2024 Phillies Season Discussion

[zambonir]

Agreed.

LOLOLOLOL

Trade Proposal: Philadelphia Phillies get RHP Mason Miller; Oakland Athletics get RHP Mick Abel (Phillies No. 2, MLB No. 39), OF Justin Crawford (Phillies No. 3, MLB No. 56), SS Starlyn Caba (Phillies No. 5)

(I almost don't want to share the source.)

[xogfog]

I just watched some video of Miller because of your comment and I don't know if I would call his motion violent, just compact. He reminds me of a right handed Billy Wagner. He is definitely generating a lot of power through his legs and it is a quick follow through, but not herky-jerky in any way. It is quick, but not with bad form.

That being said, not worth the package proposed by that loon in Oakland that Zambonir quoted. Maybe for Caba and a lesser pitcher.

[andyb]

He already missed most of 2022 with a rotator cuff injury and 4 months last year with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. That is the TJ surgery ligament. He is being valued in trades as having 5 years of control left. I just doubt teams get more than 2 or 3.

[zambonir]

I wonder how he'd be valued compared to Ken Giles when the Phillies traded him.

[andyb]

Similar years of control. Giles had a better injury history but was not as dominant. Giles got a pretty big haul (remember when we were excited about Mark Appel) but I imagine Miller gets more. Not close to that proposed trade above, but I bet they get at least one prospect like Abel and a couple of lesser prospects. From us that might be something like Abel plus a lower level prospect like Rincones (if healthy) and then a lottery ticket (any FCL player not named Caba or Tait). They might like someone like Kroon also if they could help their major league roster with a AAAA player.

[allentown]

I don't remember most of us being at all excited about Mark Appel. He already looked like a failed prospect who was included in the trade as big-name eyewash.

[zambonir]

He was considered an upgrade to finish off the package (instead of the position player who looked like someone who got away for a little while) but Vince and Eshelman were the top billers. No true gems really. Vince had issues and Eshelman obviously had no stuff.

[Jazzhead]

agree the depth is good now, but I think in order to win in the playoffs they are short one arm.

I agree, although I wouldn't want to give up Crawford. It should be pitching for pitching. But is Miller any more the real deal than our own up-and-comer, Kerkering?

[andyb]

Eshelman was the 3rd man in the deal, not a top biller. Everyone knew he had a mediocre fastball and he was never far up various prospect lists. Velasquez was number one and Appel was number 2. Good enough that we had to throw Jonathan Arauz in the deal to balance it theoretically.

[LeftyGomez]

How big of a lead do the Phillies need to have before the series against winning teams start? One win so far against a team that currently has a winning record.

[phillychuck]

Welcome to the board, Lefty.

One of the reasons those teams don't have winning records is because we have been beating them. Still, it will be fun to play the Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, and Cubs (the only >.500 teams in the NL.

[el-pietro]

If the Phillies win exactly half of the games reamining they would finish the season with 90 wins.
Wins against bad or mediocre teams are still wins.

[Philsmania]

Originally, the Giles trade was supposed to be Velasquez, Oberholzer, Derek Fisher and Eschelman. After the Phillies became concerned with Velasquez's medicals, it was reworked to replace Fisher with Appel and add the two Arauzes. I remember California Dreaming being upset when Fisher exited the trade.

Is Giles the only one still in baseball?

[zambonir]

Yeah, you're right, Fisher was the #2 and then Appel replaced him, though the Phillies also had to give back Harold Arauz. I remember being disappointed Oberholzer was essentially worthless (he was out of options and couldn't even stick as a long man even though his ceiling was probably not more than depth starter).

We might not have been excited about Appel but he was still a 1-1 and the Astros #2 MLB.com prospect in 2015. Vince was 4th. Fisher 11th. Eshelman really didn't rate at all which I don't remember, wasn't a high pick with great numbers despite the obvious limitations?

[zambonir]

Rojas does indeed have a glove issue. It's new and not sufficiently broken in. They also think his defense is probably suffering from the intense focus on his offense.

Johan Rojas made it look easy in center last season. This year, amid forced...

[Aquapong]

What happened to Schwarber’s balance he was so touted for? He keeps screwing himself into the ground trying to golf splitters and changeups?

[gmwannabe]

I cringe at that trade proposal. I hope DD does as well. Ticking time bomb.
gm

[DurhamBull]

How big of a lead do the Phillies need to have before the series against winning teams start? One win so far against a team that currently has a winning record.

Welcome Lefty! Yeah, for whatever reason, the Phils have played only three games against teams over .500 so far this season, which a statistical outlier. Looks like the next closest are the Dodgers who have played nine. (They've gone 6-3 in those games.) The fact that they've been playing mostly mediocre or bad teams doubtless contributes to their excellent record, but as el-pietro said, wins are wins.

It's interesting that if a team gets lucky and faces a lot of teams who are going through a losing streak, it could end up playing most of its games against teams with losing records.

[zambonir]

It's a ridiculous post that I probably shouldn't even have shared. Also not really Dombrowski's style to overvalue a closer (even Kimbrel was a buy-low, relatively speaking) or overpay at the deadline during his Phillies tenure. Given the way the team is playing it's looking like another improve-around-the edges deadline - one relief arm, one bench or platoon bat.

The weak schedule would be more of a concern if the Phillies were playing .550 or even .600 baseball. The fact that they are playing .689 baseball suggests they are for very much for real and also that the correction won't be too extreme if they struggle or fall to earth a bit. Will they finish as the top team in NL and MLB, or even the NL East? Who knows? But the race is on.

[andyb]

though the Phillies also had to give back Harold Arauz.

Switch your Arauzes.