2022 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion Part 2

[andyb]

Looks like we hit the magic 1500 post limit on the first thread.

[LoneStarPhan]

Phillies Place Corey Knebel On Injured List, Designate Andrew Vasquez

Detroit Tigers & Philadelphia Phillies Complete Trade

[zambonir]

A healthy and productive Coonrod would certainly be the best scenario, but we'll see. Knebel may have slide way down the pecking order. He'd been solid in July but they hadn't even needed him with a lead or in a big spot in August.

I'm assuming they'll keep Falter and Sanchez stretched out and on turn, maybe to the point of bringing back Appel on 9/1 instead.

[andyb]

Forgot about Coonrod. I guess his 30-day rehab clock was close to being up so they decided to recall him and see where he is. I assume he is now the last guy in the bullpen until he shows he is back. Results in the minors have been mixed. Good velocity. One lousy outing to kill his ERA. Assume his command is not all the way back.

[flyers19rw]

What is the rationale behind using Falter as a sixth starter instead of Christopher Sanchez?

[BaseballCat]

LOL - I was at that game in Durham. I hope he has things pulled together better now!

[zambonir]

Well, one assumes they just like him better, and are also already used to working with him more. Not really enough data to base any of it on but Falter's been much better than Sanchez in AAA, and Sanchez really only made one good start in MLB (an easy day against the Nats. In the other one he was really just the opener). Give him seven starts and I doubt he looks any better than Falter.

[andyb]

What is the rationale behind using Falter as a sixth starter instead of Christopher Sanchez?

Falter has been better than Sanchez. Goes deeper into games potentially too. Sanchez would probably be better in a long relief role because he has more experience there.

[BaseballCat]

Vasquez’s numbers did not look that bad, but I guess they thought Coonrod fit in better at this point. It would be good if we can retain him.

[andyb]

Coonrod first pitched in the minors on 7/22 so he was 24 days into his 30-day rehab. In other words they had to activate him by the weekend anyway. If they feel he is not ready they can still send him back down and replace him after an outing or two. Hope he is back. It is a really deep bullpen if he is.

[zambonir]

Ideally the pen will not be taxed too much in Cincinnati. Also, assuming he's taking the day game, can't they send Falter back down and replace him as the extra man with a reliever between games?

[andyb]

I don't think you can have 2 different 27th men for a double-header day. Assume Falter starts one of them (likely the day game because the night game is on national TV and they probably want Wheeler for that one). But we would not get a different 27th man for the second game.

[zambonir]

Yeah I guess you are right though if they absolutely had to they could do a real roster move between games (like, if Nelson wound up pitching three innings in Falter's start they could swap him out. But then he'd be stuck down there).

Falter as the starter Saturday was already confirmed (by Gelb I think), I assume he's really only up on the taxi squad so Cotham can supervise his off-days and won't be available in Cincinnati.

[andyb]

They have been traveling with a taxi squad for COVID most of the year. It is just a road trip thing since they can usually grab somebody from Lehigh Valley or Reading on a couple of hours notice at home if they need to. I think they have used both Falter and Sanchez in that role a lot because of their ability to provide multiple innings in an emergency. It is part of the reason each has logged so few innings at LHV this year.

[LoneStarPhan]

There is an expansion of rosters on September 1st, but unlike the old days when anyone on the 40 man roster could be added to the active roster, now the limit on the active roster only expands from 26 to 28. I do not know if both can be pitchers or not, but that may be the case. If so, they probably add two pitchers.

[andyb]

It is 14 pitchers max, so one more of each. Assume Harper (keeping Hall) is our extra hitter. But the extra pitcher could be anyone. Knebel coming back. Long man in the bullpen (Falter, Sanchez). Wild card (Miller). Even Eflin coming back.

[zambonir]

I think it's safe to say anywhere from 2-3 different guys will occupy that 14th pitcher spot over the course of the month. And then the playoff roster will be a whole other consideration.

With no trades I'd think someone might take a shot at Vasquez but he probably wasn't going to last here in the off-season.

[zambonir]

Who will step up as the Phillies’ No. 3 starter down the stretch?

I think the subhead of this is still the key issue. They may get a lot closer to the Braves again once the schedule eases (5 1/2 back now), but getting to 4th is still a longshot. I'm not even sure you really want 5th (not only would that mean Braves instead of Cardinals but a likely NLDS trip out West instead of Mets. Both great teams but the travel/time zone would be a factor).

So the main goal should be to leave Milwaukee (or who knows, San Diego) in the dust and set up the rotation.

[el-pietro]

Last night the Phillies won their 10,000th game in franchise history and are at an all time 10,000 and 11,163 for an all time record of .473 tied with Baltimore and Seattle. Better only than Miami, (.461) San Diego (.463) and Colorado (.470).

Take out the 31 seasons from 1918 to 1948 in which the Phillies had winning record once and they would have an all time winning record of .501.

[andyb]

Muzziotti out for the year with a knee injury. Not sure what they should do if they need an outfielder. I guess Dalton Guthrie can play CF but he is also right-handed. Ortiz could play LF but is not ready and is also right-handed. Maybe Justin Williams who is left-handed and has been back for a few weeks. Yairo Munoz is another right-handed option.

Frankly I might consider calling up the 3rd catcher (Sands) and starting Stubbs in LF against right-handed pitching. Or they will be scanning the waiver option or looking for a minor league deal (needs to be a player that has not been on any 40-man roster this year if they are part of another organization). Where is Roman Quinn when we actually need him....

Phillies had no immediate update on Brandon Marsh. If he needs to go on 10-day IL, it won't be announced until Friday. Simon Muzziotti is not a candidate to replace him. He suffered a season-ending knee injury over the weekend in Triple-A.

— Todd Zolecki ( @ToddZolecki ) August 17, 2022