2020 Philadelphia Phillies Season News/Notes/Discussion

[zambonir]

Ah, well, good news/bad news. Still think it is odd they kept Davis but he could still go down for Howard, and maybe De Los Santos is actually on a starter's schedule?

I suppose Howard could also just be the 29th guy but then they'd have to make a move if they decide to keep him up, and I gotta think they plan to keep him up.

[andyb]

The McClain move might also be one of those paper DL moves for 5 days that is hard to dispute. A few days of not pitching and handling a new born baby might make it a little harder to get loose and a few extra days of paternity leave coupled with some ramp up might be an easy answer for both him and the Phillies.

[zambonir]

I'm thinking it is probably a legit injury, and really the first injury of the Marlins interruption. He hasn't pitched since July 26, workouts were interrupted, then he goes on paternity leave on top of that. Comes back to camp yesterday and he's either already stiff or feels bad the minute he starts throwing.

[andyb]

Looks like VV in the first today and Howard in the second.

[flyers19rw]

Its time for TPTB to do a reassessment of Kingery. Maybe the contract that they gave him got to his head and he felt that he had a guaranteed roster spot. Perhaps he was jacked around by Kapler and not allowed to settle into a single position and then grow his career. Whatever. He's not looking good- a long swing and susceptible to pitches down and away. His splits last year showed that what we are seeing now is not a flash in the pan. His numbers were down in the second half of last season compared to the early part of the year. July and September were poor. Alarmingly, although his performance was decent against finesse pitchers, he was overwhelmed by power arms.

[Austinfan]

Remember, he's coming off of COVID.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/phillies/phillies-infielder-scott-kingery-talks-about-■■■■-coronavirus

It can take months to return to 100%, I had West Nile and it took 3 months to get to my normal strength/stamina, and COVID can be as bad or worse, even for people with "mild symptoms."

[el-pietro]

Plus the week layoff which can't have helped.

[zambonir]

Yup. While I don't want to compare COVID to the flu, if you've ever had the flu, often you think you are better or go back to work and then you find yourself feeling sick again, or at least not the same for several weeks. Since this virus affects the not just the lungs but blood oxygenation and circulation in general, it's possible some athletes simply won't be the same this season. And Kingery actually had symptoms.

I don't know that he needs to go on IL (as Andy suggested in another thread) or be sent down but continuing to manage his load is smart, and if Walker and Gosselin are out-performing him, keep playing them more (but don't expect to remain happy with them all season either).

Kingery's contract isn't any big deal (literally). He makes $1.5 million this year, and then it starts to rise in a way that wouldn't be any different from arbitration. If it turns out he's not an All-Star 2B - and I'm not sure anyone truly ever thought he was, just a good one - he could remain a really valuable 450-AB bench player for his entire deal.

[zambonir]

Missed this, I'm guessing it was mentioned on the broadcast.

Austin Davis must have pictures of Bryan Price! (Though obviously Irvin was not available for Game 2 either.) I wonder if anyone will give EDLS a shot on their 40.

Between games of the doubleheader, the Phillies designated reliever Enyel De Los Santos for assignment and optioned lefty Cole Irvin to the satellite camp in Lehigh Valley to open spots on the 40-man and active rosters, respectively, for top pitching prospect Spencer Howard.Girardi said the Phillies will stretch out Irvin to be able to start, perhaps when the doubleheaders begin to pile up next month.

Phillies’ offense coming up empty in clutch situations with runners in scoring...

[zambonir]

Some good news. If it was a normal year I guess they'd be close to starting a 20-day rehab clock. We'll see I guess, as we've seen with Kingery, Suarez might be gassed. Robertson would be a huge bonus.

Also says VV and Howard will likely tandem Friday, which would also leave them on turn to both start the next time through (since there's another doubleheader next week).

The Phillies are hoping to soon move David Robertson (Tommy John surgery) and Ranger Suarez (COVID-19) to their alternate training site in Allentown. Both are rehabbing in Clearwater, Fla., and could join the bullpen this season.

Joe Girardi says he’s not going to ‘pull the plug’ on Rhys Hoskins

[Squire]

Transaction Day:

Added:
RHP Blake Parker
RHP Connor Brogdon

Optioned to LHV:
RHP Nick Pivetta

DFA'd
RHP Trevor Kelley
OF Nick WIlliams

[zambonir]

Hope Nick Williams gets a shot somewhere. Makes sense to keep Garlick for now. They sure did misjudge Kelley.

[phillychuck]

I have a hard time holding misjudgments against anyone given the lack of game or even scrimmage performance they had to go on in this weird year.

I'm also rooting for Nick, who I am certain should be picked up by a non-contending team and given regular ABs over a couple of years to try to figure MLB pitching out.

[zambonir]

Sure, but they claimed Kelley, they DFA'ed Kelley, they re-signed him to the alternate camp and then they put him on the 40. That is a lot of inflection points, at the same time they were giving up on Storen, Swarzak, Stock and Liriano, especially when Kelley (and his stuff) was a known quantity. I suspect the only reason was money (i.e. when he re-signed he agreed to major league minimum, whereas Swarzak and Liriano were still on the spring training terms that would have made them seven figures).

I can't say I'm that optimistic about Nick, but he'll presumably get picked up. Too late for him to really do much this year, he likely goes to a bench or an alternate site for at least 2-3 weeks. Pretty good chance whatever team he joins this year won't be the same one as next year. Someone might snag him just to make Boras happy.

[andyb]

They probably have no desire to trade Nick within the division, but the Marlins could certainly use him. Even when Harold Ramirez comes back he would probably be a DH/4th OF for them. I assume the DFA is because they know he will not pass through waivers. I suppose the Cardinals could have some immediate needs also though it is less clear who tested positive for them.

[zambonir]

Geez, I wasn't even thinking about a trade. We gave up Tyler Gilbert for Garlick. And someone for Cristopher Sanchez. But harder for a team to do that kind of deal from their 60 (though I suppose you just make the paper move first?)

[bkeich]

Adding Parker and Brogdon is certainly not inspiring.

We really need some type of minor league system to provide something as far as relievers goes. What we are getting out of our system is just a series of guys who simply can’t pitch in the majors.

I guess adding zero quality relievers in the offseason isn’t paying off. Who would have guessed?

[Austinfan]

Brogdon has a lot of promise, 93-95, t96, plus changeup, slider. 83K in 56 IP between Reading and Lehigh last season.

Parker struggled last year, but had two good seasons before that - they're probably hoping he has a good month in that arm before it falls off.

[andyb]

Adding Parker and Brogdon is certainly not inspiring.

Not inspiring but they could be small moves that help. Parker does miss bats and throw strikes even though he can be hit if his command is off. Brogdon deserves the shot. He profiles as more of a middle reliever, but he throws harder than most of our bullpen and also throws strikes. Really hard to know if his offspeed stuff is good enough until we see it, but at least there is not much of a scouting report so he might benefit from his first time around the league.

They definitely would prefer to be bringing up Robertson and Suarez and hopefully that is not more than a couple of weeks away. But these moves can help things a bit. Maybe with either Velasquez or Howard taking some bullpen innings and the starting rotation generally going at least 6, they can limit the bullpen innings they actually have to fill.

[zambonir]

You never know who's going to turn out to be J.C. Romero and who's going to turn out to be, well, Trevor Kelley.

And even a good minor league system isn't infinite. Seranthony and Arano are injured, Suarez too. Garcia and Hammer were rushed and apparently out of the mix. EDLS is now a flop. Our best failed starter is now a failed reliever. Irvin still kicking around. We could probably use Sixto in this bullpen.

Brogdon, Rosso and eventually Jones or Cleavenger are the young guys you want to see, they just might not be better than a marginal vet. Yet.

A good bullpen is a mix of ages, roles and salaries, not all one thing, but buying another $10 million reliever wasn't necessarily going to work out any better. As was also the case for the Phillies and many other teams (though not the Yankees) last year. Doolittle and Will Harris are bombing in DC. Timlin's still a mess. Giles and Osuna are hurt.

The formula for this team playing .520-.540 ball is what it is - decent to great starting pitching and a good to great offense. The starters are beginning to raise their innings (and that's one of Eflin's strong suits) which will also help. These guys we've seen aren't good but they aren't as bad as they showed under these unique circumstances either.

My only concern is that if none of the current plans work out - Suarez or Arano coming back (I won't count on Robertson), at least one of the marginal guys sticking (I think Guera will), Hunter staying reasonably effective/healthy - the trade market won't be as active as the Phillies might need it to be. But it will exist.