This is your new Phillies Discussion.
I’ll be AFK (away from keyboard) for about a week. This new discussion should keep the comments section from becoming too unwieldy.
I’m still suffering from “romus disease”.
Important Dates
- February 16, 2026: Beginning of new waiver period (February 16 – April 24, 2026). Outright Waivers secured on or after February 16, 2026, remain in effect for 7 days or until 5 p.m. EST, April 24, 2026 (the 30th day of the 2026 season), whichever is earlier. MLR 10.
- March 26, 2026: Active rosters reduced to 26 (13 pitchers) by Noon ET
- May 2, 2026:Florida Complex League starts
- June 1, 2026: Dominican Summer League starts
- July 11, 2026: 2026 MLB All-Star Futures Game, Philadelphia PA
- July 12-13, 2026: MLB First-Year Player Draft, Philadelphia PA (Phillies drop 10 slots)
- December 1, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET): MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement expires.
Note: These dates will be used unless/until notified differently. (Note that there are many more dates to add from Spring Training through the end of the 2026 season and calendar year. I will add when I have accurate dates for them.)
Phuture Phillies 
Inching closer to .500… sucks they dug such a big hole but guess they couldn’t provide their own inner clubhouse spark without adversity.. like they needed a villain and the villain was themselves and they had to sacrifice toppers head to feed the beast… right?
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I guess here they close the last weeks discussion when the new week’s discussion opens, which is fine, but I did want to reply to the McFarlane discussion we were having. I respect those “everyone always wants to rush prospects” takes, but each case is different. I don’t think that wanting a 22 year old in the big leagues is ridiculous. Young arms can be dynamite, especially in post season.
Now, I would fully agree with you guys that the twitter commenters who want gage wood in the majors now are ridiculous, and there certainly does exist that inclination to want to rush prospects, but if the guy is straight up unhittable in AA, and hes not like 19 years old, its ok to be aggressive.
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Last year, McFarlane pitched 80 innings and he’s only had 10 innings so far. So he could definitely stay at Reading for more seasoning, especially when his walk rate is at 5.2. Note that when he got called up for 1 game and then got sent back down, the Phillies could have sent him to Lehigh but they didn’t. So clearly they want McFarlane to continue his progress at Reading.
But he’ll get to Lehigh soon enough and he’ll make his debut sooner rather than later since he’s already on the 40 man.
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Yes, the previous discussions get closed when the new one opens. But you can still continue a conversation.
And regarding McFarlane, no one is suggesting that there’s no room for aggressive promotion in baseball. In fact, there’s an example of it on the Phillies right now. Kerkering started 2023 in A ball and ended the season on the MLB postseason roster. But there’s a big difference between what he did and what McFarlane is doing; Kerkering wasn’t walking guys while he posted gaudy strikeout numbers and low ERAs.
Alex has had a great start to the year, but that doesn’t mean he’s MLB ready.
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Mc farlane will start collecting SSI in June, these old projects we cuddle Is nuts
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It has like zero to do with “coddling” or “babying” (I HATE that word, if you can call it word) prospects. If you promote a player before he is ready, he will get his rear end kicked and end up right back where he started. I believe Johan Rojas’s career went sideways in large part because he was promoted too soon.
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rocco….sure he turns 25 years old next month, but his lost time due to the injury. I firmly believe he will be in LHV come some time in July, and maybe then after the Phillies evaluate him vs AAA hitters , he could see the majors in Sep, that is if there is a need for him.
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Age is less of an issue when it comes to relievers. If he was a starter, then I would be really concerned.
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Nice to see Romus and Rocco agreeing once again. No idea if this will post. Could not get on earlier.
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Don send your post to romus email. He will post them
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You have to be really encouraged by how Escobar has flipped the switch and now is suddenly 283/803 after an awful start. Rincon keeping it up too: 274/907. Those two plus Nori (and Kemp just starting) seem to be the only guys really hitting now in the system.
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Clearwater has a trio that I keep an eye on: Ferrera, Ferrebus, Beltran. Ferrebus is really ripping it but he needs to stay at catcher. There’s no path to Philadelphia if he’s 1B/DH.
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Whatever happened to the (ridiculous) days of David Clyde? Maybe Romus would like to enlighten the PP gang about what that was oh, about a hundred years ago.
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Hah…..Rangers try to make the 18-year old lefty an early star…another Vida Blue. He actually had good stuff, but he had no command. Tough to go from HS to the majors.
On another note…. Alec Bohm ranks 177th out of 178th qualified hitters in OPS @ .443…..I think he may be involved in a deadline deal in July if a team needs a third basemen. Hope he can get his bat going until then.
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Nobody will be trading for Bohm with his current OPS and salary. There’s a higher probability that he gets DFAd. Mattingly already sat him for Sosa in tonight’s game.
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Painter still struggling. Cannot understand why it has lasted this long.
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Baseball is hard and he’s likely still trying to find consistency in his mechanics after the long layoff. The stuff looks good, at least. I imagine if we had better starting pitching depth they’d let him get a mental reset in AAA.
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He was shell shocked from the get go. He was nibbling all over the place and had no feel for any of his pitches. I believe all 3 of his HRs came on fastballs that leaked middle in to RH hitters.
I think he’ll get 1 more start in the bigs, but obviously he’ll have to show something. For me, this is the second time that he’s had no feel for his pitches and that’s what’s concerning for me. None of this pitches worked tonight.
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The first one was barely a strike and the second was inside by 3 inches. It’s hard to be upset when a hitter is just able to turn on a ball that would break most peoples bats. The walks preceding the homers were much more egregious for me.
It was a terrible start no doubt about it. But that being said, this umpire is awful. Inconsistent, missing often, and sometimes missing BADLY.
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Phillies pickup Grant Holman from Detroit on waivers. Reyes and Kemp about ready to swap places, Kemp with HR tonight. Not much hitting going on in our minor leagues.
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Ferrebus
Binellas
Colemanares
all hitting
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My point, 3 guys in AAA, AA, A+ and A-. Ferrebus took one on the wrist last night, not sure of the severity. Has a past of injuries.
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If Painter is struggling and needs the mental reset in triple A as Dan K writes, where is Ty-Win Walker when the Phillies need him?
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https://x.com/i/status/2052540379283497395
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Where is the pitching? While the Phils gave up 13 runs, the Iron Pigs have surrendered 24 in the last 2 games, the Fightins have let in 46 runs in their last 4 game, the Blue Claws, 31 runs in their last 3, the FCL team needed only1 game to allow 21 runs….ah, but the Threshers only gave up 9 runs last night
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As for the majors, the pitching has been great recently – just one bad game.
As for the minors, I think we can all get into the rut of judging the farm system by the overall performance of its teams. It’s fun when they win, but I just focus on individual prospects and know that 80-90 percent of any farm system is filler or fringe prospects. It’s not a big deal if they get blown out of some games or get shut out here and there. It just isn’t.
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On Painter:
His FB had 0-19 whiffs. That’s pretty remarkable. It avgerave close to 97mph. They say he made some tweaks to it, if felt like it had more movement. What caught me is the when they said “We have to make it less predictable”?
Doesn’t Painter have a crazy amount of secondary pitches? 6? Whatever it is, he has enough to not make his FB predictable. He might be tipping his pitches. Something Luzardo went through or was doing. I believe Luzardo is a basically like a mentor to him… they need to figure that out.
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Little surprised he is now throwing a splitter. Surprised they are letting him do it…..assume because of his height, his fingers have some length and that helps in the gripping……it may have to be his out pitch. Hitters are crushing his FB—4Smr and 2Smr..
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Most pitchers take years to develop – nobody should be surprised. I’m still really bullish on him. In his first full year as a starter Max Scherzer had an ERA over 4 and a month where his era was over 6 – for the year, he pitched to a pretty bad 1.3 WAR. In his third full year in the big leagues, Scherzer pitched to a 4.42 ERA and pretty crummy 1.4 WAR. Painter has the arm and the pitches and the poise. There’s no reason to think that he won’t be a great starter in a few years, but have patience. This is why he’s the team’s 5 and not a 3.
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Painter’s fastball has less movement than the average fastball and it’s just getting pounded. He had no command with his fastball yesterday so that didn’t help. If he’s sticking with his current grip, then he needs to primarily go above the zone with it.
He will have to experiment with a new grip in the offseason because what it is now, it’s just not working (even at 97 mph).
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Painter’s 4 seam fastball has a negative 5.1 runs value. That’s the 7th worst in all MLB. Nola’s is 6th worst at negative 5.6 runs.
Honestly, I have been looking for a silver lining with Painter’s stats and there isn’t much to find.
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I like that Realmuto seems to be getting more time off this season, as a rested JT seems to be a better JT.
However, we’re going to need somebody that ISN’T an automatic out when he fills in.
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And we really don’t need TWO guys filling in and taking up roster spots who are automatic outs. Again, unless this is a limited-time mini-competition between the two guys to see who will become his back up for the rest of the year, it’s foolish in the extreme.
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I got to watch the last couple of innings of the Mets-Rockies game yesterday. It was tied at 2 in the bottom of the 8th when the Mets brought in Kimbrel. He walked the first batter, gave up a hit, then walked the bases loaded. Up came Jake McCarthy.
He hit a Sterling “it is high, it is far, it is gone”. The umpires had to check because the ball sailed OVER the right field foul pole. It traveled 448 feet. It was the longest homerun I have ever seen right down the line.
This is a competitive Colorado team coming in. They are much better than the pushovers of the past few years. I’d love for our boys to sweep the series but I’d be just as satisfied with winning the series. Let’s go Phillies!
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First, I’m stunned that Craig Kimbrel is still getting chances to pitch. Second, that royal purple faux fur coat is awesome.
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Bet he looks like the “Cats A__” in that!
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The longest home run I ever saw down the line was hit by Dave Kingman, who hit more balls incredibly far than any hitter I can remember, including McGwire, Bonds, Stanton, Howard or Schwarber. He was a terrible baseball player, but he could launch a ball like nobody else.
Anyway, he hit a ball down the line in the old Olympic Park in Montreal that hit the ring at the top of the stadium – a good 100 feet above the foul pole. There was no foul line at the top of the stadium. They had no clue if it was a home run or not. What a shot!!!
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ruff – The coat is worn when a Rockies player hits a homerun. Lots of teams are doing stuff like that. I guess it’s fun for the players.
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If that’s the case, hope they have to put the Rockie’s coat in mothballs!😉
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One or none runs and 3.xx inning starters is starting to become the norm.
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The offense heard you.
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love those ground balls hitters!
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Any thoughts on the 2025 NL batting Champ and his current average? Let’s go Turner… pick it up.
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Phllies are playing both Kemp-LHV and Escobar-Reading….at third base. Signals that could show Bohm’s exit…if it wasn’t obvious already.. Once Miller gets healthy, he may also get some game reps over at the hot corner. Phillies making sure they have choices once that day comes.
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Miller was shut down again. Not a good sign. Escobar has started hitting better which is encouraging. Kemp needs to really hit since his fielding is sub par.
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Damn, this is bad 😞
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It is disturbing news and may linger for the whole season..
Rincon, otoh, has clubbed his 6th HR last night….never though he would be hitting like this.
https://www.milb.com/reading/news/fightins-drop-friday-night-tilt-to-somerset-6-5
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I have to give the Giants some credit, they knew that Patrick Bailey couldn’t hit AND wasn’t their solution at catcher so they traded him to Cleveland. Bailey still has 3 years of control left.
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The Phillies have proved over the past few post seasons that they cannot hit elite pitching, especially high velocity hurlers. They’ve done it again the last two games versus the A’s and yesterday against the Rockies hurler.
He was untouchable for five innings until he ran out of gas. The older the Phillies get the slower their bats become. If they even make a wild card run, it might surprise a lot of us.
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Elite pitching is elite specifically because nobody can hit them. When Sanchez is on his game and throws 8 IP with 0 runs and 11 strikeouts, is that because the other team just isn’t good enough?
It’s also not like the Phils were flailing away against Dollander last night. They had five walks and a handful of hard hit balls that just didn’t find holes before they finally broke through. That’s baseball. Sometimes you score a run without a hit, sometimes you smack a ball 340 feet with a 108 MPH exit velocity right at an outfielder.
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what’s with this epidemic of migr lately? Three different guys in the past 2 weeks. Bohm, we should play him every 3rd day🤔.
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I’ve seen/heard some discourse that migraines are more common in baseball than we think and that they just didn’t used to say it because of a stigma that they’re just, “bad headaches”. But now that people are starting to understand that migraines actually have debilitating side effects, they’re more comfortable saying it. And I guess that make sense. Baseball seems like the perfect storm of stress, lots of a travel, and varying sleep schedules to cause migraines.
But if that’s not the case and this is actually just a rare coincidence, then I’m starting to worry there’s an environmental cause.
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Elmo needs to visit the announcers’ booth more often.
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Burkholder with multiple hits three games in a row. This is very encouraging, especially if he’s found or changed something.
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2 more hits today…Both dbls.. Month of May he is hitting .385
Hopefully continues
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Anyone have any input on Ferrebus’ catching ability? He’s only 20 so he obviously needs to improve but does he have the arm and future potential to stay behind the plate? Steve, thoughts? Meanwhile, he continues to hit.
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I only have second-hand information, so others may have a more complete view. But from what I’ve read and heard, he’s got an okay arm (enough to stay behind the plate, but nothing special) and is a little awkward as a receiver. He’s pretty athletic, so over time he may get more comfortable. But right now he’s not a lock to stay there.
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Ferrebus 4-5 today…. with a dbl ( 11)
Now up to .368. And 1.034 ops
btw Burkholder 4th multi hit game in a row today with 2 dbls
hitting .385 in May
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https://x.com/i/status/2053540135090655273
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Mason Graves yesterday
6 IP. 1 ER. 9Ks. 2BBs.
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He should see Reading soon.. Between 2025 and 2026 he has 27 starts at Jersey Shore…..I can see another 5/6 more quality starts there and then maybe a promotion to Reading.
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Marsh since the beginning of May last year has had the second or third highest BA in MLB. After today’s 4/4, he is at .353., tops in MLB. If he can sustain success against LH pitching this summer it will be time to think about an extension. Who’d have thunk it a few months ago?
I suspect there’s more power in there; he’s a big strong man.
Very satisfying win today.
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Marsh has 1 more year of control and he’ll be a FA in 2028 at age 30. This is his first time entering FA and is looking to get paid. Marsh should be asking for close to his full value, at the minimum. Pete Alonso got got 5/155 at age 31. Who would be comfortable giving Marsh 6/175?
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Not to fight the hypothetical you’ve given, but I think they can sign Marsh for less than that – maybe like 6/$145 – since last May, he’s been a damned good player. At the salary you identified, it’s a pretty close call.
What I love about Marsh is that he’s a big strong guy, like Schwarber, so he doesn’t need to hit with his whole body. He can stay over the ball and hit with his hands. It’s a lot like Kyle Schwarber or Daniel Murphy toward the end of his career. Especially if he’s playing left field (where he’s excellent), there’s no reason Marsh can’t be a perennial 4 WAR (or more) player. It turns out that was a great trade (which I, admittedly, panned at the time – I was wrong!).
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Unless Marsh really likes Philadelphia, I don’t think he’s signing for $145M. He’s on pace for a 6 WAR season, and If I was his agent, I’m asking for near top money. I’m only giving a minimal discount.
Yes, Luzardo signed with 1 year left but he’s young enough to get a second contract AND his AAV is $27M (which is higher than Nola’s).
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The Phillies may have more leverage than you think. It’s one thing to be on pace for a 6 WAR season and another thing to actually have a 6 WAR season – we will see where he ends the year and note that this has been an outlier year for him. He also still has problems hitting lefties – it’s a real thing. It’s a small sample size this year, but even with the improve BA his OPS is under .700 against lefties. The Phillies can also delay his FA clock so he’s not starting his FA contract until his age 30 season, which could also limit his marketability. I mean, he could wait it out, but he might be willing to give it a go and sign now. I like him a lot, but I might not give him 6/180.
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Either you believe that better things are ahead for Marsh and you pay him a near top extension or you think that 2026 is an outlier and you let his arbitration years play out. I like Marsh but I think there’s still a lot of uncertainty with him so I would gladly let his arbitration years play out.
Another question, if Marsh gets a 4-5 WAR season and you know that you’re not extending him, would you trade him in the offseason for a top 50 prospect? I would seriously consider it.
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So either he’s a future star or it’s crash and burn? Sorry, I think there are a lot of outcomes for him in between those polar extremes. The question is, what do you expect a typical Marsh year to look like for the next 5 years or so and what are you willing to pay for that? I’m willing to pay him like a 4+ WAR player but probably not a 6 WAR player.
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Pete Alonso is not a 4 WAR player and he got 5/155. We all know what Trea Turner got and he averaged less than 4 WAR per year when he signed with Philadelphia. 4 WAR players still get crazy paid.
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this weeks minor league standouts including notes on the Dominican exhibition games if interested
https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/5-10-26-phillies-minor-leagues-week-in-review-5-4-5-10
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Thanks for your very informative report. How are Ferrebus’ defensive skills/potential?
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What does mean?
“…….how to get “behind the ball better”.
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I think it’s like a golf swing where you need to shift your weight into the ball at the proper moment – not too soon – to get the maximum amount of power. If you shift your weight too soon, your swing will be unbalanced and weak. That’s what I think it means. Other guys who actually played ball can let us know if I’m wrong about that.
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ok…makes sense.
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FYI – highly rated high school draft pick Matthew Fisher was rocked in his 1st Complex League start. Not a great sign.
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Give Fisher time. My grandson played against him and said he is really good. Phillies wanted him pretty bad. Only 18 or 19.
3Rs. Nice to read your posts. Rocco, I got your reply. I do not want to burden Romus with my nothing information.
I have told Ruff Phillies need to get to .500 then we can see what they are capable of doing this season. Cannot keep floundering around a few to several games under that. Then the season does become late early.
Again, no idea on if these posts. Seems like I can get in about once a week.
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You are in Don.
And agree…..Phillies cannot keep this two steps forward one step back routine going…they need a double digit win streak like the Cubs just came off on and get well above .500.
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My long awaited stint to see Painter was a dud LOL. My buddy got us great seats (I never ask where our seats are when he picks them up) section 135 Row 6. I couldn’t really see where his pitches were landing but I sure had a great view of the HRs..
But he and I both kind of called that they had already won the series and the A’s were going to be due. Hard to sweep in the MLB.
But again all was not lost. Consistently taking 2 of 3 will get them back into the division race as well as a WC spot and the only thing that will matter is how they are playing going into the playoffs.
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Alright …
I’mma admit it… Marsh is making me look like an idiot. Good for him! Love to be proven wrong. I had him bumped for Kemp in the offseaon or trade.
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Helping him this year…though his SSS vs LHP…..BA of .286 in 31 PAs.
Still a far cry better from his career BA vs LHP of .217
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Saw that Painter and Crawford graduated from their prospect status. Only Miller and Wood now on the MLB.com top100; none of the others entered (they would have Renteria next in line, per their current rankings).
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The solution to the Phillies inconsistent hitting problem lies on their current roster.
The cause of the Phillies inconsistent hitting is that they have (and imo what lead to the downfall of Topper) the dumbest lineup construction possible. Their dumb lineup handicaps a huge asset and makes their offense one-dimensional.
The Phillies are 12-3 when either Harper or Schwarber (or both) hit a homer. And they are 7-19 when neither does. The Phillies’ offense is reliant upon homers from either Harper or Schwarber. But, they have 2 of the top 5 fastest players in MLB and they rarely attempt to steal bases. That is because of where they are in the lineup. Crawford bats 9th so when he gets on, the logic is “why risk being thrown out when the big guys are coming up and can hit a homer?” Same logic is applied to Turner. Additional logic is, let’s keep the runner at first to open a hole for the LH Schwarber and Harper. That is so stupid! We are sacrificing a huge asset for no reason. The cost is that we don’t use our team speed to manufacture runs.
Both Turner and Crawford should be hit in the middle of the lineup after Harper and Schwarber so they can manufacture runs with their speed. Actually Stott and Marsh are good base stealers too. Instead we make Crawford and Turner go station to station. And then comes up Garcia (which is also dumb roster construction. Here is my lineup:
That lineup frees up Turner, Marsh, Crawford and Stott to run at will. I give them all green lights.
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I agree. You make a very good case to make that change. Harper and Schwarber get the extra BAs also.
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Yeah, this is an interesting thought v1. You have to wonder how much internal dynamics play into the lineup — like how much guys push to be in a certain spot in the lineup, or how Topper/DM don’t want to mess with guys going well (Harper/Marsh raking in their spots — should you change?).
I’d be in favor of trying this at the next hint of prolonged struggles (i.e., 3 games or more) for the offense. It also might help Turner snap out of his funk sooner if he gets to hit in between Schwarber and Marsh. My only two changes might be, however, to bat Harper 2 and Schwarber 1. I think they’d probably prefer that setup. Any reason you think Harper leadoff as opposed to Schwarber? Other thing I’d do is to swap Stott and Crawford. Maybe it’s just deference to an older guy over a rookie, but I kind of like Crawford in front of Bohm. If Bohm reverts to his norm, he has a penchant for driving in runs and that might pay to have a speedy rookie in front of him stealing second or scoring from first on one of a double in the gap.
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I agree with the lineup construction, I believe you can squeeze more runs out this lineup by different placement. I will say, I disagree with this lineup free-ing up Turner to steal. If Schwarber walks or singles… Turner is stuck. If Schwarber doubles, & turner walks.. turner is stuck. That’s kind of the trade off i guess for having Harper & Schwarber get more at bats.
I might argue to go:
Harper/Schwarber/Marsh/Garcia/Stott/JT/Turner/Crawford/Bohm
Some combo, if marsh keeps hitting,and bohm can pick it up to his RBIs, the lineup gets the 2 best hitters more at bats, sets up the middle of the lineup to occasionally do damage. Once the lineup is close to turning over, you have Turner & Crawford potentially on base to make for 2-run & 3run hrs. The lineup looks like it needs another bat either way. The way Bohm is going this year… it’s looking like him.
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Turner is just not an ideal lead off hitter which I care more about than freeing him up to steal bases. As fast as he still is I’d rather him not be trying to steal so many bases at his age and for as long as he is still under contract.
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DMAR….two things abot lead off hitters.
One….they only bat lead- off only once a game
Two….they however get the extra ABs in a typical game.
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I think Turner is too good of a hitter to bat him 7th. And Harper/Schwarber/Marsh is 3 lefties in a row.
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With regard to the Marsh conversation its definitely interesting to see how that shakes out with Nori waiting in the wings.
Nimmo at the same age got roughly 7/$144. I see Marsh in that category with a raise over that figure since that was back in 2023. Nimmo put up a 5 WAR in his age 29 season before signing that deal.
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Not sure where you got that number. In December 2022, the Mets gave Nimmo 8/162 at age 30. That should be the floor for any Marsh deal if he continues hitting well.
When Nori comes up, he’s going to CF and he’ll likely push Crawford to RF. Rincones is close too but I don’t think he’s starter level. Renteria and Burkholder (who has finally started hitting) are not close.
So the Phillies need Marsh in LF. Whether they are willing to pay Marsh what he wants is another story.
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Justin Crawford is pretty much exactly what I hoped he’d be at the plate. I player with a 60 or so hit tool and pretty decent plate discipline. But he’s been an unexpectedly bad outfielder – which I certainly didn’t see coming. The hope is that, with his speed and work ethic he can develop into an average or better defender. His hitting profile doesn’t work very well with a below-average glove, but he has time to improve.
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His splits against LHP are horrible. Small sample, so hopefully it isn’t what he really is, but his line against LHP is .056/.150/.056/.206 OPS. that’s not a typo. He’s 1 for 18 against LHP. That concerns me more than his OF defense.
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Besides the fact that teams are looking to get him out above the zone, he’s made ABS challenges on outside pitches that were clearly strikes. So he will have to improve his awareness of the strike zone.
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Yeah my bad I missed a year of it
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You pretty much got the AAV right!
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No argument from me….Bohm has hit poorly. But with 20 rbi’s he is a top 4 run producer on the team. Heck, currently he would be a top 4 or better run producer on most MLB teams. Signs of a hitting resurgence after last series…hope so, we need his bat and desire for rbi’s.
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He’s a top 4 run producer if you use 1983 metrics. In reality, he’s been a bad offensive. RBIs are largely and empty stat. His OPS+ is 46 – which is horrendous. He’s been an abysmal offensive player – abysmal. Now, he’s going to be better than that over time, but, at best, he’s average-ish. Oddly enough his defense has been okay.
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By the way, I feel horrible for Alec Bohm and he’s obviously a much better player than he has shown so far. But he is embroiled in a terrible situation with his parents where they have allegedly mismanaged his funds and won’t account to him and he has been forced to sue them for an accounting and damages. If I were him, I’m sure I’d find it super tough to focus and thrive and it would certainly rip my world apart so who can blame him for having not such a great year. This is similar to the terrible situation Ryan Howard found himself in. Just awful. Nobody should have to go through that hell.
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Stott traded for Soriano and a prospect.
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false alarm, ……. mock trade!
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Don said, you .ight be losing it
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Me losing it …….. ha, ha …. now that’s one you can make book on Rocco!
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Phillies signed outfielder Dylan Carlson on a minor-league deal. Carlson, 27, was once one of the game’s top prospects in the Cardinals system just 5 years ago…I really liked him .. …in 2021 BA had him ranked as the 9th best prospect in the minors.
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Such a turnaround in his career……Rincon with his 7th HR in less than 150 PAa at double-AA Reading….with an OPS over .900. Hope he can maintain this impressive start…perhaps he will see LHV by the end of the summer.
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I’d so love to see someone else at SS here before too long, because Turner is proving his improvement last year is not sustainable. He can’t maintain consistency in focus without a herculean mental effort.
So I’m definitely rooting for Rincon to continue hitting.
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Turner is a wildly inconsistent player within particular seasons as he showed in 2023 – he can be pretty crappy for months at a time and then be the best player in baseball for a month a more. Why that is I have no idea. To me, the key for Turner is to continue focusing on his defense (year to year he can have 2 WAR swings in his defensive play) and not try to be a power hitter. Last year was a model year for him, playing plus defense and hitting to all fields with just enough power and having plus baserunning. Let’s be clear, Turner was a great player last year – but was just good other years on the Phillies.
As for trading him, he has one of the worst long-term contracts in baseball (thanks again for that, Dave). So it’s a hard contract to trade and, on top of that DD wants him here so by the time they would want to trade him he’ll be complete untradeable. But if they traded him this offseason (sadly, they won’t), you could probably move the contract with the team subsidizing part of the deal. By the way, none of this should be surprising to anyone, when they signed him I was stunned that they would subsidize 3-5 dead years at the end of the contract. Who does that? It’s so foolish.
On Rincon – he is sooooo interesting. This is a glove-first guy who has always had great plate discipline and is now growing into serious power. Let’s see where he is in a month but, for me, he’s probably going to be a top 10 prospect in the organization with a big, big up arrow. I mean, he’s been a vastly superior player in AA compared with the player he was last year in high A ball – there’s no comparison.
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Again, if Rincon can hit with power and a high OBP, he becomes a dynamite prospect – here’s the MLB write-up just on his fielding.
“Thus far, all of Rincon’s value comes from his glove. He’s a no-doubt shortstop for a very long time, with plus actions, hands, footwork and more than enough arm for the premium position. Even though he’s not a burner, his defensive instincts give him plenty of range. He’s only played shortstop thus far, but he could easily slide over to other spots on the dirt if he ends up in a utility role.”
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If Turner moves off SS, where’s he going?
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Nice outing by Wheeler last night to get through 7.1 innings. He was laboring at the end and he wasn’t dominant but he got the job done. The guy is a warrior.
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Wheeler was regularly hitting 96 on the gun – that’s really all you need to know; everything else will follow as he settles in. He’s very close to being the ZACK WHEELER again, which bodes really well for this team’s chances.
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More proof baseball is weird. The NL Central doesn’t have a team below 500. The NL East only has one team above 500 and the Padres are in 1st place in the West (technically tied but still)
The Rays are doing Rays things again with a first place standing 2 up on the Yankees.
And lastly the AL West sees the A’s in first place.
None of this is likely to remain the case after 162 but its always interesting.
By the 50 game mark hopefully our Phillies can get to 500 by simply taking 2 of 3.
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And Cleveland is in first place, so 3 bottom-of-the-league payrolls are in first. Guardians might be the best run team in MLB.
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This to me is weird, by if phillies make playoffs. With Wheeler and Sanchez in a series would be dangerous
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You’re absolutely right! And they don’t need to be the best hitting team in baseball either, but they need to find a way to produce consistent offense – the feast or famine offense will kill them in the playoffs.
I expect a huge trade for a hitter this deadline. Thank God they have their closer – them trading assets every year to plug that hole was getting old and, besides that, it never worked.
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I mean, it never worked until they made a huge trade to get an elite, young, pre-FA player. It’s so easy to see Duran in that role for the next 5-6 years. He’s not the very best closer, but he’s a damned good one and they should lock him up when the time is right. It ain’t broke so don’t fix it – just keep him around.
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Jhoan Duran won’t be a FA until 2028, at age 30. He’s still going to get seriously paid. Think 4/80 or 5/100.
The Phillies will not pay both Marsh and Duran.
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We all hope Wood stays a starter but who knows by then he might be the closer thus they can save that coin.
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Let’s hope Wood does not have to become a reliever – it reduces his value in a very big way, even if he could be a good reliever. Do the math. Sanchez was an 8 WAR player last year. 8 WAR!!! Duran, who was a very good closer, was at 3.2 WAR. So if Wood can be a good starter, that’s where he’ll go.
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They will do pretty much whatever is necessary to keep Duran (and I bet they will succeed). If they think Marsh’s gains are for real and he doesn’t price them out of where they would be willing to go, my guess is that they sign him too. Signing Marsh and Duran are not, to me, mutually exclusive propositions.
My guess is that they try to get ahead of things by getting younger and cheaper in the rotation. One or two of their hot shot minor leaguers will end up replacing the Wheeler spot in the rotation in 2028 – which aligns with when you’ll need to start paying Marsh and Duran.
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