Discussion

andyb 2018-02-18 05:33:15 UTC #45

Looks like a SS I'd clearly rank behind Gamboa and maybe even Brito in our system. He did get a half season in the FSL league at age 20 which is good - he just does not seem to have much speed, power, or patience. More a Valentin type. Number 24 in Keith Law's Twins ranking.

Strange deal as one would think he could merit a prospect from an average team's top 10. Odorizzi has had major HR problems the last 2 years and I am guessing the Phillies just had no interest.

zambonir 2018-02-18 05:43:58 UTC #46

At that price you would have to think so. Question is, did they lower their asking price and DFA Dickerson so they could keep Archer, or is he still available (and if he isn't now, he still could be).

tom81 2018-02-18 18:55:07 UTC #47

allentown 2018-02-18 20:05:36 UTC #48

There is no reason to think they didn't ask around with all the GMs and this was the best offer available.

zambonir 2018-02-19 02:54:56 UTC #49

I believe the Rays' spin was that they liked the player more than the websites do.

zambonir 2018-02-20 02:47:55 UTC #50

Pulled from the free agent thread (where my real interest from the Bowden article was in whether or not Danny Duffy might be more available in trade now).

But regarding Kingery, here's this Athletic piece:

Kingery is splitting time between second base and third base during big-league camp, a trend that is expected to continue into the regular season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Kingery, 23, could also get work at shortstop, where he played two games last year with the IronPigs. Manager Gabe Kapler has also floated the idea of trying Kingery in center field this spring. Kingery said he's willing to take fly balls and get comfortable in the outfield if the Phillies think that would benefit him. It wouldn't be a completely foreign experience, either. Kingery started 78 games in the outfield during his first two seasons at the University of Arizona.

“We’re thinking about this in terms of what is the best way for Scott Kingery to make an impact as soon as possible on a major league roster? And one of those ways is to give him more options,” Kapler said.

phillychuck 2018-02-20 14:25:56 UTC #51

Honestly, you have a. guy (Kingery) who is a gold-glove level 2B. Why aren't the Phils moving the other guys around to accommodate HIM?

andyb 2018-02-20 14:59:27 UTC #52

The intent is to always let the top prospects settle where they are. The Dodgers experience with Bellinger though is instructive. He was one of their 8 best position players and young/athletic enough to play in the OF (probably more so than Hoskins). Hernandez probably needs to be traded, but you might kill his value shifting him around. I am also not sure whether he or Kingery would be better at 3B. They both lack the ideal arm. Kingery in the OF makes more sense since he has CF speed and some experience there. Of course we have 4 OF already and maybe Quinn needing time.

I think the team still takes the slow route and keeps Kingery in the minors at the start of the year unless a Hernandez deal comes up. And all the talk about replacing Franco is a bit premature since he is still young enough that he might improve.

I like it that they are thinking of possibilities. Maybe Roman Quinn will never be a 600 plate appearance guy. Why not get 3 inexpensive years out of him with 300 plate appearances doing something nobody else on the team does as well (steal bases) while playing good defense in the OF and passable defense in the infield 5 times a year.

andyb 2018-02-20 15:09:31 UTC #53

This is why we love Spring. Other than the opposite field bomb that he gave up, Kilome was impressing some people. The next Vicente Padilla?

“Franklyn Kilome showed a really good, live right arm and a fastball that rides at the top of the zone coupled with real good sell on his change-up,” Kapler said. “The word that was used around the cage a lot was, 'dirty.' A dirty breaking ball. He was a lot to dream on today.

zambonir 2018-02-20 19:37:48 UTC #54

Kingery is a gold glove 2B prospect, not an actual gold glover. But I don't think they are ruling anything out. I know we're all scarred by the days of Utley failing at 3B and Howard failing in the OF but these are different players and very different times. And it's just spring training. So long as Franco is on the roster it's hard for me to imagine this situation coming to a head before June, which also preserves Kingery's service time. Heck, he's not even on the 40. If he was, maybe you could speculate that he, rather than Quinn, could take that final bench spot. Truth is he probably could use the two months in AAA too, but there's no reason to say that out loud, he should be in spring training trying to win his spot, whether it's bench or 2B or tbd.

There's also obviously not much of a market for Hernandez/a 2B right now. If Kingery stays on track we'll probably still see Cesar dealt in July.

Lawman 2018-02-20 20:12:06 UTC #55

Here's a drill all MLB teams should have pitchers - all batters I guess - do:

andyb 2018-02-20 20:13:52 UTC #56

Dylan Cozens - 270 - He says it is muscle....

zambonir 2018-02-20 20:17:39 UTC #57

Yeah, that almost seems paradoxical, you would think that he'd want to be leaner to have a more efficient swing, but Kapler is saying that with the extra strength he doesn't have to swing as hard. He's still a tantalizing specimen, that's for sure.

andyb 2018-02-20 20:28:04 UTC #58

At least the manager has a workout partner. I also saw where Kapler took some of the young players out for some decidedly unhealthy food (steak, potatos, creamed spinach) so I think he is clearly trying to be a younger, player-friendly manager even if it might be time to send Cozens to the Yoga class instead. Maybe also trying to dispel rumors that he is a weird health freak even if he is.

nycphils 2018-02-20 20:54:58 UTC #59

Kapler is one weird dude.

Personally, I’ve mentally written off Cozens as unable to succeed in the big leagues because of his contact issues. Would love to be wrong, of course, and if he ever could maintain his plate discipline AND make regular contact, he’d be an Aaron Judge style beast. drool

fish 2018-02-21 12:33:34 UTC #60

His walk and k rates are pretty similar to Judge’s minor league numbers.

bigegypt0417 2018-02-21 14:56:20 UTC #61

Kapler is an interesting character...

"Effort level speaks to how hard I'm swinging," Kapler said. "Am I coming with my 90 percent effort level or am I coming with my 100 percent effort level? If all my muscles are firing and my jaws are clenched and I'm going full speed ahead, I might not be running as fast as if I was more like a cheetah, right? I think that's the message we would send to Dylan. You're more a cheetah than a brute. Let it fly, be easy, and that's going to create loud contact for him because he's as strong as any individual I've been around. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen a guy with that level of strength and power ever on a baseball field before."

andyb 2018-02-21 17:48:12 UTC #62

Maybe it is time for the irrational expectations thread, but this article from one of the lead Fangraphs authors talks about Arrieta and wild card in the same sentence. Note Fangraphs has the Phillies at 74 wins now and Baseball Prospectus is at 78. The reasoning is that the Phillies have significant upside at lots of positions. For instance look at our starting pitching. Even the favorable Baseball Prospectus projection builds in a total of a little less than 3 WAR for the entire rotation after Nola.

Add a 3 WAR starter like Arrieta and then assume that we get 5 more WAR total from spots 3-5 and you are already at 83 wins (and some offensive upside from Crawford and Alfaro could put the team in the wild card picture).

bigegypt0417 2018-02-21 19:03:15 UTC #63

I am not sure it's entirely irrational to think that we could be better than many expect. I don't think we need 10 different things to go right but that we get solid pitching and the offense meets or slightly exceeds expectations. It would be nice even if they contended for a spot in to the last few weeks.

zambonir 2018-02-21 20:20:14 UTC #64

The biggest variable might be the bullpen. Will Neris be consistent? Can we expect a repeat of 2017 from Neshek?

But for sure - any team that can be projected in the vicinity of .500 can probably go five games in either direction. Between 76 and 86 wins seems entirely possible. And they are well-positioned to be buyers in July, which I think they will be regardless (assuming they can acquire some players who aren't just immediate FAs).Plus if Franco surprises that's worth a couple of WAR, and if he doesn't you can either make a trade or just call up Kingery (regardless of who actually plays 3B).

I still expect to log on here for the first time in the next 7 days and see that big pitcher news.