2023 Phils Spring Training News and Discussion

[David_Criss]

Bohm starting at 1B today. Any chance Cave beats out Hall for the DH/outfield slot? Thompson has raved about Sosa's glove at 3B. Cave in the OF with Catellanos or Schwarber as the DH doesn't sound horrible. Improves the Defense and maybe Cave, now that he is healthy could produce very similar results than Hall in the lineup. Lots of weapons this year. Opening day can't get here soon enough.

Cave is an OF only. Hall is a 1B only when it comes to defense.

Don't see Guthrie making the team out of Spring Training at this point. Let him play every day at AAA. Wilson, Toffey, Garcia and Hicks have gotten long looks, but aren't going to make the team.

Which two players do you cut out of: Sosa, Kingery, Cave, Clemens, Hall and Harrison? The only other question mark is if Suarez needs more time to start the season and with built in off days, they can let him start on the IL for the first two weeks without dire consequences.

Just some questions for a boring Saturday morning.

[allentown]

If Bohm plays a lot of 1B, doesn't that make Hoskins the main DH, at least until Harper returns? This may be an over-reaction based upon how much the manager likes Sosa's D at 3B.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

On mlb.com, Zolecki predicted (yesterday) that Kingery would make it. And Sosa, whom I’m pretty sure is a lock.

[zambonir]

Definitely a lot of beat writer momentum on Kingery. He is basically going to beat out Guthrie at a RHB/CF unless they acquire someone. Cave's ability to play CF doesn't help him since he bats the same side as Marsh. I think the rumor that they were asking about CFs - even if nothing comes of it - suggests Hall's spot as the LH DH is safe too. With Bohm, Harrison, JT, Hoskins and Castellanos the rest of the time (and yes, Bohm would play some 1B, and Harrison could play 1B or even RF, as well as 3B and LF).

It will be interesting to see if Sosa plays more 2B (where he can technically platoon) or 3B.

I wish Suarez wasn't hurt but I also wish he was pitching in the WBC tonight. Should be a fun game.

[BostonRoss]

Bohm hasn't shown he has the bat for 1B. The only 1B who hit worse than Bohm last year was Yuli Gurriel, who's now the backup 1B for the Marlins. Unless a LHP is starting, Hall is a better option at 1B.

[zambonir]

Oh for sure you can't play Bohm at 1B against a RHP. It's debatable that you can even play him at 3B! But you could still do it against a LHP with Hoskins at DH. Hall doesn't play at all on those days. Though Harper will, of course.

[andyb]

I wish Suarez wasn't hurt but I also wish he was pitching in the WBC tonight. Should be a fun game.

If Ranger had pitched last night Venezuela would have won. Turner's GS was off a journeyman with 4 major league appearances the past 4 years. Got tickets to the game tonight. Should be fun,

[VoteForKalas]

If Bohm plays a lot of 1B, doesn't that make Hoskins the main DH, at least until Harper returns? This may be an over-reaction based upon how much the manager likes Sosa's D at 3B.

Or it signals what may be a post-Hoskins infield

[zambonir]

Hoskins is probably gone but I still think a lot has to happen before they can see how next year's pieces fit together. Will Harper really return to RF, and if not, might he want to play 1B rather than DH? Will Castellanos actually bounce back this year and continue to be an option in RF, and if not, is he an option to play anywhere?

Bohm will basically take care of himself. If he hits well enough to be moved off 3B that also means he's hitting well enough to stay at 3B. I don't know if I'm buying Sosa as a full-time player, but if he is that also makes him trade bait for a SS-needy team.

And even if everyone else stays put the best way to replace Hoskins would probably be moving Schwarber to 1B. Marsh in LF, Rojas in CF, sign a veteran 4th OF (and/or play Castellanos in LF).

[Austinfan]

Next year is a long way away.
They'll have Ortiz, De La Cruz, Rojas and Muzzioti in AAA by the end of the season.
Kingery is a wild card since they'll have an option for next season.
Ethan Wilson at Reading, maybe Ricones starts in Lakewood and finishes in Reading.

So by October, the field of candidates could look very different.

The only thing that's close to a guarantee is they won't pay Hoskins unless his fielding miraculously improves, one reason Bohm might end up at 1B is he has the raw skills to be a plus fielder there, Hoskins is one of the worst in ML baseball. But given that Sosa is the only short-term option at 3B, Bohm will have to fall flat on his face to move.

[zambonir]

Yup, there are a million moving parts. But if Hoskins is gone - a certainty IMO, Phils haven't approached him and he can probably still find a better deal on the open market, which Boras always prefers - that money can go towards an OF or a 3B (whether a modestly productive full-timer or a complement to either Bohm or Sosa).

No chance the Phillies pay Kingery his option next season, but he could still stick around. Meanwhile, it does seem like he might have the inside track on the last bench spot if they can't find the RHB CF they are apparently looking for (Gelb reported that again yesterday, citing multiple major league sources). He has more experience (both in MLB and CF) than Guthrie, and if you are ready to give a 40-man spot to the 2023 version of Trevor Jankowski you are ready to give it to Kingery too (unless that player is acquired by trading someone off the 40).

[julio]

The Phillies released RHP Mark Appel.

They also reassigned LHP Ben Bowden, RHP Louis Head and C Max McDowell to minor league camp.

— Todd Zolecki ( @ToddZolecki ) March 20, 2023

[kmc1019]

Baseball America just posted a story entitled "25 Players Impressing Scouts in Spring Training", not limited to prospects but also younger major leaguers. Scott Kingery was the sole Phillies player included, with this blurb from a scout:

“Kingery looks good. Nothing sexy, he but he looks good. If I were them I’d (cut) Josh Harrison and I would put Kingery on the team. The swing looks good. ........He’s been the biggest guy trending up in Phillies camp.”

[BaseballCat]

I was pulling for Appel to be an option later this season, but he has not looked good this spring. He had some good thoughts about his career yesterday on his Twitter account for those that want to peak @markappel26

[flyers19rw]

He may not have the Ryan Howard power at the position but it looks as though his strength has improved this spring. He has the ability to hit for average. Very well could be a .300 hitter with 20-ish HRs. Not the greatest fielder but certainly better than Hoskins. I don't see why he couldn't be an above average 1B.

[allentown]

And looked at in a broader sense 'doesn't have the bat for 1B' is a bit irrelevant at this point. What matters is having a lineup which maximizes the combined offensive and defensive contributions of the 9 starters in the lineup. Doesn't matter what position the bat comes from. If Sosa at 3B, Bohm at 1B, and Hoskins as DH is our most effective lineup to start the season, with the players we have, then that is fine. That certainly argues for a truer 1B or 3B starter for next year, but we do the best we can with whom we've got. When Harper returns, that changes the equation, as he will be the DH virtually every game. Then one of the original 9 will sit a lot. Wait a few months into the regular season to decide whom that might be. For now, if Sosa, Bohm, and Hoskins are among our best 9 players, then they should play the positions where defense is the strongest. For Hoskins, that is DH, unless he's improved a lot from last season.

[zambonir]

Except we don't actually know if Bohm is a better 1B than Hoskins. All we have to go on there is that he's tall, and 3B is considered a more difficult position on the defensive spectrum. But replacing one of the worst fielding 1B in MLB with one of the worst fielding 3B in MLB isn't necessarily a clear choice. And getting Sosa into the line-up is a nice, and I'm sure frequent, goal, but it's not the only one: there is Hall of course, but also giving JT and Castellanos DH time. Bohm will end up DHing some himself to get Sosa at 3B I'm sure; and Hoskins wiill also DH on days Hall plays 1B.

[allentown]

Of course we don't know how good a defensive 1B Bohm can be. This is an experiment. I think we also don't know if Hall is an MLB-caliber player. He only has about 150 MLB plate appearances, and while he slugged a ton, his OBP was only 0.282 and he didn't have enough MLB plate appearances for pitchers to figure him out and adjust. If Bohm has added power, he may be a better choice, since he gets on base more.

[zambonir]

I think it's still pretty cut-and-dried that Hall hits RHP better than Bohm does. Bohm's career OBP in that situation is .304, and it was .285 last year. Hall, yes, still feast or famine/.300 OBP and SSS, but those 200+ OPS points from the SLG side count for something.

That doesn't mean Hall is anything more than a part-time player, nor does it mean that Bohm isn't going to become a better player from his weak side (and also, he has to). But if there is a righty on the mound you don't want Bohm as your DH or 1B, regardless of whether Hall is in one of those spots.

[flyers19rw]

Sure Bohm has had his bad moments in the field. However he has had some good ones as well. I don’t have the stats to prove it but my eye test is that he improved significantly last season as time went by. Also having a clunker defensively at 1B like Hoskins hurts all the IFers.