CLEARWATER, Fla. - When it comes to the Phillies' pursuit of you-know-who and you-know-who, Cesar Hernandez can't help but be a little greedy.
"I don't have a preference," the veteran second baseman said. "Everyone knows that they're really, really good players. If it's one of them, it's one of them. If we can get both of them, I'll take both of them."
The Phillies held their first full-squad workout on the fields at Carpenter Complex on Monday. Off the field, attention being paid to the team's pursuit of free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper continued to climb toward a boiling point. The Phils remain in talks with both players and are eager to get a deal with whoever comes and gets it.
Hernandez, 28, arrived in camp with manager Gabe Kapler's faith as a leadoff man (see story) and a healthy right foot. He broke the foot on a foul ball last July and played through it.
"I'm not going to lie, it was tough playing with a broken foot," he said. "It affected me every single way. But I was able to tolerate the pain. I had to because I wanted to help the team and I was able to make it through."
Hernandez' play suffered because of the injury. He finished with a .253 batting average, down from .294 the previous season, and his OPS dropped to .718 from .793. He struck out a career-high 155 times. Despite his struggles, he walked a career-high 95 times and maintained a solid .356 on-base percentage.
Hernandez has played with several different shortstops - Freddy Galvis, Scott Kingery, Asdrubal Cabrera - the last two seasons. He is eager play with newcomer Jean Segura and will spend the spring building a bond.
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Who's the backup catcher?
Manager Gabe Kapler said Andrew Knapp was "in the driver's seat," to be the backup catcher. Veteran newcomer Drew Butera, who signed a minor-league contract earlier this month, will also be in the hunt for the job. Knapp appeared in 53 games behind the plate last season.
Rodriguez hurting
Veteran utility man Sean Rodriguez, in camp on a minor-league deal, did not participate in workouts Monday because of a sore knee. Kapler said Rodriguez was getting the knee checked.
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