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

zambonir 2021-01-18 19:00:15 UTC #922

I think it's as simple as, this guy was drafted by Dombrowski, and wasn't by Bloom.

Plenty of scenarios in which he's useful, none of which involve handing him a starting spot. If they don't sign a SS he'd join Kingery and Segura to share time at both positions, if they do he could still make the team off the bench if Kingery is definitely a starting 2B or platoon CF. And who knows what 2022 will bring.

Certainly Holder and Chatham won't both be on the 2021 MLB team. If Chatham wins a spot Holder's gone; if Holder wins a spot Chatham can still go to Allentown.

Ideally - assuming Didi comes back or they sign some other SS - they still move Segura so you're not paying $15 million for a bench player.

xogfog 2021-01-18 20:25:09 UTC #923

Red Sox can play Chavis at 2B.

zambonir 2021-01-19 02:37:44 UTC #924

Gelb now reporting that with so many opportunities still out there Dombrowski may be able to take the Phillies payroll closer to $200 million. So maybe a 5% cut rather than 10% or worse.

Dombrowski has intentions on filling some of the other holes with something more than lottery tickets.

The Phillies won’t be in the market for the unsigned stars — outside of Realmuto — and they won’t squander their better prospects in trades. But they also won’t patch the rest of the roster with long shots on minor-league deals. It could be something of a compromise between baseball operations and ownership. When the offseason began, the Phillies hinted to rival clubs and several player agents that they planned to significantly reduce their 2021 payroll.

Some thought the Phillies had two budget plans — one for a team with Realmuto and one without. The caveat was, if Realmuto didn’t re-sign, that money earmarked for him would not be used elsewhere. If Realmuto looks more and more like he’s back, it could push the Phillies to be more aggressive for other players in this buyers’ market.

BostonRoss 2021-01-19 03:36:35 UTC #925

Pedroia hasn't been the Red Sox second baseman in over three years. He played nine games from 2018-2020. He's already been replaced several times over. It is telling that the Sox never gave Chatham a chance; he was well regarded around here a few years ago.

BostonRoss 2021-01-19 03:42:08 UTC #926

Chavis isn't really in the Red Sox 2B mix. He was never a good fielder there, and he stopped hitting last year. They only started him at 2B seven times in 2020. He only played one inning at 2B after September 5 (and it was garbage time; an infielder was on the mound).

LoneStarPhan 2021-01-19 20:39:15 UTC #927

LoneStarPhan 2021-01-19 20:40:04 UTC #928

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10221673366236758&set=gm.3513351528712427

A report that Phillies signing David Paulino to a minor league contract. Another arm in camp who last pitched in the majors in 2018.

I have not been able to find a more reliable source but I guess we will know soon if this is a valid signing or not.

Maybe they hit big on a comeback relief pitcher.

julio 2021-01-19 20:44:33 UTC #929

LSP - Non-functional link?

zambonir 2021-01-19 20:54:31 UTC #930

Andy already posted info on him in the minor league thread. I assume the link was a premature/unconfirmed report that has since been deleted.

LoneStarPhan 2021-01-19 20:56:44 UTC #931

It works when I click on it. It is a link to Facebook from a tweet. Not the type link I like to post but I was unable to find anything else on signing Paulino as yet.

I started following Phillies information sites on Facebook and Twitter this off season and much is not worth much including some reports of signings. Still, seems like what they are doing with bringing in pitchers who have had some injury problems and are coming back on minor league deals.

I see andy's post with good links and info. Looks like the signing in valid and another body for spring camp.

allentown 2021-01-19 21:44:43 UTC #932

This pleases me. Give the kids a chance and don't waste minor league resources on Benintendi.

andyb 2021-01-19 21:48:51 UTC #933

Athletic on Sam Coonrod and the social justice movement:

Hard to know what to think of Coonrod here, though I guess being put on a team with leaders like McCutchen will probably smooth things over. Remember almost half the country thought Trump won the election, so imagine there are a lot of misinformed kids who have no clue about what BLM stands for.

julio 2021-01-19 22:03:56 UTC #934

Probably some Facebook privacy setting; it refuses to load for me. Facebook works in mysterious ways...

zambonir 2021-01-19 22:12:35 UTC #935

I couldn't load it either.

I don't think the Phillies were ever in on Benintendi. It was one tweet. Maybe they had a conversation about him, which makes it as "real" as the Zach Wheeler trade talks, or maybe it was pure speculation based on Dombrowski's Boston history.

I don't think that means the Phillies are necessarily committed to the "kids." Or that we even have kids, plural. Quinn really isn't one anymore, and Moniak still has zero days in AAA and is September call-up material at best. On top of that Benintendi isn't even really a CF anymore. They still need someone for the DH/LF role he might have played, even if Haseley and Quinn get some of those ABs too. The way Dombrowski talked yesterday JBJ still wouldn't surprise me, though they still probably need a pitcher more.

andyb 2021-01-19 22:46:03 UTC #936

It sounded to me like they could spend a few million on an OF but it was not a priority. And if the DH is put in place again they probably need more of a power corner bat than a CF. Without the DH Cutch will play LF 75% of the time assuming he is healthy and not awful. As I have said, the odds are that they can cobble together some decent performance out of a combination of Haseley, Quinn, and Kingery. If JBJ falls to a $2 million deal with incentive then maybe that changes a bit, but the higher priorities are still going to be catcher, then shortstop, then 1-2 more bullpen arms. A 4th starter candidate would probably rank close to CF in terms of priorities though I am expecting more of a minor league deal or two there.

andyb 2021-01-19 23:00:47 UTC #937

Small note - there was a throwing showcase in Miami today for Anibel Sanchez and Julio Teheran and the Phillies were there. We should know in a few days if anything comes of it.

flyers19rw 2021-01-19 23:29:21 UTC #938

I’ve never understood Teheran. The inconsistency in his performance is as bad as VV’s. Sometimes he looks tremendous; other times he’s horrible. Is he a head case? Someone with an arm injury? Is he fixable?

Philsmania 2021-01-20 00:13:16 UTC #939

How many straight seasons was Tehran the Braves' Opening Day starter?

zambonir 2021-01-20 01:06:47 UTC #940

If they sign a SS and Segura isn't traded, they certainly don't need anymore help in CF. If they trade Segura, that might free up a bit more $ for the bench OF (as well as that starting pitcher).

allentown 2021-01-20 01:26:56 UTC #941

Teheran only has a .500 W-L record, but he has racked up over 19 bWAR in his career. Negative last season. He had 2.8 WAR in 2019 and is only 30 this season. Anibal Sanchez had 3.7 bWAR in 2019, but is going to be 37 this year, so....? If they are cheap signs, okay -- it is just more bodies to compete, although we'll have to cut somebody if we sign one of them. Perhaps they'd even sign a MiLB deal, though that would be only if nobody else interested, which likely means their tryout wasn't especially impressive.