Phillies Hot Stove Discussion 2021-22

[BaseballCat]

I saw Bohm play a game against Richmond a few years ago on a 95 degree day. He was the only player working out beforehand the game - after which he came over to sign a few autographs. Not very talkative, but it was clear that he has a good work ethic and wants to improve. I hope the coaches can get the most out of him.

[julio]

I can't get too worked up about Bohm's struggles in 2021. He came up in 2020, hit well... pitchers adapted, and Bohm didn't adapt in turn, at least not early in 2021. By mid-season, he as starting to turn things around...then the COVID stuff.

I don't mean to suggest that Alec Bohm is destined to be an All-Star, much less a HOF player - but in 1973, a young Phillies prospect struggled mightily to adapt to major-league pitching. Fans didn't question his work ethic, but did wonder about whether he was too hard on himself, whether he thought too much, tried to do too much, etc.

He figured it out the next season.

Patience is in order.

[Philsmania]

Zolecki possibly gives some insight in terms of what the Phillies are thinking, vis-a-vis the 40 man roster, although it just focuses on the guys currently on the 40 man and makes no mention of Ortiz or others who need to be on it for Rule V purposes.

Forecasting the Phillies' 40-man roster 

[Taudawg]

https://www.philliesnation.com/2021/10/philadelphia-phillies-rumors-kyle-schwarber-free-agency/

Story is a couple days old, and this sounds like Jon Heyman’s crystal ball more than actual rumor, but… I’ve been thinking about Schwarber being a good fit. I think the SportTrac contract of 2yr at 24 mil sounds light. I think Kyle’s likely to get something close to what Cutch got 3yr 45-50mil.

[andyb]

I think Schwarber gets more too. I could easily see 4 years because he is 28 now and the contract would be for his age 29-32 seasons. He is also not a DH yet. Just a solid 850 OPS bat at an age where it is more likely he maintains something close to that peak for the contract (whereas Cutch was older).

4/60? Something like that seems right to me.

[zambonir]

2021-2022 Winter Ball - AFL, Instructional, Latin America

I think Stott and O'Hoppe are both at Allentown as next-guy-up injury replacements. They can save some $ by having Marchan as the backup catcher. Unless they are comfortable with Galvis as our starting SS next season, I think they need to add a starting SS over the winter. They can't wait until ST with that major a hole.

Yeah, I still think they go with a veteran catcher. As for SS, it wouldn't be Galvis, it would be Galvis/Didi. Not saying that's ideal either but if Didi isn't traded or waived, is healthy, and at least has a decent spring training, he may not be guaranteed a starting job, but he's still going to play.

I still personally like the fantasy of signing Correa and trading Segura. Didi and/or Galvis can play 2B with Stott coming up next. That does take away a bat (unless Didi bounces back) but maybe you get an OF or first bat off the bench for Jean. And if not, a top reliever or 4th starter, plus one prospect (if you send back $ too).

(Figured that was too much to keep writing in the Winter Ball thread).

[Philsmania]

More minor league housecleaning.

IronPigs manager Gary Jones let go along with minor league catching coordinator Ernie Whitt and minor league manager Pat Borders.

Former Phillies farm director moves on, team seeks new Triple A skipper

[zambonir]

Would think there is more to come.

(Apparently I wrote a post about Knapp responding to stuff above that never went through). So...

I know the Phillies will once again be pinching pennies against the CBT, but if the idea is that a new catcher would cost $2-3 million while Knapp is $1.2 million (his MLBTR projection) and Marchan $600K, I could see them just keeping Knapp, with a minor league free agent also in the mix.

He can't possibly be as bad as he was last year, the pitchers love him, he still has positional/utilitarian value as a SH who can play the field, and that's also the easiest path to giving the Marchan the job mid-season. Alternately, you could upgrade at the deadline if Marchan isn't ready, or gets traded itself.

Really depends just what kind of back-up catcher you want, and for how much. I mean, Kurt Suzuki only made $1.5 million last year. Wilson Ramos, $1 million. Hard to see them going for a $3 million guy (that's what Zunino and Vogt made)

[EDmuch]

If they could get Wilson Ramos for $ 1 million, that is preferable to paying Knapp $1.2 million

[EDmuch]

Well the one thing DD is definitely doing is cleaning house and that cleaning includes a lot of the crazy old uncles who used to hide in the attic. Going, going, gone.

[Philsmania]

Well the one thing DD is definitely doing is cleaning house and that cleaning includes a lot of the crazy old uncles who used to hide in the attic. Going, going, gone.

Gillick, Manuel and Bowa? They probably got jobs for life. Plus, I suspect Dombrowski likes and respects them as fellow baseball lifers. Their word may not carry the weight it previously did though.

[EDmuch]

I doubt that any of those 3 have any real responsibilities from which they could be terminated.

[zambonir]

They have Middleton's ear. It remains to be seen if he'll stay entirely out of Dombrowski's way. Will actually be interesting. For instance, Marcus Semien just signed with Boras. Does the owner take hat meeting? And if 2022 is much like 2021, what kind of managerial search will there be?

I assume Mattinglly is not close to done though. Don't need another one of those "year to evaluate" situations.

[zambonir]

It's always interesting to see who Marcus Hayes decides to carry water for.

Joe Girardi did a great job with the Phillies, all things considered: ‘A...

[EDmuch]

I do think they overachieved. I am just not sure it was due to Girardi.

[allentown]

I do think they overachieved. I am just not sure it was due to Girardi.

I would say slightly unferperformed.

[zambonir]

I mean he makes the case about various injuries and underperformances, but I'm not sure it was especially different from teams that overcame those things. And the manager also bears some responsibility for the underperformances (no matter which coaches they also fired).

I don't think they under or over-achieved really. They entered the season with an over/under of 80.5 and probably had a ceiling of 84-86 and a floor of 77-80. They could have exceeded that ceiling/won the division with a few breaks but I don't think Girardi did anything in particular to get them over .500 either.

The idea that they might have been a 72-90 team is laughable and shows how much major league coaches/managers overrate their own importance. But it's also not wrong that the problem is not the manager.

[Taudawg]

Marcus Hayes' writing is good, his opinions are not. He has some outlandish takes. He's a bit Skip Bayless light.

[zambonir]

Yup, he's become a Take guy. Sometimes he has a good one. Sometimes you also have a bad one just because a column is due that day.

[LoneStarPhan]

Phillies have ended the past four seasons on a losing note:

2021 1-6 over last 7 games; season 82-80.
2020 1-7 over last 8 games; season 28-32.
2019 3-9 over last 12 games; season 81-81.
2018 2-9 over last 11 games, 8-20 in September; season 80-82.

Each of the past four seasons, the Phillies ended up being about a .500 team but in each of these seasons, they ended on a sour note. Play .500 or a little better ending the season and they would have been several games better than a .500 team these past four seasons. In fact, they have not really been that far off making the post season but have flopped measurably at the end of each season.