2022 Phillies Major League Regular Season Discussion

[BaseballCat]

I think the front office knows they can use Kingery in a pinch. He can be outrighted without without losing - no team is going to take his salary and Scott is not going to refuse assignment and lose his salary. I hope he gets a serious chance in Triple A to get going.

[bkox]

‘They call us Phillies day care’: How Rob Thomson’s communication style has...

Moniak said that Thomson's open communication style is a new (and welcome) development.

“It started once Topper got here,” he said. “And that’s a big thing for us. Not to knock Joe for not doing it. It’s all stylistic, everyone is different": https://t.co/YxxaSAjxuD

— Alex Coffey ( @byalexcoffey ) June 11, 2022

[allentown]

But Joe should be knocked for it. That's a big part of his job.

[zambonir]

Well, they probably didn't give Joe any reason to think it was part of his job when he was hired. Especially since it was also the reason the Yankees fired him.

Which is part of the problem of having a hiring process that doesn't involve any baseball people. I'll admit I didn't think Joe was the worst choice of the three at the time, but it was also just an awful situation to begin with. The owner made a decision based on what has proven to be an incorrect evaluation (that the roster was better than Kapler got out of it) and the GM had no input in either end of the decision (maybe MacPhail did but that also speaks for itself).

[bkox]

Worth noting: #Phillies are playing today with an all-homegrown infield (Hoskins-Vierling-Stott-Bohm). Substitute Kingery at 2B, and it's more or less what they envisioned when they drafted Bohm and Stott in the first round in '18 and '19

— Scott Lauber ( @ScottLauber ) June 11, 2022

[bkox]

Corey Knebel felt some tightness in his shoulder while warming before the ninth inning, according to Rob Thomson. He’ll be evaluated tomorrow.

— Scott Lauber ( @ScottLauber ) June 11, 2022

[Aquapong]

The only team hotter than the Phils right now…is the Braves.

[zambonir]

We've passed them in run differential though. Still a steep climb ahead for sure.

[bkox]

Entering June: @Braves : 23-27 @Phillies : 21-29

June:

Braves: 10-0
Phillies: 9-0

This is the first time two MLB teams each had losing records 50+ games into a season and then went on simultaneous 9+ game winning streaks since the Pirates and Reds did so in 1899.

— Stats By STATS ( @StatsBySTATS ) June 12, 2022

[Aquapong]

I’d still feel more comfortable with a real closer. Knebel strikes me more as a setup man.

[zambonir]

Heh, just like Neris, Kennedy, Workman and even David Robertson. And Hand and Familia for that matter. They've all closed, they've all never been great at it.

The best scenario is still for Seranthony or Brogdon to ease into the role, like Madson and Giles (and Lidge, with the Astros) once did. Versus the cost (be it in trade or free agent $) and risk of a proven guy. OTOH, the other really good Phillies closers of the last 30 years were probably Lidge, Wagner and Papelbon, who all cost.

[bkox]

David Robertson

They've all closed, they've all never been great at it.

David Robertson would like you to look at his stats from 2014-2017

[zambonir]

Fair enough though I'm seriously not sure it counts when you are the closer on bad teams. The minute he went back to the Yankees he wasn't a closer anymore, and the Phillies didn't sign him to close either.

Familia had his moments too. And so did Neris. I'm still not a believer in the closer myth, so I reckon if Robertson was a good closer Knebel can be one too (and has been). I agree with the Phillies' philosophy not to overpay for that role (as well as their choice to immediately move Suarez to a higher-value role). Their bullpen problems in recent seasons have been more top-to-bottom than about the closer. I reckon the fact that the closer feels like a problem this year is actually a reflection on how much better the bullpen is overall.

Perhaps Morales is our August closer if Knebel isn't.

[bkox]

Perhaps Morales is our August closer if Knebel isn't.

I dunno... we have a lot of guys coming off the DL in the next few weeks. Is Morales going to get another look? Coonrod, Sherriff, Emmanuel and JoJo Romero

Plus... Morales has kinda fallen apart in AAA. 2.318 WHIP. 12 walks in 7.1 innings, 6.14 ERA. Alot of that came in one outing.. but he was still averaging a walk per inning before the bad outing on Thursday

[andyb]

Seranthony has got to be the next one up for the closer role. Noticed that they have started to introduce him to back to back outings too of late. They are still shorter outings in terms of pitches for an ideal closer, but he is getting closer to being able to handle the role.

[bkox]

soo.. this does bring up the question.. barring injuries... who is the odd men out when players start coming back on the 40 man? Emmanuel and Sherriff both are doing rehab outings so this means in a couple weeks they need to be re-instated to the 40

Shockingly... everyone currently in our bullpen besides Norwood and Sanchez have ERAs below 4.

I assume Sanchez is sent down when we have to go down to 13 pitchers. And Norwood is DFA when a reliever is ready. But do Sherriff and Emanuel have options or do they need to be added to the roster? When does Alvarado come back up or does he?

40 man I guess is solved by putting Segura on the 60 day and DFA Norwood. Oh wait.. Marchan will need a 40 spot too. Maybe say bye to Damon Jones?

[andyb]

Everybody has options except Norwood. Listed here:
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/phillies

The roster is now at 39 after Kingery was sent down, so they only need one more spot for Emanuel and Sherriff assuming they bring both back (each is probably a candidate to DFA along with Norwood). Damon Jones has to be a DFA candidate too as you note. I think all these players are better than 50-50 to not get claimed and if we are saying that then it is really not that great a loss if we lose them.

There might be a good pitcher in the Emanuel, Sherriff, and Jones group. We just need to hope that the Phillies choose the right one.

[zambonir]

Yes, true, Morales does not need to be rushed (or maybe he already as, from AA). But if the premise is that the closer has to be someone who is somehow suited for the role, he is the only pitcher in the system being explicitly groomed for it.

Emanuel is going to be a starter, I think I read. Per Fangraphs he has options. So does Sherriff. I don't imagine they will have Sherriff jump Alvarado unless he looks really ready.

And yeah, the bullpen is actually good. I think the broadcast yesterday mentioned they were Top 5 in holds and while holds is not the greatest stat, at the end of the day it still says a smallish lead was protected, and last year, that was very much not the case, as the team's epic blown save problem was in every inning, not just the 9th. Familia looks like the weak link but at this time last year Bradley didn't look so great either. It's always hard to tell if you've got a guy who can find his way during the season or if it's just going to be one of the bad seasons.

[gmwannabe]

it looks like the Angels got out of Philly just in time. Trout and Otahni are heating up.
gm

[zambonir]

Firing the manager, it always works.