Phillies Off-Season 2024-2025 (Hot Stove)

[dcsman]

Just like Juan Soto prefers to stay on the east coast, Sasaki probably prefers to play on the west coast. Either would be nice acquisitions but I just don't think they are very realistic.

[andyb]

I'd pitch Sasaki that the Phillies are the best organization today for starting pitchers. We believe in them. We develop and nurture them. We trust them to go deep in games if they earn it. Not every organization does that. Wheeler and Nola and Sanchez and Suarez and Sasaki could be a historic, dominant staff. The money and endorsements will come with success.

Not sure the pitch would work, but it could be a good one. LA and NY will always have more money, but we can get close.

[zambonir]

I don't entirely understand how a team can "win" the bidding in terms of $. Backdoor future promises? Maxing out your int'l on just him? Or is it really all about selling a culture and a vision?

[Austinfan]

I thnk the primary endorsement value would be in Japan.

[zambonir]

Obviously it is in Japan but I am sure a guy in a Dodgers uniform is worth more to Coca-Cola Japan or Mizuno than a guy in a Milwaukee uniform. Both currently and due to the history

[zambonir]

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said this week that he visited Japan in September to watch Sasaki. Phillies assistant general manager Jorge Velandia makes multiple trips to Japan per year. But it’s unclear if other members of the team’s front office attended a Sasaki start.

But the Phillies have attempted to broaden their presence in the Far East. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski charged Velandia with improving the organization’s reach. The Phillies hired Tora Otsuka, son of former major league pitcher Akinori Otsuka, as a second full-time scout based in Japan, joining veteran scout Koji Takahashi.

World-class pitcher Roki Sasaki to be posted to MLB, impacting free-agent...

[Austinfan]

Plus it's probably a lot easier to watch West Coast than East Coast games in Japan.

[zambonir]

I used to think this too, but it's not really the case. A 7pm Dodgers game is at noon Tokyo time. A 7pm Phillies game is at 9am. I guess the whole country was known to take lunch breaks to watch Nomo or Ichirio.

A 1pm game in LA would be at 6am rather than 3am like a NY game but still hardly ideal, or atttractive to TV.

Flight times for friends/family (or yourself) would be more common consideration. Also true for spring training/off-season work.

[andyb]

Well, at least we appear to be in the game:

The Roki Sasaki MLB sweepstakes: Teams to watch and what could influence his...

The Philadelphia Phillies, according to a league source, remain another team worth watching in the sweepstakes. Last winter, team president Dave Dombrowski aggressively pursued Yamamoto in free agency, a signal of the franchise’s concerted efforts to build up a presence in the Pacific Rim.

I thought the Yamamoto offer was more of a signal to the rest of the league. We are still unlikely to be considered here, but the main thing is that this is not all about money. It is about comfort and fit and market (and maybe handshake promises for money in the future).

[Austinfan]

It's also marketing to the Japanese player market.

We may not be able to land the first tier guys, but we'll become more attractive to the second tier guys who probably would have no idea who the Phillies are until we started getting into these bidding contests.

[fish]

We may not be able to land the first tier guys, but we'll become more attractive to the second tier guys who probably would have no idea who the Phillies are until we started getting into these bidding contests.

Certainly didn’t seem like Yamamoto had ever heard of them in that bidding process.

[zambonir]

Ha, fair. They actually did meet with him in California, as did the Yankees and Red Sox. But he never came to Philly, or granted them a second meeting (which both the Mets and Yankees got). There was also a Facetime with Harper.

But that's still progress. It could well take five or even 10 years before these efforts pay off. Maybe they should also consider signing a Japanese or South Korean MLB veteran if there's a fit. Visibility means something and so would actually having an established track record of support/infrastructure (be that a translator or food).

[andyb]

Maybe Tadahito Iguchi can show him his ring.

[zambonir]

Or So Taguchi who actually played in the NLCS!

[zambonir]

Oh wow - that's a loss (Brian Kaplan)

Phillies lose key staff member as Diamondbacks hire former assistant as pitching...

[Austinfan]

But a good sign that they hire good people.

All in all a positive, b/c if your people get hired away as promotions, promising young coaches are more likely to join the organization.

[VoteForKalas]

But the optimal would be to keep that good talent here instead. We have 37 assistant GMs who do nothing; maybe we could find room for this guy.

[zambonir]

I think they did all they could given he also held a quasi front office job, which I think is also probably the more important replacement hire. Assistant pitching coaches are more fungible (case in point Sal Fasano getting the Angels job along with their D'Arnaud signing). Kaplan probably just wanted to do the one job they couldn't give him, actual major league pitching coach (and Cotham probably didn't care to move upstairs). I'm sure it also helps improve the brand of his privately owned business.

I wouldn't say we have any assistant GMs who do nothing though.I know you are exaggerating, but all the people who carry that title are pretty crucial (and Mattingly's about shed the "Assistant" but I assume his successor won't get that yet). The only real surprise is that Ned Rice is still here, but he's the contract/snumbers guy.

What's actually funny about all of it is Brent Strom is one of the greatest pitching coaches of the last 10 years, and has far more rings and World Series appearances than our guy. He just took the fall for Arizona's year, and was close to retired anyway before he even went to work there.

[zambonir]

Kaplan’s departure marks the first time in at least five years that another club hired away a coach from the Phillies’ MLB staff.

Phillies lose Brian Kaplan, who joins Diamondbacks as pitching coach

Sometimes we forget the Phillies kept most of Kapler's staff, other than the pitching and hitting coaches (but including Thomson). Technically the above is not correct as Pedro Guerrero did leave us to join Kapler in 2021 (and he just got the Marlins hitting coach job).

Story says Kaplan did have to sell his company when he took the Phillies job. And of course he was Painter's guy, even before Painter got drafted.

But Kaplan really seemed to make a difference. Don't forget Cotham was Girardi's pitching coach in 2021; Kaplan's first season was '22.

It also says Fuld was who brought him in, so maybe Fuld's move to part-time and eventually the biz side gave Kaplan another reason to leave.

[Austinfan]

He probably left b/c it was a promotion with a lot more money.