Phillies 2018 Season News/Notes/Discussion

[zambonir]

Well, they could just go back to the four-man bench until one or both of them are ready. Plouffe can play corner OF and Valentin could probably go into center if he had to. Not ideal for late-inning double-switches but it wouldn't be for long. Cozens also an option but that doesn't really make sense either.

Still, Quinn's been ready to take this bench role forever when healthy.

A trade would require someone to come off the 40 (either in the trade, or DFA Plouffe or Walding). Florimon will also require that though he's furthest away I presume.

[EastFallowfield]

Maybe they think more pitching is needed as games may start and stop with all the rain that could happen thru Wednesday

[gmwannabe]

good move with Altherr, i think. he swung through those 2 fastballs, right down the middle from the lefty in that pinch hit attempt yesterday. this could be what he needs to get his hitting back.
\gm

[Lucky_Beagle]

Does the 26th man need to be sent down or can he be kept and a different player sent back down? They may not need to make any other changes than activate Eflin.

[julio]

Does the 26th man need to be sent down or can he be kept and a different player sent back down? They may not need to make any other changes than activate Eflin.

I'm not certain - but I think the designated "26th man" needs to be returned to the minors. However, there's nothing that would prevent the Phillies from "returning" Yacksel Rios to AAA, and then immediately recalling him from his optional assignment - he was optioned on 7/8, and that's more than 10 days ago.

[VoteForKalas]

Clearly Altherr needs to play regularly for awhile and get his hitting back. Kingery also looks like he needs more AAA at bats but is playing regularly in the majors and getting some hits, so I guess he will continue to play regularly for the Phillies. He may well develop as well this way as he would have with more AAA time. I hope the Phillies brass knows what they are doing with Scott.

I agree, good move to send Altherr back down to AAA so he can find his game again.

I think Kingery needs more AAA time too, but the Phillies may feel they need to justify the contract they gave him by keeping him up in the majors.

Kingery has a .237/.280/.334/.615 line right now for an OPS+ of 65 (Altherr is at 61).

[David_Criss]

Rios doesn't belong on the active roster imo, either. But if it is just Altherr and Leiter today then obviously it is Eflin being activated to bring the roster back to 25-man, right? Walding is still there. I rooted as hard as I could for the kid last night, from my couch, to A not strike out and B. get a hit. He has grinded it out at the AAA level. Hopefully he gets a couple more shots, but a first place team cannot afford to be that patient with an AAAA player.

So the bench is Pouliffe, Valentin and Walding at this point.

Garcia only threw 2 innings of rehab and got hit hard. Not sure why he was rushed back.
There are a lot of shuffle moves they could be doing here.
Does Eflin need a rehab start?
Is Franco being traded?
Is Pivetta being moved to the pen or sent to AAA? and De Los Santos, Irvin or Suarez getting a shot?
If an in-house bat is needed choices are pretty limited: Meneses is a career minor leaguer, but hitting very well this year - that would allow Green everyday time, too Quinn has played in just two-games.
Is it time to see Leibrandt, Beato, Windle and if they can help in the stretch drive?
Is Thompson coming back?
Is Neris pitched well enough to return? 17 K's in 10 IP, but 5 walks, too
Is there a trade in the works involving Altherr and Neris and hoping they do really well in AAA this week?

My guess is today we will learn Eflin activated and Quinn promoted.

[andyb]

Having both Walding and Plouffe on the bench is a little restrictive. Assume an OF will replace one of them. Hope it is Quinn. He should be fine with baserunning and defense even if his bat could have used some AAA reps.

[phillychuck]

Yeah, play him as much as you can before he breaks again.

[Austinfan]

Walding does not look like a ML player.
The failure of Pullin and Cozens to develop, Quinn getting hurt, has left this team thin at the AAA level.
The hole in the donut should be fixed next year.

[andyb]

Walding has not really had much of a chance to show us anything. He is probably not a solution for this year, but I would not be shocked if he is on the team next year (and gets some outfield reps to increase his flexibility).

If they are going to keep Kingery in the majors all year I think Crawford coming back might be the time to transition him once again into a super utility role. Crawford is better defensively at SS and they are roughly equal offensively now with each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Without Altherr we could actually use a RH bat in the OF for occasional starts. Let Crawford play SS 80% of the time. Let Kingery play SS, 3B, and some OF. Hope Altherr fixes what is wrong in 3-4 weeks of regular playing time.

[zambonir]

Yeah, I don't think the contract is what's truly keeping Kingery up, the lack of any better option was what kept him up, Franco has since proved otherwise and hopefully Crawford will too, if they don't acquire anyone else. And Kingery is certainly better than Walding. So the question is do people want to send him to AAA for development, or because they don't think development should be occuring in the majors on a first-place team?

I agree Crawford really needs to be given SS back now that Franco deserves to be at 3B often

Kingery is actually hitting .306 in the last 14 days, but that's also his OBP (and no power either).

It'd be nice if Altherr could turn it around but he's been bad for a full year, and also injured for part of that time, If he's just not fully recovered (physically, mentally or mechanically) this might be a lost season for him.

I'd be kind of shocked if Walding stayed on the 40 but presumably he'd accept a minor league invite. If Franco is staying and Machado is coming (and Hernandez is also staying) Kingery and Crawford will both be bench players, in which case you barely even need Valentin. Though of course we have no idea what off-season moves are really coming.

[bkeich]

I agree Crawford really needs to be given SS back now that Franco deserves to be at 3B often

The issue really is that TPTB didnt do this last time it was possible. Crawford was moved to 3B and Kingery stayed at SS, and I am not sure we will see different this time assuming Crawford is ready soon. Honestly, I really do think that Kingery is being given preferential treatment because of his contract, there is just no valid reason for hitting him 3rd-5th as long as he was when he was clearly the worst hitter in the lineup. Maybe they are just trying to judge Kingery as a SS, which frankly has been somewhat bad (88th out of 97 in MLB in dWAR, oddly enough Florimon is just above him). I think Kingery could turn into an average SS, maybe, but he really wasnt given much of a chance before this season.

They need to acquire at least 1 bench piece, as we have a very, very bad bench with Williams having claimed the RF job.

[DurhamBull]

I agree Crawford really needs to be given SS back now that Franco deserves to be at 3B often

The issue really is that TPTB didnt do this last time it was possible. Crawford was moved to 3B and Kingery stayed at SS, and I am not sure we will see different this time assuming Crawford is ready soon.

I'm not sure either, but Franco has been hitting better of late and may have bought himself some breathing room.

[zambonir]

I think it was about Franco before. They wanted to play Kingery and Crawford the most and they thought the best way to do that was Kingery at SS and Crawford at 3B rather than vice-versa. A debatable choice in terms of who played where, but Franco was the odd man out, in part because he was also the worst defender. Now, for the moment, Franco is at least the best offensive player of the three.

I just don't think Kingery's contract affected his place in the batting order. Kapler obviously just loves the guy, that's why he got the contract (and the opening day spot) in the first place, but he's not going to ignore analytics or the eye test and hit a guy fifth instead of seventh because he's signed long-term. Nor do I really think it matters all that much who hits fifth or seventh, which might be the bigger reason.

If anything, the contract gives the Phillies a huge stake in Kingery not being a long-term bust. What he does this year, while also making the least money over the life of the deal, isn't that important. If they thought the best thing for his development was to send him back down they'd do it because if they screw up his development they will look a lot dumber in two years than they do now. And if they didn't know he wasn't hurting the team in terms of its new, elevated short-term goals, they wouldn't be shopping for shortstops. It's understandable they don't think just plugging JP back in is the answer either.

[David_Criss]

witter.com

Philadelphia Phillies (Phillies)

Phillies have optioned OF Aaron Altherr and RHP Mark Leiter Jr. to Lehigh Valley (AAA).

Corresponding roster moves will be made tomorrow.

6:59 PM - 22 Jul 2018

We are roughly 4 hours away from first pitch. Eflin is listed as the starter, but have they announced the other promotion? Is Rios staying?

[schooldoc]

I'd expect the news to come out after Utley's media availability, which is at 3:15 pm. So, in the 4-4:30 range we'll know.

[andyb]

Is Rios staying?

Yes.

Philadelphia Phillies (Phillies)

[schooldoc]

And there it is, before Utley meets with the media. Just like I said.

Obviously, that won't be the make-up of the bench for very long.

I actually think the Grandy Man, if he can be had for very little, would be a nice fit here for the bench.

[Lawman]

Dear Mike Schmidt, John Kruk, Larry Andersen, and Ben Davis