2022 Phillies Spring Training

[bkeich]

Moniak is certainly having a god spring, but I always hate to see a BA and OBP that are the same (zero walks). He won't hit HR at this clip during the season, so his .341 BA will drop considerably. I guess I am hoping for .280, but I fear that will only be a .320 or so OBP, which is not exciting.

All in all, at least there is hope after last seasons time in the majors, which was as bad as anyone I have ever seen (the good at bats were when he struck out on 4 pitches)

[tom81]

As the great sage said, "Baseball is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical." Maybe the lightbulb has turned on for MM.

[allentown]

He's seeing pitches he can hit, so he's hitting them. He walked almost enough in AAA last season and at Philly. Ked way too much in his few Phillies AB and more than one would like at AAA. I don't count not walking as a bad thing when a hitter is in the midst of a hot streak.

[nycphils]

From the Athletic:

Bohm was not just bad against fastballs last season; he was also one of the worst hitters against fastballs in the majors since 2015.

[andyb]

Fangraphs did this a month ago:

Where Is Alec Bohm’s Power?

There are some real issues with Bohm and fastballs. But the flip side is that he can still be a decent hitter with that flaw and he has been working to shorten the swing. Is this an adjustment that he can make in the majors? I am not sure. Is he still one of our best 26 players? Probably even with his issues to work out. His exit velocity last year showed he was unlucky to some degree. He could easily be an .800 OPS hitter this year even with his fastball issues.

And this. The Phillies do appear to be seriously considering the "spread playing time around" strategy of keeping both Bohm and Stott.

Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott? Phillies may start season with both after all: 'I...

If either of them is not playing well by May we could always send them down again. Big variable is Didi. The team will give him a chance to bounce back from last year. But what if he doesn't? At the very least he needs to platoon and I think Girardi realizes this.

[zambonir]

At the end of the day, it's probably not that big a deal. Is picking Stott (which appears to be fait accompli) going to cost the Phillies an important arm, short-term or long? Probably not. If Bohm gets 35 ABs in April with the Phillies instead of 100 with the Pigs is that going to wreck him? If it could he's probably not going to be fixed. And being with Long couldn't hurt either.

It's just unfortunate they aren't willing to move Didi to 3B, and that neither Stott nor Maton are RH. Camargo is better from that side but still not really a SS.

It's just crazy how many people have played SS for this team since Freddy. That Freddy also returned, you almost can't make it up.

[fish]

If Bohm gets 35 ABs in April with the Phillies instead of 100 with the Pigs is that going to wreck him? If it could he's probably not going to be fixed. And being with Long couldn't hurt either.

The problem is, that to get value out of Bohm, he has to improve quickly. If he languishes on the bench he's no good to the Phillies or to his trade value. The best bet to get him back on track quickly is to get his reps in at AAA- and if he can't improve there, well, his value to the Phils on the field and in a trade is out the window.

2020 Alec Bohm got back breaking hits off the opposition- I loved that guy and I'd want the Phils to do whatever it took to get him straightened out. He's trying to correct a flaw that results in him hitting the ball into the ground too much, and not making good contact on fastballs. On top of that it seems to be in his head too. Kevin Long seems to be the guy to fix that, but at the same time AAA seems to be the best place to do it.

[andyb]

The question of where Bohm starts is really related to the question of how much playing time Didi will get. A little bit Stott too, but all of these really depend on Didi being reduced to a platoon SS role.

And confirmation of the IL moves:

Phillies will keep Odúbel Herrera, Sam Coonrod, Ryan Sherriff, JoJo Romero and Kent Emanuel here in Clearwater. All will begin season on IL. Zack Wheeler staying behind to pitch Thursday morning in a minors scrimmage. Final roster decisions still to come.

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) April 5, 2022

That leaves 16 pitchers on the active roster:
Wheeler, Nola, Gibson, Eflin, Suarez
Knebel, Hand, Familia, Alvarado, Brogdon
Dominguez, Falter, Jones, Nelson, Norwood, Sanchez

They could keep all 16. Norwood is the only one with no options. Jones probably the most likely to be sent down. I can't see any non-roster pitcher making or another 40-man option (Crouse, McArthur, Morales) at this point. A waiver claim is always a possibility but that would require removing somebody.

Position players.- 13 left without Herrera. This includes Bohm and Maton but not Stott. Stott will require a 40-man move.

[julio]

NEWS: the #Phillies have told Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm that they have made the Opening Day roster. Team will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Stott.

— Todd Zolecki ( @ToddZolecki ) April 5, 2022

[andyb]

That probably means Maton goes down. And they stick to 15 pitchers with Jones and I guess Brogdon the ones most likely to not make it (and Jones really feels like a guy they will try to sneak through waivers since Ogle might be ahead of him if they need another LHP).

Also a possibility that one of the new IL moves (Herrera, Coonrod, Sherriff) go on the 60-day IL.

Stott at 2B today with Camargo at SS and Bohm at 3B. Another signal that Stott will be in a utility role as the prime backup at 2B and SS and maybe the platoon bat with Bohm at 3B.

[Sabin]

And Bohm also struck out with runners on on a fastball at 94 mph basically over the middle of the plate.

So? All players do this. If you want to make the case the Bohm does it too frequently... well, make that case (good luck with that, at least this spring). One bad at-bat tells us exactly nothing... about any hitter.

Bohm has not had a good spring. But he's struck out four times, in 34 plate appearances. He's walked three times. A BB% that's approaching 10% is generally considered good. A K% that's a little under 12%, in the modern game, is also pretty good. His BA is low (.226) - he's 7 for 31. If he had all of two more hits in those 31 AB, he'd be batting .290. Small (tiny) sample size will do that.

The issues with Bohm, at this point, are: 1) defense; and 2) power. Not the occasional strikeout - certainly not if he's striking out only 12% of the time. Now, it's a small sample, and Bohm's K% last year was more like 27%, which is not good. His numbers this spring may be a fluke, or they may reflect a real improvement. Small sample = Who knows?

While I agree with most of what you wrote here, intimating NYC is drawing conclusions on Bohm ability to handle a fastball from a single spring training AB seems disingenuous. Certainly the possibility exists that Bohm has done some work in this area during the offseason and positive results will be seen with more data, but it's not like his struggles here are limited to the past few weeks. You seem aware of this when citing his 27% K-rate last season, which makes your rebuke of NYC's (albeit very brief) thought - complete with a quick 101 as to how sample sizes work - seem a bit obtuse.

[David_Criss]

If my math is correct, this leaves 30 players left on the roster including pitchers Jones, Nelson, Norwood, Suarez and Brogdon along with Maton, Camargo, and Vierling. I'm guessing Norwood is DFA for Stott leaving 29 in camp.

[zambonir]

Also a possibility that one of the new IL moves (Herrera, Coonrod, Sherriff) go on the 60-day IL.

I read somewhere a little while back that while you can move guys to the 60 as soon as spring training starts as well as during for the obvious procedural reasons, the clock doesn't actually start until Opening Day.

[andyb]

Norwood is the only pitcher without options so he is virtually certain to make the team. I know he has been absent for a personal issue the last couple of days but I think his spot is safe. The Phillies would not have acquired him if they were going to turn around and DFA him (though he is not that safe that a few bad outings in April could force that).

Fangraphs Roster Resource is improved this year. It projects Jones as the last cut. They also show options remaining.
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/phillies

[zambonir]

If Bohm gets 35 ABs in April with the Phillies instead of 100 with the Pigs is that going to wreck him? If it could he's probably not going to be fixed. And being with Long couldn't hurt either.

The problem is, that to get value out of Bohm, he has to improve quickly. If he languishes on the bench he's no good to the Phillies or to his trade value. The best bet to get him back on track quickly is to get his reps in at AAA- and if he can't improve there, well, his value to the Phils on the field and in a trade is out the window.

Well, now that it is done, let me put it another way: if Bryson Stott gets 35 ABs with the Phillies instead of 100 with the Pigs is that going to wreck him?

Sounds like they will both get more than that. But on paper Bohm and Stott are now a 3B platoon, and if Bohm can hold up his end he'll get more starts (though they don't have to be 9 innings, or even 6). Stott can fill in at 2B but I'm not sure that will really happen more than once a week. And they have to find at least one start a week for Camargo.

Regardless, nothing is etched in stone. Agreed it would be less than ideal if Bohm gets 50 or 60 ABs, stinks, and goes back to AAA in disgrace a second time. But if he then hits there for two months I'm not sure that will help or hurt his trade value any more than if those two months were April and May. More than anything he needs to play regularly and produce in the majors. The skepticism about him - either that he's not a 3B or his bat is not valuable enough to be a RH 1B/DH - isn't going to go away unfortunately. We need an opposing GM who believes in him like CD does (or the Phillies need to).

[andyb]

Brogdon looking better today, reaching 95 with a few pitches. Assume he has locked down the last spot in the bullpen now.

[julio]

The Phillies have optioned INF Nick Maton to Lehigh Valley (AAA). Additionally, RHP Andrew Bellatti and RHP Michael Kelly have been reassigned to minor league camp.

— Philadelphia Phillies ( @Phillies ) April 5, 2022

[andyb]

That leaves the 16 pitchers noted above for 15 spots. Plus one player removed from the 40-man (does not have to be the 16th pitcher). Could be an 60-day IL move. Could be risking Sands to make it through waivers.

[julio]

That leaves the 16 pitchers noted above for 15 spots.

Gelb seems to think Norwood is the odd man out:

Phillies appear to be set with this pitching staff: Nola, Gibson, Eflin, Suárez, Wheeler
Knebel, Familia, Hand, Alvarado, Domínguez, Brogdon, Jones, Falter, Sánchez, Nelson

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) April 5, 2022

That, or else he's just forgotten about Norwood?

[andyb]

Maybe there is a personal bereavement list for Norwood? Or they just sacrificed a low level prospect (Pichardo) to look at him for 3 days. Hope he does not have enough service time to just declare free agency.