2018 Trade Deadline rumors/speculation

[allentown]

Thanks. BA seems to be missing 21 ABs.

[Philsmania]

Haseley got off to a slow start. In his first thirteen games at CLW, he put up a .222/.236/.333/.569 line with just 1 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI and 7 R. In his last 66 games, he put up a .315/.357/.435./.792 line with 4 HR, 11 2b, 5 3B, 47 R and 30 RBI so he's been on a good roll and had a nice half season at CLW, sans the slow start and had clearly mastered high-A. At one point, we were bemoaning how all of our supposed top hitting prospects--Haseley, Moniak, Randolph and Ortiz--had started slowly. Until recently, Haseley was the only one to shake off the slow start.

[Austinfan]

A lot of guys started slow this year, my suspicion is they've been working on players throughout the organization, and basically wanted them to use the new swing/approach and weren't worried about results. All the teams seem to struggle early then turn it around by June or so.

We'll see how they finish out the year, but I won't be surprised if a few players don't take off.

[Florida_Sunshine]

Unreal, I was in Clearwater this morning and stopped in the Starbucks closest to the field and ran into 3 guys that ended up being from the DR, and part of Phillies single A. Did not feel appropriate asking their names, merely talked about the DR and their time here. Wished them all well. Just started looking them up. One was Medina. Wish I had known that earlier!

[Florida_Sunshine]

One was Paulino, not sure about the 3rd but likely 6-3 or 6-4.

[zambonir]

I dunno, he's got almost 300 AA ABs and an OPS of .905 this season (and .881) last season. That may not project to a major league star but it is certainly a AA star. And he's probably a year closer to the majors than Haseley even in the best-case scenario. My comment was also based on the fact that he (like Medina) literally played in the "future stars" game. Obviously none of the Phillies young OFs have done enough yet to be considered for that. As was noted above the fact that he had a big game on national TV in a park just down the road probably helps the optics with Baltimore media too.

[schillingfan]

That play difference includes differences in pitching staffs, too, the low play/game players play for staffs that are higher K-rate and direct balls more frequently to the center of the field, so the 2 play/week difference doesn't take that into account. Also, a team like the Phils that shifts so much and has a good defensive 3B available (Crawford?) can adjust to the situation. I actually think it's less than 1 play/week.

If you're just looking at NC vs MF, the f-WAR above seems to say it's a pretty significant gain.

I agree that defense may matter less with less balls put in play, except catchers of course, so I also wouldn't let defense get in the way of a good hitter. Given the way Kapler moves pieces around on the field, I would put in a better defensive infield when Aristarchus pitches.

[gmwannabe]

Thanks Julio for getting me back on. i am on the fence on this one. i think more on the thinking that the phils were giving up too much for the rest of the year. Machado is very good, but i think, the funky cold one, is going to be special. i can see them trading for a younger controllable player with the prospects and that might be ok. there is a lot of phils bashing going on about this. i just don't know how many phans get involved with the minor leaguers, like most of us do. i think the future is very important so the phils don't go down that same road they had for the past5-6 years. Although machado is young. i expect middie to outbid everyone for him during free agency. if he gets there.
gm

[schillingfan]

I agree that from an offensive standpoint, the "black hole" is at shortstop and neither Crawford nor Kingery has filled the void. That to me is why MM was such a perfect fit for us.

Unfortunately, I am not sure of any shortstops available that would be an upgrade.

Shortstop is not a black hole from an offensive standpoint." While there has been a more recent trend towards offensive shortstops, their primary value has been defense. Of course MM would have been a huge upgrade, but our black holes have been 3B and RF. Franco has been hitting better, so that helps. Our starting pitching and now our bullpen with Dominguez has been enough to give us the division lead at the all star break.

[baseballoldie]

A glimmer of hope?

Mitch Rupert (Mitch_Rupert)

[saycheese]

That would be typical for Baltimore.

[Lawman]

That's the problem when dealing with the Orioles. All of the other team's players have issues with their physicals.

[zambonir]

SS is still a black hole though. We hoped Crawford would at least have a good OBP and exceed Galvis. Kingery is not even close to doing that. That's fine, he's developing, but if you want to go for it, and you're LF and 1B aren't slugging nearly as much as was expected (along with yes, RF), it happened to be an upgradable spot. Now it might not be. But if they pick up one bench piece and Crawford comes back that improves the bench 2x (whoever's not playing of the new guy/Willams and whoever's not playing of Franco, Crawford and Kingery).

I doubt the Orioles' famous medical process will actually push things to the point of another team, but hey, you never know!

[California_Dreamin]

Oh, please, I am not sure I [we!] could all go through this again! I am unsure how many napkins I have ruined over the past 2-3 days writing down Phillie batting orders with MM in the middle of it.

Just a couple of post MM thoughts from here on the Left Coast. One, I think that this certainly justifies the arguments that allentown, andyb, Squire, PC and others have been preaching for the past several years about the Phils seeming timidity in the International market in going for top end talent. While Sal has certainly found some low cost pitching gems and they do seem to have success with shortstops, the Phils have rarely gone for top guys, and this is where that lack of success comes back to bite them.

Yes, we have a good system. Yes, I still get excited about the progress of many of the youngsters and enjoy the winning at the minor league level. But I don't see one guy that has star written all over him, a guy the Phils could use [like the Dodgers did Diaz] when that golden opportunity comes to really help the big club. And I do not count Sixto because I never count pitchers, they are simply too fragile [by the way,how is that minor elbow issue of Sixto coming along its been about 6 weeks now?]

And the other thing that really struck with me was the almost casual atmosphere here in SoCal to the acquisition of MM. Sure Dodger fans are happy but it was treated with almost a yawn. It would have been so exciting in Philadelphia had he become a Phillie.

I admit it, this one hit me hard because I understood the "lightning in a bottle" moment this could have been for the Phillies and us as phans. You simply do not get a chance to bring in a near superstar guy like MM for pennies on the dollar and while many of you rightfully saw him as a rental, I admit I did not. I thought the Phils and their phans would have made MM right at home and we all know that all monies being equal he might have stayed. I think he would have.

Now? I think its over, he will love LA and the perks that go with being a star here. The one fear I had during this entire Machado episode was the Dodgers. I did not want him going there because they have the financial resources to keep him now that they have him.

I am unsure the Phils will have this opportunity again. Harper? Please. Boras will play this out till next March and does anyone want to be hamstrung waiting for him to decide and then miss out while he ends up with the Cubs or Yankees? I don't

No, this was the moment. And sadly, its gone.....

[Squire]

Hmmm.....Haseley out of the lineup for Game 2 of Today's Reading DH.

Probably cause he got plunked twice in game 1

[zambonir]

It can be true that the Phillies aren't going to get Manny (or Harper). It can also be true that they will still be able to construct a consistent championship-caliber team without him over the next 3-5 seasons.

[Dirk41]

A glimmer of hope?

As opposed to upping their offer, I hope the Phillies double down and pull someone back. The Orioles are the ones with the pressure now.

[Philsmania]

The non-acquisition of Machado may also speak to one of the issues with our otherwise strong pharm system that we've discussed a good deal in recent years--exceptional depth in future ML players but a lack of stars. The Dodgers, on the other hand, may not have had our depth but they had stars and, in the end, more to offer the Orioles and could withstand the accompanying talent drain from their farm.. All we had was Sanchez, Medina and, to a lesser extent, Haseley. To successfully trade for Machado, we probably would have had to give up two of those three. And, even then, we may have been behind the Dodgers as Diaz is probably ML ready (or very close to it).

[zambonir]

I am assuming the Phillies were also unwilling to give up Crawford. The Phillies' best major-league ready "prospects" are all on the roster already, really (including Dominguez, who might have been on the wish list had this trade occurred in the off-season). Then the combination of Quinn/Cozens not being anything (for different reasons) and the depressed value of Randolph/Moniak left little else, if they were shifting away from pitching.

But they still have lots to trade in the off-season, combined with possible FA moves. Especially if they don't need to get a starting pitcher.

[Austinfan]

We don't need "stars," the 2008 Phillies had one "star" in Utley, the rest were solid position players who gave them 4-5 years of 3-5 WAR play, Rollins, Victorino, Werth, and then a few guys who were decent but not special, Burrell, Howard (his bad defense limited his value), Ruiz, and of course Feliz.

We have Hoskins, Victorino and ???
Alfaro has star potential, Williams, Kingery, Crawford, Franco have solid position player potential, Hernandez and Santana are solid fill in veterans, Knapp, Altherr, good depth. We need to keep a flow of solid players coming and eventually one or two will surprise - no one thought Utley was going to have five great seasons. If you have 8 position players who give you 2-5 WAR each year, a couple 1+ WAR guys on the bench, with a top pitching staff you'll contend every year.

Sure, we'd love to land a big name, but realistically, other than Trout, do you think the Phillies will ever land an A list guy in this day and age? But we can get very good value on the B list, especially if we stop chasing fantasy baseball players. Houston didn't sign anyone big, but used their excess talent to nab Verlander - imagine if KC or the Marlins had our money to keep their team together. You can use big money in a second tier destination strategically to compete with the big boys.

Fortunately, Klentak seems to understand this, he targeted Santana and waited on Arrieta and didn't get into a bidding war for Darvish. From all reports, he resisted the temptation to overpay for MM. This may not be as exciting as going crazy for a name, but if the goal is to win, it improves the odds.