2022 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion Part 2

[Austinfan]

I think Maton should go to winter ball to play OF, right now he just doesn't have enough experience, which is why Guthrie's been playing OF in Lehigh, adds value if you add that to your repertoire - but you need enough experience to gauge the flight of the ball off the bat - otherwise he may be worse than Schwarber even with better tools.

Hall lacks the athleticism to be even below average in LF, same reason they probably haven't tried Sands in the OF in AAA, they DH him when Marchan catches.

Vierling playing IF, Maton playing OF, Guthrie playing both makes all three more valuable going forward in an age of short benches - which is why trying to do that with Kingery was the right idea - he just forgot how to hit the ball.

[zambonir]

The dog days have arrived to test these Phillies. Seranthony to IL with triceps soreness. Also Knebel's out for the year. Tyler Cyr gets call-up.

(all per Matt Gelb's Twitter)

https://twitter.com/MattGelb

[andyb]

The McGarry scenarios certainly make more sense several hours later. Assume they have to get Appel also for one of the spots. No idea what they'll get from Cyr. Robertson, Hand, and Brogdon all have big roles now. Might want to get some late inning work from Alvarado too who has been easing back into more important innings.

[zambonir]

Of course we can't help but fear the worst. It could still be a minor injury that just needs rest. Still just one spot though (Coonrod already filled Knebel's and it would be a big deal if he can help). Cyr might only be here for one day or one week.

[andyb]

Phillies to play the road team at Williamsport next year against the Nationals in the Little League game. Bonus home game for them (in that they should have the crowd in Williamsport and don't lose the home date). Imagine the Nats are happy to give up a home date for a TV cash guarantee next year.

[zambonir]

Are we sure they still like us in Williamsport?

But seriously isn't the crowd mostly the Little League players and their families rather than locals? Batting last probably counts more than any energy from the tiny crowd but still beats playing in DC.

[Lucky_Beagle]

yes mostly LL associates, they typically have a "random" drawing and give out roughly 50 pair of tickets with only those who live in Lycoming County being eligible for the drawing.

[andyb]

The Nats might be expecting a crowd of 15,000 for a random home date next year while the Phillies would be more like 30,000. That is probably why the Nats are the home team here more than any sort of competitive advantage.

[BostonRoss]

The “crowd” in Williamsport is about 2,500.

[Lucky_Beagle]

The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Michael Plassmeyer. In a corresponding move, right-hander Tyler Cyr was designated for assignment.

[LoneStarPhan]

Another day, another new pitcher on the active roster.

Seems like there are many more of these moves than I recall from the past.

[zambonir]

Everybody pitches!

[zambonir]

Well, that's been the trend, along with the end of August waiver trades. Clearly they don't care if they lose Cyr, or if he can't be recalled.

And they also don't consider Appel to be the clear 9th reliever, or just want to get a look at everyone they can before the end of the month.

[Lucky_Beagle]

mlbtraderumors:

Aug. 22: Harper will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A tomorrow, tweets Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Harper will play everyday from Tuesday to Saturday, take Sunday off and potentially join the big league club on Monday.

[zambonir]

well damn I was gonna go sunday

[andyb]

I think they needed a pitcher who could go multiple innings (i.e. Plassmeyer). Probably until roster expansion when they get another pitching slot. Coonrod is very limited at the moment and that hurts them.

On Harper I always thought they might bring him back before the first if the initial rehab went well. The team flies to Arizona for a series starting next Monday, so probably easier just to start him at the beginning of the series.

Sucks for Hall as he probably gets optioned for 10 days, but there are only so many DH-only types the roster can handle. I think Hall will be back eventually. Probably be good for him to play for 10 days since he has seen such limited action the past week. I can't fault him for K'ing to end the game yesterday. Hard to not play for 4 days and hit the best closer in the league. Zimmer would not have hit him either.

[gmwannabe]

or maybe let him play first. what was Hoskins...2 for the series? the Phils need more production that.
gm

[Lucky_Beagle]

2-17 R, rbi, 2B, CS maybe a walk or two and some K's....maybe even some errors or misplays that didn't result in an error officially

[andyb]

There is really no data that suggests that Hall is better over an extended sample than Hoskins. Lots of data that suggests Hall was helped by small sample size and lack of scouting reports.

I am no Hoskins superfan, mainly because of mediocre defense and how he probably is not a good value once he hits free agency. But he is clearly better than Hall now and this team needs players who can play the field. Carrying 2 1B is not going to solve that problem.

[David_Criss]

Plassmeyer has always been a starter. The Phillies already had/have Appel, Emmanuel and Morales on the 40-man..........