In case it wasn’t already clear, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel basically admitted today that Placido Polanco has simply been benched.
Polanco is out of the lineup tonight for the fifth straight game in favor of 30-year-old journeyman Kevin Frandsen, and when asked about the situation Manuel told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that it’s not about Polanco’s health or anything except for Frandsen playing well.
And that’s true, as he’s hit .351 in 26 games for the Phillies after coming into the season as a career .243 hitter with a .636 OPS. Frandsen will come crashing back down to earth eventually, but the larger point is that he might actually have a place on the Phillies in 2013 whereas they’re all but certain to let Polanco go by declining a $5.5 million option.
Philadelphia was widely criticized for signing Polanco to a three-year, $18 million deal in December of 2009 and for that money he’s hit just .281 with a .686 OPS while missing 112 of a possible 452 games.
