Girardi on Battle for Opening Day Shortstop, "We're gonna take a look at ..."

During his first press conference since the MLB lockout on Sunday, Joe Girardi spoke about the state of the Philadelphia Phillies' shortstops ahead of spring training.

Girardi believes that Didi Gregorius can bounce back from his season of career lows, "Didi has a track record," Girardi said. "I think Didi has a chance of bouncing back and having a big year."

During the 2021 season, Gregorius slashed .209/.270/.370, his batting average and OBP were all-time lows. When compared to the rest of the Phillies lineup, Gregorius also ranked amongst the lowest offensive contributors. 

Although Girardi believes that Gregorius can bounce back, a competition for the starting role is on, now prospect Bryson Stott is the other name on the ticket.

"We're going to take a look at him," Girardi said. "He had obviously an unbelievable year last year, and he continued it in the Fall League... it's going to be an evaluation." 

Bryson Stott, who was drafted by Philadelphia with the 14th pick in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft, put up huge numbers for all three minor league teams as he rose through the Phillies minor leagues last season.

Across all levels, Stott batted .299/.390/.486 with 16 home runs and 49 RBI. As Girardi mentioned, Stott carried this streak into the Arizona Fall League, where he played for the Peoria Javelinas, slashing.318/.445/.489.

When discussing the competition for the starting position, Girardi noted Gregorius won't go down without a fight.

"This is a kid that had to walk into Yankee Stadium after Derek Jeter, that's a pretty tough thing to do, and he responded well," Girardi said. "I think he'll really take this challenge and really fight like crazy."

Gregorius goes into the 2022 season on the last year of his contract with the Phillies, signaling that if no improvement is made, there won't be another offer made for him by the Phillies.

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