There aren’t many battles in Phillies camp, but there is a spot for an outfielder, especially with the potential suspension of Johan Rojas. One of the leading candidates is veteran Bryan De La Cruz, who is coming off of a big season in the Dominican Winter League where he was named the league’s MVP. De La Cruz had two singles and drove in a run and J.T. Realmuto hit his first spring home run for the Phillies who fell to the Yankees 4-2 in Clearwater Tuesday.

De La Cruz, 29, is now batting .304 (7-23) with a home run, two runs scored, and three driven in. His slash line is: .385/.478/.865 through nine spring games. The down side is that he has walked just twice and has struck out 10 times. De La Cruz played in 16 games with Atlanta last season and hit just .190, spending most of the season at Triple-A where he played 91 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (NY Yankees) and 11 with Gwinnett (Atlanta), hitting 15-49-.263 in the minors.

SCOUTING REPORT: Bryan De La Cruz

The main competition right now is between De La Cruz and Pedro Leon, who was claimed off waivers from Baltimore over the winter. Leon, 27, is hitting .261/.320/.348/.668 this spring after going 1-for-3 Tuesday against New York.

The differences between the two outfield candidates are that De La Cruz has a lot more major league experience than Leon, having played in 491 MLB games compared to just seven for Leon. Defensively, Leon can play primarily center and right with some minor league experience in left field. De La Cruz is a corner outfielder who has played sparingly in center field early in his career. Another big difference is that Leon is on the 40-man roster while De La Cruz is a non-roster invitee to camp.

SCOUTING REPORT: Pedro Leon

If Rojas is suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, he will not count against the 40-man roster, which would leave the Phillies roster at 38. They will need one spot for Justin Crawford. Andrew Painter, who figures to make his debut with the Phillies this season, is already on the 40-man roster.

Realmuto’s home run was the only extra-base hit for Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The performance of the day on the mound came from right-hander Chuck King who made his third appearance of the spring and threw three shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out four. This spring, King has now thrown five shutout innings With a 0.80 WHIP and an opponents batting average of just .182 in big league camp. King will likely start the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley after making 23 starts for Double-A Reading last season.

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