2024 Phillies Late Season Discussion

[EastFallowfield]

Try to get Walker to pitch when the shadows are making it harder to see the (meat)ball.

[andyb]

Hard to know if it is his last opportunity. Maybe to start this year, but if they have decided there is too much potential to eat the contract then they'll just make him the last man in the bullpen with the extra pitcher in September and hope his command improves enough for him to be part of the bullpen games.

It does seem the Phillies might have rushed his rehab a bit, but clearly the upside of getting something out of his contract is greater than the downside of eating $36+ million right now. There is no question the contract gives Walker an advantage over say an Allard or Phillips, but it is also fair to say the Phillies really don't think Allard or Phillips are demonstrably better solutions for this year either.

[David_Criss]

At this point, what is the problem with just shutting him down and seeing if he is a better pitcher in Spring Training and decide in April to trade or release him, even with two-years remaining

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Alvarado to the restricted list; Mercado recalled

[andyb]

They can't shut him down because there is no injury that we know of. He will take up a roster spot unless they can get him through waivers to LHV and he can refuse that. So the alternatives at the moment are to try to improve him on the major league roster (or ideally get him to accept an assignment to LHV to do that in a lower pressure environment).

The contract ties the Phillies hands a bit - compounded by the reality that all their 5th and 6th starter options are flawed.

[Philsmania]

They can outright him to AAA which I believe would take him off the 40 man. He could refuse the assignment and become a free agent but wouldn't that necessitate him walking away from the $36 million he's owed?

[bkeich]

Try to get Walker to pitch when the shadows are making it harder to see the (meat)ball.

He would need the sun to explode to not see his pitches

[bkeich]

At this point, what is the problem with just shutting him down and seeing if he is a better pitcher in Spring Training and decide in April to trade or release him, even with two-years remaining

Especially since there is really no chance that he makes the playoff roster.

Trying him at the far, far end of the bullpen is an idea, but I can’t think of any reason that would work, but it is what I would try.

They need innings, but sending him out is about the same as sending out a ball girl, it is a nearly certain loss

[Lucky_Beagle]

They can outright him to AAA which I believe would take him off the 40 man. He could refuse the assignment and become a free agent but wouldn't that necessitate him walking away from the $36 million he's owed?

No it wouldn't

[schillingfan]

Phillies are flipping Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez in the rotation. Walker will start Wednesday against Houston. Sanchez will go Thursday against Atlanta..

Looks like Walker is good to go, though this little switch implies that it will be a very short leash, perhaps using the Lazar and Covey availability. Plus it pushes Sanchez to the more important divisional game against Atlanta.

Yippee! I’m going to Thursday’s game and I was terrified it would be Walker. Sanchez at home I’ll take in a Phillie minute.

[Lucky_Beagle]

Alvarado to the restricted list; Mercado recalled

Why ?

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Not sure why exactly, but it appears that Alvarado is dealing with a personal matter.

[bkeich]

Great not only is Walker starting again, we are moving him up to get him extra starts. Thomson is really starting to lose me.

I realize it won’t matter because there is no way Walker stays in the rotation much longer, but still it is insane to maximize his starts, even potentially.

[andyb]

Great not only is Walker starting again, we are moving him up to get him extra starts. Thomson is really starting to lose me.

It will still be 4 days rest and he did only go 3 last time out....

We do have a fresh Lazar and Mercado/Covey to pitch though ideally we want Alvarado back though all 3 of those other options could get us 2 innings if we needed it.

[bkeich]

Great not only is Walker starting again, we are moving him up to get him extra starts. Thomson is really starting to lose me.

It will still be 4 days rest and he did only go 3 last time out....

We do have a fresh Lazar and Mercado/Covey to pitch though ideally we want Alvarado back though all 3 of those other options could get us 2 innings if we needed it.

My point wasn’t that he was going on short rest, my point was we don’t need to make sure he goes every 5 days. Why guarantee 20% losses like that?

[zambonir]

Why guarantee 20% losses like that?

Because they aren't any more guaranteed than pitching the other guys. And they aren't must-win games. That seems beyond obvious, the team believes it would be better for Walker - or any combo of relievers - to eat innings in losses than to push our best starters and best relievers. The first and second seeds are still important but there is no Walker-free path that guarantees it any more than one with him. He's probably not even worst than the 5th starters on most of the NL contenders and at least one of those teams is fighting for its playoff life.

If he can't go to the minors or the IL the best thing is to figure out how to use him so long as he is taking up a roster spot. I wouldn't want to see Mercado start Wednesday, and Allard wasn't an option for that spot even before he was sent down.

[zambonir]

8-4 in last 12 btw. So yeah that might have been 10-2 with a better starting pitching option, but that doesn't mean the Phillies had one.

[BaseballCat]

I was at the Cole Hamels retirement game with “friends and family” tickets we got from a student who had a connection to the Phils coaching staff. A week or so in advance, it was clear Walker was going to be the pitcher which was not what we hoped for. His family was sitting a few rows ahead of us and his kids were cute. He preceded to tank and was taken out. We are not boo birds, but felt bad for his family because they were letting him have it even though Joe Peterson thought it was for him. Really want to ask for more tickets but not sure how many times we can go to that well. Besides they have lost the last three times we have gone. One day the trip from VA will be successful I hope.

[Aquapong]

Hays hasn’t put up even the numbers he did while he was with the Orioles yet. Granted he got off track with that injury. He’s done more damage against lefties. They should probably just platoon him with Marsh and let Rojas and his defense play even if he’s a weak spot in the lineup. Hays has one more arb year and he’s relatively inexpensive, so there’s not much reason to not keep him around next year.

Next year maybe we need a leftie platoon outfielder. Maybe that’s just Stevenson. This is what is bad about having a designated DH that can’t play the field. It really reduces your flexibility and makes those few guys that can play anywhere in the field competently worth their weight in gold.

[VoteForKalas]

We need to figure out how to field a better OF in general.

Rojas is great defensively, but weak offensively even with the strides he has made this season.

We know about Casty, ok defensively and ok to good offensively depending on where he is on his hot & cold streaks.

Marsh is solid defensively and offensively, but better in LF than CF. Hays has been mediocre so far, but SSS.

The issue is any of the platoon configurations do not really improve production and/or they sacrifice defense.

I remain hopeful one of Schwarber or Casty will be moved (Casty is my preference), the other can stay/become the DH and then we can land a more consistent RF with more offensive punch. I'd give the LF job to Marsh full time, but I realize I'm biased toward him and understand if they want to bring in a better platoon partner there.

The issue is if we can upgrade RF and solidify LF, then Rojas can stay in CF and hit #9 without much issue. He could continue to improve at the plate, but we do not have to depend on it as much as now.