507 thoughts on “Open Discussion: Week of March 20, 2022”

1. Pretty Ricky, you were warned a year ago to watch your comments. This isn’t the first time you’ve said something rude about another person here. This was the message you may have missed. If I get one more complaint about you, you’re gone.

   “Pretty Ricky. Your rhetoric is more suited in discussion groups on other sites. I think you would be happier on one of them. If you want to enjoy the privilege of commenting here, make intelligent statements and be able to support them with facts, especially when you are presenting a less popular opinion.” 1/25/2021

   If anyone wants to talk directly with Ricky, I’ll post his email address here for you. Let me know.

   1. Thank you Jim.

   2. Well it’s not a bad idea as there’s no reason why he should’ve blasted Hinkie. People banter but itty ricky took it to a different level.

      Side note – thanks for what you do, Jim.

      Any fun rumblings down on the farm? Interested to see how Painter and Abel are doing.

2. Some very interesting tool grades in here https://www.mlb.com/news/phillies-top-30-prospects-list-2022-preseason?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

   Muzziotti with a 55 hit and 60 defense. He seems like the prospect we wanted our first round OFs to be.
   – Crouse with a 65 slider. If nothing else that should make him a serious weapon out of the Pen
   – Griff McGarry with a 65 fastball, 55 curve and change. If he can throw strike you are looking at a #2 starter type with those grades.
   – Painter and Abel with 55 Control. That’s awesome. Not just elite fastball but also plus control.

   1. I was surprised by the 55 power for Viars.

   2. Bergolla already in the top 20 by their analysis.
      Scouts must be super high on him.
      Phillies may be striking gold on their last 4 big international Latin signees.

   3. McGarry is tops (or tied for best) in 3 categories. I know he struggles with control, but you can’t get much more upside than that with a 5th round pick.

      1. Agreed. A very good pick.

   4. Is it possible that Simon Muzziotti could be part of the CF platoon since Herrera is hurt?

      1. Yes, it is. he is on the 40 man roster as well.

3. I think Justin Williams actually has a good chance to make the 26 because of his versatility. He can play OF and IF and with a 4 man bench, that would help plus he’s on the 40.

   1. I don’t disagree with you, but you could say the same about Camargo, Vierling, Maton, and Luke Williams. Torreyes and Kingery also fill the bill but aren’t on the 40. We seem to have an abundance of DHs, backup catchers, and utility guys.

      1. Oops I meant Luke Williams. Too many Williams….

         1. Luke was DFA’d today

4. I was surprised that the Phillies signed Nick C. after signing Schwarber. Nick was my favorite choice going into free agency and really feel like he will be a needed addition…..but we all know the team defense is scary. The good news is, if we realize this is a concern then Dave D. knows it too. We have all our prospects to offer a rebuilding team if a solution is needed. I remember in 2008 when the team had all that offense but needed better defense at third base and signed Pedro Feliz. Looks like we are in the same situation.

   1. Must great defensive teams are strong up the middle…catcher, ss, 2B and CF…..and in the Phillies case they can be that team with strong up- the- middle defense, but as Ray Didi calls them….Alec and Rhys…the ‘corner butchers’…that could negate that strength.

   2. Agree that this roster is incomplete, even though I’m thrilled with the thunder in the lineup. Dombrowski has to be exploring the trade market for either CF or infield help. Girardi’s daily game plan shouldn’t have to lean so heavily on late inning defensive replacements.

      Looks like the off season became a rather fluid situation (as Ruben liked to say). I doubt DD went in with any inkling of signing two big boppers. Once Bryant passed on the 5 year offer, the market lagged long enough for Schwarber and Castellanos to be had for the equivalent of KB. Now that’s a beautiful thing🤗. Nonetheless the defense as it’s presently constructed needs to be addressed. If the club isn’t winning consistently early on, the cries for reinforcements from the bleachers will be loud and clear.

5. Man I am such a fan of Micky M but his hitting and fielding are showing either his tightness or lack of ML talent. I know it is only 2 games and I am frustrated that our LH hitters are facing lefty pitching, which they won’t be seeing much in the majors so I’m looking for more.

   Why don’t they look at the starting pitching and go strength vs strength even tho it is ST? Righty/lefty like it will be for most of these hitters in the bigs?

   1. A few reasons.

      One is that pitchers are only going 1-2 innings at the moment. So the matchup at the start of the game doesn’t necessarily mean anything for players at the end of the lineup. By the time they get their first plate appearance, it’s entirely possible there will be a new pitcher. And the guys at the top of the order are typically ones who will play against every pitcher.

      Another reason is that playing someone against only their preferred matchup doesn’t give you information on how they do against everyone else. A lot of these guys are fighting for a job or a promotion, and you can’t determine who should go where by only putting them up against favorable opposition.

      And lastly, because the games don’t matter. This is only for getting up to speed. Strikeouts aren’t ideal, but they help the player adjust their timings just as much (if not more) as a ground ball does. If you don’t let someone play, they can’t get in a groove. So better to let them “fail” and improve than not play at all.

   2. If a player needs to have the perfect matchup set in spring training to look somewhat respectable…that isn’t a major league player. He is what he is…move on. The Phillies have.

6. Phillies have currently 2 prospects in the top 100. Barring a trade or injury, they Phillies imho will have 4 in the top 100, possible as soon as the mid season update, and surely by the 2023 update. With O’Hoppe having a great fall league showing, if he continues to progress, and the fact that he is a catcher .. the Phillies could still have 4 in the top 100 this time next year. I expect for Stott to graduate off this list. No surprises but It’s nice to acknowledge the farm is on the upswing (theoretically)

   2022
   Abel
   Stott
   Painter
   Rojas

   2023
   Abel
   Painter
   Rojas
   O’Hoppe

   With the current team making the push, I’m don’t expect O’Hoppe to last, especially with 5 DH’s on the team already. You need to trade him for pitching.

   1. If the Phillies are in the race by the deadline, which there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, then it’ll be interesting to see how aggressive Dombrowski will be…

   2. Yeah, I couldn’t disagree more. If you think O’Hoppe is going to be a first division regular, he’s probably one of the few guys you have to keep. Why? This team is getting really expensive and they are going to need lower cost relief in the next few years and preferably at a position where performance is otherwise going to decline. To me, that makes him an ideal replacement for JT Realmuto, in a few years and, yes, before Realmuto’s contract is up (he should be tradeable so long as he doesn’t fall off a cliff). So, to me, you trade one of Painter or Abel – probably Painter, but whoever the people who get paid a lot to make these decisions think is the second best of the two. Of course, this could change (especially if you think Painter and Abel are future 1s), but first division regular catchers are an extremely rare commodity. The Phillies have promoted 2 of those guys in the last 30 years (Ruiz and Lieberthal) and O’Hoppe has the potential to be as good or better than both.

      1. Marchan or O;Hoppe?
         One could have to go soon,… this year or next season.
         Who has the most trade value?.
         Neither are currently in the top ten minor league catchers as rated by MLB.com.

7. Tac – I think you gotta believe that when Hoskins is due free agency and if O’Hoppe is ready, Hoskins will be either traded before or let go as a free agent.

   This would allow Realmuto to finish his Phillies tenure at first base. He played shortstop in his school days so he is a decent enough fielder to handle it.

   1. You are correct, I’ve given this some thought 🙂 You also now how schwarber & possibly castellanos that could play 1st. Let’s assume they Don’t do that. What I also see happening is the Phillies in a playoff push needing some arms. Someone’s gotta go. Gotta give to get and I see O’Hoppe going in a big pitcher deal. Unless Abel gets on a fast track to not need that trade. You gotta max this window out, and I just don’t see all 4 of the guys I mentioned surviving DD’s itchy trade finger. He’s in position to do what he normally does. Max payroll and gut the farm for a legit contender. He’s almost there imho

   2. Not the best use of Realmuto’s skill set. Realmuto is a ridiculous overpay as a first baseman. You could replace his hitting production in the range of $8-10m, so you don’t pay him $23m if you can find another destination for him, even if you pay a small part of the salary.

      1. When the time comes for JTR to move over to 1B…..it may be for a brief period that is left on his 5 year contract..
         Plus the rigors of not catching everyday may work to his benefit at the plate.
         Purely speculation at this moment, but if JTR is able to produce a 3WAR per season result at first base in his last years….then he meets the value of the contract.

         1. He’s not even a 3 WAR first baseman now, before his serious decline begins. I’m okay with a little first base to give him some easy games but as a starter – nah, that’s a big losing proposition at $23 million per year.

            1. Check Rhys’ WAR….8WAR in 5 years….2200PAs…basically a 2WAR 1B player…vs 18WAR for JTR…and as a catcher, and as an overall better athlete.
               Granted Rhys’ salary has been low, however I’d rather pay JTR in the last few years of his contract his current AAV, then have to pay Rhys’ and Boras in the very near future when he becomes a free agent.

               1. Different discussion, but I’ll get to that in a second. Realmuto projects to have like a OPS plus at 110 or less – his contract would be horrible as a starting first baseman. He needs to be a catcher for as long as possible, even if he catches fewer games.

                  As for Hoskins, he is a much younger and still improving player. He was on pace for a 3 WAR season last year and there’s still more upside. He had a 134 and 129 OPS plus the last two years. He is a first division regular. Whether they should keep him once he’s eligible to be a free agent will depend entirely on the price, but putting Realmuto there creates, not solves, a problem.

               2. We agree to disagree.
                  Hoskins is what he is…29 years old, if almost 2 years to the day is considered ‘much younger’ so be it…….2000PAs…big enough sample size..butcher at first base, just check his DRS vs MLB average ….horrific career RISP
                  You say he improves ….I say, we saw what we have seen for the last four years…..basically a 2WAR player….for the sake of the Phillies hope he can improve on his RISP

               3. Just so we’re clear here. The Phillies just gave Castellano a $100 million contract. His lifetime OPS+ is 115. Hoskins’ lifetime OPS+ is 126 and is over 130 the last 2 years. I am NOT saying Hoskins is better than Castellanos, but I am saying that we should be showing him the love (at least for the next two years) and not the door.

8. Joe spoke highly of O’Hoppe the other day when interviewed by Mac and Ruben during game. Romus, this is for you. I have mentioned grandson at times to you. Yesterday I had to take him to get his travel team pics. We are a couple miles down the road and he goes “Pappy Phillies are going to be awesome this year with Schwarber and Nicky.” He is big Tigers fan so big Nicky fan. Then he says, “if Phillies can get any pitching.” He is 15. He knows how the game is played. Thought you would enjoy that.

   1. Don……sounds like your grandson has the baseball intellect.
      Now since he is a big Tiger’s fan, tell him when dave D was their GM, he decided to go with the sluggers over the defense for a few years, and they made it to the play-offs and the one time to the WS..and the Tigers defense was at the bottom half of the majors…
      Looks like he is rolling the dice again for that to happen in Philly.

9. Schwarber press conference over. Schwarber is an impressive speaker. Seems like a great teammate. He’s been a winner, and hopefully will bring that attitude to the Phillies clubhouse.
   And … I’m more impressed with the way Dave Dombrowski handles these pressers every time he holds one; head and shoulders above Andy MacPhail (“If we don’t, we don’t”).

   .

   BTW … Nick Castellanos is another guy with some swagger. His press conference should be another good one.

   I think Phillies fans are going to enjoy Nick Castellanos’ perpetual disdain for mediocrity. He’s also not afraid to call out BS. pic.twitter.com/cpcFJLlxbb

   — Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) March 21, 2022

   The defense may be terrible in 2022, but they should rip the cover off the ball, and should be a lot of fun to watch (mostly very long games).

   1. Agree on Dombrowski. I’ve done a 180 on him since he was hired. I was down on his acquisition because he’s left some other teams in bad shape. But someone said that perhaps he just did what the owners wanted in those situations (“Dave, win us a title – if you have to trade the farm to do it, then do it”) and his approach was much more balanced than it appeared. Well, he’s been nothing but outstanding – Pat Gillick-like – in his decision-making and communication skills. He was told to win and turn the system around and he’s in the process of doing exactly that. And, most importantly, this guy has gravitas – pull in the inner circles of the organization – that resulted in JM breaking the LTT – something he probably would not have done for virtually every other executive, at least before the start of the season. We are really lucky to have him. I am sorry I doubted you, Dave.

      1. Catch, I’m still 50/50, I think we need to see DD’s plan play out a little bit more. Fair point to consider about DD doing what the owner asked, and per sources, Middleton said to Both win now & balance the futures. Will see, but my gut feeling is telling me we are going to see the prospects traded off
         To make a run at the title. Its been 10 years since the playoffs and 14 since the WS. Ideally, DD has built up the scouting team and what he trades off, gets replaced, & the mlb club wins the WS.. That’s best case. Will see but if that Chapman trade went down I think we’d be singing a different tune. I will say he seems to be showing restraint. For me keep believing he’s balancing the future, I have to see how he behaves now that’s he has made the big FA additions. I believe this is where he makes the trades to fix what is needed, and load the team up for a true playoff run. The NL East has had 2 WS winners recently … let’s hope the Phillies can be the 3rd

         1. You have to put DD’s performance into context. He came into a mediocre situation because the team had a bad farm system and was tapped out on salaries. I can just judge the moves I’ve seen and move after move, I nod my head and think “yeah, that’s the right thing to do.” I didn’t feel like that most of the time with Klentak or Amaro.

10. Hinkie, Schwarber is an IU guy. That is why he is impressive. He was very good at IU. I think he will be a huge addition to Phillies on the field and in the clubhouse. I remember him on the shopping cart for Sox last Summer after a HR. Schwarber and Castellanos have help at least add a partial Phillies fan from my grandson.
    BTW thanks Jim for response to that guy. I so enjoy this site. We do not all agree but that is what makes things great. But everyone is respectful to each other. Thanks again Jim for all you do to maintain this site.

    1. Don….not many Hossiers here in Lion territory and even the Scarlet Knight region!

       1. Romus, not many Phllies fans here in Indiana. I always thought when I was a kid I was the ONLY one. LOL. Schwarber will be good.

          1. Yep…hope Schwarber ages like good wine.

11. Kinda weird to see two former fledgling arms land with other teams on minor league deals….Thomas Eshelman with the Padres and Adam Morgan with the Astros. Amazing how pitchers are such a commodity that any big league experience at all seems to give them a longer shelf life.

    1. In Morgan’s case, it helps that he absolutely brutalizes left handed hitters. Over his career, lefties have only a .215/.290/.330 slash against him in 139.1 IP. Add in his 27.4% K rate (and 8.5% BB rate), and it’s not hard to see why teams might want him as a situational pitcher.

       If anything, maybe we should be upset that the Phils allowed him to have almost twice as many innings against righties than lefties. LOOGYs don’t exist anymore, but they did when we had him.

12. Even John Middleton has a sense of humor….Middleton said he’s always aware of the feelings of the team’s fan base.

    “I made the comment in my first press conference about how really well-run companies pay attention to the customers. It doesn’t matter if you’re making automobiles or toothpaste, you need to know what your customers are thinking and you get customer feedback. But customers don’t run the business. Their input is critical, but they don’t make the decisions. Otherwise, you might as well get rid of everybody and just go out there — I’m not a social media person — but I guess you could line up something on social media and say, ‘Please vote over the next 48 hours about whether we want to sign Player No. 1, Player No. 2 or Player No. 3, and, by the way, we’ll come back to you with the approval of the terms and conditions.’
    ……LOL

13. Think BIG … Phils are already in regular season mode …

    The Phillies’ infield defense committed three errors on Monday. Of course, this is spring training — read into these games at your peril — but two of those errors came from their starting first baseman (Rhys Hoskins) and starting second baseman (Jean Segura).

14. Do you have a minor lg. Spring game schedule you can please post?

    1. There are minor league games scheduled every day until April 2nd.

       They play the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Yankees. The Tigers are unreliable as they will cancel if there is even a hint of rain.

       AAA/AA travel together, Hi A/A travel together. One pair will be at the Complex, the other pair on the road.

       The Complex schedule is –

       3/22 Blue Jays AAA/AA
       3/23 Tigers Hi A/A
       3/23 Blue Jays Hi A/A
       3/25 Tigers AAA/AA
       3/26 Blue Jays Hi A/A (10:00 AM)
       3/27 Intrasquads (TBD)
       3/28 Yankees AAA/AA
       3/29 Blue Jays AAA/AA
       3/30 Yankees Hi A/A
       3/31 Tigers Hi A/A
       4/1 Intrasquads, AAA breaks camp (TBD)
       4/2 Intrasquads,AA/HiA/A break camp (TBD)

       Most games are at 1:00 PM except where noted. However, weather can affect starting times.

15. Have the Phillies been playing “B” games?

16. Jim, thanks for your decision on Pretty Ricky. You do a great job of making this THE must-visit site for informed and respectful discussion. Also, to Hinkie, you don’t need my support, but just for the record, let me add that I very much value your posts.

    Finally, Jim, sorry to hear that a roster expansion to 28 would be to accommodate more pitchers; We need fewer pitchers so that we can shorten game times.

    1. Initially, I assumed it would be one pitcher and one position player. But, with the DH, there’s no reason to extend the bench. Two pitchers to protect arms after a short spring training, I think we can live with it for a month.

17. The Unexpected Things That Will Happen in 2022:
    1. Bryce will be really good but nowhere near as good as last year.
    2. Alec Bohm will spend more days in Allentown than Philly.
    3. The bullpen will actually be better than the rotation.
    4. Didi Gregorius will have a strong spring and get traded, putting the Phils back under the luxury tax.
    5. Zach Wheeler will not have a good 2022.
    6. Matt Vierling will quickly and boldly establish himself as the CF of the future.
    7. Ranger Suarez will be a LH setup guy by June.

    1. I tend to agree with most of your forecast, although I think Bohm would be traded before he’s relegated to AAA. He’ll get every chance to succeed up here, even if it means moving across the diamond…

       Neither Wheeler nor Ranger will replicate 2021, although I don’t think Suarez will drop off the table that quickly. Gregorius won’t be here long, deadline at the latest barring an injury plague to the roster. Harper won’t need to be MVP this year, with the supporting cast assembled now. I’m a Vierling guy, and he projects to be a future impact player in my mind, although I’m not sure it’ll be in CF. Don’t be surprised if he eventually gets a crack at….third base.

       Talk about Hoskins above…I don’t think the argument over how good he is, or is becoming, is really the debate. Two things are apparent: (1) he’s a redundant player, and any number of other players can fill his role, and (2) his impending free agency places him smack dab on the trading block, if not soon, definitely not long. That’s not a knock on him either personally or professionally. He is what he is. But he’ll fetch more on the market than paying him above all the other big salaries on this roster, so long as he remains productive.

       1. Strongly agree with #3. I expect regression from Wheeler and Suarez. I do believe Nola will have a strong season. I’m hoping Dombrowski will fetch another SP for depth. The BP, OTOH, is as deep as it’s been in the last decade.

          1. I don’t think Nola does any better than last yr, He is not a top of rotation starter, His lack of fastball is evident, He must be perfect, I cant understand why Wheeler cant be as good or better this yr, I don’t have any idea on Suarez just my opinion.

             1. I watched his start on Sunday. He’s definitely cleaned up his delivery and was staying on top of the ball, not sitting as Ricky Bo complained last year.

                1. He did.

                   Worried about Hans Crouse; he looks like he is just throwing big pitching. Hopefully they can straighten him out for a future asset.

18. I’m going to disagree about Hoskins. He may not have much range but he usually makes the plays he can get to. He’s at least average or better at scooping low throws. And he can do something Ryan Howard NEVER could do…make the throw to 2B. Now Howard WAS a butcher and we won 5 divisions and a WS with him at 1B.

19. Mark – After Hoskins got hurt and tried his hardest to stay in the lineup, he eventually had no choice but to exit and go under the knife. When that happened, the Phillies had a big hole in their batting order and struggled to score runs. With Schwarber and Castellanos now here, he won’t be needed as much but give the man his due.

20. I would explore a trade for Hoskins if it brings us back a third basemen who can hit 15 homeruns and field, Put Bohm at first,

21. Okay, on Hoskins and Suarez. . . .

    The continued Hoskins disrespect remains puzzling. Just because he’s not the hitter you want him to be right now, doesn’t mean he isn’t really good or that he couldn’t improve. He’s really good – producing first division regular offense from the most demanding position on offense in the game. He was on his way to a 3 WAR season last year when he got hurt and there’s still more upside and he’s cheap as hell. And, no, Realmuto won’t be a good replacement. He would be a horrible replacement. Most of Realmuto’s value is tied up in his defense and his offense at that particular position, where most players don’t hit very well. As a first baseman, he’s like a 1.5 WAR player – someone whose value is about $8-10 million a year, at most. His value is as a catcher. You don’t want him as your first baseman – it’s a poor use of his talent and it turns him into a late career Joe Mauer, which you don’t want either.

    As for Suarez, on MLB’s top 10 starting pitchers right now, Bill James had Suarez ranked 10th among all starting pitchers and he said he saw no reason why Suarez couldn’t continue to thrive and he expected a big year from him. I agree with that. You can regress a lot from a 1.36 ERA and still be fantastic. I’m looking for Suarez to pitch to a 2.80-3.50 ERA and settle in nicely as a 2/3, which would be huge for this team now and for the next few years. There are two things people don’t quite see with Suarez. First, his command is amazing – like nearly Roy Halladay amazing. If you watch the game carefully, he almost always hits his spots. Second, he’s not a soft-tosser. He sits 93-94 and touches 95 and 96 at times. He’s got plenty of “giddyup” for a lefty.

    1. Regarding Hoskins, at the end of the day, or come his day of free agency with Boras as his agent, I’m not paying him $15M per year, period. It’s not disrespect. It’s about value. He’s a 1b/dh, and virtually every team in MLB has one…we have 4 or 5. So why not redeem his present value instead of betting against the odds that he’s more than what he is now. That’s all. I don’t see where anyone is dissing him. Good guy, good teammate, good power bat, good batting eye…perhaps to a fault.

       1. That’s where I am with Hoskins. I noted in the last week thread that I don’t think Hoskins makes it to FA with the Phillies.

          I don’t see him being traded in 2022 unless the season becomes a disaster but I also don’t see him being paid in same range as the guys they just acquired when that 1b spot becomes a landing spot for one of the players they already have long-term contracts with.

          I generally like Hoskins but he doesn’t fit, long-term on their roster and that money can best be allocated elsewhere moving forward. I can see him being moved next off-season.

          1. I don’t see that Hoskins doesn’t fit – I think he fits just great.

             As for whether you sign him, it all depends on the price. But they have him for cheap for the next two years so that’s a huge. As for replacing him with Bohm, that’s not a good outcome unless Bohm hits like, well, Hoskins and he’s quite a ways from that now and may never get there.

             I wouldn’t even consider trading Hoskins unless they had another big slugger in the pipeline to replace him. I’m not seeing that guy right now, although there are a number of things that could happen with Schwarber probably perfectly able to play first.

             But for godsakes, Rhys Hoskins is going to be part of a hitting machine this year. Let it roll!

22. I was following the NFL mock drafts and possible trades concerning such; will the MLB ever get into trades involving draft picks?

    1. Doesn’t appear so. Just went through a negotiation for a new CBA and was never even a subject of conversation.

       Doesn’t appear the owners are interested in the idea and the players don’t see any advantage to making it an issue.

23. I have to admit that I was wrong…at the beginning of the off-season I predicted that Dombrowski would gut the farm system to build a playoff caliber team. He has done that without trading any prospects. Hat tip to him and ownership in not being too short term focused. I am happy to admit that I am wrong. He certainly is not done building this team. But he is building from a position of strength. If he makes a move from here, it is to make a playoff team into a championship team. But, imo, he materially improved our team without blowing up the farm and that is a big win for us fans of prospects and also for the system. Well done.

    1. Agreed. Frankly, I expected the prospects to be gone by now. That said, I still have to give this more time to unfold. Will see if he balances for future of empties the farm for a 2 year push, maybe 3.
       That likely depends on Suarez being the real deal, and the defense not costing too many games, but his MO is a bare cupboard, so I’m waiting for that shoe to drop.

       1. If Muzziotti becomes something in happenstance of an injury, tears up in the spring games and goes north in April, what a pleasant surprise and a shot in our collective arm from the farm. Stranger things, right?

24. I agree with you both, and am very glad that we still have our top guys, and, if we need to add, and we probably will, we have the next tier of guys to help with that. Plus, I am anxious to see how each of the top guys develops this season. I believe that we end up with a better farm system than the National folks give us credit for.

    1. For trades, it’s kind of funny. You don’t always need to have the best prospects to get players, or the top deal. You just need to be willing to give your top chip. We saw this In the realmuto trade. Sometimes teams hoard their prospects, and ardently willing to get their top prospects, but are okay with their second tier. Well when your farm is behind like the Phillies, and you are willing to give up your top chip, you end up with the best deal offered while having a weaker farm. Funny how that works out sometimes . I feel like the Phillies were on the other end in the Chapman trade, but A’s wanted to much

       1. Sorry I post from my phone. I’m not drunk, just fat fingers and autocorrect doing it’s magic

       2. Speaking of Chapman, the Jays just locked him up for 2 years at $25M…that would have certainly bolstered a win now Phillies roster at a reasonable cost, both monetarily and prospect wise. (The A’s only received what are considered their #7, #15 and #22 prospects among the four in return for Chapman…🤔) While we’re all ecstatic over our newly minted lineup, and since the luxury tax isn’t a barrier any longer, Chapman at 3b instead of Bohm would have made this team even more imposing. But…

          1. …btw, Oakland’s farm system is ranked slightly better than the Phillies, if at all. Doesn’t add up…

             1. I think we almost all agree that, even with the loss of moderate prospects, I’d have preferred going in on Chapman. He’s not the hitter that Castellanos is, but he would have solved a ton of problems for them.

25. I just read Jayson Stark’s story ⤵

    "Even if they just make the playoffs, they would defy convention. But I’ll say this. They might do it”

    New from me:

    Can a team as defensively challenged as the #Phillies actually win?

    History says don't bet on it. But Dave Dombrowski has tried it beforehttps://t.co/zi6UV1kCaA

    — Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) March 21, 2022

    .

    Phillies defensive IF coach Bobby Dickerson from the article:

    “Some of the greatest defenders I’ve dealt with — when they’re struggling the most defensively is when they’re bringing their bats into the field. … Because you know what? It’s so much easier to go defend when you’ve got three doubles.”

    Let’s explain this. Defense is about attitude and focus. Funny how much easier it can be to focus when you’re 3 for 3 than, say, 1 for your last 31.

    “That’s why we’ve got so many mental-skills people employed now, right?” Dickerson observed. “Because so much of this game is above the shoulders.”

    ▶ This kind of relates to what I was getting at in the previous open thread. My theory has been this: much of Alec Bohm’s struggles last season were more to do with what was going on between his ears than his eyes, or his hands, or his feet, or his arm. An error or bad AB can lead some young players into more errors and more bad ABs to the point where they can’t get out of their own head. In 2009, Cole Hamels admitted he couldn’t wait for the season to end. He needed a reboot. I can’t say for certain, but I believe Alec Bohm had reached that point in 2021. Will he be a GG defender? No. Will he be an average defender? I still believe he’s capable of that (at least over the next few seasons). Range may be a problem, but he’s tall/lanky. That will allow him cover extra real estate, and his arm is plenty strong enough to make all the throws from across the diamond.
    Offensively, we saw him hit FBs in his rookie season. How many times did he drive those pitches into the RF/CF gap? IMO, he was just doing too much thinking when he stepped into the batters box. That may have led him to be a fraction behind in pitch recognition, and starting his swing. You’ve got to be on time to hit heat.
    Hopefully, Kevin Long and Bobby Dickerson (and maybe even a sports psychologist and a deeper lineup) can return Alec to 2020 Bohm, and leave him looking less like 2021 Bohm.

    1. Anyone watching today’s spring training game just got a glimpse of why I believe that Bohm will always be a bad defensive player.

       The play was a ball hit between SS and 3B. Alec ranges to his left, fields the ball cleanly but has to throw against his body. this is a throw that requires an agile athlete. he makes a bad throw and pulls the 1B off the bag for an error. Instead of the inning ending, it is bases loaded.

       Alec will never be an average defender. He will always make a lot of errors. He simply does not have the agility as an athlete to make the plays that he needs to make. he struggles going left and he struggles going forward and backward. That will never change. If anything it will only get worse as he gets older.

       1. by the way, the play that proceeded that above play, was a weak dribbler up the third base line, Bohm has to charge and bare hand it and can’t make the play. again, needs to be agile and bend and make the play and he can’t. Two bad plays. pitcher should have been out of the inning, but instead, bases loaded.

          1. I don’t see him developing into a passable third baseman either. They’ve painted themselves into a box on this one. Hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it.

             1. did you see those two plays today? really terrible.

             2. I just cant understand all the times they watched this kid in college, They didnt see how bad he fields, amazing

                1. Sure they did. What really surprises me is that they haven’t trained him to play another position as well. Why wasn’t he also taking balls in the outfield? It makes no sense, even with the other outfielders we have around here. Ryan Braun couldn’t play third either and then he moved to the outfield and became and elite fielder. We don’t need Bohm to be elite, but he has a much better chance to be average in the outfield or first base than third. He’s just too stiff and awkward there. I can’t see him ever being anything better than a -1-2 WAR at third player and that’s a big problem.

26. This whole Hoskins getting traded or gone in his free agency year plays right into you know who’s hands, don’t you? Why Romus of course. He started all this secretly because he wants Darick Hall to be the Phillies first baseman. He’s hoping Dombrowski is reading all this and gets the idea to trade Hoskins. Oh, you are a sly one, Mr. Romus.

    1. OMG – that’s hilarious. Darick Hall couldn’t hold Hoskins’ you-know-what. I’m here to spread the Hoskins love – at least until he becomes too expensive.

       1. All I gotta say is .. the Phillies better not let Hall goD and he starts raking … Romus will be posting “I told ya’all so” posts bomb he hits.

    2. ciada….very good analysis. You are the sleuth.
       Though I think Dave D knows the long term strategy going forward. As for Rhys….he may be wise switching agents….but that rarely happens with Boras.
       When the time comes Rhys will give the Phillies a home-town discount!……….NOT.

27. Wow. Ser-Ant’ny looked awesome today. No radar gun (TMac claimed he was @ 97-98), but you could see the life to the FB. And his SL was also stoopid. Agree with Buddy (above), Phils’ BP should be a good group in 2022.

    1. Seranthony Domínguez, 97mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/wK2Kf03Yis

       — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 22, 2022

       Throwing 96-97 with this to back it up? Yeah, I’ll take that for 6 months from Seranthony Dominguez pic.twitter.com/A6dUf6JsQa

       — Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) March 22, 2022

       1. Seranthony also is very lean, compared to what he looked like at ST in 2020..

28. I did not participate in the Chapman negotiations, so have no idea what they wanted from us. But, they received a lot less than 2 of Stott/Abel/Painter/Rojas, which was the rumor. And, there is no way I would have traded 2 of them. Yes, his defensive ability at 3B makes the team much better, and 2/$25M is not very much. Oakland could have viewed the Jays prospects as equal, but I don’t. v1 has held his position on Bohm forever, and may be 100% correct. I have no choice but to hope he becomes a passable defender.

    1. I agree on the package for Chapman. That was far less than the package for Olsen and I don’t really understand why.

       We all have no choice but to hope that Bohm becomes a passable defender. But did you see his two bad defensive plays today? If so, tell me what I am missing.

       1. v1 … I missed the first inning so I didn’t see Bohm’s mishaps in the field. But I’m going to give him more time. In the meantime, Girardi has some options @3B in case Bohm doesn’t get straightened out. Camargo is capable. I think Maton (who gets over-looked) can handle that spot. Even Yaro Munoz made a really nice play (on a short hop) today. He could make the team out of camp (if DD wants to drop someone from the 40-man).

          And the reason Matt Olson got a better return than Chapman is because Olson is an elite offensive player. Chapman has not been at that level lately. Great glove, but over the last two seasons, Chapman has a worse K% (33.1%) than Bohm (24.6%) and even a worse WPA (-0.7) than Bohm (1.4). In 2021, Chapman graded out to an avg offensive player (100 OPS+). Olson was at 153 OPS+.

          1. Way to slip that Maton comment in there Hinkie when he goes 3 for 3 today 🙂

             1. Tac … before the new CBA was agreed to, I predicted Maton would see the most PT at SS the first month of the season. I think that may change now because of the new rule that could net the Phillies up to 3 first round picks if Stott is on the opening day roster (and performs well).

                1. Just breaking balls! He made a nice diving catch as a SS today. Hope he keeps it up.

                2. Hinkie…I believe it is only one pick
                   Where did you see 3 first round picks can be had?
                   And it may not even be the first round…..could be after either Round A (first round supplemental) or Round B picks are completed.

                   “Teams will also be incentivized to promote top prospects to the majors. If a prospect who was on the Opening Day roster finishes in the top three of Rookie of the Year voting or top five of MVP/Cy Young voting, their team will receive an additional draft pick.”

                3. Romus … pretty sure Stott/any player can net their team a draft pick each pre-arb year.

                4. Ok…I thought you meant all in the same year.
                   Got it now.

       2. v1, don’t misunderstand me. I was not contradicting your position, simply hoping you were wrong, and he, somehow, becomes a decent fielder. Those 2 plays should be made by a good 3B. Not routine, but not requiring Mike Schmidt level Defense either.

          1. All good. We are in agreement. We both hope Bohm is playable defensively.

    2. Based on what Toronto sent to Oakland…Alec Bohm, Erik Miller, Casey Martin and Cristian Hernandez. It’s after the fact now, but I’m a little ticked off…actually I’m a lot ticked off.

       1. Please forget about Chapman, that train left the station already. Let’s get behind Bohm and hopefully he will emerge. The slow roller today is a 50/50 play even by the elite. The other play was not as easy as it seemed.

          1. “Let’s get behind Bohm”…why? To back him up and snag the balls that get by him? That’s the only reason I can think of. Unless he miraculously loses 6 inches on his height and ditches his Nick Foles imitation….

             1. Lol, but Foles did win a Super Bowl.

29. Here’s a not so bold prediction: neither Alec Bohm nor Rhys Hoskins will be with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023.

    1. If you were a betting man, that could be a lock.
       Rhys is a free agent in 2024, so 2023 is his last arb year and double digit Millions may be what he could be looking forward to…..and any LTC offers will ne declined as a Boras client , so Phillies could very well part ways with him in Nov of this year.
       IMO, knowing Boras, he will at least ask for Schwarber numbers at a minimum to start. Phillies may want to give Nola the bigger bump up than Rhys.

       1. Romus, I can see Nola landing 3/$60M if he recovers his status as a bona fide #2. Whether he accepts it, or the Phillies even offer it remains to be seen, but if it happens, it probably goes down this winter as an extension.

          1. Funny you mention that because I’ve been thking about that too. If Nola is solid this year, that’s what you’d hope for. A reasonable 3-4 year extension so they have him for the foreseeable future. The price range you mentioned is what I expect he would get and accept.

    2. I hear you on Bohm – don’t see his place on this team unless he becomes a great hitter. Not seeing why you’d move Hoskins. I am going to start a Rhys Hoskins defense society. The most unfairly maligned Phillies player I can remember. And I, for the life of me, cannot understand why.

       1. I think the reasoning has been clearly laid out…the defense rests…pun intended🤣

          1. But the reasoning is flawed. He’s not a superstar, but he’s a damned good player and if they are trying to go all in now, he’s a cheap player compared to his performance. I am not talking about 2024 – I’m talking about the next two years.

             1. I think his salary in ’23 and ’24 would be better invested in other parts of the major league roster, or perhaps the farm.

                1. ’23 and ’24 is night and day. He is projected to be a bargain in ’23 before he hits free agency, which is what you need with an expensive roster. In ’24 all bets are off – it totally depends on his recent production and expected contract so who knows? I’m talking about this year and next.

                2. Uncle!

                3. mark…..he will stand to get between $10-12M in 2023 as his last arb year…this year is $7.5M…2024 he is a free agent.
                   One way or the other , he will be at a crossroads very soon.

             2. As for Rhys…..the Boras factor is one of the reasons that could see him test the free agent market after 2023.
                Boras’ modus operandi is having his guys go out there in shark-infested free agency waters, and get the bigger dollars..
                And I just cannot see the Phillies giving in to what Boras demands.

                1. No argument that he might be too expensive beginning in 2024 and I expect he will go to FA as well. That’s what almost all Boras clients are counseled to do and what I expect he will do too.

30. And the Phanatic is already in midseason form.

    The other day @TMacPhils took a foul off the chest, so today the Phanatic brought him some protection in the booth 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/1RZ4wnuCs9

    — NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 22, 2022

    Happy to see the “normal” Phanatic is back, and not the “fake” Phanatic that was working while the legal question of who owned his rights was being battled out in the courts.

    1. You bring it all, Hinkie…the stuff and the fluff🤗

31. 😎👍

32. Muzziotti has really impressed me this spring. I love his swing. Imo he is ahead of our former first round picks. I don’t mean for future. I mean for this year. I really like him.

    1. Perhaps but, admittedly, our first round pick bar is really low. Sorry MM fans, but it’s true.

    2. He definitely has put on some muscle.

33. I think it was v1 the other day who sent the link about the tools rating for our players. I saw that Muzziotti had the same top rating as Stott and the defensive rating of Rojas. We don’t talk a lot about him, and I wonder why? I know he has missed time with the pandemic and such, but why isn’t he, aside from playing time, thought more of as a potential CF for this year?

34. Seranthony was impressive today

35. For those who are slow to hear, and hate the shift as much as I do. Will have to endure it for 1 more season. Apparently For those that love it, well it’s your swan song this year. 2023, baseball is “officially” back

36. It’s official (queue Dan Baker…”now batting, #8, leftfeeeelder Nick Cast-e-YAnos!” My favorite number👍

    …to make room on the 40, Luke Williams was DFA’d.

37. Jimmy you suck

    1. You’re obviously begging to get banned. You’re an attention seeker with nothing to add here.

       Jim … publish little Ricky’s email address.

    2. Jim, I’m sure you let this through for justification. Thanks.

38. Hinkie, your thoughts on Simon Muzziotti? I read some comments that Joe G. made today, or yesterday, where he lauded Matt Vierling, and predicted he may grab the job full time in CF, with Herrera’s injury, and MM was only getting to get time at the Corners, not CF. If Herrera is out for a while, does Muzziotti get a real shot?

39. Expanded rosters till May 2. Runner back on 2nd to start extra innings. Ohtani can still DH days he pitches and leaves game. Hinkie. Just ignore. There is always one in the basket.

    1. Don…hope the extra inning runner is only a temporary thing.

       1. I think only for 2022. They want to avoid the 13, 14, 15 innings games with the pitchers.

40. Hinkie you are a dork. Hahahhahaha get a life

    1. Pretty…here is a sports site I think you would enjoy participating on…..open comments for all..

       https://www.phillyvoice.com/sports/

41. Yes Don just ignore I bet you also wanted to defund the police and think Joe Biden is great. Hahahahhaha

    1. Little Ricky … if you want to flex your internet muscles, come at me. Leave Don out of it.
       The next productive/interesting/entertaining comment you post will your first.

       Again … Jim, make sure to post his email address before you ban little Ricky.

42. Lol oh Hinkie you are so scary I am so scared of you. Lol. You could not fight your way out a wet paper bag. Talk about internet muscles lol your the poster child for that.

    1. Lol what are you going to do with my email Hinkie lol you know you would never ever email me

43. Personally, I could care less about your email. My guess is that is true for 99% of the rest of us. BTW last time I looked this is a baseball discussion site. I am sure you can find some political site to express your views. I could care less who you agree or disagree with politically.

44. Several thoughts:

    1. I agree with v1 about Alex Bohm’s physical limitations, but what is more worrisome is that he appears to have lost his confidence defensively, compounding his problems.

    2. I like Alec. He seems like a nice kid and a hard worker and I am rooting for him very, very hard. But the truth is that there’s not much room for a below average 3B fielder who is just a singles hitter. And, though 6′ 6″, that what he appears to be.

    3. I like Muziotti,. From what I’ve seen so far. Given our defensive weaknesses and our big bats, maybe Muziotti is the strong defensive centerfielder we need with a light bat we can afford.

    The Phillies have invested a lot in Moniak and Haseley and Girardi spoke highly of Vierling, who I also like, but maybe all of that should be forgotten if Muziotti outplays them all.

45. Okay. I’m working on a way to grandfather in as many of you as possible when I begin requiring registration in order for the privilege to comment on this site.

    Christie9of12 at Yahoo.com AKA Pretty Ricky has gone rogue after a warning and is logging in as PrettyRicky with multiple different email addresses. I’ll get around to deleting his recent remarks and block him in the future.

    Robert Singer AKA Rocky, you dummy. If you read the weekly articles you would have known that I lifted your ban two weeks ago in the March 13th discussion.

    – “I don’t know if you are still out there Rocky, but I’ve lifted all bans. Feel free to join the conversations. I only ask that you limit yourself to one name and one email address. That is site policy and not directed at you or any individual. Thank you”

    Instead, you post this.

    – “Hey Jimmy asshole I didn’t blast anyone and stated facts with numbers to support MM stinks based on his BA yet I am gone and Ricky is here you asshole Jimmy”

    At the time you posted, nobody was banned and only three words would prevent a comment from posting. You managed to use one of them.

    Your comments over the past few months are what prolonged your absence from commenting. Even though they belittled me in every possible way, I still lifted your ban. You’ll probably be wondering soon why you can’t comment again. Just remember all the names you called me and you’ll know why.

46. Why do you guys answer a weirdo like Pretty Ricky ,makes no sense, i Noticed and maybe its just me, that the Phillies have thrown out some tall lefthanders, that i know little about, Jones, Singer to name a few, Hinkie or Jim do you see any of these Kids as future starters or bullpen arms? Without the speed gun for me its hard to see if they have enough to be effefive,

    1. Rocco, Jones has the ability to throw mid-90s and higher but has to dial back a little to get the ball in the strike zone. He is inconsistent with his off-speed stuff. Unless/until he grows more consistent, I don’t see him earning a permanent spot on the active roster. When he runs out of options, they’ll probably just let him go the waiver route.

       Singer is a different story with the same result. He seems to have lost all the velocity that caught the Phillies’ attention when he was signed. He can pitch effectively and throw strikes. But, that lack of velocity will probably catch up with him sooner rather than later.

       1. ty

47. Hey you should repect I don’t kiss your ass like all the others here but apparently you seem to need that for your ego. Lol and yes I never went after anyone not Murry I always liked him. So when you said I did u were wrong. Also I did apologize for going off about first gettin he banned. I did say you were right the two new signings and my original ban was for really nothing now it’s ok I did call you that word. But that Ricky was way out of line and I had told you several times in not posted messages saying I was wrong for how I responded to my first ban for responding the way I had. I also don’t come her as often as I used so I’d dint see you un banned everyone. I only looked at the site and came in to say hey I was wrong and the Phil’s made great moves. You seen to only want your friend group here and I have said that before. To be honest it’s was bad I called you what I did last night but you seem to need to have people tell you how great and smart you are. It’s too bad. Hey take care your site is great I have told you that too in the past but it gives your more power to just say the negatives. Sure I deserve it now. But didn’t before. Bye

48. Sorry thought I was banned and that wouldn’t have been posted. Jimmy does do a lot of work on the site and it is fun and informative. Most comments are Great too. Bottom line we all want same thing for Phil’s to win. I had just been frustrating at times take care guys I apologize for disrupting the site.

    1. Rocky Raccoon……checked into his room…only to find Gideon’s Bible.

    2. This falls pretty flat. We can all agree to disagree without using targeted language at one person. It’s pretty easy not to act this way. Your only excuse is that “it’s the internet!” Would you say these insults in person? The internet has a funny way of exposing a person’s character flaws through being “anonymous”. Either way, I would work on that, unnecessary especially in today’s world. We all deal with enough throughout our days, we certainly don’t need added drama on a Phillies message board when the team is buzzing for the 1st time in over a decade!

       1. Well said Tac…

49. This was the first of two bad defensive plays for Bohm yesterday. This was not ruled and error but imo is not a hard play for a major league player. Franco, who was not seen as an above average MLB defender routinely made these plays. The very next pitch is the play he makes his error.

    Alec Bohm can’t handle the dribbler… pic.twitter.com/ity3VgHBPb

    — Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) March 22, 2022

    1. Here is the error

       Awful throw by Bohm pulling Hall off the bag… pic.twitter.com/wjHATnDfQi

       — Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) March 22, 2022

       1. Hinkie – what do you see here?

          I didn’t ask, what do you *hope* happens. What do you see? Do you see a defensive player much improved from last year? Whats the common aspect of both plays?

       2. Maybe he just needs to get the bad plays out of his system early in the spring.

          1. Was that a joke? I assume that you are kidding.

             1. A lot of guys can’t play third, even guys who are otherwise pretty good infielders or even great outfielders (Ryan Braun is a good example). It’s a super hard position that requires incredible reflexes, a cat-like ability to quickly react, incredible balance, ridiculous hand-eye coordination for weird and fast bounces, fantastic lateral mobility, short burst speed and a great and accurate arm. I also think that, unlike second base for example, there are so many talents you need at that position that you just can’t learn – God given abilities that a guy like Bohm (and so many other players) does not seem to have, although, of course, I hope I’m wrong.

                1. Castellanos initially came as a 3B and that went pretty bad so to the OF it was and that didn’t get much better.

                   Moral of the story for Alec is he’s got to get back to what got him to the 3rd pick in the draft and that is to rake at the plate. And then the obvious is you don’t have to do anything today of even this year we control him through 2026

                   Who knows what happens with Rhys and his price tag

             2. v1 – ref : Bohm– given the burden of proof I think the poor kid is becoming psyched out by his accumulating errors and the constant reference(s) to his bad fielding. I think he is getting in his own way never mind that his physical traits (heighth) don’t lend themselves to a slick looking fielder. I almost picture him saying to himself, ” for heaven sake don’t hit it to me.” I now think he would be better as an outfielder ?

                1. This is what concerns me most about Bohm…and it’s not the player himself. Baseball scouts from jump street have cast shadows on his future as a 3b. Add to that the simple observation that the young man is simply not built physically to play the position more than adequately at a high level of competition, let alone the major leagues. Why all of a sudden are we having this debate when it would have been more prudent to work him at other positions earlier in his development…1b? LF? The answer would probably be, well Hoskins is at 1b and we’ve plenty of candidates on the farm. Well, I don’t think Bohm has been handled well thus far. Now there’s doubts about his bat…

                2. We just invested $180m on the LF/DH spots. So there is no room for him as an outfielder or DH on this team. Could he be moved to 1B? Rhys is a materially better hitter than Bohm, so that would be a significant downgrade offensively. The reason that the Phillies are taking the “hope” strategy with Bohm is because if he can’t play 3B, then there is really no home for him. It’s 3B or bust imo.

                3. mark…his slash has to improve…specifically his ISO and SLG% for him to be a viable and productive first baseman.

                4. RU. You mention “do not hit it to me”. That is right on. When a player at any position gets to that point it is an issue. I still think and I may be totally wrong that last season was probably the 1st time he has experienced failure. 2020 his hitting probably overrode the fielding issues. Once both went South last season it becomes a mental as well as physical. I hope he can become average. I go all the way back to Mike Schmidt. He really struggled at the beginning and lots of it was mental. But he got thru it. Alex will never be the glove but maybe he can be ok. We can hope. This is a big season or first few months for him.

                5. Yes. It’s 3B or bust here for Bohm.
                   As far as the plays you posted above: the first one (dribbler) is a hit or miss play. The second play was bad. Bohm has a strong arm, but of course it doesn’t matter how strong your arm is if you don’t get the ball to the bag.
                   I’m not going to give up on Bohm after one spring training game. He’s capable of playing average defense at 3B IMO. I still believe he needs to clear his mind/think positive thoughts.
                   If he can’t get back to 2020 Bohm for whatever reason, (like I posted yesterday) the Phillies have other not too bad options (Camargo/Maton/Munoz). But I think the team needs to stick with Alec for at least the beginning of the season.

                6. Hinkie what have you seen to conclude “He’s capable of playing average defense at 3B”?

                   Serious question. Can you point out to us what you have seen that we are missing?

                   I will tell you what I see…I see stone hands. That dribbler was not a short hop. Not a hard play. The ball was in the air when he missed it. He just had to bend to catch it, which is where he struggles…which brings me to my #1 concern with Bohm defensively….I see really stiff hips.

                   IMO, agile hips are critical for good or even average defenders. Bohm struggles mightily on any play where he has to flip his hips mid play. Going left and throwing right (as in the second clip) or coming in and throwing across his body (as in the first clip). He is big and stiff. He struggles when he has to bend or flip his hips. That will never change. He is 25 and is who he is.

                   They will give him a shot because they don’t have a lot of options, but he will fail defensively. Hopefully he hits and we can trade him to salvage some value.

                7. v1 … I saw him play MLB level defense in his rookie year. Did you not see him make most of the plays at 3B in 2020? I know it’s been two years (recency bias and all that), but he has done it. See the 0:40 mark, the 2:50 mark, and the 3:40 mark of the video below. Bohm was hitting FBs/everything, and was playing more confidently/instinctively in the field.
                   IMO, Bohm is capable of JD Davis level defense @ 3B. Davis, to me, is the definition of an average defender (plus arm/just OK glove).

                8. Seriously…I would hate to look back on the Phillies 2022, pulling my hair out, crying “If only…they found a 3b entering the season” because the hot corner stood out like a sore thumb because the square peg in that round hole had 10 of them.

                9. Would it have been great if they could have acquired Matt Chapman? Yes. But I’m going to trust Dave Dombrowski to scout his own players/system. He has a long track record of doing that successfully. He (apparently) didn’t want to swap out any of Painter/Abel/Stott/Rojas for Chapman.
                   Again … if (for some reason) Bohm never regains his rookie form, this club has other internal options. Camargo can play there. Maton can see some time at 3B. And I wouldn’t rule out Yairo Munoz making the squad, and playing over there as well. None of them are perfect, but this club isn’t going to need an all-star type 3Bman.

                10. Hinkie – that is false. he was just as bad defensively in 2020.

                    In 300 innings at 3B as a rookie, he had a -6 DRS and a -1.6 UZR. He had 4 errors and a .957 fielding % His DRS per inning was actually worse as a rookie than it was last year. The reason that you think that his defense was ok is because he had a .410 BABIP as a rookie and so his offensive numbers were inflated. But he was a terrible defensive player as a rookie.

                11. If you want to argue his range was not good, that’s fine. He’s never going to be super agile (at 6’5″/220). But he made most of the plays he got to. His .957 fielding% was better than Matt Chanpman’s (.944) in 2020 in about the same amount of innings. Not saying Bohm is on Chapman’s level defensively. Just saying in 2020, Bohm proved he could make most of the plays on balls he was able to reach. That, to me, is an avg defender.
                    And if you want to judge 3Bmen on UZR, take a peek at Austin Riley’s #s.

             3. Hey V1, do you think if the throw had been on target the runner would have been out? Hard for me to see.

                1. I don’t know. But that doesn’t matter imo. From a scouting perspective, my take on that play is he didn’t have the athleticism to make the play. When I watch him play I don’t see quick twitch needed to be a good infielder. I don’t see hip agility. I don’t think that I am being disrespectful or mean. It is a really really high bar of athleticism to be an average MLB defensive player.

50. Bohm’s defense is still pretty scary and his offense is going to really have to improve to make it worth it. Camargo is legit and will get plenty of time at 3B this year.
    Sir Anthony was impressive yesterday and has to have everyone excited. He really changes the pen if he returns to be that guy.
    Muzzioti is looking really good but he needs minor league at bats after missing most of two full seasons. He’s not the answer in 2022 but a strong season will give him a chance at the job in 2023. Haseley has to know he has a real chance at playing time if he performs up to par. The guy has the ability to hit and play defense if he can just relax and play.
    As a baseball purist, I didn’t initially like the ghost runner but I’ve come around to it since I don’t like very long extra inning games either.

    1. Personals, when it comes to the ghost runner in extras….rather start the guy on first base….now odds have that guy scoring 38% of the time, last time I checked those probability stats.
       Makes the manager decide once again, on moving him down to second with a bunt, or gist have hitters swing away.

       1. “Personally’

          1. Romus I agree on not liking the 2B runner. I see it all the time in the travel ball. But as long as it is only this season it may be ok. The games end sooner. But to someones point it negates a great pitched game possibly.

51. This is coming off a 3-3 game so will look like a spring training over-reaction, but I remember Maton last year and how he was a good hitter: good doubles hitter, get on base guy, won’t strike out a ton. With his versatility and especially with the bat skills he is displaying, I would not mind seeing him as a versatile bench player on the 40-man instead of Torreyes. That being said, I do not remember Maton’s defense (which might be a good indicator). Do any of you have an analysis of Maton’s capabilities as a fielder and thrower?

    1. Maton is a solid defender in the middle. His hitting trailed off quite a bit last year after a fast start. Torreyes is a known quantity who Girardi feels comfortable with and who can sit for many days in between at bats. Maton will be at LHV to start getting regular at bats.

52. A lot of crazy banter going on this site the past couple of days. It feels like I entered….the Twilight Zone. Rock-n-roller cola wars, I can’t take it any more. Lettuce have peas.

    1. ciada….hard to believe Seranthony lost 40 lbs …looks like he did in 2017 in CLW.
       The guy could have a break out season…him and Knebel at the back end makes thi BP exceptional if they can produce as they are capable of doing.

       1. Moving Hand and Familia to the 7th totally changes the pen. Dominguez is a game changer if he’s back. Probably won’t go in back to back days initially though.

          1. Yeah, agree……Seranthony will be every other day for the season I would think….unless it is crunch time in Sept and they need him due to other relievers going down.

53. I saw both of Bohm’s plays. the first one is one that has to be worked on many times to get the hand/eye coordination. he is tall and has to bend further than others. still should be able to make that play. the second one was a good cut off in front of the SS but did not release the throw toward the 1st baseman. he let it go too early. rooting like heck for the kid, but as a lot are saying, those plays have to be made.
    gm

54. I don’t think Bohm is going to be the answer at 3rd base (hope I am wrong). The way this team is now constructed we need a good glove at 3rd and not great offense. I used the Pedro Feliz example from 2008 before and believe there are players out there that are similar. We are dealing from strength by retaining all our prospects. When teams fade from contention we could make an appropriate trade. Urschella of the Twins comes first to my mind but believe there are others. I wonder how good a defensive player Camargo is….maybe the eventual answer is on the team.

55. In light of Bohm’s issues at 3b, and Herrera out indefinitely, I have to think Dombrowski is searching out possibilities beyond what’s in house. Love the thunder in this lineup, but haven’t we all seen this movie before? The sexy seductive heroine only proves to mask the poor plot line…unproven defense all over the diamons.

    1. Still think Hinkie is right on about CF Laureano of the A’s. Yes, I know Jim said Phils weren’t buying Hinkie’s writeup – but I think he would be a more than capable player/fielder and he also has some pop too ! Check his numbers pre-2020.

56. Today’s lineup gives us a good clue on the lineup for the regular season. Today’s lineup is:
    1. Schwarber
    2. Segura
    3. Bryce
    4. JT
    5. Rhys
    6. Didi
    7. Alec
    8. Vierling
    9. Haseley

    Once we have Castellanos, I assume that he will bat 4th, sliding everyone below him down and moving Haseley to bench or AAA.

    1. I’m not going to pretend I’m a lineup genius, but I’m not sure why you they would bat schwarber lead off. He hit 17 hrs in the lead off spot … 17 solo hrs. I’d rather have his bat at #2, with segura leading off

       1. Love that kind of player in the leadoff spot. As the cliche goes you really only bat lead off once in a game and now that you don’t have a pitcher batting 9 it makes even more sense to have a little pop at the top

          Not to mention Kyle tends to have great plate discipline and sees a ton of pitches per AB

       2. I believe Schwarber bats leadoff so Harper stays at third spot with a right handed batter in between. I think they should flip flop Vierling and Haseley though to be consistent.

          1. DMAR/JMills – I can see your reasoning but I’d fill that lineup card out differently until it shows it’s not working. I put segura leading off. Then I throw the gauntlet at the pitcher for some psychological warfare. Having to face Schwarber, Harper, Realmuto, castellano, and Hoskins in a row … will wreak ERA’s. Then you have a potentially resurgent Didi at the Ed, with a developing prospect. Rinse and repeat. I think stacking them makes a pitcher pucker if they happen to walk segura. Mentally I see it being more challenging for most pitchers. As always, I don’t mind being wrong but if I was to split those guys up, I’d drop realmuto down to help out 7,8,9. To be honest; it should work either way with the talent. I just rAther see schwarber batting with the potentially more men on base, even if it’s 1 at bat a game

             1. LOL Kind of like picking your GF from a Miss America pageant just pick one for crying out loud you can’t go wrong…

                1. O man … lol I would be tinkering the hell out of a miss America lineup card. Lol. The 25 woman roster would be fun to set too! Lots of calls ups and send downs 🙂

57. Is there a Castellanos press conference today? Time?

    1. Noon today.

       1. TY

58. This ghost runner rule really bites the big one. Maybe the 12th inning but not the 10th. It especially cheapens a low scoring, well pitched game. But again, the corporate geniuses have the “health” of the players in mind, I’m sure. Pay no attention to the man in the empty suit.

    1. Mark, I agree with you. The shorten the game narrative that to a large degree has been constructed to appease the increasingly shorter attention spans of younger generations, is having a negative impact on the purity of the game. I am saying that, and I am “just” 40 years old. I do not like any of the rule changes that have been implemented or proposed.

       1. I hear you, but baseball games dragging on and becoming boring is a real thing. When I was a kid (it’s a while ago, I’ll grant you) in the early 70s, games were like 2 hours and 15 or 20 minutes. In the mid-1970s, games were 2 hours and 30 minutes. Last year, the games were 3 hours and 11 minutes. They are torture and they are not only longer, they are less exciting. So, yeah, some of it is our shortened attention spans, but much more of it is the game itself. They need to take 30 minutes off these games. And, to me, the next step is the pitch clock. I think that, by itself, would take 20 minutes off each game. And, among the available options, this messes with the game itself the least.

          1. Agree…….the games are way too long.
             The frequent late-inning pitching changes in the past were so disturbing and annoying…unless it was the Phillies and it worked!
             The 17 or so half-inning TV advertisements…..tit is the elephant in the room that they will not address. They are about a minute too long…minor leagues have no issue with shorter games…pitch clocks are probably not even needed.
             PIP has been used with good success around the world in FIFA soccer…two hour games….done…with some injuring time added here and there.

59. The #Phillies will introduce Nick Castellanos at a press conference today at 12PM#RingTheBell

    — David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) March 23, 2022

    https://www.mlb.com/phillies/news/nick-castellanos-discusses-joining-phillies

    1. I gotta’ give credit to DMAR. He’s been a Nick Castellanos guy from the beginning. He (Castellanos, not DMAR) can’t play a lick of defense, but he should be a huge presence in the middle of the Phillies lineup, and in the clubhouse. Love his attitude!

       Nick Castellanos sounds determined to win “games that matter” 😳 pic.twitter.com/fWiEpuBbPK

       — Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) March 23, 2022

       .

       And let’s hear it for those Jersey girls. Castellanos (like Zack Wheeler) mentioned his wife is from the Garden state so Philadelphia was a convenient free agent destination.

       1. Nick Castellanos describes his attitude at the plate as “survival” pic.twitter.com/tawR4gFmoZ

          — Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) March 23, 2022

          1. BTW … another A+ press conference performance from Dave Dombrowski today. Such a smart baseball man, and excellent communicator.

       2. Thanks Hinkie but not sure I can take credit for just wanting a guy 🙂

          I am excited and scared at the same time. There is now a lot of swag in that clubhouse I hope they plan on pumping some good ol casino oxygen into it.

          A lot of serious dudes on this team so I’m looking to see who is going to be that guy that can lighten the mood and chuck some shaving cream pies around when things get tight in there

          1. Yeah, that’s where guys like Neris and Brad Miller will be missed. They definitely need some dudes that will keep things light and make other guys laugh. Someone needs to convince Alec Bohm he’s been traded to a team in Japan just as they convinced Kyle Kendrick some time ago. That was HILARIOUS!

             1. LOL! Larry Anderson was the founder of that gag. And Wayne Gomes was the first victim. The look on Gomes’ face is priceless! ⤵

                1. Kendrick was victim #2.

          2. I remember Schwarber riding in the shopping cart in the dugout for Sox. Seems he may be able to do that as well with the phillies to keep things in check.

       3. How refreshing to hear a player not use very cliche in the book…and the word BLUNT seems to fit him to a tee.

          1. Oh, yeah. I love the way he speaks. Castellanos reminds me of every kid I grew up with in SW Philly. LOL.

          2. …by the way, Nicky Castles was shown taking grounders right after the press conference….at third base. Interesting.

             1. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. If you guys have a problem with Alec Bohm at the hot corner …

                And here’s another great Castellanos clip. Johnny Airport got a hold of him the other day.

                Nick Castellanos dragging Bob Castellini with his first interview in Philly. 🗣️ #Reds #SellTheTeamBob pic.twitter.com/Ng4mDFWTWE

                — Votto Still Bangs (@EvilJoeyVotto) March 21, 2022

                .

                ▶ Who is going to be the first Philly business to hire Nick Castellanos to pitch their product?

                A) Pat’s Steaks
                B) Nick’s Roast Beef
                C) Wawa
                D) Foreman Mills
                E) Gary Barbera Autoland

                1. Doesn’t strike me as the pitch man type, Hinkie. I can see him bite into a cheese steak and spit it out, saying “who eats this garbage!”

                2. Nicks roast beef clear winner….

          3. rocco will love this guy…tells it like it is.
             And the Phillies Asst- to- the- asst GM , Bryce played a key role in the signing it appears….the squeaky wheel mantra seems to be Bryce’s forte to the owner.
             And sounded like Dave D was ready to settle just with Scwarber, until Middleton mentioned something to the real GM, about ‘guys still out there unsigned, why not look into it”.

             1. Romus … I wonder if Bryce gets an additional salary for his Asst-to-the-Asst GM role?

                1. Love the “Asst to the” reference.

                2. Can MLB restructure contracts like the NFL?
                   If so…..Bryce ought to do his, you know, for the team…..take fewer AAV dollars over the length…just increase the length…..a ‘Bobby Bonilla clause’

             2. Castellanos has some sand to his exterior… He’s going to fit in famously in Philly..

60. Hinkie, I remember an article where Bryce mentioned he hoped Phillies were not done after Schwarber signing. Maybe he was on the phone at the time. He said he and Nicky travel team teammates back in the day so he had known him for a very long time. I think it will all work out.
    Also, saw in JG article that in recent years Dodgers and Yankees both have gone deep in playoffs with defensive metrics similar to those predicted for Phillies. I think the key now is if the starting pitching holds up and allows Joe to use those BP guys in the proper manner.

    1. Don … Scott Boras said (at press conference) Harper was calling him four times a day recruiting Castellanos.

       1. I believe it. I think this will be a fun season if key players can stay healthy and get some luck along the way. A little luck is always needed. I did not realize they went all the way back to travel ball together. I much prefer Kyle and Nick to Bryant for basically the same money give or take a few. Not a slam on Bryant at all. I just think these 2 will help out much more going forward. There will be some 10-8 games I am sure. Hope the Phils have the 10.

61. New tee shirt just printing now….

    “I DON’T HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE. I HIT BASEBALLS”

    ….they’ll be flying off the shelves.

    1. Forget the homer hat this season, have the batter wear one of those T-shirts after rounding the bases.

62. NL Team Lists!

    I go deep on all 15 clubs in the NL with fresh reports and you get the idea. Slightly changed the format this year after some feedback last season https://t.co/rvPqmdW0SD

    — Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) March 23, 2022

    1. Bryson Stott, SS, 50 FV (66th in the Top 100)
    2. Mick Abel, RHP, 50 FV (89)
    3. Johan Rojas, CF, 50 FV (99)
    4. Logan O’Hoppe, C, 45+ FV
    5. Andrew Painter, RHP, 45 FV
    6. Ethan Wilson, LF, 45 FV
    7. Matt Vierling, CF, 45 FV
    8. Hans Crouse, RHP, 45
    9. Luis Garcia, SS, 45 FV
    10. Erik Miller, LHP, 40+ FV

    McDaniel was very positive about Painter: “amazingly, basically good at everything when most pitchers this tall have problems at least with command along with health and/or breaking ball consistency. I’ve seen four pitches all flash above average at times, he has been into the upper 90s at times and he has always had good command.”
    He also likes Jordan Viars, Hao Yu Lee, and Griff McGarry

    1. Wow…has Rojas in his top 100.
       O’Hoppe must be just on the out-skirts , assume top 125 or 150.

    2. I’ll take it. I’d like to believe by the mid season update, both Rojas and O’Hoppe are pushing the top 100 list for most. Stott is hopefully graduated or soon to graduate that list. I read on MLBTR that many fans put too much stock into the top 100, not realizing that there is not a terrible separation between the 99th out of 100 list and the some player in between the 101-200 range. Interesting take, and I think this is where Rojas and O’Hoppe are currently hovering Somewhere in between 125-150 range

       1. Not to mention so many guys in the top 100 never pan out or just go on to be mediocre and plenty of guys never make the top 100 and go on to be above average regulars…

          1. DMAR…touché.
             Jose Altuve and Paul Goldey……never made a top 100.
             i use to have a whole list of guys that never made and went onto very successful MLB careers.
             Then you have all those late bloomers of the world…Max Muncy, Gio Urshela, Justin Turner et al…why even everyone’s favorite guy to get…Bryan Reynolds.

    3. Just watched another outing of Morales and I don’t see enough of a repertoire for him to remain a starter. At 24

       that said a possible able BP guy and a fitting win 9-8. Hope to see a quite a few of those this season

       1. I also watched Morales pitch and while he has arm talent, he’s still too wild. And he was mainly featuring fastball, slider. I don’t think he threw another type of pitch.

          I don’t think he remains a starter and the Phillies should start transitioning him to be a reliever ASAP.

          1. I do think they will let him finish out his age22 season as a starter. and then probably decide if he needs to be moved to a BP piece.

             1. He’s still young, but he’s already 4 years in the system and he has a career 1.462 WHIP because he’s walking a career 5.2 per game. He’s already on the 40 man roster so he needs to start showing results very soon.

63. For those who care: Connor Seabold gave up 5 runs in 0.0 innings today. Saw him pitch a few times on NESN last year. I don’t think he throws hard enough to make it.

    An almost draftee, Jason Groome, pitched an inning without giving up a run or a hit.

64. I don’t see how we improve 3b via trade, but I propose the following two trades…bear with me.

    Trade #1
    PHILLIES get: Sean Manaea lhp

    A’S get: Bailey Falter lhp, Nick Maton if, Jhailyn Ortiz of

    Trade #2
    PHILLIES get: Bryan Reynolds cf

    PIRATES get: Rafael Marchan c, Andrew Painter rhp, Johan Rojas cf, Ranger Suarez lhp, Ethan Wilson of

    Manaea replaces Suarez in the rotation. We wouldn’t be giving up Stott, Abel, O’Hoppe…Rojas and Suarez would be the big gulps but we’d be getting our future CF, and while Ranger was huge in ’21, can we be sure he’d automatically be lights out moving forward? That’s a gamble, yes. But considering this is a win now scenario, I don’t think we’re hurting the farm that deeply.

    1. Matt Carpenter ex-STL Cardinal was out there.. He’s a left handed bat and is better than Bohm defensively at 3rd…He would have signed cheap..

    2. mark…yes, agree….you need a bear with you.

       1. 🤣Classic reply, Romus!

    3. First trade is fine, second trade hard no.

    4. No thanks, not happening

65. At this point I am not real big on trade letting some of top guys leaving. In regards to 3B I think Camargo may be an option. I thought he was good couple years ago. Not sure that will translate now but worth a shot since already here. He definitely has the tools to play 3B.
    Game today may be a precursor to the season. Touchdowns and field goals needed for wins.

    1. Don…listening to Joe yesterday on the telecast, he mentioned that Camargo is indeed a valuable asset that h can utilize thru-out the infield.
       In Atlanta he was caught up in the numbers game…..Albies, Swanson and then Riley….all high picks or big money international signees, with loads of talent , just were a barrier to Camargo and not giving him many opportunities for a steady flow of PAs to let him get into a rhythm.
       The last year he was able to get 500plus PAs…2018…..he was a 3.2WAR player.

66. I like Camargo. I am guessing he was signed in case issues with Bohm remain. I saw him quite a bit in Atlanta and always felt he had talent. Good signing IMO.

    1. I like Carmargo a lot. He can be the stop gap the Phillies need. If he can repeat what he did in ATL, that should be good enough to not have to trade for a 3B. I believe this why DD may have not pulled the trigger for Chapman. At some point , the asking price for to high for the return. If DD didn’t already have carmargo, DD may have been forced to pay the ransom. The Camargo FA signing was early, not sexy, but it could be one of the best value FA signing of the off-season. Will see. Hopefully Bohm starts to rake, and the defense is near average and we never find out

67. Odubel has an oblique strain that will keep him out for 4-6 weeks. So somebody (Moniak/Haseley/Muzziotti) is going to make the opening day roster.

    1. Girardi said on Tuesday that they don’t view Moniak as a CF. They view him as a corner OF. And they just spent $180m on two players to play LF and the reigning MVP is in RF. So not too hard to figure out how they view MM’s future.

       https://www.mlb.com/news/odubel-herrera-status-in-question-for-opening-day

68. Jim – did the minor league games start this week? Thx

    1. Murray, the minor league games started officially on the 17th, a day before the Phillies.

69. Jim Salisbury says there’s “credible buzz” that Bohm could be traded. Joe Girardi played down Nick C taking grounders at 3b (but with Bobby Dickerson supervising?). Camargo is considered a viable option. The A’s remain a possible trade partner (Manaea, Montas…Laureano?)

    1. It’s unfortunate to have to trade a young guy when his value is so depressed but if he really can’t play third, where does he play? Please don’t say first – for all the Hoskins doubters on here, Hoskins is a far superior hitter to Bohm right now. But on Oakland he can just fine a place to fit in and take the time to develop. If he was traded it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

       1. I’m hoping Bohm can rebound here. But if DD isn’t sold on that happening, his market should have no boundaries. He’s a former 1-3 pick & just two years removed from ROY runner-up, who is under team control for “5” years (two @ the league minimum salary). Any of Oakland, Brewers, Cubs, Nationals, Orioles, Tigers, Rangers, and DBacks could be logical fits. Even the Marlins, Reds, and Padres (w/Tatis out for a few months) could be interested.

          1. Do this thought exercise…imagine that Alec Bohm is not a Philie. Imagine that he was on another team and rumors are that DD wants to trade prospects FOR Bohm. Now watch those two videos above of his defense in spring training. Note that he was tied for the worst DRS in all MLB 3B last year. Note that his defense was so bad that he lost his starting position to a minor league FA who had a .286 OB% last year but was still the preferred option. Note that he has a career .109 ISO and is a heavy ground ball hitter….

             now tell me, whom would you trade from our farm system to get him? Put a value on him from one of our prospects.

             1. It’s a good question, but also shows why his value is depressed. I pretty much agree with all your comments about his inability to play third. But you’re selling him more than a little short as a hitter. He has pedigree (1/3 pick) and he was showing himself to be a strong hitter in the minors and in his rookie year. There’s some reason to think that he could develop into a very good hitter. So he did struggle last year but all sorts of guys who become excellent hitters struggle in their sophomore year as the league adjusts to them. I have questions about whether he can develop into a good hitter too, but it’s a very possible outcome.

                1. Ok, so answer my question…whom would you trade from our farm to land Alec Bohm as our 3rd baseman if he was on another club? What’s the package that you would give up for him?

                2. Q: Put a value on him from one of our prospects.

                   A: Anyone not named Painter/Abel/Stott/Rojas

                   IMO Bohm could bring back either a veteran pitcher with <2 years team control, or he could bring back a younger player like him (former top prospect w/warts).

                   Maybe DD can do a deal with San Diego for someone like Adrian Morejon (still recovering from TJ), Ryan Weathers, or Pedro Avila.

                   Or maybe he calls Detroit, and wants Michael Fulmer (an excellent swing man for 2022) and a prospect.

                   I'm sure Dombrowski will first look into (1 year of Manaea).

                   Hey … would you deal Bohm for Spencer Howard? Or would you trade Bohm for Sixto Sanchez (who knows when/if he'll pitch again)?

                3. Okay, I’ll answer your question and then illustrate the point I was making. Right now, because his value is depressed, he’s fetching something like a prospect in the back end of the top 10 or two 10-20 prospects. So, on our team, he would fetch a guy like Morales, Garcia or Griff McGarry or perhaps a guy like Erik Miller combined with a guy like Rickardo Perez or Christopher Sanchez. Put it another way, right now, I sure as heck wouldn’t trade him for a guy like Hans Crouse.

                   If Bohm had a strong bounce back year and looked like a guy who could regularly put up a .825-.850 OPS, he’s probably fetching a good young pitcher or a prospect in the back end of a top 5 – not a Mick Abel or Andrew Painter, but perhaps a Rojas or an O’Hoppe and maybe also a secondary level big league talent.

                4. Ok Hinkie, so basically you are putting Bohm’s value on that of a 7th inning reliever – I think that we are aligned on that value. Fulmer would be a great get for Bohm imo. He is a better get than Avila or Weathers. Fulmer is a veteran arm in the pen who would spot start if needed. I like that type of value. Avila or Weathers are interesting too. but both are very limited upside players. Pen depth.

                   I wouldn’t trade for Howard because I don’t think that he is an MLB pitcher. I think that we sold high on Howard. Sixto is a good question. I don’t know the medicals on him. He is such a binary prospect. But probably not a fit on our team right now. We need win now players.

                5. I wouldn’t trade for Howard either. He his going to end up as a reliever and it could take years before he figures it all out.

                   I would definitely trade Bohm for Sixto. Both players have their value depressed right now and could be helpful to the other club. Even if Sixto ended up as a reliever this year, I don’t see any reason he couldn’t transition back to starter over the next year or two. I do that trade in a second if you think it’s likely that Sixto is healthy again.

                6. Bohm plus a lottery ticket may get you ONE year of Sean Manaea…TWO years? No. Bohm still holds promise as a 1st round pick. The DH makes him more valuable despite his youth.

                7. Mark – Manaea is a FA after this year. So it is a 1 year rental.

                   https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/oakland-athletics/sean-manaea-19022/

                   And define “lottery ticket”. who is an example of what you mean?

                8. v1, Casey Martin?

                9. Bear in mind that it’s possible Eflin is gone after ’22…acquiring Manaea with the prospect of re-signing him makes sense. If Eflin pitches well and healthy this season, he may cost more than Manaea on the market. Manaea may also come into his own as a solid MOR in a contract year.

                10. By the way, V1, I never said Bohm was worth a 7th inning reliever (you said that) – he’s clearly worth more than that right now as were the prospects I identified and if he has a really good season, he’s worth far more than that.

                11. Catch – two of the players that Hinkie proposed (Weathers, Avila) are 7th inning relievers. I was referring to Hinkie, not you.

                12. v1 … Weathers and Avila are only in the BP because the Padres rotation is loaded with Darvish, Snell, Musgrove, Clevinger, Nick Martinez (just signed from Japan), Lamet, Paddack, and Morejon. Like Fulmer, they would act as a swingman. Unlike Fulmer (under contract for just this season), Weathers and Avila are under team control for 5 and 6 years respectively.

                    Personally, I’d prefer Morejon (provided his progress from TJ checked out with team doctors). I think he should return sometime this summer.

       2. Interesting that you think Bohm’s value is “so depressed.” I actually think his value will only go down from here. If they find someone else who believes that he can play 3b or has a DH spot open and wants him for a legit piece, that would be a home run deal imo.

          1. It appeaser Bohm’s immediate future has three avenues to start the season.
             1. Trade
             2. Stays on team as 3B
             3. Option to LHV

             ………IMO they send him down to LHV and hope he can pad his offensive minor league metrics at the AAA level and try to make him more saleable in a trade.

             1. Yeah, I think that’s right and I agree they should probably send him to LHV unless he hits the cover off the ball the next 3 weeks in ST (he hasn’t thus far). He can work at third and on his hitting there without so much pressure and they can even have him play the OF a little to try to enhance his trade value. It could be the best thing for him and the team.

          2. Yeah, I do think that, although it’s always possible that a player’s value will continue to go down.

             To me, anyone who has watched Bohm from other clubs pretty much knows he can’t play third, but they also don’t know if he can play the outfield, so that brings his value down. But what brings his value down the most is that, as a hitter, he had a horrible sophomore year after a very promising rookie campaign. If he hits like he did his rookie year or develops more power or better plate discipline, yeah, his value will go up and perhaps quite a bit. It’s funny to say, but as a hitter, his extreme ceiling is something like Castellanos – a beast with the bat but an awkward fielder. Cross training him for the outfield would also bring his value up although, I get why that’s not a path forward here in Philly – there’s just no room for him in the OF here since Harper is planted in right, he could obviously not play center and two free agent beasts will be sharing left field.

70. Francisco Morales’ 22 pitch inning in yesterday’s game only goes to show the stuff the 22-year old has, and it plays to a TOR….once he harnesses both his command and control.
    His FB touching 97 on half-dozen fastballs, the sharp biting action on both the slider and curve ball were exceptional. If he can develop an average change-up, to add to that arsenal, with command, then he has the potential to be a TOR in the rotation.

    1. … or the next Dellin Bettances, Romus. Big, power back end RHP w/mucho velo and plus (maybe ++) breaker.

       2017 Ninja Award. Most Unfair At Bat. Dellin Betances. 🏆😳

       [100mph airmailed Fastball, followed by a K 3 Straight Curveballs.] pic.twitter.com/XIrbLxloiG

       — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) December 22, 2017

       Three strikeouts for Francisco Morales today: First one one a fastball at 96.8 with major late life; Second on a painted four-seamer at 97.0; Statcast calls the third one a cutter, but looks like a slider at 88.5 … Filthy stuff pic.twitter.com/zeJ0zkcqxj

       — Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) March 23, 2022

       1. I love the idea of Morales as a closer. I think that is his best role and could be dominant. And I know that we need that badly.

          1. Yeah, v1. I think that is his ultimate destination. He’s got a real chance for two dominant pitches.

          2. No offense to Mitch Ruppert, but I think only the last pitch was truly filthy. From my perspective, although he throws hard, Morales does not have a ton of deception (the second pitch was straight as can be), so he should be throwing a lot of 2 seam FBs, like the first pitch in the sequence, which was definitely solid. But it’s a small sample size and at least he throws hard and is developing a repertoire. If he makes the majors in any capacity it would be helpful.

71. This came to me after a discussion with a friend of mine I coached with for years. He asked if my grandson had made his high school varsity team. He is a freshman. I said yes. So he asked where if he going to play. I said my grandson told me last weekend SS, C, P. So my friend goes what about !B. This is where my thoughts on AB come into play. My grandson is really good and capable of playing any of the 6 infield positions well. But IMO !B is by far and away his best. He has the reflexes and soft hands needed. I would put 3B as his next strongest. But his coaches are playing him where they feel he will best help them.

    So rewind 10 years or so for AB. I do not know his situation but he had to be very good. Did a coach say Alex 3B is where I want you to be. Could he have been a good C, LF, 1B if developed back then. I agree with those of you that he really does not have the physical features to be an excellent 3B. Can he become serviceable. I do not know. But if he played 3B all the way through which I do not know if he did lots of scouts and coaches saw him over the years. As Himkie just reference he was 1-3 pick. You do not go that high for no reason. So where did someone fail in the past with AB if it was obvious he could not be a 3B going forward. This is what is confusing to me. I am sure he had a great high school career and was very good at WS as well. Throw in the Phillies minor league system as well. Who along the way made the determination that 3B was where he would be best suited.

    Sorry if a little long winded but it was probably obvious long ago that 3B was not the spot. If he is kinda stiff in his movements at 3B now he probably was back then as well.

    1. It is a good question. Imo, the answer is that too few HS coaches actually care about a kid’s future. They want to win. Also most HS positions are set based on limited supply. a HS coach simply needs to fill out a roster and all Bohm has to be is the best 3B option in that high school. HS coaches can’t recruit. So he has a big arm, is too slow for OF, so let’s put hm there. on his perfect game page, it shows him 43rd percentile for the 60 yard dash. So he was too slow for OF. So if that HS has a good hitter but out of shape kid, then that kid has to play 1B and Alec by default has to play 3B.

       Now going to college is a different scenario. But still a college coach is limited by his scholarships and ability to recruit. And the defensive bar is much lower at college than the MLB level simply because the speed of the game is slower. At the MLB level, the runners are faster. That means a fielder has less time. Thus athleticism is much more important on determining if his skills will translate to the MLB level than if he is serviceable defensively at college.

       That is a very different decision than a professional scout whom can pick anyone but 2 players in a draft. Why Almaraz couldn’t see what other scouts saw, that he wasn’t a 3B at the MLB level, goes to something that I have been complaining about for years on this blog…Johnny Almaraz was simply a bad scout. He may have hit on a player or two over time, but over a large sample size, imo, he was really bad at his job. Randolph, Mickey, Bohm, Haseley on and on. He he had a lot of high picks and simply had bad scouting imo.

       1. Johnny Almaraz was a fricking disaster. He not was just a bad scout, he had a terrible – and I mean out and out terrible – philosophy when it came to drafting players. How do I know this? He said it! He wanted pitchers with control and position players with a hit tool. Velocity? Power? Fugghetaboutit! He devalued exactly what the industry – and the new player development regime – values most. Almaraz was literally the wrong person, in the wrong place at the wrong time and screwed up 3 top 10 picks in a row which, unfortunately, fell on Klentak’s watch. Unfathomable. Inexcusable. Outrageous.

          1. FYI – before someone corrects me, I believe that the drafting of Moniak came on Amaro’s watch, but it doesn’t detract from my main points that Almaraz was awful and that his being there (which wasn’t Klentak’s decision) absolutely sealed Klentak’s fate.

             1. True but Charlie and Gillick had both been to see him. I believe Gillick had even sat down with Mom and Dad

                Even though Amaro was at the helm the shadow of those two loomed large

                1. For sure. The MM drafting had a feel of too many cooks in the kitchen. That’s why you need one leader who has an eye for talent and a vision.

             2. No, Klentak became GM in October 2015. Mikey was drafted on June 9, 2016. Klentak owns the pick too. But Klentak is not a scout. he relied on Almaraz’s report.

                1. I strongly dispute that Moniak is a failed pick at this point. If you want to require that he measure up to the standards of 1-1 picks throughout the years he STILL is not at the bottom. However he was a top pick in large part because his expected signing amount allowed for other good players to be chosen, so perhaps he more should be compared to 1-10 picks – the REAL damage is the failure of those other Phillies 2016 draft choices to produce. It is 2022 and if we had instead drafted Groome (who BTW would have been my choice back then) we would be stuck with a player people are happy about having one scoreless inning in a preseason game…. smilar with A. J. Puk

    2. Don…FWIW….Bohm, according to MaxPreps was at 3B in HS. So assume he was there for awhile in his earlier baseball days.

       https://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/alec-bohm/u8Z8vcsNEeO00gAmVebEWg/baseball/stats.htm

       And then college:
       “Despite his offensive production, there were concerns about Bohm’s defensive ability at third base: in addition to committing 14 errors, his fielding percentage was only .899 for the year.”…his last year as a Shocker.

72. I remember Camargo coming off the bench and getting spot starts for Atlanta, He seemed to be a line drive hitter with limited power. I have no recollection of his fielding abilities. Seems like a good role player but limited to third base.Wasn’t used at other infield positions so his versatility is questionable. If he can’t play good defense then he is not the everyday answer. I have my doubts.

    1. One scout’s report on Camargo’s defense 8 years ago in the Braves org as a 20–year old:
       “Camargo is a solid defender at shortstop. He has a strong arm and good instincts. Scouts are mixed about Camargo’s chances to stay at shortstop long term, but he has the tools to succeed even if a move is necessary.”

73. Really good points both of you. There is no doubt that AB body type was most likely the same then as now. Romus,, this tells me someone in the scouting area can not see very well. Could AB have become a serviceable C. Maybe.

    Funny v1. My grandson’s team has put the worst fielder but one of the top hitters at 1B at least to start. I understand your points but it is still frustrating. I am also not a big C, P fan.
    They decided last Summer in travel on this and at times he P and C in same game. Or one after the other.

    I am sure Camargo was told there was a good chance he would get an opportunity. I guess my question at this time if 3B is not for AB where else but DH. Phillies are light on DH guys. LOL.

    1. Yes, at the amateur level, usually 1B is the worst athlete that can hit. Not to be mean, but usually you put the fat kid who can hit at 1B. the position really has limited value defensively.

74. Hal-Romus-Don – If you get a chance, go to youtube and watch Camargo’s highlights from 2017,18,and 19. I watched them yesterday. He has plenty of power and makes some great plays at 3B.

    1. ciada…yes…2018 has him at his best year WAR-wise.

    2. Thanks Ciada. Romus also indicated that he was originally a shortstop which tells me he does have athleticism. By contrast, Bohm never had the athleticism for that position in his past. We might have an in-house player that can take over the position.

75. I agree v1. My grandson is tall and lanky. But his 1st travel team had no one who really could field and catch bad throws nearly as well as he does. So he played there for two or three years. But everywhere else since. Most think SS is his best spot but I would put that 4th at this time.
    If Camargo was a SS originally he will have no issues at 3B. I also have no issues if he is a line drive hitter. I saw him play a lot and he was always good.

76. Where is Scott Kingery?

    1. Making millions at Lehigh Valley! But good question, haven’t heard anything about him or seen him in a game. The Phillies have some de-valued older prospects and an improving farm. I’m really interested to see what DD does when he pulls off a trade (when, not if). I think they should focus on starting pitching (because you always need more pitching), especially with Gibson, Eflin, and potentially Nola all not here next year. I think the org would be smart to get SP help now to give this year’s team the best chance.

    2. I am as guilty as anyone in seeing in Kingery the player we wanted him to be as opposed to the player he could become. He is very athletic, fast, has some power and a great attitude. But he couldn’t hit a good breaking pitch or a good fastball. Until someone can get him to at least hit a good fastball, I don’t see a path forward for him, which is really sad.

77. I do not know his where abouts but I think he may have got messed up beyond repair. I hope not. I hope Scott is able to revive his career. If not in Philly somewhere. He seems like a great kid. The only thing that always bothered me was his looking up to the scoreboard after striking out as if the board was going to change something.

78. I was Bohm’s biggest cheerleader still am but I admit if it were up to me I’d option him to LHV as well. I said a few weeks ago Camargo was one of DDs better moves.

    With regard to Hoskins I don’t think anyone here doesn’t like him. Would I move him today absolutely not but the writing is on the wall that he wants to take himself to FA at which point he’ll be 32. From a payroll standpoint something will have to give.

    I don’t know what it would take to get Montas but he’d be the A’s player I would target…this season plus the next under control.

    I hate to talk windows but clearly the Phillies are in at least a playoff window

    1. By the way, I think sending Bohm to AAA would be good for him. He needs to reestablish himself and develop his fielding away from the pressure of the big leagues. It would be good for everyone in my view. In the meantime, Camargo and Gregorious could hold down the fort at third.

       1. From the day I first saw he reminded me of Jayson Werth on shear body type alone and from an athletic or defensive POV their was no comparison JW was a much better athlete.

          That said from a purely hit tool perspective I see great similarity. Bohm has exceptional plate discipline and pitch recognition tools as evidenced by his College, MiLB and fist year in the MLB.

          Clearly that all got away from him last year but it doesn’t mean those tools vanished.

          If you wanted to find reason to be optimistic then JW is a great example of a guy that excelled late. Consider he never played 134 games until his age 29 season.

          Some might not want to wait around for that but as the exercise in his current value above indicates I don’t think it behooves DD to ship him out for a 7th inning guy either.

          1. DMAR……if the Phillies do indeed send Bohm to LHV to start the season, and let Camargo open at third base…..and by chance Camargo recaptures 2018 after a few months there,….then IMO, Bohm becomes a real possibility of being part of a trade package.

79. Fan Graph projection has Mets at 90 wins, Phillies at 88, and Marlins at 82. NL East is going to difficult.

    1. What about the Braves?

       1. They had 6 possible playoff teams. Go to Fan Graph and you can find out. I just did not click on it. My guess low 90s. Go to MLB site. Top story.

          1. I looked and couldn’t find it. The top story was on Sergio Romo.

80. I’m not worried about Realmuto regressing so much that he’s un-serviceable at catcher the last few years of his deal. He looks just as athletic as pudge, posey, and molina and they were more than serviceable defensively towards the back end of their careers. He sure as hell is more athletic than the sal fasano’s and eric kratz’s of the world.

    Me and the fam are going to be in clearwater area first week of April. We’re going to the pirates game on the 5th but wanted to pick your brains about good places to eat and maybe some not so well known interesting things to do while we’re there. My boys are 7 and 11 so if there’s anything that’s not too boring in their eyes, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

    1. Lenny’s for breakfast – it’s just down the street from the facility and is THE place for breakfast for Phillies fan and staff. If you would like somewhere good and interesting to go to dinner, I always love Columbia restaurant – great Cuban food. The original (which is from the early 1900s) is in Ybor City in Tampa, but there is another Clearwater Beach. Personally, I think it’s worth the trip to go to Tampa if you like historic locations and feel.

       1. I love Columbia. 1905 salad is the best. It’s south of Cwzter Beach, over the bridge just past the Marriott. Worth the trip to this location too.

          1. It’s on the list. Thanks guys!!!!!

       2. Lenny’s is a must. Danish basket…..

81. I tried to click on FanGraph link but got an error message. Maybe someone else can get it.

82. Today we get to see everyone’s favorite future Phillie Bryan Reynolds, but I am actually excited to watch Mitch Keller pitch. Austin Wynns is our DH but we get to see Camargo at 3B and Muzziotti in left: other than that a repeat of everyone else in their spots.

83. I play MLB the Show video game with my youngest son. It is a fun game because it really rewards hitters and defense doesn’t really matter much. So you end up buying great hitters and basically put them anywhere. I think Dombrowski played that game a lot this off-season too. Anyway, it is going to be fun to watch. Will be maddening at times. But really fun as a fan. Here is a get hyped video

    1. That announcer for the Nats … super irritating, nails on a chalkboard.

84. PHILLIES get:
    Ramon Laureano cf
    Sean Manaea lhp

    A’S get:
    Alec Bohm 3b/dh
    Johan Rojas cf
    Ranger Suarez lhp
    Ethan Wilson of

    1. Overpay again. Nobody is giving Suarez his due. He was nearly a 6 WAR player last year in a little over 100 innings – that’s insane. He could regress a lot and still pitch like a 2. He’s not getting traded.

    2. mark…if it is Laureano alone you are looking to get,
       …Bohm and a Haseley or Muzziotti easily gets him

       1. Not too sure, Romus…A’s are looking for more prospect capital than two major league level players. They want farm talent. Maybe not very top prospects but I can’t see how you acquire Laureano without Rojas in the return package.

          1. Easy, Laureano will cost them $3M this year -Arb1….then $5 or 6M or so arb2-2023, then probably close to $10M the last year.
             A’s do not want tp pay salary it appears
             And just look to Chapman and the return they got from the Jays
             Bohm and Haseley are cost controlled for awhile.
             Anyway….Dave D will never give up Rojas for Laureano…..more than likely Rjas’ ETA is late 2023 or early 2024, depending if they want to work the service time..

             1. Romus would they take one of the catcher over rojas, in that trade?

                1. They may.
                   But Braves just traded them a top prospect in Shea Langeliers.

85. Sorry if I missed it on here but mlb posted an article about pitchers bound for a bounce back. Nola was on there. He looked bad at times but was super unlucky which inflated his numbers. No need to sell low on him.

    Side note – what channel are we watching Hinkie fight his way out of a wet paper bag or what Lil stinky Ricky said.

    Hinkie – I appreciate your efforts on here. Just wanted to make light of that goober

    1. Can’t find the link of course but they really did talk about Nola lol

86. mark, I believe the reports that the FO loves Rojas. I think he doesn’t get moved. I am not in love with Laureano anyway, and I think the hunt for a CF has halted. I also am not moving Ranger. I don’t expect anything like the #s from last season, but I still think he will remain a very good SP. I have to give that trade proposal a solid no.

    1. I liked the trade idea but I’d also squash. Here’s why, Phillies need cost controlled players. Not sure what the A’s players make but Bohm, Suarez are preArb and Rojas will be cheap when he comes up.

       1. Sean Manaea~$10mil

          Ramon Laureano $2.3mil

          A’s would need to send someone else over for Phillies to take $12mil.

          Not popular but if Nola has a bounce back season, he’s going to get more expensive. Sell high before you lose to FA.

87. TrollU, that’s outside the box thinking, definitely would be unpopular for the fans & clubhouse to trade Nola. I’d of considered it last year coming in if the FO didn’t have the off-season they did. You gotta keep him now, unless your so far out of it come the deadline. I cant see that happening. Though, if Saurez is for real, and Abel gets on the fast track, you might be able to do so in the next offseason. I’d keep him. To me, he’s a top 10-15 starter. Id try to resign or extend him.

    1. Friedman would take Nola…..toot sweet….Bellinger and the rehabbing May may be got.

       1. Sign me up for that trade, Romus!

       2. Romus you know how i feel, Nola for a centerfielder or third basemen, and young arm

          1. rocco…again two dingers today, either ahead in the count (0-1) or even (2-2).
             Not sure why he gives up so many 2-strike hits.
             A few years he was not comfortable with Young’s philosphy… of pitching hi-heat up in the zone…well with two strikes on a jittery batter, that is not a bad idea.

88. Not bad Romus. Seems Nola getting lots of early pitches in middle of plate. Bellinger would solve CF. Where does a 5th starter come from? Now the games may be 12-10 instead of 9-8. LOL

89. I like Dusty May. Hinkie has been campaigning for Glasnow. Same kind of deal. Not sure on recovery times.

    1. May is behind schedule due to the lock-out, of even rehabbing players….so he looks like a post-all-star break pitcher right now….and may be a BP piece until he gets further stretched.

90. I think Hinkie said Glasnow is out all season. I may be wrong there.
    Midseason would be a plus if true.

91. FanGraph. I got in this time.
    Braves 92 wins
    Nats 73 wins
    Dodgers 94 highest
    Blue Jays 93 next.
    I did not count to 6 but think 88 would make playoffs. Would be 3rd in NL East.

    1. Yeah, based on those projections the Phils would easily get in. 88 wins is tied for 4th in the NL (and as you mentioned, 3rd in the NL East).

       88 wins is traditionally enough to make the playoffs even in a field of 5 teams, so with 6 it should be plenty.

       Of course, that assumes that each division doesn’t have two teams that just beat up on everyone else (like the Giants and Dodgers did last year). So I guess we should hope one of the other divisions turns out to either be very competitive, or extremely bad. I could see the Giants slipping and the Padres making up some ground. And the Central is anybody’s guess. I assume the Cards and Brewers will be pretty good. But the Cubs and Reds? No idea.

       And all of this also assumes that the Phils play reasonably well within the division which… well, we all know that hasn’t been the case recently.

       1. Brewers 88
          Cards 82
          Pads 88
          Giants 84

       2. DanK…..Pads without Tatis for three months, may have a lot to make up in the win column. And broken wrist on the bottom bat hand can be even more troubling for him when he needs to generate power once he returns.

          1. Good point. Forgot about Tatis.

          2. For sure, but I also just don’t trust the Giants to repeat what they did last year. And those wins have to go somewhere.

             1. yes indeed they do…..that is why I do not see them going 32-6 (.842) against the Rox and DBacks again this season.

    2. My NL power rankings pending further trades or signings…
       1 Dodgers
       2 Braves
       3 Phillies
       4 Mets (NYM and SD are overhyped IMO)
       5 Cardinals
       6 Padres
       7 Brewers
       8 Giants (Gabe’s Gmen drop off in ’22)
       9 Marlins
       10 Reds
       11 Nationals
       12 Diamondbacks
       13 Rockies
       14 Cubs
       15 Pirates

       1. FanGraphs has Cardinals down with Marlins at 82. Not sure why. Think Flaherty is out for awhile maybe. A lot of teams in the 88 range.
          This prediction would have Dodgers, Braves, and Brewers winners.
          Mets, Phillies, and Padres 4-6.

          1. That prediction of the 6 teams from the NL is very plausible.

             1. Not sure how you split Phillies and Pads if they tied for 5th. Sure Mets/Phillies would be head to head in division.

          2. Other than Milwaukee the NL Central is a joke. So if the Cardinals handle business in their division I think they get to 90 wins..

92. Mark – I realize that you are in a hurry to trade Bohm but do you really think he is at all in demand after last season? Seems he’d need to have a really huge bounce back season both offensively and defensively to move his value back up.

    1. He’s not that much in demand now, which is why he probably won’t be traded until he’s had a chance to enhance his trade value.

    2. Ciada, I tend to agree with v1 here…why are we to assume his value goes up. Aside from last season, he’s performed well all along the way. Despite his deficiencies on the field, his bat should be promising to teams looking for controllable young talent with a fairly high ceiling. He may be a change of scenery candidate considering the supposed mental state he’s suffered. Plus he’s simply a young man without a position on a win now team spilling over with DH’s. Value to the Phillies? Apparently not a whole lot except for what he may fetch on the trade market, especially among rebuilding clubs.

93. By the way, since we’re discussing third base, the Camargo move was fantastic. Precisely the type of move outstanding GMs like DD make and that guys like Matt Klentak never seem to pull off. It’s hard to overstate just what that move could mean to the team this year. We would salivate if Bohm put up the numbers Camargo did at AAA last year. He can play.

    1. Agreed. a cheap, buy low, high upside if it works pick up. brilliant move.

94. I know it’s ST but I’m getting a mild queasiness over Nola’s HR propensity so far this season..

    1. Don’t worry about it; Wheeler did the same thing in the 2020 shortened spring training, and both he and Nola had ERAs over 5 in spring training last year. Also notable: Walker Buehler (6) and Ian Anderson (5) gave up a lot of HRs last spring training and went on to have great seasons.

       People have tried to find correlations between spring training and the regular season every year since forever. There is none. It’s just practice.

95. Let’s all acknowledge that MM has swung the bat very well the last 2 games.

    1. acknowledged. his homer was a very nice swing. 97 mph pitch. seemed to be inside too. I watched it a few times because it surprised me. seemed like a confident swing. really drove the pitch. it wasn’t a wind aided, spring training homer. he crushed it.

       but we should also acknowledge that the key to judging a player is consistency. we look at averages for a reason. because doing it once in a while is not good enough for MLB level.

       throughout his career, Moniak has had some very good months. very good. but the consistency has never shown at any level.

       also for some reason that I don’t fully understand, the organization doesn’t view him as a viable CF.

       1. So, every year with certain prospects, they get good fastballs to hit in ST or early in the year, and then they face more advanced pitching and immediately return to their established norms. Anthony Hewitt did that every April for two weeks, until he started seeing some breaking pitches and then all bets were off. Moniak did this spring too and we all thought it meant he turned the corner (he did improve, but he was nowhere near getting over the hump) – it doesn’t mean anything, at least yet.

          Now to Moniak. The good news is that he really has progressed to a certain degree and he’s obviously a very determined guy. It’s easy to like him and he’s become a capable AAA player. But last year, when he faced very advanced pitching where he saw difficult breaking pitches, he struggled like crazy. Right now, he’s a routine AAA player and, to their credit, they are treating him like that. If he wants to become something more, he’s going to have to hit like Camargo did at AAA last year and carve out a place for himself. Until that happens over a reasonable sample size, it’s just not going to show up on my radar.

          1. My two cents on MM. Spoiler: I believe he will be a MLB everyday player at some point. Here is why, he seems to be on the JP Crawford track. Struggle at the new level, figured it out, then starts taking off enough for a promotion. Rinse and repeat. I think this keeps happening. One thing I love about his game, He hits a lot of triples. For these reasons I wouldn’t want to write him off, but this team is moving faster than his development time. Ultimately I see him getting included in a trade package. If not, a possible June call up
             If he is doing well in AAA. I gotta believe he is in the running next ST for CF If Veriling doesn’t lock it down. Moniak, Rojas, and Vierling ST battle . Not saying I’m right, just the “scout senses” telling me this. He seems to be improving vs regressing, which is a good sign between AAA & Mlb level. It’s a big jump, but many of us are pulling for him.

             1. I would love to see MM make it here but I agree it’s becoming likely he’s trade bait. In any case I wish him the best.

             2. …and I would add that once he catches his stride in the majors, he’s already a winner waiting to happen.
                Matt, you have much to be proud of. The kid has endured a lot and his character will carry him farther than lesser young men.

             3. have you ever compared the minor league performance of the two players? particularly the off handed splits? or the walk rates? or the K rates? They really share very little in common imo.

                also, JP has been a negative offensive WAR player every year in the MLB. the only reason that he is still in the league is because he is a very good defensive player at a premium defensive position.

                1. Admittedly I didn’t look at the splits before. Going off memory. Not the best comp.

                   Hypothetically if moniak wasn’t promoted last year, his Minor league season averages out to the following for 162g:

                   .236 BA 140H, 79s, 24 2B, 13 3B, 24 hr. I’m not sure how to figure out the rest. His OPS hovers around .750. His walk rate could improve. My overall point is I think he can make the jump to a serviceable Everyday player. Late bloomer type.

                   Would we take that from a CF this year, with good defense? I think they could. They must see something in Vierling & liked Herrera experience/price. Will see, the link you posted sounds like he could change some minds. Up to him.

                2. I don’t know where you’re getting your information on J.P. Crawford, he has slowly improved his offensive game, has been a positive WAR player on offense for the last 4 years (but took a big leap last year) and was a 3 WAR offensive player and cumulative 3.8 WAR player last year (his defense is also very good). He’s now worth roughly what Segura is worth, but getting paid a heck of lot less (and also at a different position).

                3. https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jp-crawford/15491/stats?position=SS

                4. Well, I guess the relative beauty of Crawford is in the eye of the statistical beholder – we were both sorta right: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crawfjp01.shtml

                5. That’s really interesting they think that JP is more valuable offensively than defensively. That doesn’t smell right. he has a career OPS+ of 94. How could that possibly be a positive WAR offensive player?

                6. Actually, it does. I think it has to do with the value of the player relative to his position, so a guy like Crawford who plays shortstop and puts up a 102+ OPS is well above average for a SS, whereas a guy who puts up a 102+ OPS as a first baseman is well below average for that position. You can agree or disagree with this methodology, but I’m pretty sure that’s how they get there.

                7. Crawford’s OPS last year was .715. That ranked 20th of MLB SS who qualified

                   https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=10,d

                8. Yeah, but . . . he was 14th in WRC+ which measures runs created, in a tie with Lindor and ahead of Swanson and Story. He’s a very good player, although not a star (and may never be a star).

                9. 14th and 20th. Sounds average to me. But he was 5th in DRS. That’s exceptional. So I don’t understand why bbref has a higher offensive WAR than defensive WAR.

                10. …sounds like somebody used the same formula for voting Bobby Abreu his gold glove when he was allergic to the right field wall but was dynamite at the plate when the game was out of hand🤣

                11. So I’m far more familiar with fWAR than bWAR, but I took a look at what they have published on their calculations. From what I can tell, the vast majority of JP’s offensive value comes from positional adjustment. He also gets a small boost from not hitting into many double plays.

                    I don’t know what their current positional adjustments are, but it’s still significant. SS has been trending down over time, but it’s still second highest after C (used to be +10, in 2017 which is their last listed number it was +7).

                    So yeah, anywhere else on the diamond (outside of catcher) and JP would be viewed as a negative offensively. I don’t think I agree with B-Ref’s adjustments. Teams are valuing offense at SS more and more, so to say that JP is a good hitting SS in the current environment is disingenuous.

                    Although to JP’s credit, on offense he does everything about average. Most people have a clear weakness that they need to cover for, but Crawford walks a decent amount, doesn’t strike out too much, has a bit a power (probably his weakest area), hits for an okay average, and makes good contact.

                12. DanK…JPC strength, IMO….besides the plus defense, is OBP with his 8% BB rate, and almost top ten in the majors as for shorstops….that seem to drive his 3.1fWAR…which is incidentally middle of the pack with shortstops.
                    His ISO of .103 is low, -no significant XBH power, and his wRC+ at also 103, is almost middle of the road.

       2. Nice article on MM: https://www.mlb.com/phillies/news/philadelphia-phillies-top-mlb-prospects-updates-2022

          Seems like he made an adjustment. Time will tell if this unlocks him.

          1. Agreed. Even if he could just hit righties — and Vierling played against lefties — he’d be valuable, and that would be a centerfielder for $1.5 million.

             1. $1.5 million for the two of them combined.

96. Interesting reading about Hao Yu Lee from Kiley McDaniel,

    “Lee is the best position player to come out of Taiwan in years. I heard his name years ago as a no-doubt bat with real power who would probably fit at second base. At 5-foot-10 with limited speed/defense to offer, he has limited upside, but the Phils signed another international player with a similar profile years ago who is now in the Top 100 in Rays 3B Curtis Mead.”

    Also on the newest International Signed player,

    “Bergolla is the headlining signing from two months ago for $2.05 million out of Venezuela. He was a top name in this international class for years due to his advanced hit/power tools for his age, making his one of the more anticipated pro debuts this summer”

    1. Lee’s bat may carry him thru the system very fast.
       And anxious to see how Bergolla starts out
       Wonder if the Phillies will let him start in the FSL vs the DSL.

       1. FCL, Florida Complex League, maybe. He’s expected to come stateside for XST.

          1. Thanks Jim…..that would be great if he is stateside.

             And….I keep mixing up he abbreviations of Manfred’s revamped minor league system.

97. really cool breakdown of one of the best hitters in the game by one of the best pitchers in the game. speaks to the chess match that goes on every at bat.

    1. I can across this the other day as well. My other take away was from the Nick Castellanos play. I think he his getting a bad wrap. He looks like he should beat out Schwarber for LF. Bauer mentioned he thought he was a good defender as well. So, shall see. I’m more bullish on defense now than before. He looked okay when I saw him in CIN. He’s not a GG, but he has some speed. Better than Burrell and probably Mccutcheb last season

       Also worth noting, Bauer does some nice videos on the game, if you can work through his off field activities. Give him a look.

       1. What we aren’t privy to is the conversations had between the Phillies and both Schwarber’s and Castellanos’ camps. Kyle S may have been told that he would be given priority consideration to play LF. Or not…??

          1. Pretty amazing they had to pay out 179 million for two outfielder, cause they cant draft, Moniak and Hasley two busts, Bohm is right behind them, With three of our starter hitting free agency, we might be back into corner with no money to resign them, cause we can draft,

             1. On the money, Rocco. The Phillies can (and should) spend like the big market team they are, but that doesn’t negate the necessity of developing quality, cost-controlled players. Look how much they seem to spend every year just filling out the bullpen.

                Phillies should be a top-5 payroll team perennially, including big free agents, but you can’t pay the whole roster $20m+ a year.

             2. And you missed Randolph! He’s already been released. You can primarily thank Johnny Almaraz for that cluster#%&%. As the I said yesterday, Almaraz was the wrong guy, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. He was a disaster. It was like a New York Jets level rebuild.

             3. The good news Rocco is those guys aren’t here any longer…

             4. rocco…..there may be light, someday the teams may have the ability to trade draft choices….Phillies can make out like bandits by trading first and second rounders for a boat-load of 5th round picks.

98. Also, rocco, we got Schwarber and Castellanos for less $ and years than Kris Bryant. Rhat deserves a pat on the back! But, your point is a good one. And, part of the reason I still hold out hope for Bohm, and, more importantly, why I wouldn’t have wanted to trade Stott or Rojas.

99. For those who might care: Spencer Howard had a nice outing yesterday allowing no hits in two innings. Seems Howard is almost always strong for those first two innings. And…and…and also for the Rangers Brandon Workman threw a scoreless inning. Finally, Jon Singleton had a home run for the Brewers in a start. He’s thirty years old now.

    1. Exactly – let me know when Spencer Howard is still throwing 95 in the middle of the 5th inning. Hopefully, that can happen, but it sure didn’t the two years he was here. He started to bottom out after inning 2 and, man, if you don’t think velocity is important after you watch him pitch I don’t know what to tell you. Spencer Howard throwing 94-96 is an entirely different pitcher than him throwing 90-93 – a night and day difference.

       1. If he doesn’t show improvement by the middle of this year, they should just bite the bullet and make him a relief pitcher. He could be a fantastic relief pitcher by the way – the type of guy who could pitch the 7th and 8th innings. They should really put him in a position to succeed, not fail the way he has.

          1. It was rather odd, and sad…but in 2018 -Lakewood, and 2019-Clearwater and Reading….at age 21 and 22 respectively. He was able to easily maintain that velocity into the 6th and tth innings……then he lost it .

             1. ‘7th innings’

             2. He had a shoulder injury I think at the end of 2019 and hasn’t been the same since then. He was throwing in the high 90s at that point and allegedly touching 100. Not the same guy.

                1. This is why I shudder anytime a pitcher has a shoulder injury. It’s often the kiss of death.

100. So, Michael Conforto remains unsigned, and with the cursed QO hanging over him, nobody seems to have the slightest inkling of where he might land.

     Question: how well can he play CF? And if he’s passable, might he be worth a 1-year prove-it deal, equivalent to the approximate $18 QO which it doesn’t appear the Mets will re-offer with all their new additions in the OF?

     1. Boras is under the gun to get him signed.
        Of course, if he holds out until June 15th……teams do not lose their 2nd round pick if they sign him….at least that was what it was under the old CBA regulations.

        1. I think with the draft being moved to All Star weekend, Conforto would have to wait until All Star break to sign and lose the daft pick compensation to the signing team. Can’t see him sitting out a half season.

101. According to Jim Salisbury, Scott Kingery is nearing game action after being in a throwing program after last summer’s shoulder surgery. My hope is that he’s able to make significant contributions to the big league club later this summer, perhaps clearing his head of his unfortunate downturn two years ago. Maybe Segura is traded for a needed arm at the deadline…I like redemption stories, what can I say.

     1. Would love to see Kingery make it back healthy and the player he was before things went sideways for him.

        1. In a generation of entitlement and responsibility shifting, I really think in his case that he was set up for failure. What the previous regime was thinking I have absolutely no clue. Nor did they, unfortunately. May have ruined a perfectly good second baseman by trying to turn him into a swiss army knife, all because they were entranced by the new mathematicians instead of sound baseball minds.

     2. I remember Kingery, coming into the league, being touted as resilient and he is able to overcome the unexpected obstacle of his bout with COVID and difficulties getting back in a hitting groove.

     3. mark…look’s like your CFer Bryan Reynolds could be headed to the Marlins,,oh no!
        Latest ……… the Marlins and Pirates have talked trade but compensation being what’s held up a deal. Pirates want top shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson and 2020 No. 3 overall pick Max Meyer

        1. Romus, who are the Phillies comps to those Marlins prospects?

           1. Assume Abel or Painter to max Meyer……and probably Stott to Watson, since the pirates are looking for that middle infielder/shortstop type.
              Not sure Luis Garcia would satisfy them.

              1. Not giving up Stott…today he’s hitting like he wants to go north in April.

        2. Last I saw, that report was before they signed Soler. Which indicates to me that they weren’t willing to give up both Meyer and Watson, and the Pirates weren’t willing to take less. So the Marlins went with their backup plan.

           I could be wrong, though. Was there something written about them still being in talks post-Soler?

           1. Yes…..Bleacher Report had something on players looking to be traded within the next few weeks. But they can sometimes regurgitate news from previous earlier reports.

        3. Romus/Mark, that return is likely due to the Phillies reentering the trade talks. This time with Rojas as a part of the discussion.

           1. Say what!😮

           2. Tell us more Jim!

              1. Last summer (at the trade deadline), the Pirates engaged with Miami on Bryan Reynolds. Cherington insisted on three of the Marlins’ top 10 prospects. Miami has a much better (and deeper) system than the Phillies. So I have always felt it would take three of Painter/Abel/Stott/Rojas to land Reynolds. IMO, Stott is MLB ready/could help the Phils win right now so I think it’s very unlikely Dave Dombrowski will deal him. Could the POBO put together a package featuring one of Abel/Painter, Rojas (who would become expendable w/Reynolds under team control for 4 years), Ethan Wilson, Jordan Viars, and maybe a lottery ticket (Jean Cabrera)? I think that’s a very competitive offer. But … the Pirates are under no pressure to trade Reynolds. He’s under team control through the end of 2025.

                 1. If the Phillies have reentered talks with Pittsburg, I don’t understand why Rojas wouldn’t have been discussed in the first go round.

                    Anyway, whatever Miami was unwilling to give up for Reynolds, I don’t think it’ll take much more than Rojas, Abel (or Painter, but I think Cherington would want the higher ranked talent closer to his major league arrival), Ethan Wilson and Erik Miller. That’s still 4 of the Phillies top 10-12 prospects. Maybe add another piece for good measure, although Viars would be tough to give up. I think he’s top 15, if not closer to top 10 in my book.

                 2. Maybe wait on that trade,
                    …Moniak with another dinger today off tall RHP Manning
                    Maybe, just maybe.

102. I thought he was our Dustin Pedroia. A line drive, gap hitter, with loads of 2Bs, speed, and excellent defense. I don’t know what happened. I would love for him to become that again.

     1. “I don’t know what happened”,
        ……..Gabe got a hold of him for two years….like Kingery once said, he had 4 different gloves in his locker just in case when he came to the park he was ready to play at 4/5 different positions.

        1. I think that’s too easy of an excuse, although it probably didn’t help. Like Andrew Knapp, he just swung through so many pitches. He couldn’t hit a good curveball or fastball. It’s hard to be a good MLB hitter when you have those deficiencies, but maybe he can get back some mojo now.

103. Even before today’s outing (56 pitches, 2 ip!!) was anyone else not feeling Kyle Gibson for 2022? There’s no doubt in my mind that the Phillies need rotation depth, or this lineup will have to post lots of crooked numbers for us to be a playoff contender, let alone for the division.

     1. I had my doubts as soon as we traded for him. His numbers for the Rangers before the trade was pure smoke-and-mirrors.

        But he’s still probably fine as a back-end pitcher. I imagine he’ll post a sub-5 ERA. Then again, with our projected defense maybe he won’t…

104. Looks like Kevin Long and Alec Bohm have been working to shorten Bohm’s swing and add lift to it.

     Nice swing by Alec Bohm to get the double! pic.twitter.com/4r9Li9DC3z

     — Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) March 25, 2022

105. Gibson reminds me of Kyle Kendrick. I do not know if that should make me feel good or not so good. Kyle had some good moments. Especially his reaction to being traded to Japan. That was classic.
     I think Alec recovers on the hitting end well. If you can hit you can hit. There may be some blips but where can he play. Philles cannot have 7 DH guys in the lineup.

     1. Don….he was the proverbial ‘innings-eater’
        Looking at his stats…5 seasons of his 8 in Philly…155 innings pitched or more.
        And six seasons with 30 or more starts…a rubber arm.
        I guess he is what a team hopes to get from a 5th in the rotation.
        https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kendrky01.shtml

106. I have said it before and I will say it again, I really really like Stott. I like his hitting approach a lot. I think that he will have a really good MLB career.

     1. Me too! The plate discipline and contact skills are outstanding!

        1. There you go….you just had to say it, the resurrection of the “Cody Asche’ jinx!

           1. Haha – I’ll shut up and let it play out. I don’t want to jinx him!

              1. Remember that?
                 ….about 10 years ago now.

                 1. I learned a LOT by watching what happened to Asche and it’s what makes me down on Kingery. You can have the best swing in the world but if you can’t make contact with quality pitches, you are not going to succeed.

                 2. But to be fair – I was in on Hoskins since his first spring training and was also an early Nola adopter – but we all miss on some prospects. So far Stott is pretty amazing – the plate discipline alone is enough to raise his profile massively and is the one thing the prospect pundits are totally missing on him.

        2. So far, Stott is proving he’s probably ready to be a part of the opening day lineup. The hits were great, but I really loved the way he stood in there against Chapman (one of the scariest LHPs in MLB) and worked a walk. His spring performance coupled with the fact that he could earn the Phillies draft pick(s) if he’s on the opening day roster should push DD to send him north in two weeks.

           1. Yes. Stott has that “it” factor imo. Not scared of anything.

107. Last year I posted that Kyle Gibson pitching in Philadelphia compared to Texas or Minnesota would be much more difficult. When he pitches, the bullpen will be taxed to do well because he pretty much will be a five inning pitcher.

     1. Seranthony looked good today and seems to be progressing just well.
        Losing all that weight , and the determined work-outs may pay huge dividends for him and the Phillies this season..

     2. He’s a perfectly fine 4 or 5 – anything more we get is a bonus.

108. I just looked at box score. It seems the main 4 BP guys pitched. See Romus comment. How did others look today? BTW Romus…one of the Indiana teams in Philly tonight. Purdue. My daughter went there but I am an IU guy.

     1. I knew a lovely gal from Purdue…Michelle is her name, she went back home to indiana last may……got tired of all the PSU men I guess around Philly.
        But I digress………Knebel looks like he is coming around nicely to be a plus in the BP…..Hand very first pitch , ugh, but settled in…I missed Ogle and Famila’s outings.
        Sheriff and Bellatti finished up ok….but facing plenty of Yankee minor leaguers.

        1. I know lots of great people who are Purdue fans or grads or both. But I have always liked IU. My daughter got undergrad there and Masters at Oklahoma State. She works for a division of Eli Lily now.
           I hope the BP guys can perform well. That will really help. I always say the games in April count just as much as in September. A good start for the Phillies would be great.
           Romus, have you been to Wells Fargo Arena?

           1. Don53….yes, been there for hockey games..
              Never heard it referred to before as the Wells Fargo ‘Arena’…..Wells Fargo Center.

              1. Poor hearing on my part. LOL

        2. sadly I fear that the key to bullpen success is being able to read the tea leaves on when to use your staff, as was done by he-who-is-not-allowed-to-be-mentioned=positively did last year in San Francisco. After last years 36 saves in 70 chances I don’t have confidence in the current team’s ability to do that.

           1. Little trivia on the SF Giants great 2021 107 win season….30% of their 107 wins, were vs two teams in their own division…….DBacks and ROX.
              And the DBAcks draft 2nd and ROX draft 10th come July.

           2. I have felt for the last 2 seasons if the BP could have just been average Phils would have been in playoffs both years. I stayed up late and watched game after game where the Phils had leads late only to lose in some manner. Frustrating to say the least.

109. I’m fine with Gibson being a 4 or 5 on this staff. It was a good trade at the time and we will see dividends this year.

     1. He’s fine in that role if he eats innings and spares our pen. If today’s game was real, he wouldn’t have made it out of the first.

110. Stott looked good yesterday but he’ll still start in AAA unless there’s a big trade in the next week. He’ll be back up later this year though.
     Seranthony is such a positive development, he looks great. I’m sure he won’t pitch on back to back days but he can really add a lot to that pen if he can push Familia and Hand to the 6th/7th innings instead of the 8th. Brogdon will get some late innings too. Lineup will be powerful especially if Didi bounces back like I expect and Vierling takes over CF and keeps hitting the ball hard.

     1. If he plays as well this week as he has all spring and in the AFL, the main reason to keep Stott on the farm after ST is to push his FA clock back – so don’t be surprised if this happens. But the counterbalance is that if the team thinks that Stott could be a top 3 ROY vote-getter, the team will get extra draft picks by promoting him at the beginning of the year. I think that might be a risk worth taking. Not enough is being said about Stott’s incredible development of his plate discipline. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s Harper-like. I think he has been counseled by Harper and works on it, although, obviously, it makes little difference without some crazy-good natural ability.

        1. I can see pushing back his FA clock a year later if he were a 20/21 year old rookie prospect…..try to avoid that Harper/Correa/Machado/Lindor early exit and enticing LTC at age 26 or 27…but as it stands now this is his age24 season as a rookie and he will reach free agency going into his age30 season…similar to Hoskins’ situation.
           I think that does factor into it also…just not as heavily weighted as his actual performance, which has been plus so far.

           And additionally as you mention….the new CBA ruling on the opportunity of getting added draft picks weighs into that equation. That can be a very nice dangling carrot for GMs.

111. Anyone notice Ethan Wilson’s batting stance?
     Looks a lot like the low crotch of one Pete Rose.

     1. That would be ‘crouch’, Romus…you’ve been hanging around Rocco much?

        Anyway, you and I were discussing Reynolds yesterday and Jim teased us last night….still waiting for clarification.

        1. Headed to the morning games. Will explain later.

           1. But, think about it, if you get 4 years of Reynolds, Rojas (and every other outfielder) is blocked for those 4 years by Reynolds, Harper, Castellanos, and Schwarber. May as well trade him for the guy who will block him in CF.

              1. Makes perfect sense to me in a win now scenario. Rojas…then another top prospect (other than Stott who’s untouchable in my eyes) like Abel. Add two more midlevel prospects like Erik Miller and Ethan Wilson and I think Reynolds can be had.

              2. I have no problem trading Rojas and Painter for a stud, but imo, if we are going to use our best assets for a trade, I would rather use it to upgrade 3B instead of CF. I think the 4 player CF combo that we have is enough.

                 1. I have seen rumors that José Ramírez is available. I would use my trade assets on him over Reynolds.

                 2. Good idea…Ramirez may not cost as much either since he can become a free agent after this season and the Guardians are not normally big spenders.

        2. Mark i told him i wood teach him to how to sneak a proper sentences

        3. mark…LOL…yes…my mond , where is it!

     2. Romus they will never learn, how good i am at hitting, cant field or pitch, but know hitting, But i am confused watching Vierling, looked at his college stats and minor league, have seen him hit for two games, and i am on the fence with his swing and approach,

        1. rocco…he is an athletic player however.
           What I have noticed about him is that he is a fast starter every season then tails off.
           At least that is what it was in CLW, and a few other stops along the way up.
           He could surprise…..

112. Dream scenario at shortstop is that Didi starts off the season strong. But so does Stott in AAA. There are several contending teams that are weak at SS. We flip Didi (with some money) and get another relief pitcher.

113. Romus, this is an OT question. How far is Philly from Bridgeport? Ivey played for Purdue last night in Philly. His Mom is the ND coach playing this morning in Bridgeport in women tourney. They said she was able to attend game last night. Just wondering time frame. Thanks.

     1. Don….Bridgeport is right outside Norristown, if it is Bridgeport PA…distance about 20 miles….time frame down 76 to the sports complex in south Philly…without traffic …1/2 hour, maybe 40 minutes……getting thru center city on 76..from the zoo down to a place called Grays Ferry can run into delays.

114. About 3 hours, Don, and I think there is train service.

115. Thanks guys. I was just wondering. Late game last night and ND already playing in game 1 this morning. Romus…IU gals playing UCONN in game 2. IU is really good but will be tough to win there.

116. My bad Romus. Bridgeport, Conn.

     1. Lmao conn?

     2. Don…LOL…..6/7 hour drive

        1. I grew up near there – it’s 3 hours without traffic – so it depends on when you leave.

117. Eflin throwing today. Good sign.
     And love the fact Girardi keeps sending out Bohm to 3B on a (mostly) daily basis. He needs the reps, needs to get comfortable again.

     1. Phillies today pic.twitter.com/VXGBmm6ZTk

        — Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) March 26, 2022

     2. Hinkie…..the old double-edge sword,
        …, the Phillies could be showcasing Bohm, so others can see if there is improvement.

        1. It’s the right move either way. Either he gets more reps to improve for us, or he gets reps to improve his stock as a trade piece.

           Either way, a poor defensive showing doesn’t really impact anything because until he proves he can perform otherwise, that is what everyone expects from him. Only downside is possible injury (which is always on the table, even outside of game action) and the possibility of his offense being bad. But it’s definitely a gamble I’d take.

118. In regards to Ramirez vs. Reynolds, I’d prefer Ramirez but I wouldn’t give up the same prospects as I would for Reynolds. We need cheap pieces on this team, and Ramirez doesn’t help with that nearly as much as Reynolds does. That being said, Ramirez is a stud, and he comes with a team option at “just” 13M next year. So it’s still gonna hurt to get him. I’m not sure what the asking price would be, but I have to imagine Stott and Rojas are off the table for that deal.

     And with regards to Rojas, I’d still be hesitant to trade him for Reynolds. I get that he’d be blocked by Reynolds. But on the other hand… he’s 27 and not going to be cheap for too much longer. So I think the ideal situation would be to hold onto Rojas with the idea that we can then flip Reynolds again when Rojas is ready to take over. That helps improve us right now while also allowing us to balance out some of our bigger contracts. Now is it even possible for us to acquire Reynolds without Rojas? No idea. But I’d do my best to do so (without including Stott).

119. 12 runs in 2.1 innings for the BP, midseason form! I am joking, and those are guys that won’t be coming North. But, I was hoping for more from Jeff Singer. Some guy named Duron struck out 2 in his inning!

     1. It was ugly and the fact that our RP’s were NOT facing that good of talent was concerning… Where is Erik Miller? No injury I hope…

     2. matt13….Singer probably will be in LHV, or with another club’s Triple A affiliate……lefties can find jobs.
        Shultz is coming back from TJ, so it may be awhile before he really is comfortable….has not pitched in a game in almost three years.

120. Yeah Singer pitched at Rutgers Camden and was pitching for the Riversharks he wasn’t a number one over all pic Matt. Gee maybe he should get credit for getting as far as he has.

     1. Yes, Jeff has done extremely well to make it as far as he has in an organization that is carrying too many pitchers. Especially when you consider all that he had working against him.

        1.) He was not drafted his draft year. Small college, northeast, not surprising.
        2.) He was signed out of indy ball. FB velo caught a scout’s eye and the Phillies took a flyer. They’ve had limited success with this in the past. (In August2014, they signed Josh Taylor and flipped him the next season for international bonus slot money with Arizona. He pitched in 61 games for the Sox last year.)
        3.) He didn’t sign for a big bonus. A big bonus will sometimes keep a player in an org longer than it should due to the $ investment.
        4.) He wasn’t signed by the current regime. Yes, that matters.

        And, still he hung around for SIX years, even after his velo decreased.

        I don’t know why they didn’t call him up from the Alt Site in 2020 (oh, Joe maybe?). He might have done better than some of the crap they traded for. I don’t know why they didn’t give him a call last year (probably the velo drop?).

        Now, he’s a 28-year-old minor league pitcher in an organization that values high velocity out of the bullpen that brought in three free agent relievers this offseason. He’s got a tough road ahead with the Phillies. But, the in-house options aren’t overwhelming. So, I’m saying there’s a chance as long as he’s on a roster after ST.

        1. Thanks Jimmy I appreciate it

121. I mentioned it before. I think a platoon of Vierling and Moniak in CF would work for this team. MM has good ABs when facing RH pitchers. Don’t judge him overall on his left- left stats.

122. Anyone see Andrew Schultz pitch yesterday? He obviously got lit up. But wonder what his velo was?

     1. GameDay had him 96 touching 98

        1. Thanks Jim. I didn’t see him pitch but his location must have been terrible because they rocked him.

           1. You can check ESPN’s Play-by-Play in their box scores and it will have pitch locations for each AB if you’re interested.

              In my experience, it’s not the most accurate tool out there but it gives a general idea of what happened. By the looks of it, he was throwing it over too much of the plate for the first two hitters, and then lost the ability to find the zone for the next two. But in his defense, the homerun looks like it was just a good swing on a good pitch (96 MPH fastball on the high-and-outside corner of the zone).

           2. V1, straight no movement. Most major league hitters can hit a FB, no matter how fast if no movement. He needs a little cut so they can’t sit on his FB.

              1. Good insights Jim. Thanks.

123. Tough outing for Vince with the Pale Hose yesterday. Been watching their 2Bman throughout. Very little production. Segura could fix that for them.

     1. Yeah, the White Sox were one of the teams I zoned in on when I was looking for a trade destination for Segura. But at this point I feel like we have to keep Segura unless we upgrade our defense at SS or CF at the same time. Jean is one of our few remaining decent defenders, and he plays up the middle. So if we downgrade there, too, our pitchers are gonna be begging to get taken out of games early. They’re not gonna give us Anderson or Robert, so we’d need to make a second trade in that case.

        Unless your goal is to move either Didi or Stott to 2B, in which case we need to trust that they’ll handle it well both offensively AND defensively, which feels like a pretty big gamble to me.

124. How much do you think they will have to pay Guerrero. He is great at 23.

     1. rocco…..will the Jays even try?
        He will be looking at a Tatis extension(14yr/ $340M)……not an Acuna/Albies Braves hi-way robbery deal.

        1. How the braves got away with that, they won a world series, so they won, even though they lost i believe some draft picks, Cheating always wins, ask the Patriots,

           1. rocco….yes the Braves bent the rules in the international market…got their i GM fired…and lost some prospects…..Abrahan Gutierrez to the Phillies and Kevin Maitan to the Angels.and a few others……but they struck gold with Acuna and Albies…..and they eventually won their ring.
              Same with the Sox…also cheated in the international market arena….that is how we got Simon Muzziotti….and the Sox also won their ring or rings.
              But when you take it all into context…..probably just coincidence…not sure cheating helped them win their titles..

125. Wells Fargo! LOL

126. MM just hits a 2 run homer. Number 3. Joe may need to find a roster spot. Why does he not believe MM can play center. I think I prefer MM to Hasely at this point. Thoughts.

     1. Vierling will be the starter, this roster spot is only until Odubel is ready. They may want to send MM down to play every day and keep Haseley on the bench. There will be very few at bats for this extra OF. No more pinch hitting.
        Stott is making things very interesting now that he’s played 3B and Bohm hasn’t hit much. Camargo is a great extra man but I don’t want him starting at 3B.

     2. I prefer MM to Haseley and OH. A platoon with Veirling is a good possibility. I have been saying all along, only weigh his right on lefty stats because that is how you are looking at him.

127. The Phillies have acquired INF Will Toffey and cash considerations from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for INF/OF Luke Williams.

     — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 27, 2022

     1. Luke Williams will always have that very memorable initial at bat with the Phils to look back on, as compensation for the team calling him up just before he was about to travel to the Olympics, and the Phils current fans will have another chance to see if their management has a good ability to assess their own minor league talent.

128. MLB has article 8 tiers of contenders. Phillies are in Tier 3 with Brewers, Pads, Red Sox. Good article if any want to read. Have Dodgers alone in Tier 1 then 7 as WS or Bust in 2 One can figure group. Braves and Mets in Tier 2.

129. I see MM is now in CF at end of game. I think a MM and MV platoon might work. I think Phils will put Odubel on the 60 day DL. Say may be up to 6 weeks. That would open roster spot and time to see how CF plays out. This is if no trade is made in the next few days.

130. Also a Jim Salisbury story on Stott in play at 3B. Camargo ahead of Bohm on depth chart.

131. I can see that Matt. I really liked Camargo back when he got chance to play for Braves. Think this might be a real under the radar signing for Phillies. I saw Stott at 3B as well in box.

     1. Don…Camargo does have many innings under his belt at 3B…about 1400
        And his DRS is excellent overall…so he will not be an embarrassment over there.
        The one year was a negative -1 in 2019, but that year he slide over to shortstop most of the time whenever he was playing.

        2017…innings…286.0…DRS…0
        2018………………937…………….3
        2019………………104,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,-1
        2020……………….88……………..3
        2021………………..2………………0…

        .

     2. Don…looking at Camargo’s total experience at 3B….9 seasons…almost 3000 innings…that is plenty.
        He definitely should know what he is doing over there.
        All Levels (9 Seasons)…….3B…..2927.2

132. Romus…you are so good. My grandson begins his high school season tomorrow. Weather here has been cold. But they play 3 games at the real nice baseball complex where he has played for the last 7 years. Turf fields. It will be home for him. When I need stats for anything I know who to ask to find them. I so enjoy discussing things with all of you. I am glad I finally sent that first response a year ago.

     1. Don…you are graciously welcome.
        Oh…..here in the Philly region…..also chilly, it is 25 degrees…perfect baseball weather for the northeast.

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