Phillies 2021 Spring Training Discussion

andyb 2021-02-18 19:27:51 UTC #21

I really was not expecting the Marchan vs Bethancourt vs Mathis competition to be that meaningful. Oh well, hope the kid wins it. I think he should probably be at AA rather than AAA anyway, so this would put him in Reading about when the season starts.

Seeing the comments, the team seems hopeful he will be ready for opening day. Spring Training being a bit too long helps here.

zambonir 2021-02-18 19:50:55 UTC #22

If it did drag out a week or two it would almost have to be Knapp/Marchan, 40-man's already tight. Mathis and Bethancourt are probably competing for the taxi squad.

andyb 2021-02-18 20:04:14 UTC #23

Apparently he fractured the thumb 6 days ago catching a bullpen.
https://twitter.com/JSalisburyNBCS/status/1362481665646481419

So the good news is 6 more days to heal before the season starts.

LoneStarPhan 2021-02-18 22:13:26 UTC #24

The report from MLBTradeRumors on JT injury.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/philadelphia-phillies

Immobilized for two weeks and then will be evaluated. Should know more on timeline to recovery at that point.

Les229 2021-02-19 02:38:17 UTC #25

Thanks

Les229 2021-02-19 02:41:12 UTC #26

Not sure about counting Mathis out. He is a very good defensive catcher who has been the second catcher on a lot of teams for a long time.

zambonir 2021-02-19 04:36:07 UTC #27

Not counting him out at all, but he's not going to beat out Knapp and the Phillies won't carry four catchers on the 40-man roster. No different from last year when they chose Marchan over Bethancourt.

But Mathis is perfect for the taxi squad, and a great guy to have in spring training to work with the young catchers (and pitchers).

Now, if Realmuto were going to miss a month or more, it would be a different conversation. As it is we hope he doesn't even miss one game.

zambonir 2021-02-19 17:02:48 UTC #28

81.5 for the Phillies. Seems like a temping over bet, though not if you look at Fangraphs (79).

andyb 2021-02-19 18:28:23 UTC #29

It does look like they signed Mathis because of the Realmuto injury so I think he is part of their thinking. If I do my math correctly they could put Realmuto on the 60-Day IL and have him available on April 17th or 18th. Obviously one would prefer not to do that, but if the injury lingered it might be the safe thing to do.

One other thing regarding 40-man slots. I see the A's put a player on the COVID list already (Frankie Montas) to open up a 40-man spot for Yusmeiro Petit. If anyone has COVID around opening day it might allow them to finesse Mathis onto the roster for a week without a 40-man move. Not the intent of the rule of course, but it is high time the Phillies started to use the letter of the rule to their advantage. I guess they did that by delaying the Miller signing a bit.

phillychuck 2021-02-19 19:40:46 UTC #30

Seems like the Dodgers should be a popular under bet at that number. Any little thing goes wrong and they don't win 105. What if the season gets cut to fewer games? Is the bet adjusted down proportionately?

zambonir 2021-02-19 20:09:35 UTC #31

Yeah it's a pretty tempting bet. Oregon hasn't started taking them yet.

Good question. If the season is adjusted before it starts, or delayed league-wide at any point, all bets would be cancelled (that was the case last year). And normally if a team doesn't complete a full season due to rain-outs I think that's just considered part of the luck.

But if it's 2, 3, even 4 games due to COVID cancellations not being made up? Right now there's no reason to think teams won't be forced to play them all. I guess the answer lies in how the Cardinals' bets were paid last year.

If the Phillies are the same level of good (or rather, OK) as they've been the last three years I think it's a very easy over bet and they win 82 even if they're not aggressive at the deadline. But if they struggle, or have major injuries, they become deadline sellers and fall short.

But that's why it's gambling.

zambonir 2021-02-20 18:19:53 UTC #32

I think this is how most players feel. Not all of them (Tommy Hunter happily came back, not that he necessarily had a ton of offers), and sometimes teams ask if the player would float the option or buyout into a reworked deal, but most players would sooner take less money from a new team. Of course he'll also make more money here than he would have going back to Miami, unless he flops.

Brandon Kintzler’s surest path to another season in the major leagues would have been to accept a guaranteed contract, albeit for less money than he was due to make last year, and reprise his role as a late-inning relief pitcher for the Miami Marlins.

But that would’ve required too much pride swallowing, even for a two-time 40th-round draft pick who has been released, traded (twice), and relegated to independent ball in a 17-year pro career.

“I was pretty hurt at the end of last year that [the Marlins] didn’t pick up my option,” Kintzler said Friday in a phone interview. “It would’ve been really hard for me to go back there. I feel like I would’ve been crawling back to them. I didn’t want to do that.”

Ryles 2021-02-21 17:56:12 UTC #33

I'm going to assume that fans will not be permitted at Carpenter Complex this spring.

zambonir 2021-02-21 18:06:14 UTC #34

I assume you mean to watch workouts, surely not. Games will have fans though, 2000 or so (25%).

LoneStarPhan 2021-02-21 23:07:37 UTC #35

I believe Carpenter Complex was referring to the training facility, not to the minor league ball park. My understanding is NO fans allowed at the complex to watch workouts or minor league games. Limited fans will be allowed to attend the spring games of the major league team in Spectrum Field (if that is the correct name for the former Bright House Field).

Watching the minor league games at the complex was always a highlight of my trips to Clearwater in the past. Sad that this is not going to be available for fans.

phillychuck 2021-02-21 23:29:40 UTC #36

Jim Peyton (phuturephillies.com) seems to be getting into the training camp to watch practices (at least from a distance). He may have a press credential, though, at this point.

zambonir 2021-02-21 23:42:00 UTC #37

Yeah, press seems to have more access than I would have guessed, though obviously no one is going into the clubhouses or even doing on-field interviews (I assume some accomodation might be made for TV eventually).

This is certainly not the year I would pick to attend spring training, there won't even be any minor league games or workouts to actually see (though I guess the "mini-camp" is a de facto AAA camp, and it's numbers will presumably grow midway through).

But we all saw how people managed to watch some of last year's summer camp as well as the actual games, how hard is it to actually access vantage points around the complex. I have not been in forever.

LoneStarPhan 2021-02-22 07:47:51 UTC #38

This time, next week, the first spring game will be in the books.

Maybe I missed it, but I don't see info on spring games on radio and TV. I hope they plan to televise a couple games per week and have all the games on radio. Maybe I am hoping for too much, but I am ready for some baseball.

My last time to catch a spring game at Spectrum Field (I read that the name may be changing) and watch minor league games at the complex was in spring 2018. Maybe if COVID is no longer a factor, we might try to get to Florida again in 2022.

andyb 2021-02-22 12:56:42 UTC #39

If they are on TV they should show up here on the schedule:

The Phillies-Yankees game on the 4th looks to be the first guaranteed telecast but it also looks like NBC Sports Philly has not announced anything as of yet. Or even radio telecasts. I imagine they are still figuring it out (like having a camera crew down there but the announcers back home in Philly).

Taudawg 2021-02-22 16:27:23 UTC #40

Zolecki predictions for 2021 opening day roster