(2-Year Old Thread) Phillies have acquired RP David Robertson from the Cubs For SP Ben Brown

nycphils 2022-08-02 20:25:21 UTC #22

…and this deal was a precursor to DFA’ing Odubel…I hope he elects FA. Good riddance.

flyers19rw 2022-08-02 20:33:36 UTC #23

Probably DFAing Familia, which is about time.
Just saw in the other thread that both Familia and Herrera are gone. Good.

BaseballCat 2022-08-02 20:34:34 UTC #24

We had to give up something with the prices we have seen today. I was expecting to lose O’Hoppe, but that did not make it any easier. I am not sure how I feel about either of these, but we would not be happy either if we stayed pat. I still hope we don’t over pay for whatever pitching is available still.

LoneStarPhan 2022-08-02 21:01:25 UTC #25

Part of being a successful dealer is being able to realistically evaluate your prospects. Last year, we saw DD trade Howard and now Brown is gone. Time will tell how well both do going forward. I certainly feel better having Painter and Abel staying in the organization than I would have about Brown. I see Abel and Painter as having a good shot at being in the starting rotation multiple years with the Phillies. Again, time will tell.

So my first thought is that I hate to see either Brown or O'Hoppe traded but I guess DD couldn't get what he wanted by trading Herrera and Familia. I do think Robertson can help, but I don't know if he will make enough difference to give up a prospect as good as Brown. Again, we will see.

zambonir 2022-08-02 21:13:37 UTC #26

Yes, thus the greater price. But doesn't mean this wasn't a fair 1 for 1 price. Or that they are better. MLBTR called Robertson "arguably the top bullpen arm available this summer." I think we're just a little poisoned by his ex-Phillies status. And forgetting he instantly becomes our best or second-best reliever.

Austinfan 2022-08-02 21:22:03 UTC #27

I don't know. Knebel is throwing very well, FB up to 97 and getting his curve over the plate again.
SD is back, and I think Brogdon is underrated, he may have the best changeup on the team. And he's added a cutter.

I mean Robertson won't hurt, but that's a lot to pay for a month's rental that may not add that much on the margin.

zambonir 2022-08-02 21:22:48 UTC #28

Last I checked it's two months

allentown 2022-08-02 21:25:15 UTC #29

Still not worth it. I shudder to think what DD is about to pay for a SP. Since he decided to spend $100 millions and a second round draft pick for Castellanos, I think his judgement has been suspect.

andyb 2022-08-02 21:29:02 UTC #30

Going to be a long next 30 minutes.

LoneStarPhan 2022-08-02 21:34:01 UTC #31

Well I have been disappointed with Castellanos so far, I have to be fair and say that I was very elated when he was signed. I saw what he has done in the past and anticipated similar numbers, at least for the first two or three years of the contract. I certainly have not given up on Castellanos. His numbers are really not that bad and he is hitting much better of late. Yes, his fielding and tendency to hit into double plays are negatives, but I anticipate he will be a positive contributor to the Phillies as they pursue a post season spot this season.

Robertson should be a big boost to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. I do not like giving up such a highly held prospect for a few months of service in return, but I know winning teams do this. Brown my turn out to be a real star or he may not. We know for certain, Robertson will be gone by November.

arpax 2022-08-02 21:59:04 UTC #32

Bingo- these types of trades set teams back years. A young fire baller for a pretty good bullpen arm - way past his prime. I loathe this trade.

bigegypt0417 2022-08-02 22:09:06 UTC #33

I think that's a bit of an exaggeration...the phillies have been drafting even better bullpen arms and although he has shown some promise, Robertson is worth more now to the major league team than Brown...they came out of this deadline with the 3 best arms in the system.

allentown 2022-08-02 22:09:53 UTC #34

Yes, 13Ks/9 with good walk rate.

zambonir 2022-08-02 23:49:38 UTC #35

If this team is not yet able to sacrifice future WAR for present WAR, when will it ever be?

allentown 2022-08-03 00:24:59 UTC #36

When it is a serious contender and when it has more future WAR available to sacrifice.

zambonir 2022-08-03 00:37:09 UTC #37

Yeah, but you seem content with the status quo - a watchable team that is neither terrible nor great. I've always wanted either terrible or great. I would not have made a lot of the moves they did between 2018 and 2022, including hiring this President of Baseball Ops, but they did, and they have to contend now with these players for the next 2-3 years.

And you still never know who is a serious contender. Yeah, there are a lot of reasons why this team is not the 2019 Nats or 2021 Braves, but nevertheless, 2 out of the 3 last WS champions were worse than this Phillies team at this point in the season.

In the end, while I think this might not have been the best use of O'Hoppe's trade value, it was probably right to move him while he's this valued. And they did not strip the farm system, and in fact, only dealt from areas of strength (lots of catchers, three pitchers ahead of Brown).

schillingfan 2022-08-03 00:39:27 UTC #38

Considering our July record, (18-10 I think)I don’t see how we can’t be a serious contender when Harper comes back and if Castellanos turns it around. We will be lacking in defense, but Syndegaard is a better pitcher than Falter, Robertson is a better bullpen arm than Familia and Marsh is equal to Herrera/Moniak.

zambonir 2022-08-03 01:22:26 UTC #39

33-18 under the current manager (not that he gets all the credit but a lot of players producing now did not in April or May, and a few have started coming around just in the past three weeks).

That is a .647 winning percentage, better than overall WP of every team in MLB except the Yankees and Dodgers, and projects to 105 wins (though it's going to go down tonight).

Yes, that's a cherry pick, but teams do get hot and do big things in the modern MLB.

phillychuck 2022-08-03 01:49:52 UTC #40

I dislike this trade intensely, but I'm always overly loyal to our minor leaguers. If Roberson had another year of control it would be defensible.

allentown 2022-08-03 03:19:33 UTC #41

Well, then you shouldn't like these trades, because this year's team isn't great at the end of the day. To be able to become a great team, we need to develop a core of inexpensive, home-grown, productive talent. I try to look at the state of the Phillies objectively and I come to 2 conclusions: 1) this team is maxed out on budget and can't spend enough to be great, because it lacks that core of homegrown talent, 2) this team is simply not good enough to win the NCLS and advance to the WS. In all probability it can't reach the NCLS, so it isn't great.

I think Brown is a guy who could have had a significant future with the Phillies. His K-rate and K/BB are excellent as is his WHIP. I don't trade him for a rental reliever in a year in which that reliever is highly unlikely to push us over the top. We obtained a young, controllable OF, but he isn't hitting and he is backsliding offensively. The Angels didn't get rid of him because he is too expensive, I think they traded him because they are convinced he isn't going to make it with the bat. If he had been a Phillies starter at the beginning of the year and played for us the way he played for the Angels, we'd say we needed an upgrade. O'Hoppe could be a future piece of a near-great Phillies team, very little projection required. Marsh is exactly the type of player the Phillies have repeatedly failed at developing. We needed Syndegard or a similar pitcher to get through this season and have a brief playoff appearance.