Phillies Spring Training Discussion 2024

[zambonir]

I don't think they can spare Strahm this year. They'd call up Allard or use Turnbull (whether he's in the pen or the minors). They're also prepping Ortiz and Mercado for three-inning stints.

But if it's later in the season for a month you could go with Abel. If someone goes down permanently and he's not up to it, they are more likely to get another Thor or Lorenzen.

And maybe McGarry is available as a middle reliever by August too.

On another note, the Phillies will have an Opening Day roster with two LHPs in the rotation. From 2017 to 2021 it was zero, right?

[Austinfan]

I think that matters in the regular season, in a 3 or 4 game series, you want different looks, if you throw out 3 hard throwing RHs with 4 seam, 2 seam, slider, changeup repertoire, hitters can time them, if you go Wheeler, Nola, Ranger, Sanchez, all four differ enough that hitters have to readjust each night.

[andyb]

Prior to today’s game, the Phillies made the following roster moves:

RHP Mick Abel, RHP Ryan Burr and RHP Tyler McKay were reassigned to minor league camp.

— Philadelphia Phillies ( @Phillies ) March 13, 2024

Abel is supposed to start the prospect showcase game on Friday though.

[zambonir]

Opening day line-up? (Certainly it's the starting nine though that may also depend on who the Braves pitch).

Phillies lineup vs. Tigers. 1:05 p.m. on NBCSP+

Schwarber DH
Turner 6
Harper 3
Realmuto 2
Stott 4
Bohm 5
Castellanos 9
Marsh 7
Rojas 8

Nola RHP

— Todd Zolecki ( @ToddZolecki ) March 13, 2024

[Jazzhead]

I bet there aren't too many teams where the outfielders take up the 7th, 8th and 9th spots in the lineup.

[Jazzhead]

I just saw this now (I returned this morning from Arizona where I've been attending Spring Training). I was referring to Schwarber as DH as a member of the bench, since he isn't playing a position in the field. My point was simply that if one member of the bench can only DH, and provide no positional flexibility, that's a potential handicap.

[zambonir]

So his butt is on the bench, except when he's hitting. But with 160 games played last year (all of them starts) it's not like he can come off of it.

And in the end, he can still play LF (as he did last year, just a lot less now). Maybe not anywhere else, but neither could Hoskins play anywhere other than 1B. And Harper was DH-only last year for a long time. So yeah, it's not great but it's also nothing new, and now that the NL does have the DH, it's not really a big deal. Double-switches are even rarer than pinch-hits. It has just meant the idea of letting Bohm, Realmuto, Castellanos (and now Harper) DH occasionally while giving a bench player (and in and in some cases, better fielder) additional playing time will continue to not happen.

[julio]

Defining “bench” as “not a fielder,” as opposed to “not in the starting lineup.” Ok, your choice..,but not typical usage, and not usage that I would choose.

The thing is, if your DH is enough of an offensive force to warrant everyday starts, and good enough defensively to rotate into non-DH positions…that guy should be starting every day in the field, as a general rule. If your club has the luxury of more dominant offensive players than you can put into a single lineup…well, what you typically do is trade someone to address another need (a starting pitcher, for example).

[zambonir]

I would even go so far to argue that having a DH of the caliber of Kyle Schwarber (or Bryce Harper) offensively is fairly desirable and increasingly rare. A lot of teams just don't bother signing a DH type at all, which does give you more flexibility but also means you watch a whole lot more ABs by (to just use Phillies) Sosa, Cave, Clemens and Pache types.

Some of the aging DH only types are still out there and not highly valued like they used to be, so there's certainly an argument either way. But if Merrifield is even 2/3 the player he was having him and Sosa and an OF who can play all three positions (whether that is Cave or Pache) is plenty of optionality (and in a pinch both catchers can play just about anywhere but CF or SS).

[Jazzhead]

Well, a full-time DH is useful, but if a roster spot will be taken up by someone who can't field, then that forces the remaining bench to consist of multi-positional types like Merrifield and Sosa. Which is fine, except for the opportunity cost. Tommy Pham, for example, would be a good addition, but the need for positional flexibility precludes it.

[andyb]

The biggest thing lost with a full time DH is the ability to give players a pseudo rest day when rotating the position. This would be for someone like JT potentially or Harper (especially when he was in the OF) to keep them in the lineup. We can still do some of this. I imagine we rest Schwarber 10-15 times a year against a tough LHP (he still usually has platoon splits). This is less important when the players to rest are not that old. We could play Trea at DH occasionally for instance to keep him fresh, but we also could just ask him to play 150-155 games and be a good pinch hitter when he is occasionally rested. We don't really have old players in the field regularly.

And JT hates to DH so might as well just rest him.

[BostonRoss]

Pham could easily be accommodated on this roster; he could replace Cave without affecting positional flexibility. Pham isn’t here because the Phillies don’t want him at the required cost, or Pham doesn’t want to join the Phillies. Or maybe both sides are hoping the other blinks.

I don’t understand why the Phillies didn’t pursue Rosario, unless he just didn’t want to come to Philly.

[zambonir]

They are saying that despite the minor league deal Rosario will likely be the Nats starting LF. Either way, neither Pham nor Rosario were being promised the ABs they wanted by the Phillies. Any of them would have taken the $8 million Merrifield got (we know now). Merrifield was the one who agreed to be a bench player, and won't take an inordinate number off starts away from Rojas. Rosario is obviously at least counting on playing enough for the Nats to get his full incentives.

The Phillies may be enamored with the fact that Merrifield can play multiple positions, and overpaid for it, but he really can't/shouldn't. He's barely ever played 3B and hits the same side as Bohm and Sosa, he's not a SS, Stott shouldn't be sitting that often against LHP and Harper won't take many days off. They signed him to be a LF and PH, not because the roster really needed more flexibility. Last year that was Josh Harrison's spot.

And nearly all DHs are just poor fielding LFs or 1Bs to begin with. Schwarber can play either of those positions (even if he'll never do the latter again). And if he had to stand in RF he probably could (Matt Stairs used to).

Pham probably still needs to find his deal and ABs on a bad team. He can join the Phillies on July 31. Or Rosario could.

[allentown]

The lack of flexibility was accepted when DD decided to dump $45 mill/yr. on Schwarber/Castellanos, neither of whom should be playing a position, with the almost imminent need for JT and Harper to move down the defensive hierarchy or play fewer games at C. It seemed an imbalance at the time and only has become more so.

[zambonir]

The original plan - Schwarber and Castellanos splitting LF and DH, Harper in RF - might have gone a little better. But you can't really say it's gone badly either. And with Marsh/Rojas now 2/3rd of the OF it's better than it was (with Castellanos likely not even that much worse than Harper would be at this point).

Without developing your own, a great-hitting great-fielding OF is going to be pretty much a unicorn. Phillies got one for O'Hoppe, if the bat continues to thrive. We'll see if Crawford gets there.

Personally, I wish they'd also developed another Schwarber or Hoskins who couldn't field. To me the team is still missing that bigger power bat, but none of the guys they could have gotten are actually really great bats. Nor good fielders. Just, perhaps, better (and cheaper) than Merrifield.

[andyb]

They have been trying a bit harder to get that power hitting OF. Rincones was certainly a pick in that direction and their big international signing this year (Jalvin Arias) certainly fits that mold. We have gone defense and middle infield first of late with Crawford, Caba and Bergolla. Miller was another step in that offensive direction too.

[BostonRoss]

The Phillies had two bench spots they could upgrade, Cave and Pache. They chose Merrifield for one spot; if they had chosen Rosario instead, that would have been fine with me. But it seems likely that Rosario wanted to go somewhere he would play more, and that's probably true for Pham as well. So their options might well have been Merrifield or standing pat.

I don't really think that Merrifield will play much infield unless there's an injury, and having that contingency plan is not a bad thing even though Turner, Stott, and Bohm have been pretty durable to date.

[zambonir]

I think this is the other reason they liked Merrifield over adding a better offensive player who would still be similar in skill set to most of the rest of the line-up. As David Murphy wrote a few weeks ago I think it's a flawed premise (and especially flawed if he has a good approach but isn't actually good enough to get results at this point in his career), but was definitely part of their thinking.

I do still think Merrifield will play some IF, especially if he does hit. He can theoretically outhit Bohm against RHP or give Stott a day off. Harper too. Just not often.

Josh Harrison had 27 appearances between 3B and 2B last year despite Sosa also being around, and that was only until July 31 while being terrible!

Can a Phillies lineup loaded with aggressive vets learn to rein it in?

[Austinfan]

Stott can play SS, so if Merrifeld is a decent 2B that covers the IF.
They could have used a LH 3B/OF (if Clemons could hit) but that's about it.

[andyb]

I do worry a bit that Stott might evolve into our best or second best everyday player this year if he improves as much as he did last year. At the beginning of the year there were platoon questions that gave Harrison extra starts. At the end of the year most of those questions went away. Merrifield will get a few starts at 2B against LHP. Just not sure he deserves them as Stott will be better defensively even if Merrifield has a small offensive advantage.