With the World Series only five days away, ideas are beginning to be tossed around about who will be the team’s designated hitter in Game 1, be it in Tampa or Boston. The obvious choices would be Greg Dobbs, Geoff Jenkins, or Matt Stairs. They are currently all valuable assets off the bench for pinch hitting duties and each one could step into the lineup and find success as a designated hitter. Unfortunately they are all left handed hitters and struggle against left-handed pitching. So when the Rays Scott Kazmir or Red Sox Jon Lester takes the mound, manager Charlie Manuel might find himself in a bit of a jam as he turns to a right handed hitter.

If there’s one weakness on the Phillies, it’s a right handed bat off the bench, which consists of Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett, and So Taguchi. While Coste is the better of the three, he’s also the backup catcher. Should an injury occur to Carlos Ruiz and Coste is the DH, it would force Jayson Werth to get behind the plate (Werth, who has never caught a game in his six major league seasons was originally a catcher when drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1997).

It wouldn’t be the ideal situation for Werth or the Phillies. With that potential scenerio, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Phillies to add Lou Marson to the World Series roster.

Marson, a Phillies top prospect, has been with the team the entire postseason as a bullpen catcher. Marson spent the entire season (minus two weeks in Beijing as a member of the US Olympic Team) with the Reading Phillies where he hit .314 with 5 home runs and 46 RBI’s. A September call up, he has exactly one major league game under his belt, when he went 2 for 4 in the regular season finale. One of his two hits was a two-run home run against Nationals’ pitcher Marco Estrada.

Marson wouldn’t be counted on in the Fall Classic unless Ruiz or Coste fall victim to injury. He’s tabbed as the Phillies catcher of the future as soon as 2009, so it would give the 22-year old some added experience and the Phillies some needed flexibility.

If Marson were to be added, he’d replace the seldom used Taguchi. Taguchi is 0 for 4 this post season, with all for at-bats coming in the NLCS against the Dodgers.