Non-Phillies 2023 Major League Season Discussion

[zambonir]

So, question is, do the Phillies want any of these guys? Do they have the CBT room? Do they want to keep the Dodgers or Braves from getting anyone (seems unlikely, maybe it'd be different if they were in a tighter wild card race and didn't lead everyone).

Harrison Bader has a 1.086 OPS against RHP but has been brutal in the second half. Grichuk, .990. Renfroe has 18 HRs but otherwise is cooked.

Of course if ain't broke don't fix it. They could replace Castro, but it would cut into Rojas or Marsh's playing time no matter what (to say nothing of Pache).

Matt Moore's probably worth a look. Can just option Bellatti there.

I suppose one of the Cubs/Giants/DBacks and AL wild card teams will probably get to anyone first anyway.

Can't really blame the Angels for wanting to manipulating their CBT/comp pick status but that only highlights how crazy they were not to trade Ohtani in the first place,

[phillychuck]

I like the idea of Grichuk, but he probably won't get to us and he'd be a better pick-up if he could play some infield (at least 1B). You'd be picking up a RH corner OF bat and dropping someone like Castro, which would mean Bohm playing 3B every day and Harper at 1B pretty much every day. Schwarber to DH and Grichuk to LF vs lefties at least. His OPS vs lefties is .950 over the last two years. He has pretty much owned lefties for his entire career.

Except for this year, Renfroe has hit lefties well, too, and he's a more patient hitter than anyone we have except Schwarber.

[zambonir]

Well, I guess we shouldn't underestimate how cheap some of these other teams are, even for just one month!

Whatever happens, it will be interesting. Claim order doesn't lock until after tonight's games are over and then of course have to be made by tomorrow for playoff eligibility.

I'm still assuming in the playoffs that they will only carry one infielder (Sosa) so it can certainly be done. And considering neither Harper nor Cave had ever played 1B before this year, and Clemens not very much either, surely any corner OF could do it.

It would bury Pache and keep him off the playoff roster but it could certainly be done, he can be down in AAA for a while and then the last guy on the roster. But you would have to option Cave or Rojas for a week or two, if not three. Pache's rehab started 8/8 and he returned to playing last night; not sure how many extra days he gets, if any, from it being suspended, or if that only happens had he'd gone back on the IL.

[andyb]

If I had to guess the Phillies might put in a claim for one of the relievers (Moore or Lopez). Easy to fit on the roster and the salaries for one month probably not enough to make a difference.

I think they are surprisingly happy with their current outfield rotation. Grichuk is certainly better than Castro for a roster spot and would help the lineup against LHP but I am not sure you want him in CF any more so we are talking about LF whenever there is a left-handed pitcher (assuming Bryce is at 1B so Schwarber is at DH). It just seems a tiny upgrade and the offense is already clicking.

Of course there could be a dozen more players out there that did not get leaked.

[zambonir]

Relievers probably the ones that will be hard to get.

I agree, it would be a tiny upgrade and a little bit disruptive. But I could also see the front office thinking that Marsh and even Rojas or Pache against Max Fried or Urias/Kershaw might be ugly.

I wonder how definitive Thomson's statement about Hoskins was, or if he just wanted to shut down the talk until the window of possibility actually opens.

[phillychuck]

A 950 OPS is not a tiny upgrade, it's adding a second Bryce Harper to the lineup. Grichuk just owns LH pitchers.

[BostonRoss]

The Braves did all right a couple of years ago when they added more outfielders than can play at one time.

[zambonir]

Well, it's tiny in terms of the playing time that would actually be available to him. He only has 104 PAs against LHP this year, out of 367 total. And there'd be even less to go around if you didn't regularly play him over Marsh. Plus you probably would have to option Rojas for a week or two once Pache came back.

That said, tiny upgrades matter when you're talking the playoffs, or even a playoff series. But the teams that need to actually upgrade to make the playoffs need upgrades more.

Did the Braves really add too many OFs? My recollection is they were truly depleted.

[phillychuck]

I don't think Grichuk gets to us, but if he did I would pounce. Leave Pache in the minors until roster expansion.

[zambonir]

I don't think Grichuk gets to us, but if he did I would pounce. Leave Pache in the minors until roster expansion.

Well roster expansion is in two days, and the most recent report is actually that Pache might be back as soon as Friday. But that would still mean optioning Rojas for the rest of the season (Castro would take Grichuk's spot. Cave would stay because he's LHB. Pache would be the extra guy).

Pache could also stay on his rehab longer, but not long enough.

[BostonRoss]

After Acuna went down in July 2021, the Braves traded for Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall. There was no DH in the NL that year.

[andyb]

All 3 of the Angels relievers that were put on waivers (Leone, Lopez, Moore) gave up runs against the Phillies today.

I would not be shocked still if we added a reliever now. Probably time to stop back to back appearances for pitchers like Kimbrel, Alvarado, and Dominguez.

[zambonir]

After Acuna went down in July 2021, the Braves traded for Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall.

Well, they also released Inciarte, and deleted Sandoval from the roster in the Rosario trade. So they deleted three and added four (plus Rosario came to them hurt so there was an extra month to give the others all the playing time). And they were trying to replace a superstar. The Phillies aren't trying to replace anybody, and don't have a simple way to open space. Sure, easy to kick Castro to the minors, but not so much Rojas.

You could certainly make the case that as good as his defense is you'd rather see Grichuk step up to the plate in the ninth inning of a close playoff game than Rojas or Pache.

I just wonder if any relievers will be left when the Phillies' spot comes up. There's no limit on how many guys teams can claim either.

I guess the next question would be, will the guys who hit waivers to make room for the claims tomorrow still be claimable by the end of the day?

[bkox]

Wander Franco reportedly facing third accuser in Dominican Republic

[BostonRoss]

I guess all I’m saying is that if the Braves could find playing time for four outfielders, so can the Phillies. There’s no reason not to claim Grichuk (though I suspect he won’t make it to them anyway).

[zambonir]

Agreed, it's unlikely. But Phillies already regularly play four outfielders and will add a fifth on Saturday. So the question is merely which one do they option (or in Pache's case, release) for Grichuk (or Renfroe for that matter), and is it worth the downside (which would be losing Rojas's defense or losing Cave's LHB or losing Pache forever).

(And yes this topic turned into nearly all-Phillies related after the initial use, oh well)

[bkox]

Of the top 64 hardest throwers this season based on average fastball velocity calculated by Statcast, 30 – nearly half – have undergone reconstructive Tommy John surgery on their pitching elbows or are expected to undergo the procedure soon, according to USA TODAY Sports research.

And interesting analysis from Lorenzen

Veteran pitcher Michael Lorenzen says he believes the future will bring a generation of “guys sitting 99 (mph) and throwing 210 innings.” Yet he, too, believes the radar gun is a modern ill, forcing pitchers to compromise their health when the readings are suboptimal.

“Back in the day, guys like Nolan Ryan, if they didn’t feel great that day, could throw 87 mph and just say, ‘I didn’t have my best fastball that day,” says Lorenzen, 31, an All-Star this season. “But if I were to go out there and throw seven fastballs at 88 mph, the trainers would be out on the mound.

“So what does that do in my mind? If I have 88 mph in the tank, to me that tells me I have to throw 95. Say I throw 50 fastballs at 95 when I should be throwing 88 because my body doesn’t feel great, it’s all because I don’t want to spark any red flags. It’s extremely compromising on the body.

“So what do you do? You say, ‘I need to be up at 95. I have more in the tank.’ So you’re fatigued, you do it again, you do it enough times, you’re going to go down.”

Velocity at what cost? MLB's hardest throwers keep succumbing to Tommy John...

[xogfog]

Pitch clock will be continued through the playoffs.

[zambonir]

Amazed this hasn't happened sooner

Reds place Greene, 2 more pitchers on COVID-19 IL

[Philsmania]

In wake of disastrous season, Mets make front office changes.

https://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/new-york-mets-shake-up-front-office-with-firings

Elsewhere in NY, Yanks' analytics department is under review.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner says team will 'take a look at the analytics...