477 thoughts on “Open Discussion: Week of November 14, 2021”

1. Hey Jim
   If ole ROCKY wants to meet u at spring training tell him I will be there right next to u. I usually get there in time for tbe first game so you and I can have a little “meet and greet” if he would like..he knows where to find us. Whether Mickey is still a Philly or not I will still show up..see you in about 100 days.

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   1. Who is Ole rocky???

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      1. Hey Rocco! Welcome back. Everyone has been asking about you. Sorry you had difficulty posting comments. Don’t know why. I’ll keep an eye out for your posts until they post without my intervention.

         Once again, welcome back.

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   2. who is old rocky

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2. Along the lines of Jim’s take on the Bohm/Chapman speculation, I would propose Bohm, Haseley and Damon Jones for Chapman and AJ Puk (in lieu of the A’s including cash since they throw nickels around like manhole covers). Haseley and Puk would pose as change of scenery candidates and apparent IL risks. Puk’s arb eligible period runs from ’23-’25 (as of now, prior to any CBA changes), making league minimum heading into 2022. He’s on Oakland’s 40 man roster.

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   1. Puk…that would be something if he came to Philly lol

      He’d be great if he wasn’t always injured

      Love the proposal either way

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   2. Mark, it’s a great idea, but the trade seems incredibly lopsided for the Phillies which suggests to me that it wouldn’t happen. Billy Beane has made some bad trades, but more often than not, he’s on the winning side. You don’t become the “Moneyball” icon without winning a lot more than your fair share of transactions.

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      1. Anyway, the more I think about Chapman, the more I think that he’s a tremendous bounce-back candidate and his fielding is damned good that he can have a very off year (as he did last year), and still quite a good player. Many of the great trades or signings in MLB history occurred when really good, mid-career, players were coming off of bad or mediocre years. Just last year, Toronto was able to sign Semien to a reasonable deal because his 2020 (as limited as it was) was not good.

         So if you can get Chapman for a reasonable price, I think you have to consider it, knowing of course, that he may only be here for two years if you can’t unload some other contracts in the meantime.

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         1. sorry for the typos – it’s early folks.

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         2. Okay, so what is a “reasonable” price for Chapman? I agree it starts with Bohm, but it might include a painful “loss” somewhere else. The hope is that you can limit that loss to a guy like Luis Garcia (I assume you’re going to include a couple of guys at the Haseley level in any event, and probably another good relief arm), and try to keep them away from a top 6 guy like Rojas or O’Hoppe.

            But if you’re going to get Chapman, now’s the time to do it. By the end of next year, he could easily be considered among the top 3 third basemen in baseball again – he’s a hell of a player who’s just in a down hitting cycle, but still hit for a lot of power last year.

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      2. Perhaps but I’m siding with Jim’s rationale. The secondary pieces are variables but Bohm for Chapman as centerpieces is reasonable in light of the parties involved.

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   3. mark……Phillies would need to take on a cash expense of Oakland’s vs Puk’s controlled years savings……Beane has to look at the $$$$ bottom-line, so he would be penny-pinching at this point in the trade market.
      He probably would surrender Deolis Guerra and his <$1M vs Puk now or a Chad Pinder a year before his free agency to save $2.8M in 2022.

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3. Jim you run a fantastic Phillies blog and it’s mind blowing to me that someone is verbally threatening you and other posters here… Unbelievable… You shouldn’t have to put up with 1% of that crap for providing such a great Phillies baseball site that we can all gather around and talk and discuss… Thank you again..

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   1. 100% with Hawkeye; so appreciative of your hard work. I look forward to all of your posts and many of the posts of our “members”, some not so much, but a majority are informative.

      I would hate to trade Bohm or Hasely. Might not be too bad with Bohm at 3rd, Haseley in CF, Moniak/Verling in LF and Stott at SS.
      5 man rotation would be Wheeler/Nola/Suarez/Eflin/Gibson. If we could start this way and not have injuries.

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      1. JIm is amazing – we can all agree on that. Thanks for your tireless work, my man! We all appreciate it very much.

         As for the rotation, somebody is going to get hurt, in fact, you need to assume that, at some point in the year, at least 2 starters (and perhaps even 3) will be down, so you always need a couple of guys who can come in and give you a chance to compete or even take a place in the rotation. That’s why they need to keep guys like Bailey Falter around. If there’s a dark horse pitcher on this team – the next under-the-radar breakout candidate – it’s Falter for sure.

         As for Haseley, he’s really not developed at all. That said, he’s got a good glove and I don’t mind if they either trade him in the right deal or keep him around as a 4th/5th outfielder. But my goodness,

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         1. (continued) they had a rough 3-year run with top 10 picks.

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         2. Darkhorse pitcher next season IMO…Francisco Morales……in the 2nd half of the season.

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4. I don’t like the idea of a Chapman trade. Career 230 ish hitter. His doubles have decreased to only 15 last year. Hard pass

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   1. Don, I hear this. There is some concern for sure. There is also concern with NOT making the deal, as Bohm is not a sure thing to bounce back and continue developing at the MLb level. In an ideal world, Bohm makes this choice easy, unfortunately that didn’t happen. So it’s basically a bet on who you think has a better bounce back potential. Unless you’re considering another player. The bonus with Chapman is that he is a GG defender if his bat never comes back in the 10 mil a year range. I don’t see Bohm ever being a GG at 3B, but he is a very hard worker, so I expect he can be slightly about average defender. Bohms only upside if his bat doesn’t come around is an entry level salary.

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5. Jim … thanks for all the work you do to make PP the best (and most civil) Phillies site on the internet.
   Agree that 5 years of Bohm is almost worth 2 years of Chapman. I’m the one you are referring to. I’ve been on record with this same opinion. IMO … Oakland is in search of young MLB players (or near MLB players). Haseley makes sense, although I’m not sure how is personal situation would affect this deal. The A’s are desperate to get out from under the Elvis Andrus contract. They may be able to do that by throwing him into a deal with Matt Olson, Sean Manaea, or Frankie Montas. I believe a guy like Nick Maton could interest David Forst. He could play SS in Oakland if they do dump Andrus.

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6. Jim, the vast majority of us appreciate the site, and do so respectfully enough.
   We get to anonymously post on a site, but that doesn’t mean real human beings aren’t behind these scree names. Personally attacks directed through family members is petty.People need to understand that, this is a baseball site, for baseball discussion, keep our family members names out of your “posts”. None of us want to read it, no matter how right you think you are. Obviously if your family member is a player, it’s a different scenario. We all want every prospect to make it, & the vast majority of us discuss the player’s potential respectfully enough.
   I’m for a little bit of pain in setting up a new account if it means curtailing/blocking such users.

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7. Over the weekend, I heard a couple of interesting things (podcasts & MLB radio).

   1. Jon Heyman (who acts as a shill for Scott Boras) mentioned the Yankees and Phillies as major market teams “that are going to go for a SS”.

   2. Kevin Frandsen (who has a relationship with Bryce Harper) said Trevor Story is a “perfect match” for the Phillies. Frandsen gushed about Story’s athleticism, and pointed out that the Phils could fit another star player because Harper allowed the team to structure his deal in a way that lowered his AAV to a team friendly $25M.

   Not saying either/both amount to anything. Just reporting what I heard. You can decide for yourself if you are buying or selling either comment.

   I’m always skeptical of what Heyman is distributing at this time of year. But I do find Frandsen’s comments worth pondering because he specifically mentioned the fact the Bryce Harper spread his money out to allow the Phillies to add other difference making guys to play with him.

   I’ve been on record as doubting Stott’s ability to stay at SS. I’ve seen him dating back to his college days at UNLV. He’s always had an advanced bat, but I always assumed he would be a MLB 3Bman. Dombrowski has been insisting Stott is a MLB SS, and the team has mostly played him there since drafting him, so I’ve been willing to buy what the POBO has said.
   Aside from JTR, Roman Quinn, and Vinnie Velo (while he was here), this Phillies squad doesn’t exactly ooze athleticism. A Bohm/Stott pairing would make for the biggest left side of an infield in MLB (maybe even in MLB history). Would Dombrowski want to replace one with Story? I guess it could make sense depending on the contract he’ll demand.

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   1. Hinkie…I see more of a second basemen in Stott…..esepcially since with the shifts thru the years in the minors he has played his share of positional defense between the first base bag and second base bag…..the only thing he would need to do is perfect the pivot at second base on the double play.
      If Luis Garcia is able to hit higher level pitching…MLB specifically…then I see him at shortstop sometime after 2022.

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   2. Again, so tough to tell which way the team will go. I’ll put a lot of merit to the Bryce contract points. I can’t imagine, Bryce & Middleton didn’t discuss future star player signing … as a prerequisite for signing on the dotted line …like Bryant for example, during the courtship. Sign a star, keep your prospects, sounds like a way to hedge your bet by leveraging your money advantage. The team has a lot of holes… but also a lot of ways to fix them quickly IMO. Will see what DD does

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8. I concur, I love this site, and cannot thank jim enough. It’s just boggles my mind that he has to deal with crap like that. Anyway, I am still in the give Bohm a chance camp. We need some young guys to participate. I am counting on him and Bohm. I may, very likely, be disappointed, but remain hopeful. I would be interested in a Manea deal, we don’t have nearly enough depth, and Eflin is already out to start the season. The Tigers, of all the teams, gets the FA sweepstakes rolling with a pretty big deal with ERod.

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9. I will say one more thing on Bohm for Chapman and then won’t touch it again…the suggestion that 5 years of Bohm is fair value for 2 years of Chapman has a lot of assumptions attached to it. For example, the assumption that Bohm can play 3rd base at the MLB level, which he has not proven yet at age 25. Because if he can’t play 3rd base, then he is a 1B/DH with no power and a low OB%.

   I am not saying that Bohm is a bust. I think that he has value and we should probably keep him. He may turn everything around with Kevin Long and more offseason defensive work. A good point has been made about Atlanta’s patience with Riley paying off (although Riley always had much more power). My point is that I can’t imagine why Oakland would take that gamble on the headliner for an elite player in his prime. I also can’t imagine that Bohm (with all of his question marks) is the best offer that they can get for the best defensive 3rd baseman in baseball. And I can’t understand why Haseley would add any value to the deal. He also has not proven to be anything more than a AAAA player and there is questions if he can handle the pressure of MLB. That said, if Oakland would truly take Bohm + Haseley for Chapman, imo that is a mind blowingly lopsided deal and I would gladly eat crow and give a virtual high five to Hinkie and Jim for nailing it. That would be a massive win for DD and exactly the type of heist that we need to take the next step. I guess worse deals have been done before, so maybe we can get a steal. But imo that is what it would be. a huge huge gamble by Oakland for a proven commodity.

   Anyways, another data point on Free Agency, Eduardo Rodriguez, a 28 year old SP with a 3.7 and 3.8 WAR (tied for 19th overall in MLB) the past 2 seasons just agreed to a $77m/5 year deal, which is $15.4m AAV. If his prior 2 year’s WAR holds, that is $4 mil per WAR. Either the value per WAR has come down considerably, or maybe there was a weak market due to his injury history. But that seems like a great deal for Detroit.

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   1. The best argument against a Bohm+ for Chapman trade happening is the fact that other MLB teams can exceed our offer, which would mean an overpay by whomever acquires him. This is one debate where the opposing views are so polarized. If the Phillies were in utter rebuild mode as opposed to win-now mode, I would never consider the idea. But with Dave Dombrowski….???

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   2. ….and WOW! The Detroit/EdRod signing is huge….is this an indicator of how the market will unfold…active and generous?!?!

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      1. One additional thought…should some teams aggressively pursue the higher end free agent talent, how might that affect the CBA negotiations, with big fish signing big contracts early?

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         1. Looking at ERod’s stats, what would Suarez get if he maintains moderate+ success?

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            1. A lot can happen before he hits FA, but pitching is expensive. You figure that a #2 pitcher should easily get $20M per year in the not so distant future.

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            2. If Suarez pitches very well this year, they may be well advised to look into an extension that is similar to what they gave Nola. They need some cost-controlled players to make this all work long-term.

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      2. It surprised me to see Detroit’s total tax allocations at roughly $127 million with est. tax space of $86 million but Cabrera’s $29 million makes up almost 38% of that.

         That extension handed out by DD or possibly Illitch senior before he passed was crazy 8/$248 million and it runs for another 4 seasons.

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   3. Latest Value of WAR….Fangraphs:

      Non-Adjusted Cost of a Win in Free Agency
      Offseason Cost of a Win in Free Agency
      2018 $8.1 M/WAR
      2019 $6.8 M/WAR
      2020 $8.0 M/WAR

      https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-cost-of-a-win-in-free-agency-in-2020/

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      1. Thanks Romus, interesting stats. I’d like to schedule a meeting with Middleton, and unleash my sales experience on him. I can provide a lot of “value” for the money. He can pay 8 million for a 1.0 war or …. He can pay me 5% if that … for a hellva a value. I got speed, great team “cheerleader”, and willing to get by pitches to earn my WAR rating. Heck, I’ll carry equipment too. Again … I present a hellva value

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         1. Tac3…first get a few years of Tampa Ray way experience under your belt…then you are in the driver’s seat, as the expression goes. 🙂

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         2. To heck with you, I can give this team INNINGS! Literally, as many as they would like!

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            1. If I hear that a pitcher we sign for the rotation is an “innings eater”, I will puke!🙄🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

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            2. You need me to represent you? I can up the “value” of the proposal. You’re just going
               To have to fork over a portion of that stupid money. I don’t want to hear it, I’m willing to lead the league in the HBP category. That’s entertainment, especially down the stretch!

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   4. It’s a great contract for Rodriguez, who has a no trade clause AND an opt out after the second year. The Tigers are paying him as a 2 WAR player. If he sucks or gets injured, the Tigers are on the hook. If he proves that 2019 wasn’t a fluke (where he posted 6.1 WAR), he’ll opt out and get seriously paid at age 31.

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      1. Tigers has a lot of potential in their pitching and farm prospects….many youngsters with good stuff….in two years most should have matured enough to be regulars in the majors..either as starters or relievers in a pinch.

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10. Fascinating to see what teams jump into the FA/trade market and for whom pre-Dec. 1st..

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11. CBS Sports predicting Phillies signing Javier Baez (IF) & Nick Castellanos (LF).

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    1. Rather have Suzuki for LF…they (CBS) have him going to the Rangers….he could coem a little less expensive than Castellanos.

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    2. Baez is going to go a team where he can start. If the Phillies sign Baez, Didi is gone.

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    3. Personally, I have no interest in Javier unless it is a 1 year deal at a low AAV because there isn’t much of a market for him. I have zero interest in a long term deal for Javier. IMO, he has always been over valued because of his flashy plays. He makes a lot of highlight plays, but has a terrible OB% and makes a lot of errors. hard pass for me.

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       1. Agree. Too many holes in his swing too.

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    4. Shows what they know. After how Baez reacted to the Mets fans, there is no chance that he would be a good fit here. It’s not all about the SABR numbers – humans and their personalities are involved too.

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12. This team has a lot of holes, but I truly believe DD has multiple paths to fixing them, quickly, that can get them into that playoff window of 3- 4 years.

    Siemen, Schwarber, & Marte
    Vs
    Castellanos & Baez
    Vs
    List goes on.

    This is possible because of Stott! Thank you Stott

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13. I would love Castellanos. Pure rake. Glove be damned. Let him and Hoskins split DH duties. I would prefer another big lefty bat like Schwarber, but maybe Stott becomes that 5-slot 25 homer/40 double dude.

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14. If people really want to trade Nola (I don’t for the record), here is a deal that makes sense for both sides IMO:

    Nola to the Padres for Dinelson Lamet, Trent Grisham and a prospect in the 6 – 12 range.

    Lamet goes into our rotation. The hope is that Eflin comes back as our #2. Grisham solves one of our OF spots and we get a high upside prospect.

    I still would rather have Nola, but if you want to fix a few holes with one big trade, then this would get it done. This also has a nice story line for SD of reuniting the Nola brothers.

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    1. Last week I proposed Aaron Nola to rejoin his catching brother Austin in SD for CJ Abrams, Mackenzie Gore and Will Myers and his salary, who could play corner OF and 1b. Gore may not have the luster he once had but perhaps a change of system/scenery candidate? Limet would be a good return piece if DD added another player to join Nola.

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       1. The package should include Weathers and Gore plus a prospect. Not being short change.

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          1. Doubt Preller lets Weathers go in any package with Gore, both lefties and Morejon is questionable to start the year……Phillies have already scouted RHP Reiss Knehr, he was on the same HS team with LHP Kyle Young, and the Phillies do scout heavily in the Long Island territory…he may be an arm that could be in a San Diego return package. But I would not see him as being the ‘key piece’ in that trade…have to be a little more.

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    2. Lamet…turns 30 next season, and an injury risk…both forearm issues and hip issues this past season.
       Can be precursor to other more serious concerns the longer he pitches.
       I’d think Dave D would pass on him and try another on their roster

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       1. Would love to get Paddack, but I doubt that he is available.

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          1. I agree a Nola trade would have to bring back pieces to fill multiple holes on this club. IMO, the Padres are already flush with arms. AJ Preller will more likely be in search of bats this offseason. San Diego would be more interested in Rhys Hoskins than Aaron Nola. In addition, I feel you are undervaluing Nola (again) with that proposed deal.
             I see the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Rays as the best fits for a Nola trade. Those teams need SP, and have good depth of young MLB players/upper level prospects to surrender. The Yankees could also be a fit. After that, BoSox/ChiSox/Angels are clubs that might love Nola, but might have a hard time providing Dombrowski with the return he’d be looking for.

             DD has nothing to lose by listening to offers on Nola. He should hang a premium price tag around his neck. If another team meets the price, deal Nola. If not, you hold on to him (that’s not a bad outcome either).

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             1. Further…any trade with the Padres may also come to mean taking one of either Myers’ or Hosmer’s contract off their hands.

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                1. … and Dombrowski may look to offload Didi in a Nola deal. Can’t see the Padres doing that.

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15. I agree with v1, no interest in Baez. I honestly think the team believes Stott can stay at SS. I have no idea if they are correct, but I think their statements are an accurate picture of the team’s viewpoint, so I don’t see any of the FA SSs on our radar. I know the National viewpoint is Stott can’t stay there, so we are rumored to be in on every SS, but this won’t be the first time the team had a different viewpoint than the National folks.

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    1. Pass on Baez here. Not sure how CBS writer RJ Anderson is forming these predictions but the only SS that I see fitting the Phillies needs is Marcus Semien, and he may not fit Dombrowski’s off season spending plans. However, versatility will IMO play a role in his actions. QO notwithstanding, guys like Semien (ss/2b/3b) and Bryant (3b/OF) profile well to fit our needs, if not fiscally.

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       1. Mark, I’d be thrilled to have Semien, even more so if he can be had on a 3 year deal. Semien gets on base, which leads to more runs. Teams with the most TB, correlated to the top running scoring teams. Phillies were able to knock in 33.4% of all base runners, and finished middle of the road for runs scored. The top 8 teams finish in TB, were all playoff teams minus TOR. They were close. Semien is a top 10 player for Total bases. Reynolds is up there too, which is why I think the 2 of them, plus Harper really help improve the team. Phils scored 4.5 runs per game last year, top offenses are above 5 runs per game. Getting players with high TB totals are key imo.

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          1. You might get Schwarber on a 3 year deal but I seriously doubt you’ll Semien on such a deal. In terms of price and length (minimum 5 years), think Josh Donaldson’s contract AAV and then some. It might (or might not) be worth it, but it won’t be a bargain by any means.

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16. Some kid from Philly Sports Network (?) posted a piece today naming 5 “under the radar” free agents the Phillies should try to sign: utility IF Hanser Alberto; C Pedro Severino; veteran Brett Gardner to be a 4th OF; SP Jon Gray (I actually would like to sign him as a #5 despite his propensity for giving up the long ball); and reliever Kirby Yates as a possible candidate to close after returning from injury the past couple years. I coveted him before. Any takers?

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    1. Mark8:29, they all are smart under the radar moves. The team should look to do at least 1 or 2 of such type of moves. I like the Severino idea.

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    2. I liked what I saw from Alberto when he played against us.

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17. Thanks Jim, don’t change the system on my account. I guess some don’t want to hear other’s ideas.
    I don’t believe any of the early national stories because they tend to come from agents planting stories. DD has been a 100% straight shooter so far. Listen to his comments. He doesn’t think spending superstar money is the right move now. He also thinks Stott will stay at SS. He believes in Bohm bouncing back and staying at 3B. He doesn’t want a single guy as DH, he wants multiple players to share it. He wants a lead off hitter, preferably in CF, and prefers a lefty power bat in LF. He wants an upgrade at C but wants Marchan and OHoppe to play every day at AAA and AA. And he wants a closer but would love Neris back as a setup guy. And JT will stay as a C.
    He’ll try to sign free agents where he can and then make trades when he has to. Put all that together. I don’t see a Chapman deal or a big SS signing in those words. Lots of other possible moves are being considered however.

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    1. And DD also said he’d rather not lose draft picks.

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18. OK, Murray, how does Knebel, Schwarber and Marte fit? Not SS $, and I don’t think more than 3 year deals.

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    1. Matt 13 – those are my picks as well. Still should leave room for some other fill-the-gap minor signings, such as Galvis and perhaps Neris and players from other teams.

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       1. Looking at the current lineup the team needs 2 OF’ers and at least 1 hitter needs to be a lefty. So Schwarber makes sense.

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    2. Those are solid additions, matt. Plus a few glue bench players like Brad Miller and a backup C and we’re set. If Dombrowski wasn’t steering the ship, I wouldn’t be pondering a blockbuster move which is his trademark, no pun intended.

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    3. I think those three could be the first group chased. Obviously other teams will pursue them as well however.

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19. I still think DD adds some Pitching help through a trade, just not the blockbuster variety. Like Manea from the A’s. And, I just feel that he has been telling us what he believes re: Bohm and Stott, and spreading the $ around. I could be completely wrong, but I just don’t get the sense that he is puffing up the value of Bohm and Stott to enhance their trade values. Whatever he does, I am anxious for him to get started.

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    1. Agreed, that doesn’t seem like his style. I’ll take him at his word until he shows otherwise. He’ll chase Marte to a number. If he can’t get him, I think he’ll try to trade Rojas in a package for Reynolds or K Marte. Plan B on LF could be Joc. I also think they’ll sign another #5 SP like the Andersen they tried to trade for. Shouldn’t cost much. Neris and even Bradley could be back if the #s are right. Melancon is another closer they’ll talk to about a one year deal

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       1. Murray – you took the words off my screen when you mentioned Tyler Anderson, the Pirate hurler, DD tried to get him but couldn’t due to Pirate hesitation on physicals for one of Phils’ prospects. I think he is perfect to obtain – solid 4/5 starter, lefty, and cost effective – “can slide to the bullpen if other pitchers were healthy…” Team will need at least 7 starters – he can be one for a period of time.

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20. Come on DD, throw us bone!

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21. Just FYI; Gregorius has his best years on even number years. So 2022 will be his year #comebackplayeroftheyear Wooooooooooooooooo!

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    1. Good…DD can mention that to his counterpart in trade talks😁

       Despite the QO, let’s not forget Chris Taylor as a viable FA signing, especially should Marte sign elsewhere first.

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    2. Then again Bob D,
       …he will probably be avaiable again in 2024….at a lower salary. 🙂

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22. mark, I really like Chris Taylor, and although there is a QO, he may very well be a target. I think DD will try to avoid giving up the #2 pick, and it may take until after the new CBA, hoping that the QP penalty is less. And, there will be other suitors for everyone. But, Taylor also fits the mode of playing many positions and hitting very well wherever he plays.

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    1. Thought I read and I could be mistaken but the Dodgers because they were over the lux tax will not get a compensation pick for Taylor until after the 4th round.

       Not sure under current system what that would mean for the Phillies if they signed him.

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       1. DMAR…they still lose their 2nd round pick…at least that is the rule for the next 15 days….maybe after that and the new CBA it will change.

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          1. Romus, do you think it is worthwhile comparing the average WAR, or some other evaluator for Phillies 2nd round picks over the past 10 years, let’s say, to the WAR of the potential pick up as a good metric?

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23. There are a few points that need to be factored in our expectations. Murray itemized some already…

    • I agree that Dombrowski will NOT sign a free agent bat strictly as a DH, assuming there is one. There will be a rotation, including a guy like Brad Miller if he’s re-signed. JTR, the new LF, Hoskins and occasionally Harper.

    • Positional versatility will be a key in at least one off season acquisition. That’s why Chris Taylor is a viable free agent target despite the QO.

    • One potential surprise – OF Seiya Suzuki. He’s a good corner OF glove and he’s been compared to Avisail Garcia with the ceiling of Acuna. 2022 will be his age 28 (Aug) season. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes picked the Phillies as his landing post. That and a buck and change gets you coffee at Wawa. But I would not put it past DD to sit back, weigh the risk at wait for Suzuki to be posted by the NPB while tending to other team needs. I can see DD and Bryce Harper hopping on a plane to the land of the rising sun to pitch the Phillies to him. 5/$60M may get it done, along with the $10M+ posting fee. Risky but not prohibitive.

    • Starting pitching isn’t a need, per se, but with Eflin on the shelf for the first part of 2022, I think it’s reasonable to acquire a 4/5 option with inevitable injuries and poor performance. A free agent like Jon Gray or trading for Sean Manaea are possibilities.

    • Spreading free agent money around to meet all the team needs probably eliminates Bryant, Semien, and the other top FA SS’s, which taking DD at his word makes sense. So yes, Schwarber, Marte and Knebel figure to be sensible targets.

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    1. Suzuki will also come a lot less expensive …AAV…then typical guys like Castellanos
       or Schwarber.
       That is a plus i his favor….and he may be a better defensive fielder than other LFers on the market.

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24. I love the idea, both of you, and wouldn’t it be an out of the box move for us, a team that never has been successful in the Japanese market? I just don’t know that DD has any more of an ability to attract a player from Japan to Philly than any of the other team executives we have had. Even Uncle Charlie, a legend in Japan, never was able to bring us a Japanese player.

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25. I actually think a good SP is best to aim for. Maybe Matz or someone similar. FYI Eflin may not miss much of the season if any at all. But I say let them battle for spots

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26. Former Angels GM Billy Eppler has received an offer to become the Mess’ new GM. He’s reportedly traveling to California to talk it over with family (or he’s hoping to be talked out of the least attractive executive position in MLB).🤣

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    1. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/mets-offer-gm-billy-eppler-angels-yankees.html

       Great, Mets. Keep hiring failed employees from the teams like the Angels. Right on!!

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       1. thought this when I saw it last night as well LOL

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27. Fortunately, Hinkie turned them down, and will remain here as a special Advisor to the POBO!

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28. Indeed, Matt13. Hinkie is tied up working on a chef for Suzuki….

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    1. I suppose Tony Luke’s or the Bull’s BBQ Pit will not be enough to entice him.

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29. For all of you who like Taylor for his positional versatility, if he’s the everyday CF, that versatility is lost. Combine that with the draft pick loss, I don’t see the value of Taylor as a LF

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30. Add Mariners MiLB coach Joe Thurston to the list of personnel who won’t be returning next season. He’ll be taking a Triple-A job with the Phillies. Sad to see another coach of Thurston’s caliber, and another coach of color leaving the organization, but we wish him the best.

    — Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) November 15, 2021

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    1. Joe Thurston will be the Triple-A hitting coach under recently hired manager Anthony Contreras.

       Both are serving in the same roles for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League where 7 Phillies’ prospects are on their rosteer.

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31. A settlement today between the Phillies and the Phillie Phanatic co-creators allows the #Phillies to use the original design of the Phanatic again, if they choose.

    I’d bet on the original Phanatic coming back. pic.twitter.com/BwPeigSP88

    — Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 15, 2021

    .

    Thank God. The Phake Phantic was difficult to digest.

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    1. An Athletic article ( for those with a subscription)that came out 2 hours after all the local baseball writers announced the return of the original Phanatic puts that in question.

       The article starts – “The Phillie Phanatic can now flap its arms, honk its snout, and generally delight with hijinks, pratfalls, and shenanigans without worrying about a trip to the courthouse. At least the new version can.”

       Back in August the Phillies received a favorable ruling against the claim that the alterations to the original Phanatic constituted counterfeiting of the creators’ intellectual property. The judge’s ruling in favor of the Phillies probably hastened the settlement reached today.

       Per today’s settlement, the Phillies retain the right to use the new version of the Phanatic. Oddly enough, today’s settlement does NOT address the use of the original Phanatic directly. “It alludes to the fact that they’ll be able to go back to that.”

       Neither side commented on the settlement.

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       1. Thanks for the “heads up” on that Athletic story, Jim. The author, and the copyright attorney he uses in the article do seem to leave the question of what Phanatic will be at CBP going forward an open ended question. Although, near the end of the piece, the attorney does state … “It would seem really strange, though, to have a settlement agreement where they have to use the new Phanatic, and they can’t use the old one.”
          In addition, Todd Zolecki (who is clued in to the organization) mentions the settlement allows the Phillies to use the original design of the Phanatic again, if they choose. And he bets on the original Phanatic coming back.

          Matt Breen (Inquirer) is also reporting the old Phanatic is returning.

          Today's settlement paves the way for the old Phillie Phanatic to return to Citizens Bank Park. I misread the settlement. Phillies now have the option to use the old one or the new one. Obviously, they'll use the old one. Farewell, new Phanatic.

          — Matt Breen (@matt_breen) November 15, 2021

          .

          But unless the Phillies actually make a public statement on the matter, we won’t be 100% certain until the Phanatic shows up for spring training.

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          1. Yeah, I saw ALL those posts, too, before I finally posted my comment. They came out two hours before the athletic article. I know writers competing to be the first to break a story would never dismiss fact-checking before publishing a story. (sarcasm)

             I just wanted to share an article that told the story better than the early posts and subsequent short articles did.

             Personally, I couldn’t care less which Phanactic is used as long as the team plays better and wins.

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32. Defense on left side of the infield and CF are musts. Kiermaier would be ideal in CF for 2 years while Rojas develops. Chapman at 3B in Bohm package. SS Jose Iglesias? Stott to 2B, Segura for Kimbrell. Easy to make decisions when you have no authority. LOL

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    1. ………that’s ok, Larry you are right at home on here. This is the “hoping” time of the year where all the GM wanna be’s congregate to discuss how many angels can dance on a hat pin, which have damaged wings can’t fly, and than argue the merits of each angel.

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33. Based on what DD said I see the offseason shaking out along the lines of Marte for CF. In LF in this particular order. Bryant (prob not gonna happen but I can dream), schwarb, then castellanos. I really think the draft pick compensation will be a big deal for DD.

    They’ll address the inf with a smaller signing like Galvis and have stott, didi, bohm, jean, hoskins, and another smaller piece. I know the infield situation is not sexy but they would’ve just rebuilt the OF with those moves.

    Bullpen will be neris, a knebel type, and i can see a trade of some of the young OF like MM and Hasely, for some upside rp.

    I may be a crackpot but if thor doesn’t accept the mets QO why not throw a 2 year deal at him for $40m and see what shakes out. Oh well, just my 2 cents.

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    1. Sibs …. You totally jinxed that Thor signing :). Looks like he’s going to be an Angel. I’ll take it, it should make the Mets weaker

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       1. Phillies can add wins by great pitchers leaving East.

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       2. Ha, I just saw that. In that case I hope the phillies don’t sign the rest of the guys I mentioned and don’t trade MM for vlad guerrero. Let’s see what happens.

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34. JTR comes in at number 5 in Bleacher Report.

    https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2949610-mlb-player-rankings-top-25-catchers-of-2021-season

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    1. JT strikes me as one of those players whose bat will age like fine wine, while his other skills diminish over time. The Phillies will do well to nurture O’Hoppe along so that by 2023/24 we can transition the catching position.

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       1. Agree…..and with the DH it will also help him extend his career and possibly continue to be productive at the plate….at least for the Phillies sake for the next four years.

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          1. I don’t know, guys. I think you need to play JT at 1B or DH a little to give him a rest and extend his career, but, by far, his highest and best value is as a catcher. He’s a huge overpay at first or DH, and that’s assuming his offense doesn’t decline, which is a very big assumption.

             We are not talking about Mike PIazza here.

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             1. Not Piazza unless JTR starts a steroid regiment.

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    2. If course the dodgers and rays home grew 2 of the best catchers in baseball. They are so frustratingly good!

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       1. Tac3….Zunino was a Mariner for a long time…..and up in the Northwest considered a quasi- bust for a third overall pick, with only that one very good year…..he has come on with the Rays in his later years..

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35. Stott and O’Hoppe combine for both hits and only run in yesterday’s Javelinas loss, 2-1. Stott singled and O’Hoppe doubled him home.

    Jame McArthur started and went 4 innings 3 hits, 1 run & 4ks. 72 pitches 47 strikes. No decision.

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    1. Denny……james McArthur is interesting…I tink the Phillies will give himhis debut this upcoming season…possibly in the June/July timeframe..that is if he stays healtyh while at LHV.
       A SEC pitcher at one time, he does have a varied set of pitches…..maybe nothing plus-plus but enough to settle in as a very competetn back of the rotation starter,
       He can get it up to 97 at times but usually sits in that 92-95 depending on using his 4Smr or 2Smr. The off speed pitches like his slider or change-up are probably a 50 graded pitch.
       What he has going for him…is his height and reach…so that isa plus since the ball get up on the batter fairly quick.
       I like to see how he does at LHV .

       https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcarth000jam

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       1. We might have a rotation at LHV of McArthur, Crouse, Medina, Morales, Eastman, Evanko, Perkins, Hendrickson. I started out feeling good then my glee faded after completing and reviewing. Any thoughts?

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          1. I’m not sure what you’re expecting. The elite talent (Abel and Painter) are in the lower ranks. There’s enough depth at Lehigh to mix and match injuries at the MLB level, which is way better than bottom feeding for starting pitching.

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             1. I basically got excited when I started the comment and then the excitement waned. Thought I would send anyway for yall’s responses.

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                1. Denny…I can somewhat excited over Crouse, Morales and maybe McArthur.
                   They have reasonable chances of being in a major league rotation soon.
                   I do think Morales will break-out this season at LHV.

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          2. Yes, Romus. IMO McArthur is a lock to be added to the 40-man this month. Braeden Ogle is the other young pitcher I think has a good chance of being added.

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36. Looks like Thor may be an Angel soon.

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    1. This is crazy, Syndergaard has pitched a total of 2 innings the last 2 seasons. For that he got paid prorated $9.7M for 2020 and $9.7M for 2021. And now he gets 1 year, $21M from the Angels? It’s good to throw hard.

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       1. One man’s “crazy” is another man’s “stupid.” It might work, but it’s a huge price to pay for even a one year deal where you are also going to lose a draft pick. But this is why the Angels are always in the hole.

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          1. From what I hear, Angels aren’t a great drafting team, so… not as big a loss on the draft pick. Also, it today’s draft, slot money is important. Unless they change all those Dynamics, I’d be more than willing to gamble on Thor. Trout,Rendon, & Ohani
             Are in their primes. They need to go for it. That draft pick is likely 3-4 years away, and might be like Addell … taking forever … if ever

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             1. It’s a very risky bet and a steep price for a guy who has not been healthy. If I’m the Angels and I think about doing that deal, I want an option for year 2 at the very least (may have to agree to a buyout). It was a desperation deal. Could it work out? Sure it could. Was it a smart move? I don’t think so.

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                1. Angels need starters……and if Thor comes back healthy they could be in the wild-card picture untll the end next season…….do not think they will surpass the Astros yet, and the Ms are coming on now.
                   But a healthy Thor with Ohtani in the rotation could be their ticket to the play-offs……..for Trout’s sake I think that would be nice.

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                2. Even if healthy, how many innings do they project from a guy who will be 2 seasons removed from the 197 he threw in 32 games in 2019 when the 2022 season starts.

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37. Wow, the Blue Jays just gave Jose Berrios 7 years, $131M. This buys out his last arbitration year. I don’t know what the discount was, but Berrios got the money he said he wanted. However, this likely puts the Blue Jays out of the running to re-sign Robbie Ray.

    Marcus Stroman has to be looking for the same thing.

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    1. That’s a big contract, but Berrios is very young. He will only be 34 when that contract ends and his pitching approach is not hugely velocity dependent. He has also been relatively healthy. They are paying him much as the Yankees used to pay guys like Andy Pettitte. Take a consistent guy who routinely gives up 2-4 runs, score a lot of runs for him and watching him win 15-20 games every year. There are worse strategies.

       Anyway, this gives you a pretty good idea of how much Nola would be worth on the open market. More than this, that’s for sure.

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       1. Yes. As I mentioned earlier (further above), DD has nothing to lose by setting a premium price on Nola, and taking offers. If someone meets it (Cardinals/Rays/Blue Jays/Yankees), deal him. If not, you hold on to him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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          1. Yeah, no harm in shopping him and see what offers you get.

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          2. ….and Padres too, Hinkie. Abrams, Gore and Myers, perhaps another top 10 prospect as well.

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             1. mark … I also mentioned this above (same post) … the Padres are probably more interested in bats/Hoskins than arms/Nola. San Diego has plenty of pitching. Unfortunately for them, lots of them went down in 2021 with injuries. Most will be back for 2022. The Padres have got to lengthen their LU beyond Cronenworth/Tatis/Machado.

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    2. I’ll forever hate the blue jays for 93’, they got in my better graces by trading Doc to “us” for essentially squat, and if Robbie ray makes his way to the Phillies, I wouldn’t be too upset but .. I’d still hate them. There is no forgiveness for the 93 postseason. If I had a time machine, I’d definitely mess with that moment in time. Have Incaviglia throw his glove up to miraculously knock the ball down, make a diving lunging catch before it hits the ground, then quickly pops up to double off Henderson. Stun all those sumabitch fans 🙂 Yes, TOR better hope I never get hold of a time machine, they’d be on min list!

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       1. ….searching wallet for the Tac3 Time Machine fund donation…..

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38. Hinkie “Most Likely To Be Traded” list:

    1. Adonis Medina
    2. Logan O’Hoppe
    3. Roman Quinn
    4. Aaron Nola
    5. Didi Gregorius (would probably be included in a Nola deal)

    Adam Haseley is in a weird spot. He’s another guy who should make the list, but may not be dealt because of his (unknown) personal situation, and the fact that his value is at rock bottom.

    I personally would listen to offers on Ranger Saurez (would offer him in a package to Oakland for Laureano & Manaea), but I didn’t want to set this place on fire by adding him to the list.

    … and the Hinkie “Off Limits” List (aka my top 4 Phillies prospects):

    1. Andrew Painter
    2. Mick Abel
    3. Johan Rojas
    4. Bryson Stott

    These guys can only be considered for a younger all-star caliber player under multiple years of team control (Bryan Reynolds). And to get Reynolds, Dombrowski would have to surrender at least two (probably three) of the four on the “Off Limits” list to compete with Miami/Milwaukee/Atlanta/half dozen other teams who would be in on the bidding.

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    1. As I think about it, I think the one guy with value (Medina, Quinn and Gregorious have little to no to negative value – I don’t care if they get traded) most likely to be traded is Bohm. DD is trying to fix the defense and he’s too smart to have a left side of the infield with Stott and Bohm. He’s been saying Bohm can field third, in my view, mostly to enhance his trade value. Losing O’Hoppe would be painful.

       As for Nola, you’d need an overwhelming offer to consider moving him. I don’t think it’s likely, but I’m not sure it would shock me either.

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       1. If there were a Nola offer from the Yankees….I’d first start with Jasson Dominguez in the return package, along with a few of their minor league pitching prospects.

          If it were from the Dodgers…Bellinger, and also 2 or maybe even 3 of their pitching prospects from their top 15 list.

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       2. I agree on the unlikelihood of Bohm and Stott side by side on the infield unless they were 1b and 2b. Was it Jayson Stark who suggested a probability of Hoskins being traded? Not sure how much traction still remains with that…not rooting for that to happen but there’s a LOT that could conceivably take place in the weeks ahead should early off season activity continue to escalate.

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    2. What did the Brewers really give up for Yelich? If you want Brian Reynolds it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up that much…

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       1. DMAR … it does if the Pirates are asking the Marlins for three of their top 10 prospects. And Miami has a top 5 system. The Phillies OTOH have a bottom five.

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          1. Perhaps! Who is Ng willing to give up for Reynolds? She lost 95 games last year…

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             1. DMAR…Marlins probably have the best farm system in the NL-East…..and to top it off….they have the best farm minor-league pitchers.

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                1. I guess I don’t see it but even that won’t be enough to pry Reynolds away from Ben.

                   https://rumbunter.com/2021/11/13/pittsburgh-pirates-teams-afford-reynolds/2/

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                2. There are many ways to look at this.
                   Ben Cherington should realize the best farm system does not always win rings.
                   Look what happened to him in Boston…dave D comes in and right away gets Sale from the WSox for their best two or three prospects….and the BoSox get a ring.
                   Now getting 3 premier prospects from the MArlins….MLB ready players no less, like Sixto for one…could mean more for the Buccos long range
                   Marlins, otoh, need more than Reynolds.

                   I think Ben would make the deal for those MLB-ready prospects, especially since reynolds will be a big payday soon…I doubt Jeter and Ng give up that much for Reynolds.

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                3. Remember the ol’ Von 5-for-1 Hayes trade? It would take Bohm, Rojas, Abel, Marchan and Miller to get Reynolds…maybe.

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39. HERE WE GO, BABY!!

    Whaddaya got for us, DD?!?!?!

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40. While we wait for the free agent thunder to follow today’s lightning, here’s a dream sequence for 2025….

    Johan Rojas cf
    Alec Bohm 1b/DH
    Bryce Harper rf
    JT Realmuto dh/1b
    Bryson Stott 3b
    Logan O’Hoppe c
    Jordan Viars lf/dh
    Alexeis Azuaje 2b
    Luis Garcia ss

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    1. mark, I think we get someone this off season that will still be a Starter in 2025, plus I don’t see the player that you got in your Rhys Hoskins trade? I do appreciate all the young players making it!

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41. Mr. Hinkie – What is it that you see in Ogle that I don’t. Didn’t he pretty much get pounded in LHV – 19 innings, 30 hits, and a whole slew of runs?

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    1. ciada … two reasons.

       1. Ogle fits the profile of a guy you’re most likely to lose in the rule 5 draft: LHP with a big arm.

       2. Dombrowski just traded for him four months ago. I think he likes his arm, and will want to see more of him.

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    2. Ogle’s 2021 K/9 before he was traded was 11.9 unfortunately his BB/9 were 6.5 so there is something there if you believe you can straighten out his command.

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    3. We do need a LH batting practice thrower.

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       1. Denny…after last season at LHV…I feel many have stopped ogling over Ogle, Hopefully this season he gets it straightened out….hate to see Ogle ever become an oogle.

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          1. Lol 🥸🥸🥸🥸🥸🥸!

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          2. Oooooooooooooooooo I see what you did there

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42. rumor has it Thor is joining the Angles for 21million on a 1 year deal. Did he turn down the Phillies for something similar? Who knows!

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    1. Why would the Phillies be in the market for a starting pitcher, especially at that number? The starting rotation is probably one of the few strengths we have. There’s Wheeler, Nola, Suarez, Gibson, Eflin (injured) and at least 2 depth starters in Crouse and Falter. The Phillies have other needs besides spending $21M on Thor.

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       1. 2 innings in 2 years and gets $21,000,000.00

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          1. I’ll bet the LADs thought they were (more than) good with their starting rotation to start 2021. They had Kershaw/Bauer/Buehler/Urias/May/Gonsolin/Price, and then added Scherzer in the summer. By the time they reached the NLCS, they were using BP games because of injuries and legal problems.
             The SDPs are another team that loved their rotation depth before the season. AJ Preller had assembled Darvish/Snell/Musgrove/Clevenger/Paddack/Lamet/Morejon/Gore. They were so giddy with that group, they gave away Joey Lucchesi for not a whole lot. Their rotation was a mess half way through the season.
             Point is … you can never have enough pitching.

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             1. You especially can’t have enough pitching of Thor’s ilk.

                The beautiful thing about that contract is it’s only really a risk insofar as injury is a risk. Even if he pitches poorly, someone will take a chance on him at the deadline. And if he pitches well and they’re still out of it, they’re going to get a haul with way more value than the surrendered pick.

                I was hopeful if he was taking a 1 year contract that the Phils would be the one to get him, but oh well.

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             2. If you have young pitchers as depth, you can do what you want with them. Assuming Thor takes Eflin’s spot in the rotation, what happens when Eflin comes back? He’s not a reliever, and if the Phillies put him in the bullpen against his wishes, he’ll walk into FA next season and won’t look back. And the Philies will definitely not QO him.

                Unless you’re the Dodgers who have money to burn, you can’t have Eflin likely making around $6M-$7M being the 6th starter and hanging out in the bullpen likely not being effective.

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                1. Angels seem to be a team with money to burn also…Moreno’s hot cash may next go after Justin Verlander, if he becomes a free agent
                   And probably another short/pillow contract…though I think two years will get Verlander.

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                2. Why would Thor bump Eflin? If anything, he’d bump Gibson (who I still don’t understand why so many are enamored with him. He’ll likely be average if we can be a good defensive team, and that’s a big if). He’d also be a hedge against Suarez having a sophomore slump.

                   But even if Eflin DID lose his spot… so what? He’s going into FA next year regardless, and while he’s always had upside he’s never had Thor’s upside. He’s valuable because he’s cheap, and starting next year he won’t be cheap.

                   It’s a moot point regarding Thor anyways, but the main concern here is you don’t just refuse to upgrade your rotation because it’s already good. If you have Hamels, Halladay, and Oswalt already but Cliff Lee is available, you look into that. We wouldn’t think twice about replacing Segura with Turner. Should be the same here.

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43. Howie Kendrick joins the Front Office, and a guy named Brian Kaplan added as Director of Pitching development.

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44. DD knows that FO signings don’t play on the field right?

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45. Just for the record, congrats to Gabe Kapler on winning the NL Manager of the Year award. I was not a fan of him here, and I don’t think there was any chance he could have done here what he did in SF. But, he deserves credit, and since he has taken a lot of criticism from a lot of us here, I just wanted to offer him kudos.

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    1. It was just ridiculous how Middleton threw Kapler under the bus for the mismanagement of Klentak/MacPhail. Congratulations to Gabe MOY.

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       1. I agree that he got the short end of the stick. But on the other hand, there’s literally zero chance he has that level of success in Philly. So I guess it was for the best for him. If we had kept him and gotten rid of the FO duo, I wonder what his career would have been like. After this season in SF, he likely has managerial options for life. Had he stayed here (and likely continued to miss the playoffs because of lack of resources), he probably goes to a rebuilding team next and if he doesn’t do well there, he’s probably out of chances.

          All speculation, of course, but he obviously wasn’t going to fix our issues here. So at least he got to go to a better situation.

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       2. They completely threw him under the bus, although he messed up a bunch of things here on the merits, including the indefensible firing of Kranitz for Young – a severe misjudging of coaching talent. The hitting coaches were no prize either.

          But, I remember when they fired him, someone asked why they didn’t fire Klentak instead and, basically, Middleton defended the traditional system, where a GM gets at least a single managerial firing before he/she is fired. MIddleton essentially told the person asking the question “hey, this is the way this works,” which is vaguely true if you stick to major league orthodoxy, but is entirely untrue in actuality. Middleton made all the final decisions – he could have kept Kapler if he wanted to do that.

          As for Kapler being annoying and unfit to remain here. Well, yeah, he was a bit hard to take. As for whether he could make it here under the right set of circumstances, I don’t see why he couldn’t. And once you start winning, you necessarily become less annoying. Like Francona, we broke in Kapler for the rest of his managerial career.

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46. Congrats to Kapler – in the end being fired by the Phillies may have been one of the best things that ever happened to him. I hope he has continued success (unless he is playing the Phillies)

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    1. Being fired by the Phillies is a blessing – just ask Rick Kranitz!

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       1. I do believe Kapler was the impetous in letting Rick Kranitz walk…in order to keep Young as PC.

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47. Barbarino, Washington, the late Epstein, and the late Horshack all congratulate Mr. Kottier on winning this award. And how can I forget the late Marcia Strassman. She and Jan Smithers always had a place in my heart. Good job, Gabe.

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    1. Lol – for Kapler his dreams were his ticket out!

       Basically, the award is his way of telling Middleton “up your nose with a rubber hose!”

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48. Kapler – right place, right time. I found him indigestible, condescending, and outright false. He was unctuous and feigned such need for approbation – he was repulsive – and literally impossible to listen to so that I turned tv/radio off whenever media would deign to give him a voice. Screech on the blackboard !!!! So he found the right stage, but it never would have been in Philly, was always my take. Tell it like it is, and to that point, I rooted against him in SF.

    Good for him that his “feel good” “20 ??” coach method resulted in an award – unlike another former Phillies manager, Mr. Francona, I don’t put them in the same bracket of the PHILLIES “getting great managers and pitching them before they grew up.” If it don’t fit – it don’t fit, and he did not fit the prototypical “Phillies” manager. You just can’t “B-S” us. Imagine, Bowa, Mauch, Owens, Chollie, Fregosi saying the gibberish that Kapler fed us ?

    Maybe some time ten years from now we will read an expose that the 2021 Giants, full of broken near retirement players, cast offs, and sundry pick ups off the junk heap of baseball parts — won 107 games because they had some magic “Ponce de Leon” elixir drink that returned youth / vigor and the ultimate WAR in unforeseen quantities to old men ? You have to wonder?

    Award or not, I still maintain he’s fine for the west coast, but it wasn’t going to play in the eastern big cities. Right place, right time, maybe the right elixir, after all ? I do not miss him, nor his future in in any way. Good riddance – No McKlentak, you didn’t make the right decision then or even now – so don’t gloat in this award’s afterglow.

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    1. Well said, RU. The blame game doesn’t assess how effective someone is. Klentak and MacPhail were clearly the problem during Kapler’s tenure here. Yet Kapler wasn’t the solution by a long stretch. His public “platform” was as satisfying as eating a veggie burger on a gluten free multigrain bun. Again, Uncle Charlie was by no means even a decent strategist. His best quality was patting a talented roster of players on the back and leaving them alone. Jimmy Rollins was his biggest challenge and yet JRoll at least showed some swagger in his leadership. Gabe seemed to handle his team of much lesser players like a lab experiment. Ask Aaron Nola. The front office’s incompetence and Kapler’s miscasting here were not mutually exclusive. Separate, yes. But one didn’t qualify the other.

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    2. RU, nice…………pretty much agree with you on Kapler. I don’t bear any animosity toward him, just glad he’s gone. I’m ok with however the karma works for him. He wasn’t Philly and the thing I hated the most about him was the persona he projected in having to protect the players from an umpire……….c’mon man.

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49. Erik Miller tonight for Peoria. I believe his ERA is now now around 1.75.

    2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 99 on stadium radar gun. If the 99 is official it’s the fastest for a LHP in the AFL this season.

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    1. As much as we dream on Abel and Painter arriving within the next 3 to 4 years, Erik Miller is one kid that screams TOR at me. A lefty with velo! My biggest concern with him is that he gets traded before he arrives in red pinstripes.

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    2. Is Miller going to be a starter or reliever?

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50. Denny that’s the $64 million dollar question..MLB Pipeline’s recap for yesterdays game/players had Miller throwing 23 pitches and 19 for strikes..For two innings of work very efficient with that many K’s. Held opposing AFL players this season to .188 BA in a very offense minded league..

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    1. Normally, when Miller throws upper 90s, he does it with a steep decline in control. If this is true (threw 99 MPH & 83% for Ks), that is very encouraging … at least for that one day.

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51. O’Hoppe and Stott still hitting, coming down to the last half-dozen games in the desert.
    O’Hoppe with his third HR.

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    1. Romus, from all accounts, this is the guy we need to hold onto. Bat is good and hear that his defense is good. We seem to draft catchers well or else it is dumb luck. Do you know how they rate his arm?

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       1. Skeet……55 from what I hear……better than average but not Alfaro like….but the arm is only one aspect…his pop-up time was exceptional….I have to find his time, I saw it in 2019 or maybe it was 2020 at the Alternate Site @ LHV…. but cannot recall.right now.

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52. Over on the “That Ball’s Outta Here” site, they are connecting dots. Jean Segura has scrubbed his IG account of any mention of the Phillies so they are speculating he is about to be traded.

    Jean Segura scrubbed his IG of all things Phillies and put this quote about privacy in his stories 😨😨 pic.twitter.com/JzPfmEHeba

    — PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) November 17, 2021

    .

    The only problem with all this is Segura has a no trade clause in his deal so if he is upset at being dealt, why would he even agree to it in the first place?

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    1. Although I am not necessarily advocating for a trade of Segura, this is one scenario where a lot of things make sense and various pieces, which seem to be an awkward fit (or no fit at all) now, fit well. You trade Segura, open up more salary, add a few prospects, Stott plays second base, you sign one of the big SS candidates – perhaps Semien, Bohm stays at third. Still plenty of dollars to sign a closer and a few more bats. I could definitely see this happening. Segura’s value will likely never be higher, so if you’re going to move him, now is the time.

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       1. Stott a SS and Maton or Didi platoon with Kingery at 2B.

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    2. Segura to the White Sox for Kimbrel has been put out there recently. Swapping comparable salaries to make room for greater needs? Not a Kimbrel guy myself but…

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       1. Kimbrel does well during the regular seasom…come play-offs…he seems to slip when facing the same batters over an extended series..

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       2. In that light I could see it happening. I think the White Sox will regret trading Madrigal big time…

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    3. Of course, the Phillies may have inquired of his agreeability to going…so he may have taken it to heart?

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    4. While peculiar I have a hard time believing a trade is imminent. He’s a fairly known quantity offensively and defensively on a team with a plethora of holes.

       And while Stott may eventually move off of SS I don’t think he projects to be worse than Didi.

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       1. Concern with Segura is his physical durability. He looks like with age he will not be sustainable with his hamstrings. He will play 3 weeks and then be out 10 days. Need younger and more physical version.

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          1. Well this is quite interesting! nothing on MLBTR though nor anything on twitter. Not even a rumor.
             If he was traded and nothing from the media about it, DD is a magician!

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             1. That’s pretty par for the course with the Phils, they don’t tend to leak stuff to the media like other teams do. That applies to both trades and signings; sometimes we’ll get tidbits of info, but often things will just be reported as getting close and then they’ll happen withing 24 hours. It also hinges on the players (and/or other teams) involved also not leaking things, but it happens pretty frequently.

                I’m not saying Segura is going to be traded. Just saying us not hearing anything about it doesn’t mean it ISN’T happening.

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    5. I flagged this to my son and he replied Segura did this last year too.

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    6. I follow him on IG, in the off season he post stuff living the good life, and some american and dominican fans tend to complain about him not working out in the off season, I think he is upset about that.

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53. The Oakland A’s are selling and have some intriguing players on the roster…the much mentioned Chapman, Laureano and Olson are worth pursuing. But it is their pitching that might hold some lesser known gold nuggets. The starter i would love to get is Frankie Montas but Sean Manea or James Kaprielian might be more realistic, I think Montas was the best starter in the A.L. last year. The bullpen had some successful arms that could help us too. I would love to get Chafin but they are probably not giving him up so maybe we target a local kid like Trevino. There are also 3 free agents that pitched well from the A’s bullpen last year that might help ….Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo and former Phil Jake Diekman. All three were decent in 2021

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    1. Pretty sure Chafin is a FA.

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       1. Wow…didn’t realize Chafin was available. Now that is someone I would target. A former Phillie I forgot to mention Deolis Guerra also pitched pretty well from their bullpen. The A’s team started and ended poorly but in between were very good. There are players from that team that could help the Phillies.

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54. Chafin is a free agent. Bowden in The Athletic, today, ranked him as the second best Loogy available.

    I think the aforementioned Segura for Kimbrel has some merit – relatively equal salaries and Sox need a 2b badly. Stott goes to 2B – DD leans on Didi or replaces/assists him among some of the available options.

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55. Regarding the Segura Instagram account controversy. Segura’s Instagram account was a sponsored account, for apparel I believe. Most of the photos posted were of him and/or his family in the clothing of the sponsor. When the sponsorship ended, the account was scrubbed. He is no longer tagged as a sponsored account. Don’t know who did the scrubbing, Jean or the sponsor.

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56. BTW, that is the real Larry Shenk posting above, former Phillies Director of Public Relations (1963-2008).

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    1. Welcome aboard, Baron! Appreciate your thoughts/ideas.

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57. For anyone holding your breath on the postseason award winners, the trend has been whoever presents the award has been an indication of who will win. Johnny Bench presented the NL ROY to India, Bochy to NL MOY Kapler, Orel Hershiser tonight’s NL Cy Young…probably Mad Max. But tomorrow night, Mike Schmidt presents the NL MVP. So…

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    1. It’s funny, I just assumed that there was no way Wheeler would win the award and that he’d be an afterthought as Nola was a couple of years ago, but a lot of legitimate sources think he’ll win it. As for Harper, I think he’s the clear odd-on favorite. I’d be surprised if Harper doesn’t win.

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58. Wow…didn’t realize Chafin was available. Now that is someone I would target. A former Phillie I forgot to mention Deolis Guerra also pitched pretty well from their bullpen. The A’s team started and ended poorly but in between were very good. There are players from that team that could help the Phillies.

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59. Very very sad to hear about Kuznetsov, was hoping he would get to play a few more years but maybe injuries and the distance were a problem. Hopefully he can maybe help baseball grow in Russia.

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60. Following AFL game. Stott only Phillie playing so far, 0-2 with RBI SF.

    Noticed that Hans Crouse isn’t on the roster anymore; anyone have the scoop?

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    1. Denny…well at least he got in 16 innings pitched …of the 120 plus pitchers in the league he ranks 18th in innings pitched….perhasp the Phillies said that was enough for the year at a total of 108 innings pitched this year, and just let him go home for the holidays.

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       1. Gotcha, thanks. Damon Jones pitched a scoreless inning today. 2hits & 2 ks. 12 strikes and 6 balls.

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          1. Oh, I see. Before his last outing (November 5th?, maybe), I saw a tweet that it would be his last start. He went five, I think. So, his departure was planned, not the result of an injury.

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    2. Which roster? He’s listed on both the Active and 40-Man Rosters on the Phillies site.

       https://www.mlb.com/phillies/roster
       https://www.mlb.com/phillies/roster/40-man

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       1. Denny meant AFL roster, I assume.

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          1. Yes……….https://www.mlb.com/arizona-fall-league/teams/peoria-javelinas

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          2. Right you are sir!

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61. I’m biased. No, not Javy Baez. But as a fan who had seen Nick Amed play his entire college career, I would really like to see a Gregorius-Amed trade. That would be one year of Gregorius at $15.250M for two years of Amed at $18,250.

    I realize that it won’t happen and I believe that Gregorius will be the starting SS in ’22 and hopefully has a nice comeback year. However, it does add great defense and a little pop to the lineup and you really can’t blame a Huskie lover for bringing it up.

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    1. Storrs it ciada….:)

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    2. This deal is definitely a possibility. We’d trade a hopeful bounce back offensively for an improvement in defense. I don’t think Bohm will get traded so putting Ahmed next to him would really help.

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62. ciada, I just don’t feel that Didi us back here. I also don’t think we sign one of the top FA SSs. I don’t know that Stott is ready or even a SS, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Galvis. I think LF and CF and Closer is where $ goes.

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63. If the Phillies don’t land Starling Marte, and can’t package enough to get either Bryan Reynolds or Ketel Marte, what do you think about this proposal?

    TWINS get:
    Alec Bohm 3b/1b
    Didi Gregorius ss
    Adam Haseley of
    Francisco Morales rhp
    Zach Warren lhp

    PHILLIES get:
    Byron Buxton cf
    Josh Donaldson 3b
    Joe Ryan rhp

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    1. I’d think we’d need to include Painter or Abel as well.

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       1. Neither should be included considering Buxton’s injury risk PLUS the fact that he’s a free agent after 2022, another risk factor of trying to extend/re-sign him next year. Donaldson brings leadership and stability to the roster, even if he’s trending downward in production. Taking his salary off Minnesota’s payroll through 2023 is a huge get for the Twins, even if they are taking Didi’s $15M back (although I can see the Phillies throw some cash there way in this case, maybe half). Joe Ryan is 25 and could be the Hans Crouse of this deal.

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    2. Ryan could slot in as the 5 starter until Eflin returns. Twins #6 prospect who I believe pitched well if briefly in a handful of Sept starts. 0.73 WHIP

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    3. Last night Chris Young on MLB Network said the Yankees could get Ketel Marte for Gallow, Austin Wells and Luis Medina

       As far as that proposal goes just to get Buxton a guy that can never seems to stay healthy I have to say no I think its crazy expensive.

       Donaldson is always hurt too.

       We keep looking for big name guys why not roll up our sleeves and start looking for a Randy Arozarena. Nobody ever heard of that kid until the Rays plucked him from the Cardinals and started him right away in 2020 after only 24 PA’s as a 24 y/o in 2019

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       1. DMAR…and we may have one of the Rays’ pluckers in our system now with the addition of Ani Kilambi …asst to Sam Fuld.
          So lets get plucking!

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       2. Maybe the Phillies should use that philosophy to take a prospect put them in the lineup or rotation and not make a decision after a small sample. Throw them in the deep end and let them sink or swim.

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          1. Denny……In Tampa they can afford to do that, wait and see thing…..but in Philadelphia that is not the modus operandi.
             Just be a little wary if the Rays ever want Adam Haseley

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             1. True. Just remember the ’70s.

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          2. I agree on “pushing” certain prospects up the ranks. Luis Garcia comes to mind. The Phillies have historically been WAY too skiddish in the name of “protecting” them. And I think it tends to stunt development of many worthy players who need to be advanced more aggressively. It shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all philosophy.

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             1. I disagree. Prospects tell you when they are ready by their performance. A player is ready when he is ready – namely, when he has mastered, and is no longer sufficiently challenged by, his league. When you promote a player before he is ready, he just tends to struggle and loses confidence and effective development time – we saw that this year with Casey Martin. The Phillies were crushed a bit for keeping guys like Utley and Howard in the minors too long. But was it too long? When they came up, they were ready to excel and became stars. The proof is in the pudding – their strategy worked. To me, that is far better outcome.

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    4. I still think this is the best route to go. The twins and this trade solves so many issues IMO. I would take out Didi and hope he rebounds if not go to Stott. Taking out Didi hopefully gets you to keep Bohm and move him to 1st with Hoskins to DH

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64. I feel Buxton is too much of a risk TBH.

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65. Wow! Verlander re-signed with Houston at 2/$50M guaranteed with player opt out after 1st year. Man, the bucks are flowing early on in the hot stove season.

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    1. just imagine what guys who actually pitched last season might get.

       too bad Zach feel just short for the Cy. With Ray winning in AL, the 2014 Tigers had 5 Cy young winners on it (Verlander, Price, Porcello, Scherzer)

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66. With the deadline for clubs to set their 40-man rosters tomorrow, I think we could see some (minor) transactions today around MLB. I’ve mentioned the Indians/Guardians as one club in the middle of a roster crunch, and I’ve also mentioned Steven Kwan as a kid the Phillies should target. It’s going to be difficult for Cleveland to fit Kwan on their 40 (despite a .328/.407/.527 slash line between AA & AAA this year) because of the sheer number of players/prospects they need to protect. Kwan fits the profile of exactly what DD is searching for: plus defensive CFer, who can leadoff because of his ability to get on base (.380 career MiLB OBP). The kid also has a “winner” pedigree. He helped Oregon State win the 2018 college WS. I’d like to see Dombrowski/Fuld give up a (not top tier) prospect who doesn’t need to be protected right now for Kwan. Just not another Curtis Mead.
    BTW … last week, I asked Chris Trenkle (during a BA chat) this question ⤵

    Hinkie (South Jersey): Do the Phillies have another Curtis Meade type of prospect(s) … a kid they may under value, that other organizations (Rays for instance) really like?

    Chris Hilburn-Trenkle: Interesting question. I’m not sure about someone they undervalue, but an under-the-radar guy is Hao Yu Lee. He has good barrel awareness and bat-to-ball skills. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.

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    1. This is the kind of roll up your sleeves and work deal I’m talking about. Hit me baby Kwan more time…

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       1. DMAR are you allowed on here without your father’s permission?

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          1. LOL Free DMAR

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       2. Yeah, DMAR. Dombrowski needs to (and I think he can) find under-the-radar help in ways other than FA and thru trades. Kwan could maybe become another Shane Victorino.

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          1. Kwan looks interesting and why not for a cheap price but the red flags to me seem to be lack of 2Bs and is he strong enough to get balls into the gaps. His size appears somewhat slight and at 24 is there room for more strength.

             I mean enough to be say and everyday CF.

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             1. DMAR….so you may be thinking ..a better version of a Ben Revere type player?
                Kwan is able to draw walks

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                1. … or in 2019, he hit 26 doubles & just 3 HRs, so maybe he has gained some strenghth, and turned those doubles into homers (3 bombs in 2019, 12 in 2021).

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                2. And an arm like Dr Fauchi.

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                3. Denny …correct.
                   Fangraphs grading from January:
                   Steven Kwan, CF
                   Age 23.4 Height 5′ 9″ Weight 175 Bat / Thr L / L FV 35+

                   Tool Grades (Present/Future)
                   Hit… Raw Power…. Game Power…Run…Fld….Throw
                   35/60… 30/30… 30/30… 45/45… 50/55… 50

                   But for CFer a plus arm is not as neded as for a RFer

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                4. Isn’t Simon Muzziotti a better Kwan.

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                5. BTW … I was just looking at Kwan and Victorino.

                   Kwan 5’9″/175
                   Victorino 5’/9″/190 (put on some of that weight as he aged)

                   Kwan 5th round draft pick
                   Victorino 6th round draft pick

                   Kwan age 24
                   Victorino age 24 when Phillies took him in rule 5

                   Kwan .301/.380/.438 MiLB slask line
                   Victorino .281/.341/.414 MiLB slash line

                   Kwan 87 Ks/100 BB MiLB career
                   Victorino 428 Ks/239 BB MiLB career

                   Not guaranteeing Kwan is another Victorino (or will be better). Just saying he’s worth a rule 5 pick or pre rule 5 trade.

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                6. A Rule 5 draft pick……nothing to lose….a 40 spot has to already be open for a team to select a pick anyways.
                   I am sure he also play LF or maybe even RF in a pinch.

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    2. BTW … you can find last week’s BA Phillies Top 10 Prospects chat right here https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/philadelphia-phillies-2022-top-10-mlb-prospects-chat/

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       1. Thanks for posting. He seems really high on our most recent draft class, which is great to hear. Also very high on O’Hoppe and Abel.

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    3. Hinkie, I am starving for any kind of transaction, so if it’s Kwan, I would be very happy. There is a lot of conflicting reporting about the CBA, and teams interests in FA. First, the Yankees for honing in on Seager, now they are rumored to not be involved with any of the FA SSs, a report I find not very believable. Then, there is a report that Hal Steinbrenner is part of an Owner’s Committee that proposed lowering the threshold for the LT, and adding a $100M floor. I don’t think that gets the PA approval, but anything involving lowering the # for the LT or in any way increasing the penalties, is bad for us. And frankly, I only care how the Phils are affected.

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       1. My understanding is that the owners want to lower it to $180M…..they may settle at $200M, with that small market team floor of $100M, which hurts teams like the Rays and As for starters…all depends if the players get what they want.

          Plus owners want more teams in the play-offs for the revenue….players, rank and file actually want that…but their union wants more of the percentaeg of financial compensation from that revenue.

          Twelve days and counting.

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          1. This may take a while. In fact, it wouldn’t shock me if there were a short strike – I just feel there are more issues and more hostility than has been the case in the last 15 years or so. I would hope not (the game isn’t well situated for another black eye), but it’s definitely possible.

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             1. If both sides can’t recognize their respective long term stake in resolving these matters with the game’s popularity and relevance on steady decline, then we’re all screwed. Hopefully the cold reality will motivate them. The fact that so much money has been spent already on 2nd tier free agents this early tells me they might. Verlander has already spoken out and he’s officially on the books for big bucks as a 38 year old not far removed from a career threatening injury. That alone speaks loudly, albeit he’s only one man. What happens between now and Dec 1 will go far to determine if and how long a lockout will last.

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             2. It would not be techincally a ‘strike’….but from the owners standpoint a ‘lock-out’ since there is no contract/agreement in place.
                No matter the semantics….. whether it is called a ‘strike’ or ‘lock-out’, to the average fan, end result is what you say ,’ another black eye’

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67. I’m sorry if this posted 7x, lost internet to the in-car computer.

    I don’t know that this Is a hot take but I think Harper wins the MVP fairly easily. He SHOULD get the vast vast majority of first place votes, and the votes that aren’t first place should be second-place votes.

    My rational:
    Tatis Jr – not only did his team collapse down the stretch but he did as well. I believe he hit around .250 in the last 2 months of the season (Aug worse than Sept).

    Soto – well you can argue his numbers were better than a Harpers, they weren’t far away better. Also the nationals were bad team with him or without him.

    Harper – his overall numbers are there, and he carried his team in the second half with an insane slash line. I saw a stat where his OPS was over 1.000 while the rest of the team combined for an OPS around .650. The Phillies aren’t in a playoff race without him, not even close without him.

    So it’s the age old question, is this the best player award or the player who is the most valuable? If it’s the latter (as the name would imply), the above points to Harper. And it really shouldn’t be close.

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    1. Agreed. No doubt about it. Harper wins MV3 tonight.

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    2. Agreed Eric

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       1. So Mike Schimdt presents the award…hmm something smells fishy.

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          1. Sounds normal to me 🙂 It’s about as obvious as “The Dude” taking “vitamins”
             Talk about a suspense killer, they shouldn’t announce who the presenter is. Mike Schmidt … hmmm like did he player for anyone else other than the Phillies? Lol

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          2. Hi Romus.
             Nice if Bryce can win.
             Last night when I saw Cy Young winner with 11 wins I thought wow. What happened to winning games..Kinda started with DeGrom few years back but 11?
             Also to someone else who commented on what will guys get who actually pitched last year get in free agency. I agree. 21M for 2 innings of work is not bad.

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          3. With pitchers only required to go 5 and 1/3rd or 2/3rd innings….wins and even losses become more irrelevant.
             I suppose we will see more of that low win total Cy Young nominees in the future.
             Some of those old win records …will never be broken.

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68. who is ole rocky

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69. Been following AFL and interesting standings with 2 games to go. Each division (2) has 3 teams. One division has a .500 team winning that division already and the other, that has Phillies players on Peoria, has all 3 teams above .500. Peoria is 1 game out in 3rd place. Championship game is on Saturday, mlb.com/arizona-fall-league/scores.

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70. Brewers Sign Three To Minor League Deals https://t.co/tFSZx792F1 pic.twitter.com/nP1kiNVHR4

    — MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 18, 2021

    .

    Teams starting to sign MiLB FAs. Still hoping the Phillies target (LHP) Nathan Kirby, (RHP) Freicer Perez, and (OFer) Michael Gettys. Perez is a former Yankee and Gettys is a former Padre. Brian Barber, Joe Girardi, and Preston Mattinly have first hand knowledge of these two former top prospects.

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    1. See tge Brewers signed Jason Alexander; can’t wait for the “Summer of George” in Milwaukee!

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71. Kudos to the Phillies FO for signing Wheeler. Looks like they got a steal. Klentak made some poop moves, but that is certainly one of his better pieces of work. Phillies had money to burn, and Wheeler wasn’t theoretically the top pitcher on the market at the time. It was a gamble, but it paid off. IMO the move should’ve paid off more with Wheeler pitching in the postseason this year, but we know how that turned out. Again, the FO could’ve easily botched that move, but didn’t, so I’m thankful for that. Now DD has to capitalize on the remainder of his contract

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72. yes

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    1. rocco……they finally let you out …… 🙂

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73. rocco, where have you been? Is everything ok healthwise? You have been missed.

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74. This is what Simon and Garfunkel were singing:

    “Where have you gone, Rocco Moffo
    Our website turns its lonely eyes to you
    What’s that you say Mrs. Robinson?
    Rocco Moffo has left and gone away.”

    Well, we’re glad to announce that the man
    has returned and Phuture’s phans are
    saying, “It’s about time”. He’s baaaackkk!

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75. Starling Marte’s market is reportedly heating up to the point that he may sign before the Dec 1 transaction freeze. ***GRAIN OF SALT DISCLAIMER: ACCORDING TO JON HEYMAN*** But it does seem reasonable to think so, what with the Marlins, Mess, Yanks, Astros, Giants and Rangers showing interest along with the Phillies. I wonder if this drives winning bid from 4/$80M to 5/$100M. Some insiders originally suggested 3/$60M would be the water line.

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    1. This is why I am going after Buxton, there are no other CF’s out there and yes BB is injuring prone but he is dynamic if and hopefully if he stays healthy. Not giving Marte (33yo) along with most likely a Lf after next year the same money as BB

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       1. BB would come with huge injury risk and will require more years and dollars to extend him than Marte plus trade assets. If you could guarantee his health, yes teams would line up but that hasn’t been his history.

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          1. If you could guarantee his health then almost no team would have enough assets to trade for him. That’s the high risk you need to take with this win now window

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76. Kevin Long was apparently just on MLB Network. Anyone see him? They asked about Schwarber and he just smiled and held a finger to his lips like “shhh”. Meaning???

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    1. #Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long on Kyle Schwarber:

       “I do think he’d fit the Phillies, I think the world of this guy.”

       — mv3 (@clownqbro) November 18, 2021

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77. I would be very happy with Schwarber in LF. Also, no QO. And, on Buxton. The injuries are so Roman Quinnesque. Sure, more talent, but the cost in prospects is too much for me. I wanted Marte at 3 years, but if there is a bidding war, I will move on to trading for JBJ or Kiermaier.

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    1. Make senses…Schwarber for LF and Marte for CF…..also, keep the 2nd round pick

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       1. LF/CF = one free agent and one trade.

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    2. Nats are after Schwarber also.
       Alex Speier
       @alexspeier
       Nationals manager Dave Martinez, on MLB Network, just said he’s hanging out with Kyle Schwarber in Ohio right now. As
       @peteabe
       recently reported, Nats GM Mike Rizzo recently said the Nats would try to bring back Schwarber.
       10:21 AM · Nov 18, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

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       1. He’ll follow the money. Like them all.

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       2. The Nats will attempt to drive up the cost on any player the Phillies might try to bring in…

          I’d expect Rizzo to do again this year what he did last year which is try to fill the roster out with a bunch of guys he can flip at the deadline. He’ll wait for his next core of young players to come along before they really start spending on LTDs again.

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          1. Yeah…..Rizzo now is going up against Dombrowski, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
             Schwarber has ties to Long and the Nats……but money talks.

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    3. I have doubts that the Phillies will succeed in signing both Schwarber AND Marte. Just sheer odds, nothing else. The former is a more likely acquisition.

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78. With Harper’s MVP awarded tonight, it’s unlikely the Phillies would announce anything substantial regarding player transactions today…although news could certainly circumvent usual channels.

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79. All minor leaguers are getting a boost in bennies …. Furnished apartments. lol I bet that is going to be interesting to maintain. What wasn’t clear was if it was provided by the mlb or each individual minor league team, but I believe it comes down from the mlb. It would makes sense … as it’s essentially a real estate play by each mlb owner, they just gotta furnish it. How often they refresh that furniture.. lol we gonna find out. I bet they have their accoutants working on a 30 year depreciation value as we speak

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    1. They got a good bulk deal with IKEA!,
       ……now players can build their own bunk beds.

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       1. MiLB players don’t have that kind of time on their hands Romus LOL

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          1. You mean to tell me, they already took that one day off a week from them!
             Sheeesh.

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80. Stop the presses!!! The Rays (of all teams) have reportedly made an extension offer of up to 10 years and between $150M and $200M to Wander Franco. He’s 20…where’s ours? This also indicates that the owners have suddenly decided to open up the vaults, at least for top shelf talent.

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    1. ….of course that would be an extension record.

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       1. ….it’s reasonable to speculate that when they eventually move, he’ll be paid for by the juice from local fan excitement and merch sales.

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    2. 1) Wait til the deal is official before making any judgments; it’s entirely possible this is just a leak to make the owners look better (they’ve literally never spent more than $100M on a single contract before, and that includes their franchise icon Longoria). Also, even if it happens, that doesn’t mean they’re willing to spend big on OUTSIDE talent. They’d only offer that contract for Wander if they expect him to produce excess value beyond it. High tier free agents very rarely give you that excess (at least over the full length of the contract).

       2) It’s not realistic to expect us to have a Wander Franco. He’s potentially a generational talent the likes of Mike Trout. But if you’re just looking for a young player who came up and set the world on fire… Well, Ranger Suarez. Franco put up 2.5 fWAR over 70 games, Suarez put up 3.0 over 39 games. He’s not as young or with the pedigree, but you never know in baseball; Ranger might end up being the better player.

       If you’re specifically looking for a VERY young player that has a lasting impact, then our best bet is either Marchan or O’Hoppe (whichever one ISN’T traded…). Moving players fast isn’t typically the Phils’ modus operandi, but reaching the majors at 22 as a catcher is very fast.

       I’m not saying all of this to excuse the Phils of any blame or anything. Just giving people a reminder of things to be hopeful about.

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       1. Rays buying out Franco’s next six years of control…then tacking on another 4 years…..at a max of $200M over the next 10 years…..would be another Acuna/Albies team friendly contract…that is based on what Franco has done and is expected to do over the next many years.
          Sure there are risks….for the team ….and even the player if he performs at a 5WAR or more player over the next half-dozen years.
          I would be very wary of offering this contract, but can understand if a team decides to take on the risk.

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          1. That I believe is the new way of doing business. Instead of giving a 30 something guy 10 years give a 20 something guy 10+ years

             But as my dad always said there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. Handing out that type of deal to kids with barely a MLB track record could be Kingery-esque

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             1. Yep….risks are part of the business model.
                The teams that are frugal, may want to do this realizing they would not have a chance of re-signing the player after he turns 26 or 27 and beomes a free agent….and miss out on the players’ added prime years.

                Kingery….good example fro not doing it.
                Also Doobie…though his first two years he proved his worth and finally his last year, to some degree.

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       2. It’s funny what you say about Suarez.

          When Jacob deGrom came up they said he would be a #3 or 4 starter as he was an older prospect because he was drafted from college as a newly converted pitcher and then had Tommy John surgery. The baseball Gods have an interesting way of toying with us and our expectations.

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          1. “The baseball Gods have an interesting way of toying with us and our expectations”…….agree, Warren Spahn….won over 200 games after he turned 30 years old.

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81. Trade proposal of the day….

    DIAMONDBACKS get:
    Mick Abel rhp
    Johan Rojas cf
    Nick Maton if
    Didi Gregorius ss

    PHILLIES get:
    Ketel Marte cf/2b
    Nick Ahmed ss

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    1. No thanks. I’d be hesitant to give up either Abel OR Rojas, let alone both.

       And if we ARE giving up both, I want it to be for a young superstar; not a defensively questionable 28 year old coming off an injury shortened season and a very “meh” 32 year old SS, with 1 year of a fWAR over 3 between them.

       Not to mention we’d also be giving them Maton, who could very easily turn out to be more valuable than Ahmed on his own for a fraction of the cost.

       There’s definitely upside to Ketel’s contract. But it’s not “two top-5 prospects and a major league ready throw-in” upside. His bat is for real, but it’s limited by his defense. And we’ve already suffered enough from lack of defense up the middle. If he moves to one of the corners, then there are plenty of options for players with as good, or better, offensive capabilities in free agency.

       And I get we need to pay more to get Didi off the books… but why are we paying in prospect capital? We’re the Phillies. Eat the contract. We’re not getting out of purgatory by giving up our prospects for money.

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    2. Abel will not be traded. Zero chance

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       1. I agree… Our high level prospect stock is thin enough. We plug as many holes through FA and trade lower level prospects in mass if need be to seal a deal..

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82. Trevor Story has reportedly met with the Rangers on Tuesday. He hails from Irving, TX. Speculation is that Texas is looking to move early. I don’t see Story in DD’s sites but it’s encouraging to see the market stirring this early before a potential lockout.

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83. Congrats to Bryce Harper, our MVP, and now the National League’s. Now, this team needs to do everything possible to not waste more seasons of his. That means John Middleton needs to treat the LT as no impediment to success.

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84. DD will not make stupid trades or over spend. He will get 2 OF’s, a closer, an IF guy, one more BP guy and a utility guy.

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85. Forgot about a #5 SP to fill in for Eflin and to add depth.

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86. Matt Vierling’s performance should give him a legitimate shot as starting OF. Singing two high-priced OFs could block this promising player.

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    1. I agree, Mr. Vierling.

       ….just kidding. I do like him and earlier considered the platoon of him and Moniak in LF, but at this point, after Dombrowski publicly stated what they’re looking for – namely a middle of the lineup bat – I doubt Vierling is going to get much playing time beyond 4th OF duties. An injury could however give him a shot.

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       1. Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about Matt Vierling and playing time. First of all, he’s an older, second-tier prospect who showed some promise, but really has no extended track record. You don’t rearrange your plans for a guy like that – at least not at this point. However, if the NL gets the DH, it’s going to provide an opportunity for an ascending young player to get plenty of at bats. So, let’s say the Phillies sign Schwarber (fingers crossed) and Vierling starts to look like a .275/.350/.450 player – a good hitter with good defense. Well, he could then take more of the LF reps and Schwarber could DH those games and he could get extra time in CF and maybe a few DH reps. If he performs, he’ll get to play.

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87. Congrats My Brotha 💪🏽! @bryceharper3 https://t.co/oybbpK8iZE

    — Jalen Hurts (@JalenHurts) November 18, 2021

    Congrats #MV3, @BryceHarper3!🏆 pic.twitter.com/tDOVpiG7Sm

    — Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 18, 2021

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88. BTW … if there was ever a guy worth John Middleton spending 330M dollars on, it is Bryce Harper. He’s been an MVP on and off the field. Great player. Great representative of the club, and the city.
    Middleton and Dombrowski really need to make the commitment to do/”spend” whatever it takes to help this guy get a WS ring.

    Bryce Harper told me he was more emotional winning his second MVP than the first

    “This one is a lot different. Being able to have my family here. Seeing my daughter. Seeing my son”

    “Being able to be in the city of Philadelphia. I love playing there… It’s home” pic.twitter.com/HTYnTunMwj

    — John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 19, 2021

    .

    BTW … Bryce’s dad is an absolute beast. How many hours a day is this guy devoting to the weight room? 💪😎

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    1. Also .. Bryce went on MLB Radio (SiriusXM) last night with Kevin Frandsen, and spoke candidly and comfortably with him. Those two have a close relationship (were former teammates). This is why I pay attention to anything Frandsen says when it comes to Harper. Earlier this week, Frandsen mentioned the Phillies could afford another big contract because Bryce allowed the team to spread his money out over 13 years. He then mentioned Trevor Story as a “perfect match” for the Phillies. Not guaranteeing Story is about to become a Phillie. Just saying Harper may be pushing for Story to become a Phillie. That, in itself, would hold some weight.

       "Our sole goal is to win a World Series, and we're getting right back to work."

       2021 NL MVP @bryceharper3 with @JeffJoyce19 and @KevinFrandsen:@Phillies | #Phillies | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/ZaPE70hxrx

       — MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 19, 2021

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       1. Story was my guy from the start lso…..he then can move over to third when Garcia comes up to play shortstop, and Stott settles in at 2B.

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    2. Hinkie….Bryce’s Dad worked as a outdoor contruction worker in Nevada.
       So he lifted all day long.

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       1. True, but apparently, he is also a workout warrior. On MLB Tonight, Carlos Pena told a story about working out with Harper’s dad and what a beast he was in the weight room. He certainly passed a love of fitness down to his son.

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    3. My goodness, although I usually don’t like MIddleton making the baseball decisions, thank God he intervened and decided that Harper, rather than Machado, would be the guy to acquire. From all reports, “wrong way” Matt Klentak was pushing for the Phillies to sign Machado. Machado’s a very good player, but he would have been a full fledged disaster here in Philly (he would have pissed off the fans, they would have booed him to death and he would have pushed to get out of here – I truly believe it would have played out that way) and we would have spent years wondering what would have happened if the Phillies had signed Harper instead. Fortunately, Middleton stepped in, used his instinct to determine that Harper, not Machado, was the right guy for Philadelphia and got his man. Harper is as pure and good a Philadelphia player as you will ever see and this guy, who has been a superstar since he was basically 16 years old, seems to always act genuinely, kindly and politely. He just seems to be a decent, good person. And then he goes out and hits like that. What else could you ask for? Nothing, I think – he’s the whole package.

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89. I said it when I first heard that Bryce won the MVP, and Hinkie also shared the same sentiment. Dombrowski needs the green light from Middleton to exceed the first level LT and bring in more talent. That doesn’t mean way overpay, and it doesn’t mean fill every hole through FA. But, that first level should be a non-factor. It also doesn’t mean that we can’t give the young players a shot. If they truly believe Bohm and Stott can play Playoff caliber 3B and SS, let them play. We have LF and CF and Closer, and a #5 SP and a couple of more BP arms and a back up C to spend $ on/trade for. We can add without trading Abel or Painter. And, a Schwarber in LF doesn’t preclude ABs for Vierling, who deserves a shot to make the team. A lot of work to do, and it would be nice to start today.

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90. Top MLB trade targets: The 12 biggest names most likely to be dealt this winter

    via @TheAthletic https://t.co/f2JWNHGf9T

    — Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) November 19, 2021

    Jim Bowden lists the Phillies as good fits for José Ramírez and Matt Chapman. However, Bowden goes even further when he writes about Bryan Reynolds:

    “A first-time All-Star in 2021, Reynolds is just entering his prime, which is why teams such as the Yankees, Marlins and Phillies have been aggressively pursuing him, along with several other clubs. However, the Pirates’ asking price is exorbitant, and no team has come close to finalizing a deal. That said, with Reynolds’ upside, I’m betting someone will overpay with a prospect package to land him from the rebuilding Buccos this winter.”

    Here’s the trade I proposed a few weeks ago. Would you do …

    Pirates get: Mick Abel, Johan Rojas, Bryson Stott, and Jean Cabrera
    Phillies get: (4 years of) Bryan Reynolds and (5 years of) David Bednar

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    1. Hinkie, I might conceive of this trade going down if Stott weren’t one of Bryce’s boys. Yes, it would take a rich package of young cheap talent, but I doubt the Phillies can exceed another team’s offer in the end.

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       1. mark … that is why I have been saying it would take 3 of the Phillies top prospects to realistically land Reynolds. I think that package is fair, and would compete with offers from other contenders.

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          1. If Dave Dombrowski gave up that prospect capital in the Pirates deal, they would then sit in the basement of MLB farm systems. However, it could help the big league club look something like this⤵

             2B Jean Segura (14M AAV)
             CF Bryan Reynolds (4.5M AAV)
             RF Bryce Harper (25.3M AAV)
             1B Rhys Hoskins (7.6M AAV)
             SS Trevor Story (26M AAV)
             C JT Realmuto (23.1M AAV)
             DH Didi Gregorius (14M AAV)
             3B Alec Bohm (575 Thou)
             LF Matt Vierling (575 Thou)

             B Brad Miller (5M)
             B Freddie Galvis (2.5M)
             B veteran C TBD (2M)
             B Roman Quinn (700 Thou)

             SP1 Zack Wheeler (23.6M AAV)
             SP2 Aaron Nola (11.25M AAV)
             SP3 Zach Eflin (6M AAV)
             SP4 Ranger Suarez (575 Thou)
             SP5 Kyle Gibson (9.3M AAV)

             BP/C David Bednar (575 Thou)
             BP Aaron Loup (9M AAV)
             BP Hector Neris (5M AAV)
             BP Jose Alvarado (1.9M AAV)
             BP Ser-Ant’ny (800 Thou)
             BP Connor Brogdon (575 Thou)
             BP Sam Coonrod (575 Thou)
             BP Sergio Romo (2M AAV) different look guy

             Depth/LHV SR
             Bailey Falter
             Hans Crouse

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          2. This trade proposal makes me sick. They need to be smarter and more creative than this. This just pushes our existing problem – lack of a good farm system – down the line. This is a massive overpay that this organization cannot afford and should not do.

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             1. LOL. 😫🤮

                What if this team plays the long game? They build up the farm system, and by 2024 Mick Abel, (maybe) Adrew Painter, and Johan Rojas are ready to contribute. At that point, Harper is 31 YO, Wheeler is 33 (w/mucho IP under his belt, and on the last year of his deal), Realmuto is 32 (and on the last year of his deal), Hoskins and Nola may already be gone.
                Just saying you’ve got to commit to a certain timeline. If you’re playing the long(er) game, you may never have all your pieces line up.
                And pretty sure Middleton hired Dombrowski to win now. That’s what Dombrowski does.

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91. Some so called under the radar FA’s almost half of which are Phillies. I like Drury, Anderson and Brooks Raley for us

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/25-under-the-radar-mlb-free-agents-to-keep-an-eye-on/ss-AAQRUnN?ocid=hplocalnews&li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

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    1. I like Raley a lot, but almost certain he is not a FA.

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92. Garcia, McArthur seem to be 40 Man candidates that I would add without question. Anybody else that should be added? Today is the deadline to protect guys from the Rule V draft. Also, I am predicting that we add someone from the Rule V, I just don’t know who yet. Hinkie, I automatically say no to trading Abel, and I don’t think they trade Stott. I know that I am overly prudent when it comes to Abel, Painter and Stott. It doesn’t make me right, or the deal not a good one. And, I am fully aware that Dom Brown was the #1 ranked prospect, and prospects often fail. But, I think those 3 are key to our future. And, I also know that Reynolds is really good. But, I go elsewhere for my CF. I have been much more aggressive in past off seasons, I just am high on those 3 players.

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    1. matt … you should be high on all of Abel/Painter/Stott/Rojas. Every other MLB club is high on those four prospects too.
       It’s going to hurt to acquire 4 years of an switch-hitting AS CFer w/a 146 OPS+, and one of the best young closers (FB up to 99 & a nasty/plus “splitter”) under team control for 5 years (and at minimum wage for 2022 and 2023).

       Randomly pulled up a David Bednar outing and he threw a nasty swing and miss power breaking ball alongside a get me over curve, 95-97 mph hit 98 once, and some sort of witchcraft 92 mph splitter/cutter on the last pitch pic.twitter.com/TXVwPMlORw

       — Giannis Auntiegotapoodle (@TooMuchMortons_) September 1, 2019

       .

       If I’m DD, I would probably do the deal because it fits into the Phillies window of contention/the prime years of Harper, JTR, Wheeler, Nola, Hoskins, and whatever FA they sign this winter (Story?).

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       1. To the chagrin of several people on this board, Dave Dombrowski may show them why the Phillies hired him….and that’s to shake the tree of risk versus reward. Whether they like your proposals or not, they respond as if DD should sit on his hands and on every one of the top prospects.

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          1. Yes. Dombrowski is aggressive.
             The Phillies are in the same division as Atlanta. The Braves nucleus is not only really good, but they are really young. Most of the Phillies best young prospects will not arrive until this current Phillies core is either (likely) on the downsides of their careers, or not here anymore at all. If you plan to sit tight and wait for Painter/Abel/Rojas, you may as well trade Hoskins, Nola, Realmuto, etc now (while they still have good value) to acquire younger guys who will fit into the next wave of players (Abel/Painter/Rojas/Garcia/Marchan or O’Hoppe/etc).

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             1. Exactly, H. My challenge to the nay sayers is simply – what’s it gonna be. Try to dance along the fine line of staying competitive while retooling? That’s not a pragmatic approach IMO.

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             2. I’ll do the trade for Reynolds & Bednar, especially if they also sign either Semien or Story. Those are big improvements. I’d try to keep Stott by giving more, but if it has to be Stott, so be it. If this happened, I would explore trading Segura, to see if the overall net gain is more. its tough letting go of prospects, especially for those of us on here, but, I’d rather the MLB club win it all.

                I really like the revamped bullpen you proposed – Bednap, Loop, Neris (not so much), Sir A, Alvarado (think he has a big year), and Brogdon.

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                1. Tac3….JoJo should be ready after the all-star break in July…..I would think.
                   TJ was May 2021…that would put him at 14 months out of TJ.
                   Maybe Dohy and Warren will also contribute at some point.

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93. Anthony Franco of MLBTR said of Harper winning the MVP yesterday, “Harper didn’t rate particularly well defensively…..”. So I ask you, my Phuture Phillies brethren, when is the time right to move Harper to left field?

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    1. Not until he is really bad in right field or until the Phillies have a home grown player who is perfect for right. Teams should always be slow and hesitant to move a player down the defensive spectrum. I expect him to be in right for at least another 4-5 years – and perhaps even longer.

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94. With the Oakland A’s virtually emptying their roster of increasingly expensive (for them) talent, I find it difficult to think that the Phillies won’t be doing business with Beane & Co.

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95. I agree with you mark, although I don’t see us in on Chapman. The Pitchers are a whole different story. Manaea, Bassitt, either one would look very good here.

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    1. I like Manaea. Lefty fits in the 4/5 slot. Shouldn’t be a prohibitive cost, prospect wise. Experienced depth in the SP…who knows how effective Eflin will be upon his return.

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96. Piggybacking on a lot of your trade proposals and positions on how aggressive or patient the team should be … the team has multiple roads – wait for the the talent to develop, Sell the farm or updgrades, and or Sell the farm w/FA signings.

    I’m hoping its a middle ground of selling the farm & signing FAs.
    IMHO, the Phillies can sign FA, and hedge their bets. For example, Didi & Stott. Stott seems ready to take over. Didi is signed. Trade Didi, eat part of his salary, put Stott in. So what if the he really cost “8 million a year” (MLB minimum + Half Didi’ s salary). If the young talent produces, its no issue. If they don’t, they yeah, its not good. The ideal scenario is getting young talent to the MLB, producing on a entry level deal vs signing a 20+ mil per year player for several years. If you to hedge your bet, a meet in the middle, I think the FO & Ownership. Can do this, for where the team is. If not, get off the pot and start trading for high prospects. I don’t see this happening so. Go out and sign those FA so you don’t have to trade Stott, Bohm, etc … unless the player is worth it, like a Reynolds.

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97. Look at these salaries of the Phillies in 1975:

    1975 Philadelphia Phillies
    Salaries:

    Dick Allen $225,000

    Steve Carlton $160,000

    Dave Cash $105,000

    Larry Bowa $100,000

    Tug McGraw 
    $75,000

    Mike Schmidt $65,000

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    1. Denny…all over payments! 🙂

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       1. 1950 Philadelphia Phillies
          Salaries

          Robin Roberts 
          $30,000

          Andy Seminick 
          $12,500

          Richie Ashburn 
          $10,000

          Curt Simmons 
          $8,000

          Putsy Caballero 
          $5,750

          Bob Miller 
          $2,500

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          1. Denny, I remember them all but, Putsy? Where did he puts around, IF or OF or was he a flame thrower like Saul Rogovin?

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             1. Skeet..an infielder from New Orleans….a bit from a bio:
                “…..Philadelphia, the Carpenter family had taken over the chronically underfunded and underperforming National League Phillies, and were beginning to spend money to start turning things around by signing young players and developing a farm system. Former umpire Ted McGrew scouted the New Orleans area for the Phillies, and recommended that they sign Caballero. The Phillies offered Ralph a contract with an $8,000 bonus — significantly more than the $2,500 or so being offered to other local players. Privately, NY Giants manager and Lousiana native, Mel Ott, advised fellow-Bayou native, Caballero to take the higher offer; publicly, Ott complained about the size of the bonuses being given out by millionaires like the Carpenters and Yawkeys. Ralph’s father also advised that he sign, telling him “Putsy, if you go to college, it will take you years to save $8,000. So go ahead and sign, and you can go back to college in the offseason.”3 Putsy decided to accept the Phillies’ offer. His father drove him to Philadelphia and co-signed the contract because Ralph was a minor.”

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                1. Afterward he worked at Shots brewery with Laverne & Shirley.

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                2. Wow, what a lexicon, got my dimes worth that time. Thanks Romus! Tip my 🎩 to you.

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                3. Skeet…remember By Saam…radio voice of the Phillies in the 40s and 50s, and eventually TV guy in the 50s for awhile and early 60s until Harry and Whitey came on board..
                   Read were he shortened Putsy first name to Putz……..complaints came in from the Jewish community…seems it has a different meaning in Yiddish.

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98. If Rox do not protect LHP Ryan Rolison today…..Phillies ought to look into him if he is available when they select on Dec 9th…….James MaArthur’s rotation buddy at Miss.
    Had a tough time last year…appendix surgery, then a broken bone in his pitching hand, but would be healthy for spring training.

    https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=roliso000rya

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    1. Romus, why not convert Roman Quinn to a relief pitcher? He could still pinch run on days he’s not available to throw. Or would his arm inevitably fall off?

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       1. He could be the next Anthony Gose.

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          1. Quinn = Gose = Ohtani = Ruth
             He is about to join the legends

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99. Saw these transactions on Phils site, not sure who they are:
    11/16/21 Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent RHP Adilson Peralta to a minor league contract.
    11/16/21 Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent OF Jerffson Pena to a minor league contract.
    11/09/21 Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent RHP Bubby Rossman to a minor league contract.

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100. Also resigned Tyler Phillips who became a free agent.

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101. I think Peralta was just a young free agent, Pena was 17 and played cf in DOSL for Diamondbacks, Rossman is 29 and pitched for York (independent).

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102. Jon Heyman (….yeah yeah I know….place disclaimer here as usual) tweeted 30 minutes ago that the Phillies are showing interest in closers Josh Hader, Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen.

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103. Phillies claimed Kent Emanuel LHP from Astros, selected Luis Garcia SS and Jhailyn Ortiz OF and James McArthur RHP. Roster is now at 36.

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     1. 29 year old Emanuel’s MLB debut was in April of ’21. Limited playing time with some success. Could be that lefty reliever on the cheap.

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        1. mark8:29…….Emmanuel had ‘elbow repair of UCL” in June 2021…technically not TJ…that was in 2015 fro him.
           The place an nernal tape as a brace around the damged part of the UCL….so he can rehab start throwing soner…..Rich Hil had it also in Nov 2019…..so he should be raedy in March.

           https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3Th90IWQAcn5HZ?format=jpg&name=small

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     2. Remember Trevor Kelley from 2020 s Phillies bullpen…lefty Emanuel and him were on the same Tar Hill staff in college.

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     3. Garcia was the only guy on the list who was an absolute “no brainer” selection and Ortiz was pretty close to that given his power potential. McArthur seems to really have come on – he got the nod over guys like Ogle, Warren, Lindow and Muzziotti (who easily could be selected). On the whole, these seem to be pretty rational selections.

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        1. Lindow has potential….but doubt a team will select him and keep him on their 26 thru the season.
           I can see Warren and/or Ogle …as lefty releievrs, having a chance…maybe just not great…of getting selected.
           Muzziotti…still needs AA/AAA experience.

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104. I see from MLB that Muzziotti is on the 40 man roster. Now at 36.

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     1. Yeah, not sure when Muzziotti was placed on there…didn’t see any report prior to today.

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105. Spitballing here….what if Segura (regardless of that Instagram thing) agrees to be traded to the White Sox for Kimbrel. That takes care of the closer and opens up 2b for Stott or perhaps a trade acquisition cheaper than Segura. Then SS becomes the focus. I insist that on the 2022 iteration of the Phillies infield, Bohm and Stott will NOT be playing side by side.

     I think Schwarber is aggressively pursued and signed as a much needed lefty power bat in LF. With around 8 teams chasing Marte, I’m inclined to think the Phillies won’t overpay for him, which means a trade for a leadoff man CF. While we have discussed the need to upgrade the defense, I don’t recall Dombrowski touching on that at the press conference, other than mentioning SS. I doubt we get one of the high end SS’s, and perhaps Stott will be the guy. And then there’s the Oakland scenario. We match up well with the A’s. Be it Chapman or Manaea or both, or Hinkie’s favorite high risk/high reward in Laureano.

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     1. Harper did mention this morning on radio the Phillies three needs…CFer, LFer and closer.
        —LFer…being a power RHB
        —CFer….a defensive specialist that can hit lead-off…and cover ground in CF
        —closer

        He did not mention shortstop…assume it was tactful omission with Didi stil on the team.

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        1. No way – it was his acknowledgment that his best buddy Bryson Stott is the heir apparent at SS. He doesn’t want them to get somebody new from the outside. He wants them to promote Stott and his wish will soon come true.

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106. Phillies Acquire Nick Nelson From Yankees https://t.co/8cupd7hL7c pic.twitter.com/xNFLCPpdQg

     — MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 19, 2021

     Nelson looks like a worthwhile pickup. Nice upside. The fact that Brian Barber and Joe Girardi have firsthand knowledge is a good thing.

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     1. Sands as well, another C prospect. Yankees fans seem a little miffed on that inclusion

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        1. Yep, report says Sands could emerge as JT’s backup.

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107. Okay…here’s a 3-way trade for you, Hinkie….

     PHILLIES get:
     Elvis Andrus ss
     Matt Chapman 3b
     Ramon Laureano cf
     Sean Manaea lhp
     Will Myers of/1b
     + cash from San Diego

     ATHLETICS get:
     CJ Abrams ss/2b
     Mackenzie Gore lhp
     Rhys Hoskins 1b/dh
     Johan Rojas cf

     PADRES get:
     Chris Bassitt rhp
     Aaron Nola rhp
     Stephen Piscotty of

     Try it on and see what you think…

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     1. mark … I LOVE IT for the Phillies. It’s like Christmas in November!
        I’ve got a man crush on Laureano. I really like Manaea. I like Chapman. Even Wil Myers fills a glaring need … RH bat coming off the bench. Andrus is sunk cost, but he’s at least an adequate glove for a year.
        From an Oakland standpoint … they could do a lot better selling these pieces off individually.
        And the Padres would be more in the market for bats. They’ve got a lot of really good arms. Most of them were hurt in 2021, but should be ready for 2022. AJ Preller needs to concentrate on lengthening his LU (after Cronenworth/Tatis/Machado).

        But … yeah … you and I like a lot of the same Oakland guys.

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     2. Piscotty, got look up in youtube this video of him: Stephen Piscotty and Scott Sterling with the best commentary ever!!

        Got hit 3 times in one inning

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108. I see Phils trade a 2021 drafted player to Astros for Garrett Stubbs, a catcher who has played parts of the last 3 years in Houston.

     Phil’s added 8 players to the 40 man roster today. Roster now at 39.

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109. That’s a whole lot of catching we’ve got at the upper levels… DD may be tipping his hand.

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110. 3 players to fight for Knapp’s old spot and they need 2 for AAA.

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     1. There’s also O’Hoppe to account for; he looks ready to take on AAA. So that’s 4 catchers for 3 spots. And you typically don’t want your catching prospects (the top tier ones, at least) to split time evenly. So without making another move we’re in a bit of a bind. Assuming no trades, O’Hoppe likely starts at AA, but even then one of the three will be losing development time in AAA. I suppose the “ideal” scenario would be Marchan or Sands winning the ML job, and Stubbs ends up being the backup in AAA. But then we still have to figure out what to do with O’Hoppe later in the year.

        It’s certainly not a bad problem to have, but it does look like a precursor to a trade involving either Marchan or O’Hoppe.

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        1. O’Hoppe only had 57 plate appearances at Double-A. He’ll start the season at Reading. Marchan will start the season at Lehigh Valley. Dombrowski has already stated that he regrets yoyoing Marchan up and down last season. I expect he’ll try to avoid doing that this season. Donny Sands and Garrett Stubbs will compete for the backup role to Realmuto. The loser will play at Lehigh Valley and be the first one up if there’s an injury to a catcher. Cross off backup catcher from the offseason shopping list. Scratch that if one of our young catchers is traded, but I don’t think a trade would affect Sands or Stubbs.

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        2. I’m familiar with the Durham Bulls due to my proximity to them, they don’t invest in too many AAAA players; why do the Phillies? Sometimes the LHV roster is equivalent to the 1999 Phillies squad.

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           1. I love the Durham Bulls too, been there a number of times as they are not too far from me as well.

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              1. Great atmosphere at the park and the team is usually loaded with prospects. Better cheering for them now due to their affiliation with the Rays then before with the Braves.

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                 1. Denny…….Larry “Crash’ Davis still catching for them? 😉

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                 2. Hahahaha. Yes he is. He is playing one game at a time. You know, some games you’re gonna win and some games you’re gonna lose but he is just happy to be here here helping the Team win.

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        3. apparently as of today, at least for the short term there is yet another catcher: New York Yankees traded right-hander Nick Nelson to the Philadelphia Phillies along with minor league catcher Donny Sands for minor league infielder TJ Rumfield and left-hander Joel Valdez.

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           1. DD is practically screaming out to us that a catcher will be traded. We can hope it’s Marchan, but I’m afraid that if he goes for Reynolds, it’ll be O’Hoppe.

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              1. Could be a three-way deal…..Cherington already has his catcher lined-up in number one pick in this year’s draft, Henry Davis…so O’hoppe , if in the deal, may end up with the third team in the trade via a Pirate conduit..
                 Mox nix…..O’Hoppe would not be in the Philly org. 😦

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                 1. Mulling over a Hader trade. Maybe Buccos and Brew Crew can form a 3way. Even the Milwaukee beat guys are speculating about a Phillies package.

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              2. Yes, I agree. I’ve been saying that Rojas and OHoppe (who raised his profile in the AFL) plus Miller or Morales will get traded for Reynolds or K Marte, IF they can’t sign S Marte.

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111. Phil’s only have only 1 OF on AAA roster (Kingery) and only 1 at AA. See a lot of AAAA and AAA and AA outfielders being signed.

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     1. Are you forgetting Moniak, Haseley, Muzziotti, and Ortiz? Maybe Quinn too. Plus other guys will move up from Lakewood to Reading.

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112. Sounds like Nick Nelson is a flame throwing project. He’s on the 40man so I guess we place him behind Falter and Crouse as SP depth…maybe Cotham can tweak his repertoire.

     Sands is a nice bat with flexibility to play the corner IF positions while Stubbs is supposedly the better defensive C, with a weak slash line so far in the majors in limited playing time.

     39 slots accounted for on the 40. Man, certainly looking like Dombrowski will be busy trading from that pool…and especially if he signs a couple free agents.

     From among pitchers, Crouse, Falter, Jones, Medina, Morales and yes, Nola could be moved in a blockbuster.

     From the position players, Marchan, Bohm, Didi, Hoskins (maybe for Hader but not as likely), Maton, Segura if he agrees, and any of the outfielders except Harper. I count 18, not to mention top prospects like O’Hoppe, Rojas, Garcia, and either Abel or Painter in the right deal for a stud difference maker.

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     1. Mark8:29, there are players who they may try to sneak thru waivers now most rosters are full or just cut from roster if needed. Quinn, Emmanuel, Sherriff, Haseley, Sanchez, Medina, and several others could be considered. The first 3 are the most likely.

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     2. I thought I read at MLB Trade Rumors Nelson throws mid-90’s. Is that still a “flame thrower” in todays velo fueled pitching?

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        1. Read where he touches 100 mph.

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           1. I love this approach. It’s the opposite of what Johnny Almaraz would do and, therefore, it is presumptively excellent.

              Seriously, I love acquiring great arms with upside. Your chances of having that player improve and evolve are exponentially higher than your chances with a soft tosser, Gausman and Robbie Ray are perfect recent examples. It’s how they were able to obtain Alvarado and Coonrod at a reasonable cost.

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              1. Dombrowski has pulled up to the table with the other high rollers, gentlemen…and he’s shuffling the deck😉the real game is about to commence.

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113. mark8:29 – Your new moniker should be Blockbuster Mark.

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     1. I know…I get all jazzed up this time of year. But this year we have a POBO/GM with a pulse. Bigger things are more than likely to happen.

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114. Catchers picked up are interesting.
     Stubbs will be 29 next year, has some mainly doubles power and speed (51 of 56 SB). Also a good eye with good contact ability (30 BB to 29 SO in AAA). Defense a .995 fielding % with a 42% caught stealing.
     Sands will be 26 next year, has power (18Hr, 16 Doubles in AA-AAA last year). Also has a good eye (32 BB to 57 SO). Defense a 991 fielding % with a 24% caught stealing.

     Both have some pop in bat with Sands more power. Stubbs will likely have a better OBP. Sands is probably the better fielder but Stubbs has a good arm. Either one would likely be an upgrade over Knapp at this point.

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     1. Just came up with this thought, Phillies games will be at least 15 minutes shorter this year, Knapp won’t be taking time adjusting his batting gloves. Maybe even more because of time to chase balls going to the backstop.

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        1. OMG – the moment I started focusing on Knapp’s routine during his at bats, was the moment I began to descend into madness (although many on this site will contend, with some validity, that it started when I began posting on this site – lol). Knapp was a freaking human rain delay – pitch (swing and miss on high FB), step out, bat under arm, re-adjust left glove, re-adjust right glove, bat back in hand, mini practice swing, step back-in, pitch (swing and miss on high FB) – lather, rinse, repeat.

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           1. Lol. Only if he hit the ball, might be worth the time.

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              1. Knapp was a good hitter in the minors…his metrics were very good….and he had the prettiest swing from the left side since Cody Asche and Matt Walding…but pretty swings do not always find wood.

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                 1. That’s exactly right – and it’s been a hard lesson for me to learn as a prospects fan. Knapp’s swing is amazing – but he just can’t hit a good FB.

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                 2. Asche and Walding, great benchmarks, lol.

                    We went to a minor league game in Juniper Florida, Dom Brown, Dylan Cozens, Walding were in lineup. Walding hit a grounder and thought he beat it out, close play at first and he was called out. He yelled out the F-bomb and with only about 100 people in the stands it was echoing throughout. My wife always remembers that instant and held it against him since seeing our son’s look at her after hearing it, lol.

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115. Some on here wanted Rays RHP Honeywell.
     A’s got him for a number of Benjamins…not Molinas either..

     A’s get: RHP Brent Honeywell
     Rays get: Cash considerations

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     1. What can Sixers get for a Benjamin? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

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        1. LOL……..something, anything at this point.

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116. Bob D – I would say that Stubbs (on paper) has the better shot to be the back up catcher because he bats from the left side.

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117. The AFL ended it’s season and Peoria which was staffed with our Phillies prospects tied for the best record in the league. It’s my understanding the reason they are not in the championship game is that although they tied in head to head games with Surprise 3-3. Surprise had a +1 run differential vs Peoria Javelinas. Without a doubt the the Phillies prospects especially Stott made this the best team for the last three weeks of the season and after digging themselves into 0-5 hole they went 16-7-1

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     1. We have crushed the Phillies’ farm system – and rightfully so. But some good things are happening. I can never recall an AFL that went so well for so many of our prospects as this AFL – and it’s not close. Several guys took large steps forward and looked like future big league contributors, and perhaps even impact players. Even McArthur, who had a mixed experience in the AFL, looks like a player and his development is important because this team is going to need solid back-end of the rotation guys.

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        1. The upside, high ceiling talent is considerable….Stott, Abel, Painter, O’Hoppe, Rojas, Miller, and farther down the line, Viars. Btw, Donny Sands pulls in at #26 on Phillies MLB’s top 30.

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           1. Donny Sands is someone to keep your eye on. He had a pretty huge power breakout this year. 18 homers in about 380 ABs and a good walk rate. Too often guys who have breakouts in the minors in the mid to late 20s are ignored – these guys can be prime breakout candidates. Sands may either make the team or continue to develop in AAA. And Nelson has very good velocity, sitting 96-97 and touching 98 and 99.

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              1. Update – I read the wrong column on Sands’ walk rates – they are acceptable, not great – roughly average last year.

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     2. Thank you for the tie breaker explanation. I saw that Peoria could only win if the other 2 contenders tied, which would not happen.

        Stott ended up going 2-4 with 3 rbi’s. Ended season at .318, 7 doubles, 2 homers, 31 rbis. 24 walks, & 14 ks in 102 plate appearances. OPS.934. Led the league in RBI’s and walks.
        Damon Jones, 14ks in 10 innings, 0.87 ERA.
        Erik Miller, 12ks in 10 innings, 1.80 ERS.
        McArthur 18ks in 16 innings, high ERA, but gave up most of the runs in 1 game. 5 games 8.10 ERA but in 4 of those games 3.40 ERA.
        Crouse 24ks in 16 innings, 5.06 ERA but Connor Seabold had a 4.87 ERA and was tied for 2nd in giving up most HRS, but it was only 4 in 20 innings. Crouse gave up 2 HRS, McArthur 1, Miller 1 & Jones 0.

        O’Hoppe 3-17-.299. .960 OPS. 21 walks 15 ks in 98 plate appearances.

        Muzziotti 0-13-.254, hitting came on strong in last half of season. 15 walks 13 ks in 82 plate appearances. .398 OBP.

        All 3 phillies in top 23 of the 70 battters in league for OBP.

        Walks Stoot #1, O’Hoppe #2 & Muzziotti #11.

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        1. Damon Jones could really be a real contributor to the Phillies’ bullpen next year if what I saw in his AFL all-star appearance is repeatable. He could be a very solid middle reliever. And, with Erik Miller, man, if he’s really throwing up to 99, he’s also got a bright future.

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118. We are at 39 on our 40 Man Roster. I don’t think everyone makes it through the Winter on it however. We may be able to trade a couple of players off the 40 Man for 1 back, but we are going to need more than 1 open spot. Can we talk about Nola? I know that, to many of you, I am too passive this off season in not wanting to trade our top prospects or Nola. But, to me, we not only need Nola back, but any success we want needs a Nola at the top of his game, not what we got last season. If we trade him, we need a #2 SP. That’s not, IMO, Sean Manaea or Ranger. Where is that SP coming from? I just don’t see DD trading Nola. And, believe me, I love reading mark’s trade proposals. Since we haven’t made the Playoffs in 10 years, this is my favorite time of the Baseball season. I just know Pitching is crucial. I also know I could be completely wrong, and DD has a SP waiting in the wings to acquire.

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     1. Matt, you and I are on the same page. If you trade Nola, you know what we’ll be looking for? Another Nola – a potentially dominant and affordable top of the rotation guy. He is poised for a huge bounce back season. His metrics indicate that this is so – he’s not far away from the guy who had a 10 WAR season. Not only that, but what will this team need to compete for a championship? I’ll tell you what we’ll need – a dominant top of the rotation – 1-3. With Wheeler, Nola and Suarez, we might have that right now. DON’T TOUCH IT!

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        1. Now, if we had two guys in AAA that looked like future aces, the calculus might be a bit different. Those guys don’t exist right now, however.

           The one guy I think we can consider moving is Segura. He gets paid a lot but his value is about as high as it will ever get and I just don’t feel he is the best guy in the clubhouse (he took a run at Girardi this year – really? I hate guys like that). So, if you want to sign a top SS and then move Stott to second and sign Galvis as general infield insurance and flexibility, I’m okay with that. I am also open to moving Bohm in the right trade although it would be a shame to trade a guy like that while his value is down but, in my view, Bohm at best is going to be a corner outfielder in not too long, which raises the bar significantly on his offense. Can he generate that type of offense? Yeah, I have no idea. Maybe.

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           1. I wonder if the Brewers would consider taking an agreeable Segura and his salary for one more year in a package for Hader, perhaps somewhat offset by taking JBJ’s money if the Phillies can’t land Marte or Reynolds.

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              1. I like Segura and all, but why would the Brewers do that trade, even if we took JBJ?

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                 1. Segura only from the standpoint that he’s not a longterm commitment, yet Milwaukee is still in win now mode. He can play 3 infield positions…just supposing.

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                 2. Yeah, but Segura’s not cheap and then they have to replace their closer? I wouldn’t get near that if I were the Brewers. At least not for Hader.

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                 3. Segura IS expensive, right…which is why I suggested taking JBJ off their hands…but yes, Hader can probably be had for a less convoluted deal.

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                 4. I get it – but that’s still a lopsided trade for the Phillies – one the Brewers would never accept this offseason.

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119. I understand the argument against trading the likes of Nola and Hoskins. It would only make sense under certain criterion. However, neither figures to be a Phillie indefinitely. 2023 stands to realistically be their last season in red pinstripes, and that’s assuming either or both aren’t traded by then, which is also realistic, if not probable. Something to consider as time goes on…

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     1. I am hesitant about trading Nola…he could break back the way he pitched just a few years ago…BUT…if there were a team I would target in a trade involing him, it would be the Dodgers.
        I do think Friedman would give the Phillies plenty in return for Nola

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     2. Why 2023? I disagree. I think both will sign extensions and stay in Philly.

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120. A couple of these guys that the Phillies just traded for will likely be dropped from the 40 and claimed by another team when/if the Phils acquire someone else of more value.

     Who was that guy who they got last year or the year before who later was dropped from the 40 and didn’t make it through waivers being chosen by another team?

     He was claimed by that team, put on their 40 man roster, then dropped again and yet chosen again. I’m pretty sure that he was on the 40 of at least 4-5 teams that off season.

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     1. Harry “Suitcase” Simpson ???

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        1. 👍 yep, that was him!

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     2. ciada, possibly. But, I think it’s likely they try to keep players for whom they traded players. I think it’s more likely that waiver claims and existing players are more vulnerable. Ryan Serfi

        RHP Ian Hamilton might be the player you’re thinking of. Between September 18, 2020 and February 5, 2021, he was on 4 teams.

        9/18/2020 – DFA-ed by the Chicago White Sox
        9/25/2020 – Claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners
        12/7/2020 – Claimed off waivers by the Phillies
        1/29/2021 – DFA-ed by the Phillies
        2/5/2021 – Claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins

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121. I always enjoy reading the trade speculation on this site but have refrained recently from writing as I was simply enjoying the banter. However, I will offer my 2 cents on a couple of thoughts I have on the off season for the Phils. As someone who trusts DD implicitly, I am prepared to allow all his moves to transpire before offer a complete assessment. However, unlike Wade and Klentak, and much like Gillick, DD is a master at multi-tasking and I have little doubt that the deals he made yesterday indicate a bigger move [probably involving Marchant or O’Hoppe] is coming. Of this I have little doubt.

     As for who I believe DD is targeting, I would give dollars to dimes that his target is Hader and not Kimbrel. I believe DD saw enough of the Phils this year to realize two things…1] with a better defense and 2] with a lockdown closer, this Phillie team would have won 5-7 more games and with those wins the team MIGHT have won the NL East. I think Hader is their top target as DD always wants a lockdown closer and if there is a better one in baseball I don’t know who it is.

     One more thing for me to add. I am a huge Nola phan and think he suffered terribly this year from two things, a bad bullpen behind him and terrible defense. I would not trade Nola, I would try and rectify those two things behind him. Just off the top of my head I know Nola had 3-4 games where he went into the last inning with a lead and didn’t get the win, either as a result of poor defense, a closer blowing the game or his surrendering of a home run [that SD game still haunts me.] Think of how much easier it will be for the starting pitchers if they know the defense will bail them out and Hader is there to close a game.

     From everything I have read, Milwaukee is likely to move Hader. I think DD is determined to make sure he is at the front of the line when it comes to acquiring him.

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     1. CalDream….always good to hear from you. Your perspective is reasonable and realistic (meaning it usually agrees with mine😁)…please when you can, be sure to chime in.

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122. Yankees designate Clint Frazier….willing to bet Joe G has an eye out for him to play the OF.
     If he gained back his health…he would be someone to look for LF or even CFer.
     The Yankees do owe the Phillies anyways for yesterday’s deal….Cashman was able to keep more of his younger prospect capital.

     “The Yankees also executed a trade with the Phillies on Friday, acquiring a pair of 21-year-old prospects in exchange for right-hander Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands. New York obtained infielder T.J. Rumfield and left-hander Joel Valdez in the swap…….
     The moves allowed the Yankees to protect five prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, adding infielder Oswaldo Cabrera, right-hander Ron Marinaccio, outfielder Everson Pereira, right-hander Stephen Ridings and lefty JP Sears to their 40-man roster.”

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     1. No Clint Frazier please.

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123. You can say that again, Thompson.

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124. Good to hear again from you, CD. I think Hinkie or mark had a trade proposal for Hader. I tried to scroll back to find it, but couldn’t. He is the best Closer out there, and it will cost a lot, but he is certainly someone that DD would covet. I have them going after Knebel because I am reluctant to give up our top prospects, which Milwaukee would want.

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     1. Catch and I went back and forth earlier about a Hader trade. The package I suggested would include Segura’s money for JBJ’s, then add Rojas and O’Hoppe (as much as I’d loathe the idea) along with a young arm like Miller.

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125. matt13…thanks for the kind words [and from you too, mark 8:29!]. Knebel is a solid get but I just believe DD is not like previous Phillie GMs not named Gillick, he is not willing to once again bring in a decent reliever and “hope” that said reliever has a career year. Far too many Phillie teams of the past did this with mediocre results. Gillick went for the top of the line guy in Lidge and look what the result was…a decent but not outstanding rotation helped fuel the team to the 2008 championship.

     I can’t emphasize enough what a Hader would mean for guys like Nola, Eflin, Suarez and Gibson. Actually he would likely help all the bullpen guys out as with a guy like Hader around everyone else would get clearer defined roles…Neris, should he return, would be the 8th inning guy and hurlers like Alvarado and Bradley would become the 7th inning guys. The best Phillies bullpens in my lifetime were in 1980 [Brusstar, Reed, McGraw] and 2008 [Romero, Madson, Lidge] when the roles were clearly defined and everyone knew their place.

     One more thing. I mentioned that DD knows he must improve the team’s defense. Well, a Hader out of the bullpen sure helps alleviate some of that issue. I could play shortstop behind a guy who averages 1.5 strikeouts an inning. If the other team is not hitting the ball you don’t need Gold Glove guys at every position. Growing up I saw a famous softball pitcher named Eddie Feiner, who had a catcher and two position players behind him, yet almost never lost because he struck out almost every hitter. Hader is similar to that.

     I don’t know about you but I am tired of always entering the 9th inning with a 1 run lead and literally sweating out every pitch because of the uncertainty of the closer. My guess is that DD feels the same way. Hader solves that problem.

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126. CD, you may a terrific point, so much so, that I went back to look at the Lidge deal. Lidge and Eric Bruntlett for Geoff Geary, Mike Costanzo and Michael Bourn. Bourn, of course, was the highest profile prospect, and very highly regarded. SO, let’s say that Rojas fills the Bourn role although farther away. Does Erik Miller, who I like, with Rojas and Marchan get it done? Or do we have to part with O’Hoppe, which I wouldn’t like either, mark, or does it have to be a higher regarded Pitcher than Miller? I still do not trade Abel, Painter or Stott.

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     1. BREWERS get:
        Logan O’Hoppe c
        Erik Miller lhp
        Johan Rojas cf
        Roman Quinn of
        Jean Segura 2b

        PHILLIES get:
        Jackie Bradley Jr cf
        Josh Hader closer

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        1. Okay – so we get a closer and a liability and we single handedly retool the Brewers for the mid 2020s – awesome trade – if you’re the Brewers. Franchise killer if you’re the Phillies.

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     2. If a team ever got their money out of a player, it was Geoff Geary. In 2006 he played in 81 games for the Phils. By the end of the year, he could untie his shoe laces without bending over.

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127. mark, I have a feeling we can make that deal without giving them Segura. I think taking the JBJ contract makes the deal even better for the Brewers. That is $11M, and I don’t think they need Segura. Rojas projects to stay in CF, is our top OF prospect by a fairly good margin, O’Hoppe is a very good C prospect, of which there are not many, and Miller is a big lefthanded arm, also well regarded. Regardless of how anyone views our overall farm, they are 3 good prospects. I like all 3, but that may get a Hader deal done.

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128. Blockbuster Mark – With Kolten Wong on their roster, I don’t think the Brewers want Segura.

     Romus – Last I heard about Frazier was that the Yankees and their fans thought of him as a terrible defender in all outfield positions.

     And to echo Thompson and Thompson, yes, this is going to be some off season.

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     1. ciada….yeah he did struggle in CF….but he cannot be any worse than Cutch was in LF…..plus his concussions and vertigo symptoms may have contributed to his poor plate and fielding issues.
        You know….could be alittle difficult tracking fly balls when you feel a bit dizzy and light-headed.

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129. Why would we want JBJ at $11M? He was awful last year. I don’t see it.

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130. The rationale is that he is outstanding defensively, Murray, coupled with a bat like Schwarber in LF. I may prefer Kiermaier, but that is the reasoning. My first choice is Starling Marte.

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     1. He’s gold glove caliber for sure but it’s too much money to pay for him unless an offensive rebound is expected. There are other defense first options that won’t cost $11M

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        1. He hit 163/236 last year. That’s unplayable

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           1. IMO, Haseley can give you more than that….and comes fiscally more advantageous to the cap.

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131. Thor Leaving NYC and writer in a huff…………..:

     Mike Francesa
     @MikeFrancesa…Nov 19
     The Mets are better off without Syndergaard. In case you haven’t noticed, they have been without him for years.

     Noah Syndergaard
     @Noahsyndergaard
     Replying to
     @MikeFrancesa
     Damn, didn’t know you were still alive. Congrats.
     3:37 PM · Nov 19, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

     Mike Francesca:
     I competed every day for 35 years (and won) in my chosen profession in the greatest city in the world. Noah whined and ran away.

     Noah Syndergaard
     @Noahsyndergaard
     Replying to
     @MikeFrancesa
     Only thing you’ve ever won is being a gas-bag Mets hating opportunist. All you’ve done is talk shit and spread toxic crap for a career. Congrats again sweetie, you’re doing great.

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132. Not that this blog cares about the Schmets – but they got rid of a player who has been injured forever, they get a draft choice – likely # 70, , and he goes to a team for one year = who gives up that draft choice — hoping he turns out able to pitch, maybe 120 innings – all for $21 million. And then that player gets to walk if 1) he does anything positive ; 2) Angels get nothing back and Thor does turn out good and he gets a 3 year deal for xx$$$ from another team – there is no QO. If I am the Mutts it is a win win…. 21 million for 120 inniings ????? And I don’t like Francesa…….so this doesn’t come from there.

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133. Brent Honeywell Jr to the A’s for cash considerations.
     Oh how I wish Phillies would have rolled the dice on him! I’m a big fan of Honeywell. Rays giving up on him though I guess says something.

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     1. Since his TJ has not been the same pitcher….his screwball did him in…it was the 60 pitch and had rated very high……, but it also aggravated the UCL issue.
        Not sure he will throw the pitch again.

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134. I think the Phils will make one big trade and it will be for either a LF or a CF. They’ll sign FAs for the other and for the closer plus likely bring Galvis, Miller and maybe even Bradley back on deals. Only if they get shut out in the FA market will they resort to more trades. This won’t get resolved before the Dec lockout. It’s very unlikely that Segura or Bohm get traded and it will be hard to trade Didi but they’ll try. Nola is definitely not going anywhere.

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135. We are looking at the same guide book, Murray. The only possible FA signing that might change your lineup above could be a Michael Conforto signing since it doesn’t look like he will be returning to the Mets. Nola is not going anywhere – I agree.

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136. I actually think Schwarber is the target over Conforto, and especially with no QO attached. My original plan was Schwarber, S.Marte and Knebel, but with all the Marte interest, my 3 year contract thought may not be reality. Jim Salisbury wrote today about our interest in Mychal Givens. My goal is a genuine, bona fide Closer, what does everyone else think?

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     1. I like Givens/have liked Givens for a while now. I suggested a Pivetta for Givens deal two summers ago when it became clear Pivetta needed a change of scenery. I wouldn’t acquire Givens as my closer. For me, he’s a great “different look”/setup guy. Givens’ side-winding delivery is something the Phillies don’t have, and could be effective amidst the stable of power arms (Alvarado/Coonrod/Ser-Ant’ny,Kimbrel[?]) already in the pen.

        I’ve been mostly unavailable for the past couple of days, but wanted to throw my 2-cents in on Friday’s moves. I don’t believe the Phillies primary backup catcher is in the organization yet. In other words, I don’t think Stubbs or (especially) Sands is that guy.
        I liked Logan Cerny (thought he may have been the best 10th round pick of any team in this year’s draft) … but … if DD was going to deal any of the day three OFer draft picks, I’d prefer it to be Cerny than Gavin Tonkel or Jared Carr (who I have at #35 on my Phils prospects list).
        I like the Nick Nelson and Kent Emanuel pickups. They have some upside, they each have 2 MiLB options left, and they cost the club next to nothing (so it won’t hurt to DFA either of them if things don’t go right).

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     2. The way I can see the team actually do things over what I or everyone else wishes, is to sign or trade for bona fide closer and one big bat.
        The hitter will likely be a power hitter and possibly be lefthanded hitter to play LF with at least acceptable defense.
        As for center field they will likely look for the best fielder possible with at least acceptable offense at a lower cost.
        I also would not be surprised with a new starting pitcher and not like last year with Anderson and such but more like a dependable pitcher such as Matz

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        1. Yes. I like the idea of another SP. Should focus on a southpaw. I’ve been thinking Alex Wood could make a lot of sense. Not sure he’s going to demand more than two years. He’s had injury issues, but when healthy, Wood can be effective as either a SP or a reliever.
           The other LHP I have had a longing for since before he arrived in this country is Yusei Kikuchi. He’s got a sky high ceiling (even as a 30 YO). He’s a Scott Boras client (positive sign for the Phillies), has no QO anchored to him, and looks like he’s finally putting it all together after a slow start in MLB. I would absolutely make Kikuchi a serious offer. MLB Trade Rumors has him at 2 yrs/20M, and Kiley McDaniel projects 2 yrs/ 21M). Sign me up!

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137. Hinkie, I hope your unavailability was not health related ! Possibly you were behind the scenes putting into morion our acquisition of Suzuki? He gets posted tomorrow.

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     1. Suzuki would be an interesting not very costly addition

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        1. Odds on Suzuki signing with anyone other than Seattle, Boston, LAD or Texas? Next to nil…

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           1. I can’t give you the identity of the team … but … I can say with almost 100% certainty Kikuchi (who is a Boras client) will sign with the squad who offers him the most money.

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     2. Matt, I’ve (probably) never felt better. But thanks for your concern.
        And yeah I would expect DD to show some interest in Suzuki.

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138. If it is pitching depth that the Phillies could be looking for …..Jake Odorizzi could be had from the ‘Stros for very little.
     he is a back-end of the rotation guy now but provides expereinced depth.
     https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/odorija01.shtml
     He is due $8M due in 2022….and $8.5 player option in 2023.
     The Astros are loaded with starters now with Verlander and his $20M plus contract and then .Lance McCullers Jr ($17M)., Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier
     So they may look to move odorizzi and his contract to save them a little.

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     1. Romus, those kind of moves are what DD should be looking for. If DD decides to retire I will write a reference letter for you

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        1. Thanks Bob D…..but that is a young man’s ‘game’ now, and no room for dinosaurs. .

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           1. Nuts”…………I was going to be your runner in your new gig……..actually your shuffler, don’t have a lot of run in me, but I think about it a lot.😎

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139. MLBTR has us as the #1 match for a Kiermaier trade. Owed 1 year/ $14.5M. How does everyone feel about hm? May be as good defensively as anyone in the OF.

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     1. No thanks, he’s another zero offensively (although better than JBJ).

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        1. I feel the same as Murray, haven’t we had enough of no hitting center fielders who can’t stay on the field because of injuries. Aren’t we supposed to be looking for an improvement. Why would we be looking for the same thing we had that costs more? I don’t get it.

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