A few Phillies health updates, courtesy of Matt Gelb of The Athletic:
- Shortstop Didi Gregorius left Tuesday’s game after taking an 89 mph fastball off the back of the head from Blue Jays right-hander Tanner Roark. Manager Joe Girardi said at the time that Gregorius was dealing with“a minor, minor headache” (via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia), but he then told Gelb and other reporters that the Phillies will re-evaluate him on Friday. Going without Gregorius for any period of regular-season time would be a shot to the Phillies’ offense, as he batted .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs in 237 appearances and appeared in all 60 of their games last year. That performance persuaded the Phillies to re-sign Gregorius to a two-year, $28MM guarantee in free agency.
- Right-hander Zach Eflin will not pitch this week because of a back injury that the Phillies are somewhat concerned about, Girardi said. Just as Gregorius is a key cog in Philadelphia’s offense, Eflin is an integral part of its rotation. The top complement to the one-two punch of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, Eflin is looking to build on a career year in which he logged personal-best numbers in several categories. Eflin finished 2020 with a 3.97 ERA/3.50 FIP, excellent strikeout and walk percentages (28.6 and 6.1, respectively), and a strong 47.4 percent groundball rate over 59 innings. If Eflin isn’t ready for the start of the season, it could open the door for Vince Velasquez to claim the open spot in the Phillies’ rotation, Gelb notes.
- In yet another unwelcome bit of news for Philly’s staff, righty Spencer Howard still hasn’t been cleared to throw after going down with back spasms earlier this week. The 24-year-old had been in line to compete for a spot in the club’s rotation, but that appears to be out the window for the time being. Howard, whom Baseball America ranked as the game’s 27th-best prospect in 2020, made a rocky debut last year with six starts and 24 1/3 frames of 5.92 ERA ball (with a more encouraging 4.87 SIERA). However, he did dominate the High-A and Double-A levels in 2019.
I can’t go to work today due to a minor, minor headache.
Or the next 2 days
Good! You need to stay home & work on your material because it sucks.
Lets re-evaluate you on Friday!
You take a 90 mph baseball to the head and see if you’re still feeling it the next day. It’s an exhibition game, ease up over there Hercules.
Guess is makes you more of a *man* to minimize the health concerns of people who ask more of their bodies in the average week than you will in a lifetime. Unless pushing the buttons on your remote control or shoveling twinkies in your mouth counts as exercise.
*drops the mike, trips on own shoelaces*
@ kreckert –
It may interest you that many American adults “ask more of their bodies” in a year then MLB players do in their careers.
And that includes women. Including nurses.
It may not too.
@Samuel–
Absolutely true.
Also absolutely irrelevant to this conversation about ridiculing a player for failing to play in a couple absolutely meaningless games because he got hit in the head by an 89 MPH projectile.
I’m sick of people who’re jealous of the wealth and power of sports figures peddling the, “Guys who won’t play hurt are soft,” narrative. It’s childish, ignorant, unbelievably old, and if you’re so damn bitter about how good athletes have it why the hell are you a fan of the sport?
And let’s be VERY CLEAR: *Other people have it worse* is absolutely not a argument. Try again.
U mad?
@kreckert- Just FYI, you’re wasting your time on Samuel, he lives in the enchanted kingdom…. and “despicable” Is getting ready to join him.
@ kreckert;
Ballplayers are people. They do what they do to make a living. I did a lot of physical labor in my career. I saw people get up daily with legitimate physical concerns and work because they had to….I sure did….often laying in bed on weekends so I could get to work Monday.
Most professional dancers are in far better overall shape then most MLB players. As for getting “hit in the head by an 89 MPH projectile” – talk to Policemen….and Policewomen.
While I agree with you that it’s a cheap shot to make about a player sitting down for a day or two, please recognize that professional athletes are just that. They’re no more heroic then a good portion of other American adults. Funny how those that scream for “equality” in this country decide who is to be respected and made hero’s in their professions and who is not.
@ Gothamcityriddler;
You got that backwards, kid.
I know. But I’ve got the night off so what the hell.
You have yet to make a relevant point, Samuel.
@ kreckert
One would have to be a responsible grown adult with life experiences and common sense to realize what I wrote.
So I understand your conclusion.
@samuel- . “Funny how those that scream for “equality” in this country decide who is to be respected and made hero’s in their professions and who is not.” WTH does this even mean? Ahahahaha!
@Samuel
You still haven’t explained how anything you wrote is relevant on a baseball site.
And again, “Other people have it worse,” isn’t a valid argument.
Oh and I never advocated for baseball players as heroes. They’re not. I am, in fact, opposed to any form of hero worship.
What I advocated against is the ridiculing of players for making what are absolutely reasonable decisions regarding their health. I’m pointing out the fact that most of those doing the ridiculing have no idea of the physical work that goes into being a baseball player, and are jealous and bitter about the money and power that baseball players have. And yet, most of them, despite feeling contempt for the players are fans of the sport, give the sport money and therefore are part of the reason MLB players have so much money and power. It’s unreasonable, hypocritical, childish, and I’m sick and tired of it. People who hate baseball players should exit the sport. Or at the very least shut the hell up about it so the rest of us can enjoy it in peace.
Finally, the plight of all those you mentioned is all well and good and accurate. It’s also irrelevant to this discussion on this site. You wanna advocate for the plight of cops and nurses and whoever else be my guest. Depending on the circumstance, I may even join you. This thread, on this site, isn’t the place for it.
Wow. Just a flat out lie. Good for you!
Not only that they get like the best health treatment which I doubt they pay a dime for
Not sure how it’s not relevant when it’s our job. Plenty of places that u get hurt at and the boss tells u to suck it up and don’t be a wimp. It’s totally relevant. To get sick of someone’s opinion says a lot about your character
Ok princess.
Coming from a nurse you’re drastically exaggerating how hard 99% of nurses actually work. Making tik tok dances is not hard work.
@km 1986
It’s not relevant because this is a baseball site. It’s not twitter or youtube or instagram or facebook or any of the dozens or hundreds of social sites designed to promote celebrity level narcissism in the general populace. This site exists for the purpose of reading and commenting on news regarding baseball. Your personal experiences, occupations, plight, and or whatever you want to call it is irrelevant to that. Period.
Now then, if you have a problem with baseball players not being told “to suck it up and don’t be a wimp.” I’d advise you either to get used to it or stop being a fan. Star players are worth literally millions of dollars to their organizations. If you don’t think they’re going to treat that investment with kid gloves, particularly when the time they’re taking off has no tangible value, you’re kidding yourself.
Now, if your argument is that it’s unfair for sports figures to make more money and receive kind of attention, adulation, care, and special treatment they receive while contributing exponentially less to society than others who’re more or less tossed into the gutter by the society they serve… you’re absolutely right. It is unfair. Wildly, unquestionably, disgustingly unfair.
But you know what? Suck it up and deal with it.
It’s the culture we live in. A culture, by the way, created not by the sports figures who benefit from it, but by the owners who make even more for doing even less and us fans who’re stupid enough to pay for it.
So you have a problem with it? Stop being a fan. It’s really not that hard. But bitching at every player who “wimps” out and won’t play hurt enough to satisfy you is unbelievably pathetic. Get the hell over it.
“shoveling twinkies”
Must be why McDonalds drive thru was moving the line out good today
Flyers game gave me a minor headache. sorry, minor is an understatement but i dare not go farther to risk saying something ill regret.
@darkside- Lol, yes best steer clear of this $hit show. I’m getting out myself, I’m exhausted. Ahahahaha!
Agree that game was ouch
There is very little room for error when it comes to Wheeler, Nola, & Eflin (whether it’s health or performance) if the Phils are to compete. This really sucks.
Suck it up and pitch
You don’t have to tell us how small your peen is.
Get the injuries out of the way now as opposed to later. I’m not worried…yet.
You worried about Nola?
well he’s not injured
No. Not yet. He hasn’t impressed in Spring Training, but I don’t take that seriously.
Had to ask. Watched the game against the Jays.
I was met with Pitchforks and Torches with my prediction that the Phillies would finish last in the NL East behind the Marlins. Just like my Milwaukee prediction ….. I am looking like a winner. Phillies have a massive payroll and holes throughout the roster. Eflin’s back is jacked up …. Velasquez back in the rotation? Lol ….. I think I might still have some innings left in my arm … can’t be worse than Vinnie …. A decimated starting rotation with a bullpen that was the worst in baseball last year, and a defense that was the worst in baseball last year …. but hey …. Philly fired the GM and hired Dombrowski, who turned around inked extensions with all the players that Klentak signed to get himself fired …… Philly Baseball!
you were met with Pitchforks because your a troll that clearly has something against this team.
Stating facts is not trolling. Pointing out the deficiencies that I feel a team has is not trolling, or having “something against this team”. I have been very clear in pointing out the “issues” that I feel the Phillies have, as well as the Padres, and the Yankees and the Cubs. I have been very open to my allegiance to the White Sox while also showing love to some organizations that i think are on the right path even if they have a ways to go …… Those organizations include the Pirates and the Royals. I also show love to organizations that I think are also well run which includes Tampa, Minnesota, Atlanta and Cleveland. While not a fan of the Los Angeles Angels …. I have made it clear that I feel they will win the NL West on the heels of what I think is an improved pitching staff, not complete, but improved. I also feel the Dodgers need to win a 162-game title.
Your first comment came off a bit mean spirited. While the bullpen was bad last season, they’ve made a handful of moves to rectify that. Plus it’d be really, really hard for it to be as bad as it was last year. Part of the reason is because they had a .376 BABIP and no team since 1950 has had a bullpen BABIP higher than .347.
@mlb1225 Stating the fact that the Philly bullpen was the worst in baseball last year was not mean spirited. Stating facts. I am not convinced at all that the Philly bullpen is much better. I know this ….. the Phillies league-worst defense ain’t no better!! Ya think that defense may once again impact the Philly pitching staff???? Ya think maybe it would have been smart to focus $$$ on pitching and defense instead of re-signing all the dudes with big names who got you a last place finish to extensions???? Sixto Sanchez and the Miami Marlins got to taste Playoff Baseball last year. Let that sink in for a moment. …… But hey ….. Phillies will get to pay Realmuto $125+ million and get to watch him play during the Regular Season while the Marlins taste the sweet nectar of Playoff Baseball.
I think the Marlins finish 3rd, not 4th in 2021.
Too many NLE teams are depending on older players that will have a problem recovering from injuries.
I think the Mets are the most overrated team in MLB this year.
If you have to keep saying “I’m just stating fact”, you’re probably not just stating fact It was also kind of a kneejerk reaction. I doubt losing Eflin automatically makes them that much worse. Again, I could absolutley see them finishing last but not because they are bad like you’re making them out to be.
If any of the Braves, Nats, Mets, or Phillies lose one of their top 3 starters for a length of time, they might well be in trouble.
What we don’t know are the players that will improve and make impacts in 2021 – as happens in all seasons. To the Phillies credit (?) / surprise (?) Alec Bohm showed up (after much hard work in the offseason) making plays at 3B that he wasn’t making in 2020. There will be more position players and pitchers that will do unexpected things that can’t be foreseen at this point. It’s why some people watch the games as opposed to looking at yesterdays statistics and drawing conclusions.
Agreed, and it’s not like the Phillies didn’t make attempts to improve their pen. They brought in Alvarado and Bradley and a .376 BABIP is going to be really hard to repeat. In all honesty, I think the Nats have way more questions than the Phillies. Sure they have Juan Soto and Trea Turner, but Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber and Carter Kieboom come with major question marks. How many games will Strasburg play? What about second base? Is Luis Garcia the starter there? Will Victor Robles at least bounce back to being the Gold Glove level defender he was in 2019? Can Patrick Corbin bonceback? Is this the begining of the end of Max Scherzer?
@ mlb1225;
I was impressed that they brought in Kintzler and Watson. Doubt those guys will close any games, nor will they be expected to carry a major load. But they’re experienced enough to add to the bullpen in the 5th-7th innings to keep the game in hand, and give some of the other penners a day off.
@Samuel – i agree that the Mets are overrated. However, they have solid pitching and above average defense which will carry them a long way during a season in which only a handful of teams are truly expecting to compete.
@ mlb1225;
I love Rizzo and his FO.
But it’s been a long run and I have some concerns. It would help if Victor Robles turned the corner (you’re a Pirate fan – tell me he doesn’t remind you of Roberto Clemente in his build and the way he runs) – before he becomes settles in as a Buxton / JBJ CF’er. Not big on Kieboom – best thing he has going is that he’s young. Castro should not be playing 2B….let alone for a contender. Ryan Zimmerman is ? They keep bringing up Andrew Stevenson but he’s awful. And their pitching is extremely questionable.
It appears the bottom may well fall out, if not in 2021 then within a year or two afterword’s. They have so few players that have remaining upside that it has to be a concern. They need some young blood in there ASAP.
@mlb1225 – Archie Bradley??? Didn’t he Non-tendered???? Let’s see what this guy’s velo is this year. It’s been dropping. Does he improve the Philly bullpen??? Of course. The Philly bullpen had an E.R.A. north of 7.00 last year. Even Craig Kimbrel would improve the Philly bullpen.
its not the comment. this guy is all over every Phillies article knocking this team.
@ Very Barry;
The Mets have “above average” defense?
I watched lot of their gamers the past few years. That defense constantly cost them games . And Lindor will not turn that. Half the players are out of position….
McNeil is a passable MLB 3B – they move him around to 2B, LF, and RF. Smith is a decent 1B, not a LF – he has to play deep so balls that should be caught fall in front of him. Nimmo belongs in LF, he can’t play CF in that big yard. Alonso is a great guy and fine power hitter, but he’s an awful 1B – he keeps going to his right for slowly hit ground balls, cuts in front of the 2B that’s in position to throw it to the pitcher covering at 1st, but he can’t get the runner while throwing falling backwards. McCann may be better then Ramos, but he’s not a particularly good defender or caller of games. JD Davis is terrible wherever they play him. Only Lindor and Conforto are decent defenders. It’s hardly me – I can’t read a technical article on the Mets when the writer doesn’t mention that terrible defense.
A team that plays in a big yard has to make plays on D to support their pitchers. Forget official “errors”. Mets players constantly fail to make plays that a ML team should make. You don’t win a division when you play 19 games apiece against your competition and give then 4 and 5 outs an inning multiple times a game.
Please.
Archie Bradley got non-tendered by a team that was looking to massively shed payroll after having a sub-3 ERA, FIP, and a SIERA of 3.44 and 3.67 xFIP. Bradley improves any bullpen.
Completley forgot about Kintzler and Watson. Definitley two very solid bullpen arms. Not the greatest but not bad either.
I’m not gonna defend this guy but it is kind of hypocritical to be upset over this guy knocking on the Phillies when you knock on the Mets a ton as well
@ Metsfan9;
What is with you kids?
I’m not “knocking on the Mets”.
A guy brought up the “above average” Mets defense and after LOL’ing, I wrote an honest post about what I’ve seen. That’s all.
FYI – the Phillies defense is bad also – just not as bad…..
Hoskins is Alonso – both should be DH’s. Segura is an offensive middle infielder – he tries to be flashy and winds up not fielding the ball cleanly or being off balance which results in him not finishing off plays that should be made. McCutchen is long past his prime and hurts them in the field. To his credit, Harper has concentrated in the OF and stopped with the one hand showboating and overthrowing the cut-off man to show off his arm. Truth is – as a LH thrower he would be better off at 1B (would get him involved in the game more as opposed to standing around in RF – he’s a competitor, he needs the stimulation). Kingery is like all the super utility guys – not particularly good at any position he plays. But Didi is an excellent SS, Bohm has improved at 3B, Haseley is a very good OF that can play CF in that small yard as well as LF; Realmuto is a fine defensive C and handler of pitchers, and Knapp may well be the best back-up C in MLB.
In short – get rid of Hoskins and Segura move, Happer into 1B, get a decent 2-way 2B and a few decent 2-way OF’s and that team can motor.
@Samuel sorry for the confusion should’ve used an “@“ I was referring to DarkSide830
How is this trolling man that term is thrown out too much with some people ??
because this dude is always knocking this team.
It would be really hard for the Phil’s bullpen to be as bad as it was last year. Even with how bad it was, they still had a 46.7% winning percentage. They very well could be last in the division but I see that happening mores because it’s a very close division, rather than them being a bad team overall.
Same goes for the Pirates hitting and D.. as I’m sure you’re aware.
All the talk of the Bucs being left behind in a very mediocre division is as silly as writing off the Phils in a much better, but equally as competitive race to not being the fifth placed team.
Dombrowski didn’t sign extension with players that got Klentak fired.He signed 1 player beyond 2 years,and you probably wish your team had that player.
Lack of success and last year’s bullpen got Klentak fired,and Dombrowski pretty much rebuilt the bullpen in his 1st offseason.
And you’re declaring you’re prediction correct,without a single meaningful game played….calm down,calm very down.
@Regi Green There is not a position on the baseball field where I would take a Philly over a player in the White Sox lineup. Not a single one!!! Yes ….. That includes right field …… I would rather have Adam Eaton, he is better defensively, and brings to the White Sox what Bryce Harper cannot …… and that is Championship Experience ….. Eaton has a ring! The White Sox lineup also costs a fraction of what the Phillies are paying. White Sox have the best bullpen in baseball. The White Sox and Phillies make for a fascinating case study. The White Sox laid out a rebuild plan and stuck to it. The Phillies laid out a rebuild plan and then decided to abandon it a few years early in favor “accelerating” the process. Let’s take a look at the current White Sox team and what the future appears to hold as a title contender for the next several years. Contrast that with the Phillies …. A team with a bloated payroll that just got fatter and no real shot at title contention now, or for the foreseeable future ….. But hey ….who cares about winning ….. Harper and Realmuto are wearing Philly jerseys!
What do the W.Sox have to do with them winning or losing the nl east?
When you say you would rather have Eaton than Harper, I can safely ignore everything else you say as utter nonsense.
Why does your prediction look any closer to coming true? Because a couple of people were scratched from meaningless games in Spring Training? Nonsense.
You forgot to mention that Bryce Harper steals pencils from blind people.. Get a life.
Carlos Carrasco would like a word with you, baseball Nostradamus
What do you think somewhat concerned means in this context?
Does Eflin have a wide range of health outcomes or is that Girardi’s weird way of saying day to day?
The NL East will come down to the bullpens. Every team has enough offense and starting pitching in the division, and weirdly enough every team has huge question marks in the pen and was the worst part of their teams last year.
Time will reveal all with this division. Anyone making bold predictions probably is bias.
Lucky defense doesn’t matter.
The bright side to this means maybe they’ll get the injury bug out of the way early.
But this isn’t a fun way to begin for a team in a division where the margin for error is razor thin.
Have secured the idol from the bottom of the bamboo plant…..
Will return a.s.a.p. to Hawai’i…..via secured transportation…
signed
-greg brady
-this message will self destruct in 30 seconds
Watch out for spiders and coral reefs for that matter
Bet you a million dollars the Angels don’t win the NL West this season.
Here’s the story of a man named poet
Who had lost all touch with reality
But he didn’t know it
Until the riddler came along & set him free
Curious response, but VERY solid……mahalo
I saw the headline and thought Ryan Howard can’t possibly still be under contract with the Phillies can he? I recall it seeming like he was signed forever, but no.
His last contract was with the Braves minor league affiliate.
I’m late to this thread, but it sucked. Dissapointed in the news and the proceeding chat.
Went to the Tropicana Sportsbook in Atlantic City yesterday and put a dub on the Phillies to win the WS at 60-1. Why the hell not