2020 Phillies Spring Training News, Notes & Discussion

[bkeich]

Imagine the possibility:

2 out, none on, ultra fast, no hit player coming up (think Billy Hamilton type) That Team has their shutdown reliever warming (think 2008 Lidge) So they are confident that the next inning will not result in a loss (although obviously possible)

Coach tells him to strike out intentionally so they start the next inning with him on 2nd. Must better chance to score than him trying to get home with 2 outs.

[zambonir]

That almost sounds fun to me, strategically.

Alternately, Jay Bruce is coming up with two outs and no one on and you've already used your two best relievers, he doesn't hit a home run, he starts the next inning on second, I assume you are allowed to PR for him? (Send in Vinny Velo!)

[tom81]

I assume you are allowed to PR for him? (Send in Vinny Velo!)

If you can PR for the guy who starts on second It really adds value to have an extra bench guy that can fly. If still available Roman Quinn is the 1st up. With the expanded rosters maybe they keep a 6th OF.

[zambonir]

When spring training was cancelled Roman Quinn was our starting CF (over Haseley). Short season may keep him healthy too! I imagine the 26th player will still be someone versatile but with the DH and lack of a minor league season at least one of our 2B/3B/OF AAAA guys has probably lost their job to Bohm.

I also don't think you make roster decisions based on what might only be 3 or 4 games (between 7 to 10% of games each year go to extras) but it could be entertaining when it happens. I'm already at peace with it I guess!

[andyb]

The 26th man will probably be someone like Logan Forsythe (or the second version of him since they brought about 4 of them to camp.). Could be Bohm too. We had not necessarily thought he was a given for the roster initially, so that extra spot could be him. Or he could be on a 4-week tryout to win a 3B/DH job while the roster gets cut from 30 to 26.

[phillychuck]

I'm sort of excited if they will be playing spring training games (exhibitions?) in Allentown. I wonder if Lehigh County is green by then if they will let people into the park. A few fans could easily be spaced out more than 6 feet.

[zambonir]

Back when things were normal it wasn't clear if Cutch would be ready, or if Bruce would be ready to play the field for that matter, so there was extra LF time open potentially (or an extra bench spot if Haseley played LF). Hard to remember who of Forsythe, Harrison and Neil Walker had the inside track. Gosselin was there too. It seemed possible that Gosselin or Torreyes might make it because they could play SS but if you add Bohm then Segura is available as a SS option (as is Kingery).

And they still have a lot of bullpen questions.

I suspect the spring training games will all be intrasquad.

[zambonir]

Phillies will face a BRUTAL schedule in 2020

On the other hand, the Nats and Braves and Mets have to play the AL East teams too, so it could be a dogfight.

[andyb]

On a 26-man roster they had a 5-man bench. Catcher, 2 OFs (one of Quinn/Haseley and Bruce if healthy), and 2 IFs/Utility types. I think Forsythe did have the inside track but thought they would do Forsythe and then one more. That one more could be Bohm though they could start with a 6 or 7 man bench. Probably 6 and go with 16 pitchers the first 2 weeks. They are allowed to have a 3rd catcher travel with the team so they seem less likely to use that roster spot.

I start with Bohm on the bench as one of the 6. In 2-4 weeks they make a decision. Injuries of course could play a role.

Have we also asked the question of whether any Phillies will opt out? Family member pre-existing conditions count. Will Trout play the whole season with his wife giving birth? Sean Doolittle's wife here in DC is immuno compromised. Will he play?

I suspect each team might have a few players who choose not to play. We'll know more when we see who reports next week. And of course a bunch of Phillies tested positive. There could be a few pitchers who are not ready to open the season simply because they are quarantining for a couple of weeks.

[zambonir]

Zach Wheeler's baby should be due right around the start of the season, so he might miss the first two weeks, but would be available to play, assuming no complications. Question is would he even come to spring training, since you certainly don't want to put her at risk until she delivers. He could miss half his starts, in theory.

Hopefully none of the starting pitchers were in Clearwater. We know it was originally mostly rehabbing players and a few other guys who chose to stay in the area (or were already based there).

[andyb]

NY, NJ, and CT announce a 2-week quarantine for visitors from states with a growing number of positive tests that includes FL and AZ. The Yankees and Mets may have pitching staffs that have a bunch of players a week or two behind. The Phillies could even require their FL-based personnel to quarantine for 2 weeks. They probably should do that given all the positive tests.

Teams are just going to need lots and lots of pitchers. Assume there will be lots of 10-day shuffling back and forth between the taxi squad. Or temporary promotions for players that fail temperature checks (the COVID list). We could have 25 pitchers in a 60-game season, maybe more.

[LoneStarPhan]

Texas had its largest number of new cases ever yesterday. Hospitalizations also set a new high. New cases have been increasing by one thousand each 3 days over the past ten days. Frankly, things don't look good, but we can hope this works out.

Regardless, 2020 will not be a real season in any sense. It will give us some baseball to follow (hopefully) but probably more of a chance to see many players and make decisions on roster rebuilding during the coming off season.

[andyb]

I wonder if we will look at Jared Hughes again. He opted out of his Astros deal and is a free agent. In this crazy season he might be exactly the type of rubber-armed vet that it would be nice to have around. It is not like he was very bad last year. His home run rate doubled but that is really an anomaly compared to the rest of his career.

Jared Hughes Stats | Baseball-Reference.com

[zambonir]

I kind of feel like they didn't bring him back because they had some insight into his arm health/age. Because otherwise you would definitely think a fresh start and new pitching coach could get him back to his previous form. And Price also managed him.

Of course the situation is very different now than it was in March, he may be able to get a guaranteed deal. Also if players can start exercising their opt-outs as soon as the roster freeze ends we might just have to guarantee a few of the guys we already have.

[andyb]

I guess in that vein it is fair to say we have little room under the luxury tax. And we have to carry the equivalent of at least $700K more (and that is a low estimate) due to the expanded roster. We have 12 extra man weeks of extra roster spots to fit under the threshold and since the season is 9.5 weeks long (66 days) that is $700K for a minimum salary person but well over a million for many of the non-roster options.

The penalty in dollars would be tiny in a pro-rated short season, but they may figure Realmuto and a pitching addition next year will take care of all the savings they will have this offseason.

[zambonir]

Yeah if memory serves just converting one reliever and one bench player to a major league contract was going to finish the job, unless they opted for the cheapest possible players.

I wonder if the 27-30th salaries might not count against the tax?

[LoneStarPhan]

I was checking the Phillies roster for first time since the March shutdown and see that the nonroster invitee roster is gone. I was going to review the players that may make the roster this season and MLB has deleted the information.

I expect that new rosters will be available soon that will show the 40 man roster plus the satellite roster, but I would have appreciated MLB keeping useful information available during the shutdown.

[zambonir]

Non-Roster Invitees

Still showing up for me. But sure, you'd think it would be updated eventually. The spring training invites who have not yet been cut or returned to minor-league camp still exceeds 60 at the moment, but they probably don't have to get down to 60 until spring training is over. Until then it will be almost more like work groups (both timing and location).

The 40-man is still there too (and obvioulsly unchanged for now).

[andyb]

Gelb does a good job of laying out a strategy for filling out the 60-man roster:

Roster-building, 2020-style: How the Phillies might fill...

[zambonir]

I wonder if we'll see Moniak on the major league roster at some point this year. I guess it will not have been a successful season if so, but it doesn't really make sense to hang on to all those AAAA OFs.

It's slightly tantalizing to wonder about Herrera but if he couldn't make the 72-man roster I doubt he's gonna make the 60. Maybe he's got some trade value now (if not immediately, well, the trade deadline will arrive soon enough).