Non-Phillies 2023 Major League Season Discussion

And suddenly the Princess Bride comes to mind..

I mean I get andy's argument, it's a roster spot they likely won't need, especially if they carry five. A guy who can hit just one home run for you might be more useful than carrying Pache. But Pache obviously gives you more utility, including as a ghost or pinch runner. And if Castro actually is a candidate I'd definitely take Hoskins. There is no chance he plays a game at 1B and maybe not DH either. Bench only.

But I just think the timetable is probably longer. And there's not going to be cloak and dagger. If we hear that Rhys is facing live pitching sometime between now and the end of the regular season he might be a consideration by the NLCS but the NLDS starts just two weeks from Saturday.

No ghost runners in the playoffs at least. I actually wish Pache was a better baserunner. He definitely appears likely to not get many starts if at all in the postseason. Imagine Sosa is more likely to get in the lineup than Pache is against a left-handed pitcher.

It really feels like we are going with a set lineup with the only possible platoon being Marsh and Rojas. Cave will probably be around. Just not sure he'll get into many games. We also hope Bryce will be a full time 1B and not DH.

ah right forgot about the ghost runner. But all the more reason to keep a guy who can pinch-run, pinch-hit or double-switch in an extra-innings game then.

I think Harper will play 1B full-time. Maybe he misses one per series. At this point they are past needing to test his ability to do it and more into resting him so he'll be able to do it, I reckon.

Cave would presumably PH for Rojas and then move into LF a few times. I could see them doing the Pache/Rojas OF against a lefty once or twice though. It's just hard to tell what Pache is capable of at this point given how small the sample is and how much time he missed.

While it is a relatively small sample size, Rojas has better BA, OBP, SGL, and OPS against RHP than Cave does. Against LHP, Cave is much worse than Rojas. So why would Cave pinch hit for Rojas ever against any pitcher?

Well you answered your own question. Our manager consistently presses platoon match-ups, which do trump small sample size. So much so that he probably will in fact start Cave/Marsh against some RHP instead of Marsh/Rojas. And if he ever does do a Pache/Rojas starting OF Cave would still probably get in (though after Marsh).

I would personally just take the defense (including Marsh, who looks really good in LF, while Rojas also makes Castellanos better).

I think that's a stretch. He's just being stubborn.

I took a look; allentown (our other moderator) added a paragraph (revision 2) which was subsequently removed.

Certainly unintentional. I know that I sometimes inadvertently click the edit button instead of the reply button at the bottom of a post, when intending to reply. I generally catch it, because I tend to proofread what I've posted after actually post it.

ah, sorry chuck, wrong mod/wrong reply obviously (yours was the next one, Atown after that).

I was the one who removed it since I could still edit my own post! I can understand the UI issue there; just not sure it should be possible for the mods to actually add copy to people's posts at all. But I realize that would likely also mean not being able to edit offensive content, only wholesale deletion.

Well, you were originally replying to me saying Cave would PH for Rojas occasionally which was in reply to andy saying "Cave will probably be around. Just not sure he'll get into many games." Let's hope we are all correct (vs. Cave getting starts again RHP as he continues to do now, though he is playing 1B more than LF lately. If Harper can't go at 1B there's also the Bohm/Sosa option of course).

Cave should really have like, an .800 or .900 OPS against RHP to be worthy of starts, or even his bench spot. Instead he's around .730 and that's his career mark too. As LSP noted Rojas is currently better, and even if Rojas was at .600 he'd probably be better. Pache too.

That is clearly a factor in playing Rojas in situations where something like a 600 OPS is expected. Throw out the SSS stats though. Rojas will probably struggle against RHPs. He is not now, which is great, but the league really does not know how to pitch him yet.

Cave is a AAAA OF but he is what we have. We should have a better LH OF but we don't. He is a better hitter against RH pitching even if the SSS stats from this year don't make that clear. But he is also not that good. 725-750 OPS is what should be expected from him. So defense from Rojas could make a difference. Cave is a decent defensive OF himself though. Mostly a CF coming up in the minors and a majority of his major league time has been in center also. He is below average in CF and a little above in LF/RF. He is not as good as Marsh but he is not bad.

Rojas will probably play 75% of the time until he proves he can't. But there is also a role for Cave. Rob is not playing hunches. He just isn't obsessing on SSS stats and looking at the full picture of each player's talents. Cave hit better in AAA than Rojas did in AA. Those stats matter too.