News of Former Phillies 2019/2020

BostonRoss 2020-09-03 20:34:18 UTC #503

Robert Stock's wife thinks like LoneStarPhan:

Twitter user Aaron Kessler said "I implore you all to put on the Red Sox game, they have this dude Robert Stock pitching, and he looks like he's twice-divorced and completely given up on life. I can't stop watching him. It's transfixing."

Pretty funny Tweet from Kessler, but Mrs Stock was way funnier:

0 times divorced, but if he keeps walking the lead-off batter, I’ll consider filing https://t.co/iAgvPcrazV

— Sara Stock (@sara__stock) September 2, 2020

Lucky_Beagle 2020-09-03 22:00:36 UTC #504

The Red Sox have claimed catcher Deivy Grullon from the Phillies, per an announcement from Philadelphia.

LoneStarPhan 2020-09-03 22:51:58 UTC #505

Hate to see the Phillies lose Grullon but I guess they have a couple other catchers in the system that they like.

And of course, they are going to sign Realmuto to a new deal.

zambonir 2020-09-03 23:08:58 UTC #506

You gotta wonder why they didn't try to move him on trade deadline day - or rather, you gotta wonder if anyone wanted him. One would think he'd have gotten a token return if trades were still allowed but weird to think Austin Davis was technically worth more. He was almost certainly gonna be traded or someone's Rule V back-up next year anyway.

BostonRoss 2020-09-05 22:53:21 UTC #507

Only a Phillie in spring training, but he’s landed on his feet after a bad injury.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2020/09/05/will-middlebrooks-where-are-they-now

andyb 2020-09-07 22:19:56 UTC #508

He still walks the first hitter way too often, but apparently we are missing some entertainment:

zambonir 2020-09-07 22:24:18 UTC #509

The new Brandon McCarthy

mdougherty12 2020-09-09 04:38:15 UTC #510

Breakdown of Sixto Sanchez’s arsenal of pitches:

flyers19rw 2020-09-09 14:25:57 UTC #511

If the Phillies have Realmuto for the next six seasons performing as he has since he came here, I don't care what SS does in Miami. An every day player matters more than a once in five days pitcher. however it seems that TPTB have messed up this situation since JT has not been extended. If Realmuto leaves as a FA for another destination, it will be the worst trade since the Ferguson Jenkins deal. Get him signed.

allentown 2020-09-09 15:30:09 UTC #512

Interesting that last night's Sox lineup had two fromer Phillies farmhands in Grullon and Arauz, both of whom they basically acquired for free (Arauz Rule 5 from Astros who got him in GIles trade; Grullon completely free). Not the Sox of the last few years. Arauz is only 21, so could well develop into something. I always like Grullon, though he is heavy. It still strikes me as strange that the knock on him is his defense, since that used to be his carrying talent earlier in the minors, when he couldn't hit. I saw him catch at Reading. Didn't think his D was bad.

zambonir 2020-09-09 18:44:44 UTC #513

You have to think Sixto's success puts some more pressure on the Phillies. But on its own terms, they've already lost the trade. Barring a miracle this season they aren't going to win anything of note during the two years they acquired him, and they could have kept Sixto and Alfaro and been the high bidder for JT in free agency.

Still, it's early, for all of it. They'll probably sign JT, and there's no telling what lies ahead for Sixto performance and health-wise.

andyb 2020-09-09 19:07:57 UTC #514

There is also no way to know whether JT will be worth the $120 million we will have to pay to keep him.

zambonir 2020-09-09 19:29:45 UTC #515

Depends how you define "worth." The sunk cost of 1-2 years of lesser production (or worse) should be a given, and if he defies the odds (the existence of the DH should help ease the wear), great. But if someone gives him six years I probably walk away. I probably don't cry about losing the deal either, except that they probably should have been in the tax (for a starter last year and relievers this year) while they were all-in.

andyb 2020-09-09 19:35:34 UTC #516

I think that is 5 years plus an option ($22M for 5 years plus a $10M buyout of a 6th year). Larger point is that he will be fully valued (as he should be) and it is probably 50-50 at best as to whether he is worth it compared to spending the money elsewhere.

If we don't sign JT there are just few options out there short of a trade unfortunately. I think we give Knapp a shot at the job and sign someone like Mike Zunino or even Yadi Molina as the backup. That might be scary enough to give JT whatever he wants.

zambonir 2020-09-09 19:54:44 UTC #517

I think what makes him worth it is the fact that he fills two holes at once. With JT as your catcher you can live with less production from CF or SS if the defense is decent . Without JT you almost have to sign Didi, and/or consider getting an OF bat. Of course if you sign Didi and an OF you also have tradeable assets for a moderately valuable catcher.

BostonRoss 2020-09-09 20:32:02 UTC #518

I don't think you have to worry about either of the things you said. The probability of Realmuto continuing to perform as well as he has for six more seasons is nearly zero. But the likelihood of the deal being worse than, say, the Sandberg trade is also minuscule.

BostonRoss 2020-09-09 20:38:59 UTC #519

It's too early to say the Phillies lost the trade. Sixto looks great now, but he's had four MLB starts. And Alfaro is struggling. Plus, there is a higher probability that JT signs with the Phillies than any other team right now, because of the exclusivity period and his familiarity with what seems to be a promising team.

In any case, I have a hard time saying a trade was "lost" because the team's outcome wasn't good. If the Phillies had little chance of competing in 2019-2020 (certainly debatable), then it was a bad trade. But I don't want them not to take some risks when they have a decent shot. They will lose the trade if they don't advance much this year, lose Realmuto, and Sixto becomes a star. But it still might have been a good gamble.

andyb 2020-09-09 20:43:10 UTC #520

Interesting that Grullon was the Red Sox' 29th man for the double-header. I wonder if they called him up to face his old team, but also possibly because he had been catching Velasquez at the alternate site the previous week.

andyb 2020-09-09 20:46:04 UTC #521

That is a pretty high bar though. There is probably a 20% chance we don't sign JT and Sixto becomes an All Star. The trade is probably bad if Sixto develops into anything decent and we can't sign JT. If we do sign JT then JT still has to significantly outperform Sixto because he'll cost $100 million more.

zambonir 2020-09-09 20:56:45 UTC #522

I agree the trade was worth making on its own terms, but that's where the Phillies' failure to double down on the JT/Cutch/Segura core by paying the tax for at least one year, if not two, is a big failing.

I also separate it at least in part from whether it made JT more likely to re-sign. The Phillies have already failed to capitalize on most of the advantage they had with him being "in hand," whether due to their own thrift (not willing to meet his arbitration number, not willing to pay the tax) or JT's preference to test the open market. In the end, if we don't sign him until it's an open market and we're high bidder, we'll have had no edge. If he signs early or takes a bit less to be here, it counts.

Of course you also have to include the draft pick in the equation and that could still end up being worth as much as Alfaro (but only if it is used well).

It was fairly similar to the Lee trade. If Sanchez ends up being Carrasco that is fine. If he blows out his arm that will be sad, but would also highlight the fact that you never know with pitchers.

What JT does instead of Sixto in the future doesn't really affect the trade either, though it (and Crawford) will be a referendum on the fact that the Phillies failed to win anything before the cupboard was bare. If, in fact, that's how it plays out.