I assume you mean Nick Castellanos here. What other veteran players do you wish the Phils had "moved on" from?
There is also an implication here that "moving on" wasn't at significant prospect cost if the goal was actually to save money. It has been made clear based on reporting that they were listening on Castellanos the last two offseasons.
But Amaro re-signed Rollins after 2011 while also adding Papelbon (and Jim Thome!). Then, in 2012, he picked up Ruiz's option and signed Mike Adams and John Lannan (yikes!). And then in 2013, even after dumping Vic and Pence and firing Charlie, they still extended Utley and kept trying to win on 2014 (Marlon Byrd, AJ Burnett). And of course they were already stuck with Howard.
The turning point for moves like the above is coming up, but it hasn't come yet, and the current core is miles better than what the Phillies had in 2012. In the meantime I don't see how you really think they could productively move on from the players you might want to (Casty, Turner, Walker) in a way that makes the team better short or long-term. Ditto Schwarber and JT who are both essential this year and not otherwise an albatross beyond that if you don't want them to be.
Middleton was the guy who pushed for them to sign AJ Burnett (to make up for the Lee and Halladay declines), we'll see what lesson he took from that era. Certainly they wouldn't have traded Pence just to get under the tax under his ownership.
Well, there are a couple of weaker bats here (2024 OPS+), but generally not veterans with bloated contracts:
| Player | OPS+ |
|---|---|
| Harper | 149 |
| Schwarber | 137 |
| Turner | 124 |
| Bohm | 117 |
| Realmuto | 109 |
| Marsh | 109 |
| Castellanos | 106 |
| Sosa | 104 |
| Stott | 89 |
| Rojas | 69 |
Yes, Castellanos isn't producing commensurately with his contract. Nor Taijuan Walker (who may well not even make the Opening Day rotation). But after that?
To quote Richie: "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story, Harry!"
I really can't remember the circumstances but we had Mercado for 1 AB back in 2022. Might have been a trade deadline temporary promotion.
Arroyo seems a lesser Weston Wilson at this point in his career, but I guess is decent AAA depth.
6/26/22 - Harper to IL with fractured thumb, Moniak recalled
6/27/22 - Mercado claimed on waivers, Damon Jones to 60 Day IL
6/28/22 - Eflin to IL, Mercado activated
6/29/22 - Camargo to IL, Hall added to 40. McArthur to 60 day
7/1/22 - Falter promoted to Eflin's rotation spot. Mercado DFA
Essentially he was a waiver claim during the time in 2022 when everyone got hurt.
This is new. Realmuto in LF on off days? It kind of makes sense if DH is occupied and Realmuto is not going to put Bryce on the bench. The learning curve for LF has to be smaller than anywhere else and JT does still have the legs for it.
Arroyo was the Red Sox regular second baseman for a while, including most of 2023. He was not really good enough to be a regular. Not bad for AAA depth.
Reading that story it sounds like the LF thing is a long shot. Schwarber LF and JT DH is first option, with a day off for Kepler. Presumably Schwarber's experience trumps JT's athleticism; plus, if you want him to rest, let him rest.
And the subtext - not even subtext really, they say it - is that they feel pressure to let JT play a certain number of games to help his value in free agency, even if not all of them are at C. An extension would solve that, but JT probably doesn't want what the Eagles are offering before he hits the market (just like last time).
I think I can guarantee that Realmuto is a better defensive LF than Schwarber today, I also think he is a better RF than Castellanos. Those two guys are among the worst defensive OF in years and Realmuto is a good all-around baseball player.
To me the more important question is as you said, is it better to just let him rest and just hit, and of course what if he gets hurt doing the “different” things that he never does as a catcher (100 foot sprints, different types of throwing, walls, etc).I
I think this is more contingency on outfield injuries. Wilson is probably fine in the reserve/start against LHP role. But what if Rojas struggles or someone like Castellanos or Marsh gets hurt? At that point we really need to integrate more players on the roster. Having JT as an option in LF once in a while at least introduces the concept.
Miller is a second half wild card too. What would they do if he is actually ready? Miller is staying at SS this Spring, maybe exclusively. Which would then put Trea in play as the fill in anywhere person. It really does feel like the Phillies want to give Miller a legit chance to start at SS in a year or two.
It does also give a way to keep Realmuto in the lineup if he gets a “can’t catch for a month” type injury.
Then, on July 4, the Phillies waived him and the then-Indians claimed him back. In the span of nine days, he went from the Indians to the Phillies and back to the Indians. That was faster than Rob Ducey's back and forth in 2000--from Phillies to Blue Jays on July 26 for John Sneed who never made it to The Show and back to the Phillies on August 7 for Mickey Morandini.
I think there is still something to be said for hundreds of games and years of experience seeing the ball come off the bat and running routes. Plus, Schwarber is in far better shape than he was his last stint playing LF for us regularly. He made 5 starts in LF last year.
In the story JT says he might shag a few balls in Clearwater but that's it.
Finding someone to play LF once a week is not really that hard (especially when our CF is really good at it and our LF is really good at RF). If there's an injury Wilson does it and Stevenson or Clemens (if he sticks/clears) or even Mercado (who is a good defender) would be up.
It sounds like Miller is indeed our next SS but I doubt it will be this year. Would be a good problem to have.
JT's offense isn't good enough that it is a benefit to the Phils to stand him out in LF when he's not catching, thus putting Marsh or Kepler (or Rojas) on the bench. JT's net value offensively plus defensively in LF has to be less than all three of those guys.
If JT's not catching, give him the day off or let him pinch hit.
Which also means his bat isn't good enough to DH. But I'm not sure that's really true of LF if it's a LHP. I think JT also probably outhit Marsh in the second half of the season by a lot (after his surgery). And Rojas had reverse splits. It's true about the defense, but in this scenario, JT is DH and Schwarber is LF, so you are losing one of those guys regardless.
We also have to hope your statement is actually true when it comes to Kepler (versus what he was last year).
JT has a 782 OPS against LHP. If Wilson fails or is unavailable, JT's offense might actually be a plus In LF. And we'll have a switch hitter as backup catcher most likely, so it is not as if we will never start that backup against LHP like Stubbs ideally.
It won't be the first option or even the second option. But it might actually be a serviceable option for some situations over 162 games..