Will the Phillies switch to a 6-man rotation?

Will the Phillies move to a 6-man rotation? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

There are 4 reasons why the Phillies have been talking a lot lately about switching to a 6-pack of starting pitchers soon, as the longest season is still in the dog days before it enters the home stretch. They are, in no particular order:

Cristopher Sanchez: 2.41 earned run average in his first 16 games, 6.63 in seven games since then.

Ranger Suarez: 1.83 ERA in his first 16 starts, 7.71 in his next four before going on the injured list with lower back soreness.

Aaron Nola: 2.77 ERA in his first 13 starts, 4.71 in 11 games since then.

Zack Wheeler: 2.16 ERA in his first 14 games, 3.76 in his next nine before Thursday night's game against the Nationals.

Nola and Wheeler are among the top five starters in the National League in terms of innings pitched. Sanchez and Suarez are quickly approaching career highs, so it only makes sense to build in a little extra rest when possible. “The health of our rotation is paramount,” manager Rob Thomson said Thursday afternoon.

At the same time, Baseball 101 points out that a fundamental requirement for expanding the rotation to six players is having six reliable starters. The first piece of that puzzle was put in place Tuesday when Taijuan Walker returned after seven weeks on the injured list while recovering from index finger inflammation. The second piece could happen as soon as next weekend in Kansas City; Suarez is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday or Sunday that, if all goes well, could clear the way for his reinstatement.

Rookie Tyler Phillips was expected to complete the group all along. In his fourth major league start, against the Guardians on July 27, he threw a complete game, scoreless, and lowered his ERA to 1.80. In his three starts since then, however, he is at 13.91.

“I think there are still lingering effects from the whole game,” Thomson said. “You see the ball in the zone a little more. You don't see as much sinking. And that's really his game, so hopefully we'll get that back.”

Phillips dismissed the notion that he was suffering from a complete game hangover after allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk in 4.1 innings against the Marlins on Wednesday night. “I don't think that's it,” he said. “I think I'm just trying too hard right now. I need to get my sharpness back.”

Thomson was only slightly evasive when asked if Phillips would make his next scheduled appearance on Tuesday in Atlanta. “Right now, yes,” he said. He also dropped a hint that the decision to add an extra starter isn't necessarily as obvious as it seemed. “I always worry about the 6-man formation because it puts a lot of stress on the bullpen. I'm scared of that, so we'll just have to wait and see where we are when the time comes,” he said.

AND THE POLL SAYS…: Rob Thomson reacted skeptically to ESPN's report Thursday that Major League Baseball is considering a drastic rule change that would require starting pitchers to stay in the game for at least six innings unless they have allowed at least four runs, thrown 100 pitches or been injured.

“I think you would put a lot of people in danger,” he said.

And can something be done to return to the days when starters routinely pitched well into the game? “It starts in the minor leagues. You have to increase the pitch counts and things like that. The medical departments are so good now that they know what puts people at risk. That's why the pitch counts are so low,” he added.

UP NEXT: Matchups for the rest of the Nationals series: LHP Patrick Corbin (2-12, 5.98) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (11-6, 3.60) Friday at 6:40 p.m., LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-10, 4.50) vs. LHP Cristopher Sanchez (8-8, 3.63) Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and RHP Jake Irvin (9-10, 3.72) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.68) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.