2023 Phillies Regular Season Discussion

[phillychuck]

Not close.

[Callison]

Let's see if LA is forced to send out somebody weak as Covey or Falter. Whoever it is, I hope the Phils destroy him in the first and tear up the pen the rest of the way.

Beating LA and NYY is special because they just buy everything they see... but sometimes, like tonight, it just isn't enough.

Think I'll watch the walkoff again. Whatta leadoff hitter that Schwarber is. He LOVES it.

[xogfog]

We need a hypnotist to convince Schwarber that every month is June.

[bkox]

Thomson said that Alec Bohm (left hamstring strain) came in today feeling "really good." He's going to do a workout shortly. If he comes out of the workout well, he could be activated as soon as tomorrow.

— Alex Coffey ( @byalexcoffey ) June 10, 2023

A few other Phillies injury updates:

- Noah Song (low back strain) will be getting into sim games next week
- Andrew Painter (right proximal UCL sprain) will throw a 20-pitch bullpen today

— Alex Coffey ( @byalexcoffey ) June 10, 2023

[zambonir]

So it still seems almost impossible for Song to be an active major leaguer by the 90-day window, never mind whether the Phillies could carry him (spoiler alert: they can't, even if it seems like the current bar is Covey). Is the only path to either claim he's not healthy until the end of the season (and then he still has to get his 90 days next year unless there's a deal with Boston) or lose him? Or could he start counting towards those 90 days this year and finish them next year?

I guess as a reliever rather than a starter he could do a 10 days of sim games and 10 days of real games and actually come up. But I still don't think they can hide/use him.

[bkox]

Cristopher Sanchez today - 6 IP 7 H 1 ER 1 BB 4 K. Pitch 89 was 94.8 as the velocity ticked up over the start. Last 3 games, 18 IP 13 H 3 ER 7 BB 15 K. Feels like they should be looking at him over Covey.

— Matt Winkelman ( @Matt_Winkelman ) June 10, 2023

[andyb]

I am not too worried about getting the 90-day window in for Song this year, though there is still time if they got him ready for games by the beginning of July. This year is most likely about assessing his talent and whether he is worth keeping. They might very well get him up to the major league roster for a month or two this year. Then they will probably know if the stuff is worth keeping him on the roster all winter. I don't think we have a huge number of young players we'll need to protect yet.

Worst case for the Phillies is rehabbing him all year (but deeming the stuff is good enough to keep). Then playing him for 90 days next year after Australia or Arizona in the off season. Then he still has all 3 of his options.

The Phillies know much more about where he is in his recovery and the level of his stuff than we do. They will make an informed decision on that.

[Austinfan]

He'll also be closer to ML ready next season, so if they can string him along, get him Fall instructs work, some winter ball, by ST he may be a legitimate candidate for a ML job.

[zambonir]

I just have a hard time believing the other shoe isn't going to drop with some kind of grievance if they try to keep him in the off-season, or even once it's no longer possible to have him up for 90 days (if that's what happens here). Doesn't mean the Phillies can't win it - or maybe it ends with mediation resulting in a trade. Or maybe the other teams just respect the hustle and figure they would do the same if they could have. But, the semantics of what actually constitutes being healthy enough to pitch in Song's unique situation aside, do we really think he's injured? Like, if a current member of the Phillies bullpen had an identical injury, they'd probably have just missed a month (if that).

[bkox]

The Phillies activated Alec Bohm from the IL and optioned Drew Ellis to Triple A.

— Corey Seidman ( @CSeidmanNBCS ) June 11, 2023

[Lucky_Beagle]

Related to Song:

A Rule 5 player needs to be kept on the 26 man roster all season, correct?
Meaning once he has been activated for 90 days he can't be sent to the minors, he can only be put on the IL if "injured".
So if Song is activated for less than 90 days this season, would he need to remain on the 26 man roster all next season without being able to be sent to the minors?

[zambonir]

Right if he is activated but actually can't get his 90 days the presumption is he would have gotten "injured" again. Hard to see that as a plan.

But if he is still with the Phillies next season he only;has to stick for 90 days I believe, not all year.

[andyb]

One can argue that the demands of pitching on a major league team cannot be met without significant training coming off a 3+ year layoff.

Other teams might complain but the Phillies will win this. The big question is the Phillies' assessment of his talent. If he is worth keeping they'll keep him. As we are seeing this year, starting pitching depth - real depth - is pretty valuable.

[zambonir]

It is a fair argument but you could just as easily argue that if he cannot meet the demands of performing in the major leagues physically he should be returned to the team that doesn't have to play him there. The question is will they even make that argument or will he just never come off IL

[BostonRoss]

I think we talk about Song more than the Phillies do

[andyb]

Getting back to the main thread, it really looks like Falter makes the start Saturday if he does OK in a shorter outing tonight. If he can go 3-4 innings Saturday it would help immensely and the A's are probably the mediocre team to start his path back.

Article does touch on McGarry and Abel. The team is not sure either will be ready this year but certainly not till late in the season. McGarry is closer but it sounds like they want to see a couple of more decent AA starts out of him and then at least 4 more in AAA. So even his earliest ETA is likely August.

J.T. Realmuto hits for cycle, but Phillies drop bullpen game against...

[allentown]

Late in season? Abel pitched 108 innings last year. Probably shouldn't be pushed beyond 140 this season. He is at 45 IP.

[andyb]

Which is why it is unrealistic to think Abel will be in the majors this year. McGarry is older and had more high level success so he is more viable. And if we decide to not really replace the 5th starter, having someone in the bullpen that can go 3-4 innings would not be the worst thing for the stretch.

If we are competitive of course. If the team is still around .500 I don't think I would accelerate either player's service clock unless they were truly dominating in AAA.

[zambonir]

One way or another they will surely acquire someone at the deadline, just like last year. It could be another Thor type, it could be a more expensive rental or it could be someone controllable who takes Nola's spot (though someone in that category would probably include Abel or McGarry at the top of the deal).

McGarry as a bullpen guy - which is what they were getting ready to do last year - could be a September option.

[andyb]

If Drew Hutchison reunions are not enough for you, how about Jake Thompson? Just signed him and going to Reading. But which Jake Thompson are we getting? There are apparently 2 of them and stories conflict a bit.

Jake Thompson College & Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Jake Thompson Minor, Winter, Korean & Mexican Leagues Statistics |...

Gelb corrected himself and it is the Red Sox version. They are both kind of mediocre.

Well, it turns out the Phillies signed a different Jake Thompson who is also a right-handed pitcher. Sorry to both Jakes: https://t.co/tpADou7nYM

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) June 13, 2023