{"id":83355,"date":"2019-12-06T20:18:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T20:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=83355"},"modified":"2023-04-25T14:03:47","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T14:03:47","slug":"phillies-season-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/phillies-season-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies Off-Season 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A lot has been said and written about what went wrong for the Phillies<\/a> this past year–you don\u2019t commit to adding over $660 million to your payroll and expect your team to finish with the exact same record it did a year ago.<\/p>\n

With a new manager, pitching coach, hitting coach all now in place, along with a nice (but somewhat expensive) free agent pick-up in Zach Wheeler, it\u2019s time to take a look at what the Phillies do the rest of the off-season in terms of their on-the-field personnel.<\/p>\n

(This is where I could point out some of the ideas I suggested the Phillies do last December, but didn\u2019t do.\u00a0 Things like, signing Anibal Sanchez.\u00a0 You know, one of the most dominant pitchers in this year\u2019s NLDS who flirted with a no-hitter in a playoff game? But who\u2019d want someone like that on your roster.)<\/p>\n

While some of the upgrades that need to be made are rather mundane to discuss (backup catcher, the fifth outfielder\/pinch-running option, et al), I wanted to focus on three major things that MUST happen for the Phillies to become playoff contenders in 2020 (and no, I am not one of those writers who think this team is still several years away from the playoffs…with the money they\u2019ve spent and have available, there is simply no excuse why this team shouldn\u2019t be in the post-season next fall.)<\/p>\n

#1: SIGN RENDON<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the biggest free agents available needs to be wined-and-dined as much as Bryce Harper (who also has Scott Boras as his agent) was a year ago.\u00a0 The former National<\/a> is the obvious main target for the Phillies this year because signing him:<\/p>\n

…gives you a player with intensity\/sense of urgency–something lacking from many Phillies in 2019<\/p>\n

…a perfect complement to Harper in middle of order<\/p>\n

…a much-needed improvement both offensively and defensively\u00a0 (something that many people are pointing out that desperately needs to improve this off season)<\/p>\n

The Phillies–despite all their offensive upgrades last \u201chot stove\u201d season–still was not one of the top performers offensively and you need to add a major bat to their lineup.\u00a0 No other free agent gives you as much of an upgrade as Anthony Rendon and he is probably the more likely of the two biggest free agents of the winter season to leave his former team (Gerrit Cole being the other).<\/p>\n

NOTE TO ALEC BOHM FANS:\u00a0 No, I didn\u2019t forget the team\u2019s former #1 pick did have an excellent year offensively in Double-A this past summer.\u00a0 IF (and remember he struggled mightily in 2018) he continues to progress with the bat, he can always be moved to first base, where he may be better suited anyway, since some scouts have not been impressed with this work at the hot corner.<\/p>\n

But what about the incumbent first basemen? That bring us to…\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

#2: PACKAGE HOSKINS FOR MORE PITCHING–BEFORE IT\u2019S TOO LATE<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, another major area the team must make is in ALL aspects of their pitching, even after adding Wheeler, whom I view currently (given his track record of injuries) as a strong #3 pitcher on a World Series championship team (that is the goal now, isn\u2019t it?).\u00a0 The Phillies probably cannot afford to add BOTH of the biggest free agents available on the market and the organization been reluctant to make major financial commitments to pitchers.\u00a0 Therefore, the team must get creative in terms of upgrading its bullpen and starting pitching staff through trades.<\/p>\n

Rhys Hoskins remind me a lot of Pat Burrell–a power hitter with great potential and some big at-bats, but one who never fully developed into a proven, 3-4-5 bat in a championship caliber lineup. \u00a0Burrell, at his best, hit sixth during the Phillies\u2019 best years–where he could shine in some big moments when he was hot, and his inconsistent slumps wouldn\u2019t be nearly as noticeable by hitting lower in the order.\u00a0 When \u201cPat the Bat\u201d hit higher and in more key spots in the order, (before and after the 2018 World Series year) he wasn\u2019t nearly as effective, which is similar to what Hoskins has shown over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

Also, if the Phillies add Rendon (or even Josh Donaldson), Hoskins is probably pushed to the sixth spot in the batting order–you really want to pass up a chance for a major pitching upgrade for a guy who hits sixth in your lineup?<\/p>\n

Plus, Hoskins has been trending downward in each of his first two seasons.\u00a0 Initially in 2018, the excuse was he was forced to play out of position in left field and this affected his hitting.\u00a0 To that end, they jettisoned an All-Star First Baseman (Carlos Santana) to \u201chelp\u201d Hoskins, who returned the favor by hitting WORSE in 2019.<\/p>\n

I know Hoskins is a fan favorite with lots of potential, but you don\u2019t get major pitching help without giving up significant talent in return.<\/p>\n

Given Hoskins\u2019 ego and declining numbers (and is he one of the nameless players that was bad-mouthing Gabe Kapler at season\u2019s end?), it\u2019s time to cut Hoskins lose while his value is still rather high and avoid suffering a third consecutive year of declining numbers.<\/p>\n

And if he rebounds?<\/p>\n

Again, you have to give up talent to get talent…and the Phillies MUST add to their pitching staff.<\/p>\n

Speaking of pitching…<\/p>\n

#3: Supplement Your Pitching Staff with SEVERAL Proven Veterans<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the biggest head-scratching decisions by the Phillies\u2019 front office last winter was their decision to spend \u201ccrazy money\u201d on position players, yet didn\u2019t spend ANY money on pitching (except for injured reliever Dave Robertson, who turned out to be a bust).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this glaring error was put on display when injuries occurred and most of the younger players the Phillies were counting on failed to live up to expectations.<\/p>\n

The Phillies cannot afford to make the same mistake this winter.\u00a0 They simply cannot put their faith in having a pitching staff consisting mostly of unproven talent.<\/p>\n

You still have to add a proven veteran starter to the staff (to join Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Jake Arrieta) plus starting depth AND pieces to the bullpen, to be ready for when the inevitable injuries occur.<\/p>\n

Worst case scenario?<\/p>\n

You have too many tough choices to make in spring training and can\u2019t take\u00a0 all the pitchers you have on your Opening Day roster.\u00a0 Pitchers have options for a reason – use them!\u00a0 And if the young talent develops and progresses well in the minors over a long period of time (another issue this year was young arms being rushed to the Majors), THEN you can bring them up.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at how my plan would work amongst the starters:<\/p>\n

The Lineup<\/u><\/p>\n

McCutcheon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LF<\/p>\n

Gregorius \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 SS<\/p>\n

Rendon\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3B<\/p>\n

Harper\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RF<\/p>\n

Realmuto\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 C<\/p>\n

Segura\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2B<\/p>\n

Kingery\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1B (or Harrison or Boehm, which moves Scott to CF)<\/p>\n

Haseley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 CF *<\/p>\n

*(McCutcheon could also move to CF to make room for Jay Bruce)<\/p>\n

The Rotation<\/u><\/p>\n

Nola<\/p>\n

Player X (who you\u2019d acquire for Hoskins)<\/p>\n

Wheeler<\/p>\n

Arrieta<\/p>\n

Efflin<\/p>\n

Yes, the team would be over the salary cap, but you can\u2019t brag about all the money the team is bringing in to spend on players and then not spend that money on players!<\/p>\n

And, Hoskins would be due for a big pay day in a year or two, so you\u2019re \u201csaving\u201d money for next year, while bringing in much needed talent NOW.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, the Phillies front office takes these steps this off-season.\u00a0 I REALLY hope I don\u2019t have the opportunity to say \u201cI told you so\u201d again next winter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.\u00a0 A lot has been said and written about what went wrong for the Phillies this past year–you don\u2019t commit to adding over $660 million…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhillies Off-Season 2019 - 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