Phillies News and Discussion 2025 Season

[zambonir]

Phils add another body/reclamation project. He already flamed out with the Nats this year (13.86 ERA and a hit, HBP and four walks in his final appearance) on a $3 million deal. Even at his best probably just another 7th or 8th guy should he get back to the bigs.

Philadelphia Phillies sign Lucas Sims to minor-league contract

[dcsman]

David Robertson anyone? I didn’t even realize he was a free agent at this point. Also, the article notes that the Phils are saving about $4 million on Alvarado’s contract.

Phillies Have Reached Out To David Robertson - MLB

[VoteForKalas]

No thanks. I cannot imagine he would any better at age 40. I'd stick with bringing in the fungible arms, trying them out in game situations and letting the cream rise to the top.

[Austinfan]

Doesn't hurt to give him a tryout, Romano is the closer, with Strahm as the LP and Kerkering as the RP.
So Robertson would be competing with Ruiz and Lazar.

[David_Criss]

There is a reason he wasn't or hasn't been signed. The Phillies aren't the only team needing bullpen help. He certainly owes the Phillies. That being said, Topper has: Romano, Strahm, Kerkering (most days) as his bullpen weapons. Lazar, Hernandez, Banks (maybe), Ruiz and Ross just isn't a strong pen and hopefully can be upgraded.

[zambonir]

The Robertson report said nothing came of it, I thought. He probably still wants too much money (he was looking for $10 at the start. Made $11.5 last year) and if he's not gonna get it he can just wait to pick his perfect spot in July.

He made more sense when Romano seemed like a disaster. Now they need a LHP.

He already paid the Phillies back (not that he really had to) in '22.

[jimbomill]

There is a reason he wasn't or hasn't been signed

Bingo.
That, plus he's been more or less ineffective for us in the past makes me shy away.

[zambonir]

Robertson is good. Between 1.7 and 2.7 WAR each of the last three seasons since he came back from his original Phillies injury (though the highest of those was 2022). But he still doesn't have an agent and didn't want to take a lesser deal. Even if he had, the Phillies wouldn't have been able to afford him based on their current CBT constraint. Now they have the Alvarado money to play with, but that's still probably better banked for the deadline.

Seems Robertson is always better early though. He was fine for us in '22 but not nearly as good as he was for the Cubs. And the same thing happened in '23 with Mets/Marlins. Rangers kept him last year and then didn't make the playoffs.

Having relievers who are better in the first half than the seconds is probably a lot of them though. A Hoffman-like situation where someone starts slow and low-use/leverage and then rounds into form in July is way better than getting peak Kimbrel or Jose in June but not October.

[Callison]

Shout out to one of the most undervalued players in MLB, Edmundo Sosa. Maybe he could leadoff against lefties and the rest of the lineup can remain in the same order used against righties. Finally saw ONE ground ball get by him, but he's a defensive star, IMHO.

Shout out to Bohm, who had to dig out of a deep slump.

Romano relieved against the Dodgers and nearly gave the game away previously, but he's been dominant lately. The Phils talent scouts know something after all. The pen remains full for question marks, though. Lazar survived, but is a question mark. The Phils pen is a work in progress.

The interview with Long talking about Schwarber was outstanding, describing MLB coaching which often includes a lot of yelling. Long called Schwarber a complete hitter - sounded like Long's highest praise.

Sure is fun watching everybody hit against the Rockies, too,

[Austinfan]

Sosa may be better trade bait than a top prospect since he's going to be Arb3 in 2026 and FA in 2027
Unless they're going to commit to an extension, they might want to maximize his value.
Depends on Kemp and Kennedy (and Castro to some extent as a SS).
Since Stott can move to SS, you can replace Sosa with RH IF bat.

Ranger is the other option if Nola bounces back, he'll be a FA next season, so get while the gettin' is good.

[zambonir]

The Phillies aren't trading Sosa this season, and there's clearly also still value in overpaying for the first guy on your bench next year. It's just that they chose to put that money towards Hays (and before him Merrifield) and offense last year, whereas Sosa has shown his worth both defensively and offensively.

It's also not out of the question they do the Turner position switch next season. They're not going to move Stott to SS, and Miller might not be ready next year.

Regardless, Sosa's trade value is minimal. There's still an argument he's not an everyday player, and even if he is, his salary next year and pending free agency would reduce his appeal unless he agrees to an extension with new team.

[bkox]

Since ERA became official in both leagues in 1913, two MLB lefties have gone undefeated with a sub-2.00 ERA and 10.00+ K/9 over their first 10 starts of a season.

One is the @Phillies ' Jesús Luzardo this year.

The other was Randy Johnson in 1995. pic.twitter.com/Bg0fxKZ9s8

— OptaSTATS ( @OptaSTATS ) May 21, 2025

[phillychuck]

What happened to Koufax? Should have been o that list, at least by reputation.

[Jazzhead]

Regardless, Sosa's trade value is minimal.

Well, he won't earn us a top prospect in trade, but his versatility and ability to hit in the clutch could certainly garner us a quality reliever. But I'd rather keep him and trade a good prospect to get that reliever instead. His value as a Swiss Army knife is greater now that he's gained some experience in the outfield.

[zambonir]

Phillies say Walker will probably not be asked to go back to starting again once Nola returns. Ideally the need doesn't arise until Painter's ready, or we'll see Abel again. And it lets them see if Walker can be part of the relief solution longer-term.

Phillies observations on Taijuan Walker, Jesús Luzardo, lefty slayer Kyle...

[zambonir]

Well, he won't earn us a top prospect in trade, but his versatility and ability to hit in the clutch could certainly garner us a quality reliever. But I'd rather keep him and trade a good prospect to get that reliever instead. His value as a Swiss Army knife is greater now that he's gained some experience in the outfield.

But a team that's dumping a quality reliever doesn't need Sosa. At least not in July. You could flip him for prospects to replenish depth, but he's now our starting 2B against LHP too. It just continues to be unfortunate that our 3B and SS are both RHBs. I doubt we'll see much of him in the OF again, that was only while Wilson was hurt.

If another team wants to acquire him to be their starting SS next off-season you certainly listen. Phillies could also still trade Bohm and keep Sosa (with or without moving Turner). Both of them are limited in their value by being in their last year or arbitration.

[EastFallowfield]

Introducing NOLA: A Metric for Starting Pitcher Consistency

Someone supports Aaron Nola on the internet! While agreeing he can be inconsistent!

I remain sure that Nola will fix his ankle or his fastball or whatever’s ailing him, and return to the level he’s pitched at since 2017. You can’t convince me he’s bad. But if you want to make the argument that he’s annoying, that he’s frustrating to watch, not only is that your inalienable right as a baseball fan, there’s now empirical evidence to support you.

[Austinfan]

I think the issue with Nola is he depends on excellent command to be effective.
When his command is off, duck.

Now the question is over time, how will he adjust to losing velo.
I think starting this season he overthrew trying to maintain velo and lost command, which is not good.
To remain effective, he needs to throw 91-92 consistently, but probably has to focus more on changing speeds and movement on his pitches rather than try to obtain an extra 1 MPH.

When healthy, Ranger is a better, left handed version of Nola, I think because his changeup is better than any pitch in Nola's repertoire.

[Callison]

Someone supports Aaron Nola on the internet! While agreeing he can be inconsistent!

Congratulations to Michael Bauman for winning the Francis Bacon Memorial Essay Contest. "Inconsistent" may understate the problem.

That's a lot of work. After all that, he expects Nola to just somehow regain the form he's shown in the past and start winning a few. Absolutely. Positively. The Phils should be so lucky. The Phils should be so lucky if his only problem is his heel.

Romano pitches the 9th to remind everybody the pen is still a box of chocolates. Some of these guys can turn an easy W into a cliffhanger in a heartbeat.

I don't know if another Phils' CF could have caught the ball Rojas caught. Rob is no doubt smiling about giving Rojas' extended PT.

[Austinfan]

To be far to Romano, Wheeler said the mound was a mess and he struggled with his command.
Romano's slider was breaking well, he just couldn't locate any of his pitches.