Non-Phillies Hot Stove and Off-Season News/Notes

zambonir 2023-01-12 15:24:04 UTC #161

They have Bohm, Hoskins, Castellanos and Realmuto for RHB DH. Turner too if they ever want to rest him. Sosa - and perhaps Guthrie - in the field on any given day when that happens (which won't be that often since Hall would still be the strong side of a DH platoon - assuming he does get the nod).

andyb 2023-01-20 21:00:57 UTC #162

Interesting trade:

Arraez (AL batting champ) played lots of 1B and DH even though he also can play 2B and 3B. The Twins previously brought in Joey Gallo so I guess they figure they could use the pitching help more.

flyers19rw 2023-01-20 22:05:10 UTC #163

I’m glad to see this deal include the Twins. There was a rumor that it would be the Cardinals. I’m tired of seeing St. Louis get quality players for peanuts. It looks like the Twinkie’s gave up decent players to Miami in this deal. Both sides win.

Philsmania 2023-01-22 20:01:26 UTC #164

Signs of restlessness in Red Sox Nation.

andyb 2023-01-23 21:25:22 UTC #165

Hard to figure out what the Marlins are doing sometimes. Arraez will play 2B. With Segura at 3B that means Joey Wendle is their SS now. They are moving Chisolm to CF, but this just seems a likely defensive disaster until they have a prospect come up and claim the SS job. They have a defense-first prospect in AAA (Jacob Amaya) but he is not ready and their other short term alternative (Jordan Groshans) is more of a 3B.

They must really like Amaya because they traded Miguel Rojas for him. I am just not sure Amaya is good enough though and they might be waiting 3 years for Khalil Watson.

After trading for Luis Arraez, here is how the Marlins are looking heading into 2023 pic.twitter.com/1HwMKG2XKU
— FOX Sports: MLB ( @MLBONFOX ) January 21, 2023

Philsmania 2023-01-23 23:20:04 UTC #166

Chisolm will still be a Phillie-killer.

Philsmania 2023-01-23 23:27:22 UTC #167

Angels no longer for sale.

David_Criss 2023-01-26 20:35:16 UTC #168

Baltimore loading up on former Phillies pitchers
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1618703345836859423

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired left-hander Cole Irvin in a trade with the Oakland A's, sources tell ESPN. Infield prospect Darell Hernaiz is headed back to the A's.

andyb 2023-01-26 20:52:24 UTC #169

The shortstop that Oakland acquired is decent (#16 on MLB Orioles list). Toolsy guy though might have to move to 2B or 3B.

Irvin is not that great, but he has provided 180 innings the past 2 years. ERA will go up in Baltimore, but it does seem like pretty cheap innings for them to acquire. And they have no need for another SS prospect with Gunnar Henderson and later Jackson Holiday coming up. Irvin not eligible for arbitration until next season.

andyb 2023-01-27 21:29:51 UTC #170

Mets extend McNeil. 4/50. Probably a strong chance of this deal not being worth it, but assuming the Mets really don't care. $50 million is the change found under Steve Cohen's sofa pillows.

zambonir 2023-02-03 15:36:43 UTC #171

I feel like the new schedule - 52 division games, 64 games against the rest of your league and 46 interleague - really demands going back to two divisions.

Probably happens (along with other realignment and further playofff expansion) once they go to 32 teams. But a system that rewards winning your dvision doesn't make as much sense to me with fewer divison games. And, in fact, an NBA-style no-division playoff seeding probably does.

andyb 2023-02-03 17:01:37 UTC #172

32/8 = 4 divisions. 4 Byes to division champs and 8 wild cards makes so much sense for the playoffs.

Philsmania 2023-02-03 17:19:15 UTC #173

It's still hard to come up with a regular season schedule that works that. Start with 12 games against the 7 divisional opponents for 84 games, leaving 78 games left. Just three games against everyone else with six games left over to perhaps play two extra intraleague series against random opponents. 84 divisional games, 30 intraleague games and 48 interleague games.

I imagine that radical realignment will come along (with the old National League and American League nomenclature going away) putting the Phillies in a brutal division with the New York teams, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and either the two Florida teams or two Canada teams (if Montreal is an expansion city).

andyb 2023-02-03 17:53:38 UTC #174

You would definitely want more games in division, though I think you have to drop much more of the interleague schedule if you had 4 8-team divisions.

One might also want to play 13 games in division. One of the things MLB did with the current schedule is have 13 games in division. I assume they want this so there are always head to head tie-breakers if there is a tie in a division. Now there are only 64 games against the other divisions, so only 4 of those 10 teams get 7 games that can help with wild card ties.

If they want a balanced schedule I guess you have to go to 9 games in division (63). Then you have 48 (16x3) against the other league and 51 against the other 8 team division (6/7). Not ideal, but certainly doable.

zambonir 2023-02-03 18:51:37 UTC #175

If realignment moves a lot of teams out of their traditional league (or does away with the nomenclature entirely) you could also have crossover wild cards (at least 2 if not all).

andyb 2023-02-07 18:12:02 UTC #176

The Grienke contract. Is anyone else a little uncomfortable with so many inning incentives? Just seems a grievance waiting to happen if the Royals are out of it in the second half. Max is $16 million if he gets 185 IP.

Zack Greinke gets full no trade on Royals deal. Here’s the rest:

$8.5M guarantee

Plus:
$450,000 each for 90ip; 95ip; 100ip; 105ip; 110ip; 115ip; 120ip; 125ip; 130ip; 135ip

$300,000 each for 140ip; 145ip; 150ip; 155ip; 160ip; 165ip; 170ip; 175ip; 180ip; 185ip
— Jon Heyman ( @JonHeyman ) February 6, 2023

allentown 2023-02-07 18:36:59 UTC #177

If he's pitching well and they are out of it, then he will be traded at the deadline.

andyb 2023-02-07 18:58:35 UTC #178

Bowden proposes division realignment with expansion. I really hate this. He puts us in a 4-team division with the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox. For all the talk about how realignment would "save money" I don't think there really are much savings beyond the east vs west geographic alignment and perhaps any travel within the same city (i.e. NY, Chicago, LA). All teams charter flights. Any flight that is 2 hours or less really will cost about the same. The Phillies can fly to Chicago for almost the same as a flight to NY (unless they pack the millionaires on a bus!).

I really want 8-team divisions. Only way to have any semblance of fairness. There will be too many cheap 4-team division winners and then the strength of schedule imbalance would be huge.

zambonir 2023-02-07 19:30:48 UTC #179

I don't think he put much thought into it really. IMO there's no way they don't go to two big divisions (and more of a "conference" than league model) when it finally happens.

Phillies do typically take the train to NY and DC though.

andyb 2023-02-07 19:47:04 UTC #180

The travel money saved would just not be that much even if they occasionally take the train. Remember the balanced schedule. Guessing MLB would retain that in any realignment so one would not play more than 12-13 games in division anyway. And play 3-6 against everyone else.

I guess I am not wedded to the NL and AL that strongly if there is a balanced schedule. 3 games against 24 teams. Plus 12-13 against the 7 in your division would get you to 162. What Bowden outlines is just the fevered dream of a television exec who thinks having Yankees-Red Sox on ESPN every week is the solution to all of baseball's issues.