2019 Phillies Season Discussion (part 2)

andyb 2019-08-31 19:37:31 UTC #304

There is also little reason Dickerson would want to sign here. Besides Bruce, there is just no way we would guarantee him playing time because he is not a CF. And he'll deserve mid-level money of course. It is also doubtful we would know anything about Cutch in time to know whether to sign a replacement.

Dickerson will sign for 2 years, maybe 3, at a price that would not make sense for the Phillies and a playing time lack of guarantee that would not make sense for Dickerson.

zambonir 2019-08-31 19:55:31 UTC #305

It would be ironic but extremely disappointing if McCutchen ends up showing his age (or injury) and has an awful season though. I think they have to consider that, however. His 2016 and 2018 campaigns were quite ordinary. If I'm Klentak I might be able to talk myself into Dickerson as a platoon/back-up plan but he would either have to really want to be here or his FA market would have to be soft.

If he could be QO'd I might consider it!

Of course there is no rush to trade Rhys. Barring a real shake-up trading him only works if you sign a 3B and don't think Bohm will stick there (but then you could get a patchwork 1B and hope Bohm is ready in June). If they want very good, controllable starting pitching and don't want to pay for Gerrit Cole, gonna have to be creative.

bkox 2019-08-31 20:24:11 UTC #306

zambonir 2019-08-31 20:40:55 UTC #307

Morgan's the one that really hurts (or at least, he was the only guy who hadn't gone on the 60. So, at least there's one spot for someone tomorrow.

I wonder if Neshek will retire (and if he does would he have to give back the option buyout?)

allentown 2019-09-01 01:42:04 UTC #308

It's a must for the Phillies. Is it a must from Realmuto's perspective.

Philsmania 2019-09-01 02:04:12 UTC #309

If you were Realmuto, would you re-sign to be a part of this slop?

zambonir 2019-09-01 02:48:12 UTC #310

As ever it will be about the money. He's not gonna give the Phillies a huge break but so long as the offer is roughly equivalent he's not gonna be looking to leave either.

These players like it here. They like this team. Yeah, they probably like the manager. (Harper saying this is his favorite season of baseball ever is almost comical really, but I'm sure sincere). They are obviously disappointed in how it has played out, and in some cases in themselves.

allentown 2019-09-01 13:05:54 UTC #311

I may have simply grown cynical with age, but I think this is not a sincere statement, likely true of a lot of player statements. In Philly this amounts to an attempt at anti-boo insurance, plus an attempt by highly paid players to do their part to help the team with revenue and fan support.

I'll take that a step farther. Harper has experienced team success/winning in the past. If this really has been his favorite year in baseball, then we signed the wrong FA, because winning falls low on his list of priorities. I think he does want to win and this was a PR statement, like Thome made after finally agreeing to sign as a FA, despite clearly wishing to remain in Cleveland.

Players know that Phillies phans have a burning desire to have players say the looove playing in Philly and looove the phans. Our least loveable fans seem to crave this the most.

bkeich 2019-09-01 13:55:19 UTC #312

Other than Realmuto, we shouldn’t spend much of the remaining money on position players. We don’t have many needs other than a 1 year stopgap at 3B.

We need pitching desperately. I would look to sign 2 solid starting pitchers (reluctantly retain the mediocre Vargas maybe) and at least 2 relievers. Almost all of the money needs to go to the pitching staff, we really need starting pitching to get to where we are really competing, 1 very good starter and an aging starter and a herd of maybes isn’t enough.

BostonRoss 2019-09-01 15:15:52 UTC #313

I agree of course that the pitching is in worse shape than the hitting. But regarding position players, it seems odd to say that we don't have many needs when we have only two position players who are even above average. I'm not recommending spending more on position players than on pitching, but if there is an opportunity to improve any of the many positions where we can improve, I would take it.

It's also worth noting that spending on pitching is ore speculative than spending on hitting. The Phillies have spent a lot of money recently on pitchers who contributed little.

Austinfan 2019-09-01 16:03:36 UTC #314

I think the positions players can see enough talent that this team can win over an extended period if they get some pitching, and pitching is far more variable than hitting - and that variance can go both ways - Morton being exhibit "A".

zambonir 2019-09-01 17:03:34 UTC #315

I don't think Bryce Harper telling Peter Gammons that on a Tuesday in Boston for a paywalled sports web site is some kind of calculated spin, though I agree many of his actions are carefully calculated. I also think it goes to show you how dysfunctional the Nats were (of course some would blame Harper for that).

And at the time he said it he had every reason to believe this season could still turn out to be just as successful as every professional season he has ever played (at least in October, if not in terms of a divison title). More to the point I think he understands that this could have been a good team this year and it just didn't work out. He's not sitting there at home complaining that his boss didn't sign a better pitcher.

For better or worse we already know winning wasn't his #1 priority. Signing the biggest, longest contract and playing for the same team for the rest of his life was.

Anyway, there's obviously a lot of wiggle room between your cynicism and PM's saying this team is "slop."

andyb 2019-09-01 18:02:24 UTC #316

No announcement on recalls yet. Bruce will be recalled but can hit only for 2 weeks (and he was 0-8 with 4 Ks in his rehab so he is not completely healthy). Pivetta and Franco need to wait out the 10 days. Williams, Eickhoff, and Irvin are on the 40 and are likely to be immediate callups. 3rd catcher will require a 40-man move with Grullon and Brantley the options. Morgan to the 60 is the easy 40-man move.

There are a few other callups like VIncent that will require another 40-man move beyond Morgan.

zambonir 2019-09-01 18:17:11 UTC #317

No word on the accompanying moves yet.

(Also I wonder if they are just going to send Nick Williams home.)

andyb 2019-09-01 18:29:39 UTC #319

That would be 3 40-man moves. I guess Gosselin makes sense without Franco and having so much Rodriguez criticism. They do really need the right-handed pinch hitter. Vincent was probably the most deserving pitcher (roster or otherwise). And it is nice to see the internal reward for Grullon rather than the veteran they signed a couple weeks ago.

Lucky_Beagle 2019-09-01 20:15:22 UTC #320

Didn't they recently release the veteran they signed a couple of weeks ago, Nick Hundley.

julio 2019-09-01 20:18:32 UTC #321

Yes, they released Hundley.

bkox 2019-09-01 20:27:37 UTC #322

julio 2019-09-01 20:32:33 UTC #323

And the official announcement:

bkox 2019-09-01 20:36:40 UTC #324

Assuming both Grullon and Vincent get into a game, the phillies will set a team record with 55 different players appearing in a game this season. Current record is 1996 Phillies with 54 players appearing in at least one game, That team included such memorable names as Howard Battle, Bronson Heflin, Rafael Quirico, and Glenn Dishman (I dont remember any of these people)