Phillies Hot Stove Discussion 2021-22

[Philsmania]

Well the one thing DD is definitely doing is cleaning house and that cleaning includes a lot of the crazy old uncles who used to hide in the attic. Going, going, gone.

Gillick, Manuel and Bowa? They probably got jobs for life. Plus, I suspect Dombrowski likes and respects them as fellow baseball lifers. Their word may not carry the weight it previously did though.

[EDmuch]

I doubt that any of those 3 have any real responsibilities from which they could be terminated.

[zambonir]

They have Middleton's ear. It remains to be seen if he'll stay entirely out of Dombrowski's way. Will actually be interesting. For instance, Marcus Semien just signed with Boras. Does the owner take hat meeting? And if 2022 is much like 2021, what kind of managerial search will there be?

I assume Mattinglly is not close to done though. Don't need another one of those "year to evaluate" situations.

[zambonir]

It's always interesting to see who Marcus Hayes decides to carry water for.

Joe Girardi did a great job with the Phillies, all things considered: ‘A...

[EDmuch]

I do think they overachieved. I am just not sure it was due to Girardi.

[allentown]

I do think they overachieved. I am just not sure it was due to Girardi.

I would say slightly unferperformed.

[zambonir]

I mean he makes the case about various injuries and underperformances, but I'm not sure it was especially different from teams that overcame those things. And the manager also bears some responsibility for the underperformances (no matter which coaches they also fired).

I don't think they under or over-achieved really. They entered the season with an over/under of 80.5 and probably had a ceiling of 84-86 and a floor of 77-80. They could have exceeded that ceiling/won the division with a few breaks but I don't think Girardi did anything in particular to get them over .500 either.

The idea that they might have been a 72-90 team is laughable and shows how much major league coaches/managers overrate their own importance. But it's also not wrong that the problem is not the manager.

[Taudawg]

Marcus Hayes' writing is good, his opinions are not. He has some outlandish takes. He's a bit Skip Bayless light.

[zambonir]

Yup, he's become a Take guy. Sometimes he has a good one. Sometimes you also have a bad one just because a column is due that day.

[LoneStarPhan]

Phillies have ended the past four seasons on a losing note:

2021 1-6 over last 7 games; season 82-80.
2020 1-7 over last 8 games; season 28-32.
2019 3-9 over last 12 games; season 81-81.
2018 2-9 over last 11 games, 8-20 in September; season 80-82.

Each of the past four seasons, the Phillies ended up being about a .500 team but in each of these seasons, they ended on a sour note. Play .500 or a little better ending the season and they would have been several games better than a .500 team these past four seasons. In fact, they have not really been that far off making the post season but have flopped measurably at the end of each season.

[zambonir]

Certainly, at different points in the season, the Phillies were every bit as good as the 2021 Braves or 2019 Nationals (and spent time in first place in 2018 and 2020 too).

[Austinfan]

That suggests a lack of pitching depth, as the injuries pile up, the rotation and bullpen collapse at the end of seasons.

[zambonir]

And yet Games 4 and 5 of the World Series are both gonna have bullpen starts. And I'm pretty sure it was out offense that failed, ultimately. It was the same all year really: score 4-5 runs (or even better, 6-7) and they could win. Otherwise, nope.

The Braves' depth was better, but they also had injuries. Mostly they just signed better veterans (and could pay for them). That they also have a good young starter taken in Moniak's draft year is just an extra bit of frisson.

[bkox]

Phillies are given 40-1 odds to win the 2022 world series..

[zambonir]

I'm gonna win a couple of hundred bucks if Bryce takes MVP so I guess I'm good for at least 50 on that.

https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/sports/pro/2021/11/03/could-have-been-phillies-instead-braves-doing-more-deadline-mlb-world-series/6252569001

I think the answer to this story above is yes, but the Phillies didn't have players to trade (he makes a lot of the fact that the Braves didn't give up any top prospects but their #19 was not the same as our #19).

[EDmuch]

While I recognize that the Phils did not have that much to trade from at the deadline, it is rather amazing how little the Braves had to give up to get the OF reinforcements they did acquire. Certainly Rosario and Duvall were very inexpensive to acquire.

[BostonRoss]

If the Phillies got two of those outfielders and the Braves didn’t, the season would have been a lot more interesting.

[julio]

As expected, the MLBPA today announced that 160 players have become free agents under Article XX of the Major League Collective Bargaining Agreement. Among these are seven (former) Phillies:

Cam Bedrosian
Archie Bradley
Freddy Galvis
Ian Kennedy
Bradley Miller
Matthew Moore
Héctor Neris

All officially free agents as of this morning. With this, the 40-man roster stands at 38.

[bkox]

#Phillies have declined club options for the 2022 season on outfielders Odúbel Herrera and Andrew McCutchen. Herrera is eligible for arbitration; McCutchen is a free agent.

— Scott Lauber ( @ScottLauber ) November 3, 2021

[zambonir]

Wasting no time, I like it.

I still gotta think Odubel is a non-tender too, as his likely arbitration award combined with the buyout wouldn't represent much of a savings. Not that the flawed but competent everyday player he was isn't worth that $ amount, but he'd probably be best in more of a platoon role next year, and his baggage likely depresses his value on the open market considerably. Best option if the Phillies even want him would be for the two sides to make a deal immediately, something cheaper with PA or games started escalators.