re guessing Sandoval still didn’t learn to hit during his week in the minors. He’s just around to make Abraham Nunez look more like a major leaguer in comparison.

The move makes room for Jeff Conine. Sandoval will be back in September, but he’s not a major leaguer. He’s hit .179 with no-extra base hits in 28 at-bats for the Phillies.

Sandoval spent most of the second half of last season in the minors, but he shouldn’t be needed this year with Abraham Nunez moving back into a utility role. Not only is he a terrible hitter, but he was also having big problems defensively this spring.