2024 Phillies Late Season Discussion

Austinfan 2024-09-19 18:21:50 UTC #462

Might have been the hardest he's thrown all season on a consistent basis, when he's hitting the corners with 94 MPH FBs, his other stuff plays up. Same with Ranger, at 90-91 he has to be perfect, at 92-93 hitters are helpless against his changeup.

Aquapong 2024-09-19 21:29:44 UTC #463

I use Duck Duck Go on my Iphone. I’ve logged into the website on a pc a few times and was thrown off at the layout.

zambonir 2024-09-20 03:25:35 UTC #464

even a catastrophizing fatalist would concede it’s a fait accompli that the Phillies will toast clinching a playoff spot (perhaps as soon as Thursday night in New York) and bust out the beer goggles for a sudsier celebration of their first NL East title in 13 years (as early as Friday night

EastFallowfield 2024-09-20 09:53:23 UTC #465

Don't have any older relatives now to ask me how to watch tonight's AppleTV game but at least all the people who don't have it won't miss watching the NL East clinch

David_Criss 2024-09-20 13:49:22 UTC #466

What is the Turnbull update? Will he be ready to replace Walker on the post season roster? Have to imagine a 70% Turnbull is better than a 100% Walker.

zambonir 2024-09-20 13:58:19 UTC #467

They are hoping to get him in a game this weekend (LV or sim). He doesn't have to be better than Walker, but he does have to be better than Lazar or Marte. Just depends where he's at.

zambonir 2024-09-20 14:24:59 UTC #468

The Phillies need one more start from the fifth spot in the rotation before the season ends; it might be Walker. It might be Allard. It might be an opener with some bulk relievers afterward. It might be you.

andyb 2024-09-20 14:47:32 UTC #469

Assume it will just be a bullpen game. Can they call someobody up in Walker's spot without sending him down next week because the minor league season is over? Or just use Allard and then cycle his spot to bring up other pitchers as needed in that last week if we don't want Nola for instance to do his final start (instead work on the side).

If there is a decision to cut Walker it won't be made this week, it'll likely be made next Spring after he is given a chance to come in and win a job after a winter of training. He actually had a little more velocity last night. Just little command of it and not a good enough split for swings and misses.

zambonir 2024-09-20 15:00:18 UTC #470

Yeah I would think a 40-man spot is still worth less than Walker's salary. It's a sunk cost but that being the case you just view him like a guy on a minor league deal. OTOH there's no chance he'll be claimed. I wonder if he would jump to declare free agency and start over or if he does want to try and redeem himself here. If the former he would then lose access to training and facilities until he signed a minor league deal somewhere else.

I don't think you get a free pass on Walker's roster spot, he'd still have to be DFAed. Last year they put Covey on the IL to make room for Plassmyer and then optioned Plassmyer to bring up Nelson. But those were on the last two days of the season.

What you do get is a free pass on the minor league recall window, if you wanted to option someone and then bring him back on the playoff roster.

My guess is Walker still pitches on that day. If it feels important to win it they should consider an opener followed by Allard (or Banks if it's a lefty-heavy line-up) and then see where it goes.

Austinfan 2024-09-20 15:21:09 UTC #471

I think they'll go Walker/Allard b/c they don't want to overwork the pen going into the playoffs.
They can live with a loss.

zambonir 2024-09-20 15:32:20 UTC #472

It's all the same thing if either of them can only pitch 2-3 innings anyway. People just seem to be less psychotic about it if they don't have to see Walker standing on the mound in the first inning (and if he relieves someone who stunk just as much/enters an already messed up game). And it doesn't make them angry when it's a guy making $700K doing it.

Using one guy against the top off the Cubs line-up probably wouldn't hurt anything.

It all just depends how badly they are trying to win the top seed (or if they are in trouble for #2). If they can clinch the #2 in the Cubs series the top arms in the pen will get plenty of rest in DC too

Callison 2024-09-20 17:09:56 UTC #473

For the rest of the season, Walker is a long reliever. If he wants to be on the post season roster, he better pitch well there, cause he's on a slippery edge. The Phils will have to work with Walker to get stronger during the off season. He'll be here for '25 and '26.

Allard might have pitched better last start, but to start the game Marsh didn't catch a leadoff pop up that went off his glove and then Allard got jobbed on at least two strike calls he should have had. So he was working too hard, too fast for him. IMHO. He can hit some corners and get by for a few innings.

The pitchers the Phils have brought up aren't nearly ready. Is that all there is?

andyb 2024-09-20 17:18:15 UTC #474

I was a little surprised that Walker was on some 12-pitcher postseason projections BEFORE last night's start, including one by Gelb. That was a whole lot of jumping to conclusions after his lone good relief appearance. Always thought they'd just go with one of the short relievers like Lazar, especially for the 5-game series.

Philsmania 2024-09-20 17:21:57 UTC #475

He was never good enough to justify the contract the Phillies gave him. The day the Phillies signed him, i checked his career stats and was very underwhelmed but i trusted that perhaps Dombrowski saw something in him. The Phillies thought Eflin wouldn't stay healthy so they let him walk and signed Walker to replace him, thinking Walker may have been on the cusp of becoming something good because of his arm.. To make an understatement, that decision did not work out. Yes, you almost feel bad for him. Attitude isn't his problem and he's been accountable. He's just been bad which perhaps shouldn't be surprising since he was never that good to begin with. He had an All-Star first half in 2021 (2.66 ERA) before reverting hard to his mean in the second half of that season (7.11 ERA), a la Tyler Green for us in 1995. But that was it for his career accomplishments. Another case of "great arm but can he pitch?". If the Phillies cut him before next season and eat $36 million, it will be one of the worst free agent signings in MLB history, outdone by the Red Sox signing Pablo Sandoval and eating more than $50 million when they cut him.

zambonir 2024-09-20 17:22:54 UTC #476

If Walker still makes the post-season roster he will either have zero innings pitched (again) or will appear in a game that the Phillies already trail by 5-6 runs. There's nothing he can do to merit a bigger role than that.

Locking him onto a 12-man projection was a bit of a stretch but I think accurately reflected the Phillies' loyalty to him. It only makes sense for the longer series and mop-up role though.

If he's here in '26 that will mean he made a very nice comeback indeed. Lots of things could still happen for him in spring training of '25 but I would say him pitching in a meaningful way, getting DFA'ed or getting traded for someone else's dead money are all equally likely. So long as they haven't extended Ranger and/or don't know what they have in Painter he's worth keeping around as one of three or four guys vying to be the #5 (no different than this year except this year he was locked in at 5 and the others were vying for #6 until he got hurt).

owaistabish 2024-09-20 17:28:23 UTC #477

Agreed on the contract and the value being zero - but his first year, being 2023, were more in line with his overall career stats.

zambonir 2024-09-20 17:44:24 UTC #478

Contracts are always more a product of the market and the service time of the player than the performance, to a point. Which is why you don't want to acquire your average or even above-average pitchers on the open market. Especially when any over-31 pitcher (or player!) can just go poof at any time. He still earned every dollar last year. It's definitely galling that the Phillies thought Eflin was too expensive and more injury-prone (not without reason in the latter case) though he probably gave the Rays a discount (though he also had to know he wouldn't be able to stay there if things didn't go perfectly for them, and he didn't).

Austinfan 2024-09-20 20:25:05 UTC #479

They bet on Walker's splitter, thinking if they had him throw it more he could be even better.
Last year he was about what they saw as his floor, a 4/5 inning eater.
This year he's gone totally south.

Given the financial investment, they'll work with him, hope to get his FB back to touching 95, and more importantly the splitter back to where he'd throw it waist high and have it dive below the hitter's knees. This year he's been hanging it consistently, and his 91-92 FB is batting practice quality. Has a decent sweeper but that should be his 3rd pitch.

zambonir 2024-09-21 01:40:27 UTC #480

Austin Hays (kidney infection) left for triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday. He will DH on Saturday and play left field on Sunday. The plan is for Hays to rejoin the team on Monday and — if all goes well — get activated by Tuesday. … Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) will pitch two innings for Lehigh Valley on Sunday. He’ll return to the Phillies’ facility in Clearwater, Fla., after that, to pitch in simulated games. …

Jazzhead 2024-09-21 12:20:49 UTC #481

Good to see strong starts by Wheeler, Nola and Sanchez heading into the final week. That three-pitch punchout by Sanchez of Alonzo last night had both me and Mrs. Jazz leaping from our chairs.

Now how about you, Ranger? I love that the motivation provided by the race for home field advantage should keep the team sharp and hopefully avoid what happened to the Braves last year. And maybe the last start of the year will be taken by Turnbull who can slide into the final playoff roster spot.