Wait 'Til Who Knows When (Certainly not 2021!) ... (Winter 20-21 Off-Season Realism)

[flyers19rw]

Wonder if a trade for Sonny Gray is in the future?

[EDmuch]

I would be very surprised. The Reds are no longer "also rans". I don't see them shipping out a quality starting pitcher for what we have to offer. The Reds are probably more competitive in the Central than we are in the East.

[zambonir]

The Reds are also cutting costs, he is supposedly available. But they wouldn't necessarily give him away, nor could/would the Phillies take on his contract.

[BostonRoss]

The Reds are already losing their best pitcher.

[zambonir]

And the Rays are making Blake Snell available. This is the tragedy of the Phillies being so messed up, and going cheap, when the opportunity for them to use their ownership's wealth around a group of declining star players is right in front of them.

Reds Will Listen To Trade Offers For Sonny Gray

[andyb]

Rosenthal column on the Athletic today mentions Velasquez in a part about players taking "pre-tender" deals. I had thought that was possible if Velasquez likes it in Philly. Take $2-$3 million with incentives instead of $4. Rosenthal notes that there is probably $4+ million out there from some team that thinks they can "fix" him.

Rosenthal: Red Sox in position to get creative; decision on Pham; Nats' future

[allentown]

This is the tragedy of the Phillies being so messed up, and going cheap, when the opportunity for them to use their ownership's wealth around a group of declining star players is right in front of them.

Honestly, I must reluctantly conclude that the Phillies don't have enough of a present to trade some of their future to improve this current present. If we have money to spend, as we should, then there will also be bargains on the FA market. The little bit of plus young talent we have, that another team would want in trade for a good pitcher, is best kept, lest we make the current drought longer.

[zambonir]

Well, it's true we don't have the trade capital for the very best players. (Eno Sarrris's theoretical Snell trade is Hoskins, Howard and Morales).

But there will also be trade bargains, and, in theory, the opportunity to use $ to drive down the trade price (or even buy prospects). Of course, when we last left the Phillies they were doing just the opposite (giving up Connor Seabold to get additional salary relief from Boston).

[Squire]

Phillies and RHP Seranthony Dominguez agree on a one-year contract for $727,500

[zambonir]

That's good news. I would have hated to see them give up on the guy just to save $. Even if they'll hit this same crossroads again next year.

[andyb]

Next year they'll probably have seen him throw a bit to know if he is worth the roster spot during the winter. Can't imagine his 2022 salary will be much more than $1 million.

The reality is we have fungible roster spots without many high ceiling prospects. We at least know Seranthony has a high ceiling. If we lose a Cole Irvin over the winter at some point, so be it. There will be a half dozen like him available over the winter.

[andyb]

Phillies get the offseason outlook treatment on MLB Rumors today:

Offseason Outlook: Philadelphia Phillies

[allentown]

The author's statement: "Flawed as they may have been over the past three seasons, the Phillies have only narrowly missed the postseason each year." in the concluding paragraph is simply inane, actually, it is a lie. The Phillies failed to post a winning record in any of those seasons and were 28-32 in 2020. They did not come close to the playoffs in any of those years. If Middleton stands by his claim of team penury, then 2021 looks extremely grim for the Phillies, especially with the Braves and Mets both willing to spend.

[andyb]

Eddie Rosario got non-tendered by the Twins and cleared waivers. Might be an interesting LF/DH bat if we are looking to pair someone with Cutch. Not the best plate discipline but he is still young (29) and has basically put up 4 800 OPS years in a row. He was a guy that might have gotten more than $10 million in arbitration but is more likely in the $5-$8 million range as a free agent.

Also, Heyman posting about the Blue Jays and Segura. Assume we would get little in return unless the salaries were balanced, but moving Segura would free them a bit in spending money to sign Didi or another shortstop and relying on Kingery (and probably a veteran middle infield reserve) to man 2B.
https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1334223748241743874

[zambonir]

They narrowly missed the playoffs each season in that they were in contention - even in first place one of the years! - in September. And it is also true that it was narrow - razor thin, even - this past season, but only due to the expanded field.

Segura has also got that no-trade, but he probably wants to be an everyday 2B for someone.

[andyb]

Imagine any Segura deal would have to include Tanner Roark from the Blue Jays. Only 1 year at $12 million but he really fell off a cliff last year.

[andyb]

Knapp avoids arbitration for $1.1 million. Salisbury also saying he thinks Velasquez will get tendered now because he would be tradeable at that price.

[zambonir]

His tweet implies they'd do it because they need him ("thin on starting pitching"). I do think you could do a lot worse for the money (like, hey, Tanner Roark for instance!).

[zambonir]

Per Salisbury VV tendered and Neris takes a one-year $5 million deal.

[andyb]

Eflin $4.45 million. Hale $850K.