Phillies News and Discussion 2025 Season

[zambonir]

Also, Ruiz going on the IL, clearing a spot for Ranger and keeping Hernandez on the roster for now.

[phillychuck]

No--I actually didn’t remember Stevenson was on the roster!

[zambonir]

And I guess there's officially no plan to try and mess with rotation/do a 6-man.

Phillies moves: Suarez activated, Ruiz sidelined, Walker to bullpen

Thomson officially announced after Saturday's win that Taijuan Walker is moving to the bullpen. Walker has a 2.54 ERA through six starts, which the Phillies have split. Given the frequency of pitching injuries, he may not have made his last.

[xogfog]

And I guess there's officially no plan to try and mess with rotation/do a 6-man.

What do they do when Painter's ready, assuming Wheeler, Luzardo, Nola, Sanchez and Suarez are all healthy and pitching well? I suppose they could trade Suarez at that point since he's set to become a free agent. You could also move Suarez to the bullpen where he has pitched well before.

[zambonir]

Beloved character actor Luis Guzman?

You worry about it when you actually have to worry about it. Agreed, if everyone is healthy on July 15 then you consider a trade (Ranger or Walker) or move Ranger to the pen.

But I'm not yet prepared to assume Painter is going to be a significant factor in the rotation. Both his available innings/usage pattern and his performance are still unknowns. He could also be a de facto reliever/tandem pitcher. Heck, if there are no injuries (or even just one injury but Walker and Suarez are both pitching well) and the team is winning at a suitable pace you don't have to rush him. Maybe even preserve his ROTY eligibility.

[Austinfan]

With Abel back on track, having Painter and Abel in AAA is a luxury most teams don't have.

Now they have to figure out how to get Kerkering back on track, they need that 7+ inning guy.

It would be nice if one of the retreads in AAA could pull a "Hoffman."

I think they need to sneak Hernandez down to AAA, he has stuff but needs a lot of work.

[dcsman]

I would love it if they could trade for a RH bat and a shutdown reliever by the deadline. Any names we could potentially look at or think of?

[Philsmania]

With Abel back on track, having Painter and Abel in AAA is a luxury most teams don't have.

Now they have to figure out how to get Kerkering back on track, they need that 7+ inning guy.

It would be nice if one of the retreads in AAA could pull a "Hoffman."

I think they need to sneak Hernandez down to AAA, he has stuff but needs a lot of work.

I think Kerkering should head down as well. He has options and, at the very least, needs to have his confidence repaired. Of course, that can backfire if he struggles down there.

I believe both Hernandez and Ruiz are out of options so a DFA and waivers would be necessary.

Lazar has done well and, for a while, Sweet was doing so as well but the later has cooled off. Both are on the 40 man. I still would like to see Aoyagi who is not on the 40 man.

[Florida_Sunshine]

Interesting tidbit here. I am in Medellin now and had a lengthy conversation with a rival NL scout. There are kids in from all over, baseball scouts from all teams, agents. Contracts will be signed. I might head over and watch.

Crawford is the real deal and will be an all star. He was 100% firm on this. Things can happen but he believes the all star evaluation. He loves Painter. Sees unlimited ceiling but says TJ surgery can easily happen again. That is his only concern. Not sold on Rojas. Says he is a major leaguer but not when we have Crawford. I plan to find out more.

[VoteForKalas]

Latest Bowden special:

Phillies trade Mick Abel for Ryan Helsley

Bowden: 5 MLB trades I’d like to see in May, including deals for Ryan Helsley...

Short excerpt for those who do not subscribe to The Athletic:

"Dave Dombrowski told me during an interview on the “Front Office Show” on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Philadelphia has a need on the right side of the bullpen. I think their top target should be Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, who is considered one of the best in the sport.

Helsley, an impending free-agent, is not expected to re-sign with the Cardinals, who should deal him between now and the trade deadline.

Abel, 23, was the No. 15 pick (and the first high school pitcher selected) in the 2020 draft. He’s been slow to develop as it’s taken him a while to find command and control of his pitches. However, he’s off to a promising start this season with a 2.75 ERA over 39 1/3 innings at Triple A. He’s averaged 3.9 walks per nine innings this season after allowing 6.5 per nine last season. (He’s averaged 5.2 per nine in his minor-league career.)

Helsley, 30, is a two-time All-Star who last year led the majors in saves (49), topped the National League with 62 games finished and logged a 2.04 ERA. This season he has a 3.75 ERA and ranks in the 97th percentile in fastball velocity.

For the Phillies to give up Abel in this deal, it’s only fair that they have a chance to extend Helsley at the time of the trade."

[zambonir]

I clicked on but hadn't read that story yet, I figured Phillies were probably the Helsley team. (also, not sure everyone will understand that you are quoting a work of speculative fiction, not news, especially w/o the link).

I don't know if that's a high or low price tbh. Depends on whether he's a rental or not, but the Phillies can't actually afford to extend him in-season. Probably Cardinals can do better in the heat of the trade deadline which is why May deals are so rare (and when they happen the buyer overpays).

[andyb]

I want to see another month or two of Abel to evaluate. Was thinking Cabrera and/or Castellano would be the arms they seek to deal to get midseason help. I could also see Otto Kemp being including in a deal if the Phillies are skeptical about his position. Trading the hot prospect that you think is overperforming their tools is usually a good deadline strategy.

[EastFallowfield]

Someone posted this over on thegoodphight, mlb analyst tweet:

Alec Bohm had 31 hard hit outs this season—batted balls of at least 95 mph for an out—among the highest totals in MLB. He has an expected batting average and an expected slugging percentage of .355 and .692, respectively, on those. Instead he is batting .000 on them.

(People criticized his last sentence, he said it's known as belaboring the point and was intentional, btw)

[zambonir]

Haha, that just seems like a bit of humor to me, though he could have also pointed out (and maybe he did) the overall numbers (.237 vs. 273. Last year it was .270 versus .288 and the latter is pretty much his usual).

[andyb]

And how many of those hard hit balls are on the ground? I think Bohm generally hits the ball hard, but he doesn't lift it into the air that well and his lack of speed means he is out on the ground balls. The BABIP will normalize, but he does have some flaws as a hitter.

[zambonir]

Yeah Bohm at his best is basically a #2 hitter who can't run or hit a lot of home runs (or field). Turner isn't elevating the ball enough either (thus the low slug) but at least he has speed and can defend (if not to the standard we'd like).

But they need both of them, and things certainly seem to be looking up in May.

[julio]

...he [Bohm] does have some flaws as a hitter.

Yeah. As a rule, hitters have flaws. All of them. It's the "humanity" thing.

[Austinfan]

Then there was Ted Williams.

[zambonir]

But we're not really having a debate about his worth as a human being or his overall worth as a baseball player, just whether or not his underlying stats suggest he can still have a productive season. Because he has that flaw, simply turning hard-hit balls into hits isn't as likely as it might seem.

[andyb]

Yeah. As a rule, hitters have flaws. All of them. It's the "humanity" thing.

Maybe not this year's Aaron Judge. Ted Williams was slow also..

Like it or not, the modern game is really built off power and Bohm really needs to hit 25 HR consistently to be an above average offensive player since his speed is below average and he does not draw a bunch of walks. I have no problem with him being aggressive early in the count. He just needs to do damage then and that means putting the ball in the air. Bryce is not trying to hit singles when he is aggressive.