Phillies 2026 News and Discussion

[andyb]

Remember Rincones (and the new guy Hill) are pure platoon players. That is going to be the solution for now. Rincones has been unplayable against LHP. 478 OPS this year and 323 last year. Hill has a career OPS of 521/780 splits.

We are going to have a late inning problem with one of those just about every game day. Keeping the switch hitting Berroa around is necessary when he gets back but the bigger problem is your platoon guys in the era of 5-inning starters are only going to get 2 plate appearances most games on their strong side.

I think we will have to make a trade and guessing before the end of June.

Rincones hitting 7th in RF tonight. 6 lefties in the lineup against Miz.

[VoteForKalas]

No game thread yet?

[zambonir]

No game thread yet?

Do I want to read it now?

(I was at a show and I saw a friend from Milwaukee post something so I was already braced for a no-no.)

[VoteForKalas]

Read it and weep unfortunately. It was a tough night.

[andyb]

It was a good night for world cup soccer at least.

[EDmuch]

On another note, how long can they go with Painter just not even being competitive?

[zambonir]

Probably six weeks, since his inconsistency hasn't kept them from playing .650 baseball in May and June, nor hurt their playoff position. They can't catch the Braves anyway, there's no other WC team that looks like a better bet for the 4th seed, and they need a bat more.

But mostly they just don't have anyone better. Three guys with 5 or 6+ ERAs in Allentown. Alan Rangel the only option with good AAA stats but it's hard to imagine he'd actually provide any more length or fewer runs allowed in any kind of extended look. There's a reason they were slow to gas Walker.

[zambonir]

We're definitely going to miss Garcia's glove and arm. For my money, probably the best Philly RF in recent memory since the Flyin Hawaiian spent time there.

Garcia was 9th in fielding run value (out of 133 OFs).

Buxton 34. Bader 63. Crawford 83. Marsh 110 (presumably dragged down by his CF appearances too).

Fielding Run Value Leaderboard

[flyers19rw]

He's here for the duration. At present there is no one available that would do better. The show is a tough place to learn how to pitch but it may be the best place for him long run. Learning is what he is having to do. It doesn't look like he has the same mechanics that he had prior to his TJ surgery. Maybe he's forgotten them or perhaps he doesn't trust his arm to do it that way right now. Recovery from TJ takes time. For me it's an inning by inning thing with him. Before giving up that three run bomb last night, it looked like he was on the verge of turning in a quality start. The Phans need to be patient with him.

[Jazzhead]

Losing Garcia is a tough blow, because a great right fielder can be a pitcher's best friend. I'm happy to go with an outfield of Marsh, Crawford and Rincones on most nights for at least a month. Find out what we've got. Gage could probably net us Buxton, but I wouldn't do it.

[andyb]

Happy upcoming Fathers Day to Steward Berroa as he is activated and sent down to Lehigh Valley.

Amazingly Stubbs survives to take up a major league roster spot for another day (or week or month or year).

[zambonir]

They just don't seem to have any interest in bringing Kemp or Reyes back. But since Stubbs would also be removed from the 40, why not Kiebom or Carlson or De La Cruz? I guess the answer is still that they probably wouldn't really help (fun fact, Dylan Moore is still in the organization too!). Or they really don't want to expose Stubbs again.

[andyb]

Or they really don't want to expose Stubbs again.

Which is laughable. They just don't like using the bench. They take things like Stott being a tiny bit better against LHP to meaning he is actually good against LHP (which he isn't). Sosa finally subbing in for Bohm tonight. Not sure why he does not play for Turner once every 10 games or so. And get most of the left-handed pitching starts for Stott.

Sometimes the Phillies do dumb things because they like a player and their veteran rest decisions really only work if everyone was 3-4 years younger. Now if Marchan had a concussion from yesterday they should just put him on the IL rather than putting out a shorthanded roster - AGAIN. Now they have a roster where Rincones and Hill should almost always be pinch hit for when an off handed pitcher shows up. They could do this in the 6th inning and the 8th or 9th if they actually had the extra bench player.

[zambonir]

Yeah seems to me they should also have a LHB to spell Bohm and Turner, but that's been true since they let Clemens go.

And quit playing Sosa in the OF and like you say, go back to spelling Stott.

And why sit Bohm instead of Turner (I mean, I know why).

[andyb]

They just introduced a new platoon where both players have gigantic platoon splits. The extra bench spot needs to reflect that reality. Frankly I'd rather have Berroa if they want Reyes to play in AAA regularly. At least he can run and play defense and switch hit. We sadly do not have that left-handed IF, but that does not mean we can't use the roster spot on something else useful.

[zambonir]

Bohm is banged up, apparently. And presumably they would make a move if Marchan actually did have to go on concussion IL. Agreed it's a little odd not to keep Berroa give his SH and fielding ability.

I suppose the make-up of the bench also suggest they really thought Miller might step in by July, originally.

[andyb]

They just need to recognize the fundamental difference in the new RF platoon always needing to be pinch hit for.

Garcia was a disappointment, but his splits were at least not lopsided like Rincones and Hill.

[andyb]

Keller to the IL (tendinitis) and Lazar is back. Thought they would go to Johnson first though they may be saving his options.

[phillychuck]

They don’t lose an option year by bringing up Johnson. I believe he was already optioned to LV, which means that is good for the season. I’ll check.

From MLB.com: "An option year is used if a player spends 20 or more cumulative days in the minor leagues during a single season. Only one option is used per season, regardless of how many times the player is sent up or down.”

Johnson was optioned to LV on 4/21, so he can move up and down from the 40 to the 26 freely this season if that's right.

[zambonir]

I think Andy meant players can only be optioned five times per season now, unlikely as it might be that Johnson would end up doing it four more times. But Lazar is also more proven in MLB.