The Phillies will soon have several decisions on their hands as veterans Brandon Kintzler, Tony Watson and Hector Rondon all have Wednesday opt-outs in their respective minor league deals with the club, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Phillies’ 40-man roster is full at the moment and doesn’t have an obvious candidate for the 60-day IL, so there aren’t any injury situations that could clear up a roster spot. Lauber notes that manager Joe Girardi prefers to carry a five-man bench and an eight-man bullpen, too, so it doesn’t seem likely that the Phils will simply carry an extra reliever early in the year. Kintzler has had the best showing of the three this spring, tossing 7 2/3 shutout frames. Watson would give the Phillies an experienced lefty to pair with the inconsistent Jose Alvarado and/or the yet-unproven JoJo Romero.
There are also luxury tax implications tied to these decisions — particularly with regard to Kintzler and Watson. Both signed minor league deals with rather hefty $3MM guarantees should they make the club. Rondon’s deal calls for a $1.5MM base if he makes the team. All three relievers could also earn at least an additional $1MM via incentives.
With veteran outfielder Matt Joyce also on a minor league pact, the Phils have too many non-roster veterans to carry them all without going over the $210MM luxury barrier. They’re currently about $8.3MM shy of that mark, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, and most clubs prefer to leave themselves at least some slight wiggle room for in-season dealings.
There’s been some speculation throughout camp about the possibility of a Vince Velasquez trade, which would free up $4MM of breathing room. The right-hander’s upside has long tantalized the organization, and he has at times flashed brilliance in the Philadelphia rotation. But Velasquez has yet to demonstrate much consistency through parts of five seasons. It’s also worth noting that since the Phils made the decision to tender him a contract, they’ve hired a new president of baseball operations (Dave Dombrowski), a new general manager (Sam Fuld) and signed a pair of veteran arms to fill out the rotation: Chase Anderson and Matt Moore.
Velasquez himself told reporters earlier this spring that he knew he wasn’t a lock to be tendered a contract, and Lauber has previously reported that the Phillies at least “gauged interest” in Velasquez even after tendering him a contract. The situation is complicated somewhat by the fact that Velasquez has been sidelined by an oblique issue of late (link via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki), though he threw from 60 feet over the weekend.
As has been well-documented by now, teams are going to be more reliant on their rotation depth than ever before while monitoring workloads in the wake of last year’s shortened season. Because of that, there’s good reason to keep Velasquez around — even if he’s in the bullpen as a long man to begin the season. That appears the likeliest outcome at this point, leaving the Phils with some crucial decisions to make by week’s end. Opt-out clauses in minor league deals typically give a club 48 hours to put the player in question on the roster.
Trade realmuto, dfa Hoskins and kingery. Keep the nri’s :)
Actually it’s trade jean segura and trade hoskins as well oust quinn and move jt to first and have Knapp become the star catcher they always wanted
Shirley, you’re kidding, right? Realmuto’s contract would suck for the Phillies if he was immediately moved to first base. I do agree about Knapp, though. Phillies love him for some reason.
He’ll probably be given a front office job the moment his career is over.
We caught one, fellas
Playing along, Shirley.
I know these are jokes, but I don’t get Phillies fan hatred of Knapp. The guy has been solid. One of the better backups in the league IMO. I would have been upset if he was their starter, but he’s not.
I don’t hate him. He’s just been given more chances than most other players. I guess the bar has been set low if he’s one of the best backups. Career OPS is .687, WAR is 0.8.
2018 was dreadful, but he’s been trending up since then. 2020 was real solid in a shortened season. We don’t really know what he is yet, but he does a solid job behind the plate, which is the only stat I care about for a backup catcher.
More chances??? Why do people expect superstar backup catchers?
People forget Darren Daulton stunk as a backup catcher. Knapp’s numbers are much better. Look it up. Daulton did nothing until he got the opportunity to start.
.230 but with with some pop would be an improvement. I’m sure not looking for superstar level production. I believe he’s not much better than average defensively.
*begins to reel in the catch*
BA is a useless stat these days, but he hit .278 last year.
Knapp has elite plate discipline and one of the best eye’s in baseball. Not to mention his game managing abilities. Any Phillies fan hating on Knapp, is not a true phan.
Within reason it is useless. A guy hitting .220 is a sign as is a person .330 being good
VonPurpleHayes
2018 was dreadful, but he’s been trending up since then. 2020 was real solid in a shortened season.
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I don’t get it either. As a RS fan, I am real happy to have a guy like Plawecki as a backup. Knapp is about as good.
I think there are fans of every team that think that, unless you are a star, then you are worthless.
For one year…
Don’t get me wrong. He’s solid at getting in base and seems to be a nice dude. I just need yu see more. I’m hopeful he’s out those passed ball issues in 2018/2019 behind him.
The problem with Knapp is that he hit really well in the minors and the organization pumped him up to be more than he is. They didn’t develop him well behind the plate, but our system isn’t good at developing any prospects.
If only Bell was the manager, he could say, “Watson, come here quickly, I need you.”
I hear what you did there. Love it!
Nah, he just phoned that one in ;)
I know that Kintzler, Joyce and Watson are likely to make the team. But they also have Matt Moore and Anderson that they have pitched well too especially Moore. Matt Moore is also likely to make the team. It is going to be interesting who make the team.
Matt Moore is a lock to make the team. He signed a fully guaranteed Major League contract. His status hasn’t been in doubt.
Thanks for telling me.
Moore and Anderson are pretty much in the rotation at this point.
If Scott Lauber was a pitcher, he would have no velocity.
Watson and Kintzler will make the team but if they’re going to be effective they shouldn’t overuse them, At an old age they will run out of gas, maybe you can use them more at the end of the year but you don’t want to overuse them.
Watson and Kruk are almost the DNA of the organization.
That’s a twist.
Does Watson smoke cigarettes down at the end of the dugout also like krukie did pre game?
Alvarado has been rumored to be in the closing mix. Keeping 3 lefties makes since if he is getting save opportunities
If this was MLB The Show, only Watson would be on the 26 man roster. Although it’s not, I do think Watson and Kinztler crack the roster.
I thought Watson was a sure lock to make the team.
He was really good in SF but it is reasonable to assume it won’t carry over especially because he’s getting older and is moving from an extreme pitcher paradise to an extreme hitter paradise
After the injury to Kirby Yates, the Blue Jays need to check in on Rondon. Maybe a small trade could be worked out. He’s got some closing experience, and he could be a cheap addition to the pen if the Phillies can’t roster him.
Wouldn’t mind Velasquez as a long man or the 5th and move Merryweather back to the bullpen.
The Jays have 0 need for Rondon.
Perhaps the strangest thing to happen in 2021, is the Phillies have too many good relievers to choose from. It’s amazing how much better the pen looks already. Obviously time will tell, but they’ve mostly impressed in Spring Training.
Not if they don’t carry them over. Once they lock the roster, the players are most likely to decide to play for the Phillies minors or take a crack at another team guaranteeing them a roster spot. However their contracts are set up
I think Rondon is the odd man out here.
Which sucks because honestly I think Rondon has the highest ceiling as far a Closer potential. He’s going to play for another team, and be top 7 closers in baseball (not really but that’s just our luck)
With all of the concern for innings this season, I’m sure Velasquez could potentially be traded away. I could see him landing in the NLC for a couple of PTBNL.
Teams need more than 5 starters this year. We’re stuck with Vinny Velo.
Howard, Medina, Llovera, EDLS, Rosso, Jones, Parkinson…and that doesnt include potential deadline acquisitions.
Think Howard stays in the minors a bit, leading to a possible Velo trade down the road when Howard comes up. Other options are intriguing for sure.
the earlier reports of interest in him were interesting, and the fact that he’s actually not making crazy money is good, though any savings are good for this payroll situation.
@Von. Howard has looked ready this spring. If this was any other division, maybe they could wait. But would you rather have 5 starts more of Velasquez or 5 of Howard? Forget service time garbage. If a guy is good, they will work a new contract extension. If he hasn’t made it after 6 years, it’s not that big a loss.
EDLS, Rosso and Jones aren’t starters anymore, and Medina sucks
ready how? did you actually see him pitch?
Yes I have. Breaking pitches looked good, fastball had life, composure was good. He was maybe overthrowing at times (IMO), but that’s understandable.
Comparing Howard to the other starting options, yes, he looked like a better option.
I would say DFA Roman Quinn and David Hale, let Rondon opt-out, and keep Watson and Kintzler. Quinn doesn’t really have a spot to play and could find a role with a below-average team.
you clearly havent seen Quinn’s spring stats.
yeah, they’re trash. He K’s 33% of the time, hasn’t hit for power and is buried on the depth chart.
Rondon hasnt looked good for years. no way he makes the team out of camp.
I agree he hasn’t looked good but he secretly has the highest potential IMO. He appears to be healthier now than he has in the past
Velasquez will go someplace like Houston or Oakland and become a stud. Why is bumping Romero from the 40 a big deal? Phils need Kintzler’s ground balls late in games for those bail out double plays. Joyce seems to be an unnecessary expense with Haseley, Quinn and Moniak there.
Plus, they have Brad Miller and Scott Kingery. That’s 7 very capable outfielders not named Joyce. Plenty of room for all those relievers. Velasquez needs to be converted to late a late inning guy and scrap his worst pitches or trade him to someone that can harness his talent. They can still get something of value for him in prospect talent.
Romero is one of the reliever they want to keep around for a while. Plus his velo is up
Velocity is over rated. Vince has velocity. Everyone has velocity. Hitters hit velocity. Movement and control outplay ‘just’ velocity.
Rondon or Watson might be of interest to Rangers since we are down to relievers. Velasquez is useful as well. Perhaps Walker or Garcia for Velasquez. could work for both teams.
Velasquez question.
Does he have a good enough 2 pitch arsenal to get through the lineup one time? Be a guy who comes in and pitches 2-3 innings a couple of times per week?
I think a guy like that will be a little more valuable this year than in the past. Starters will be on stricter pitch and inning limits. But a bridge from say 1 out in the 5th to the traditional 7th inning guy will be key.
I’ve been saying this for 3 years. I’m a VV supporter. He could turn out to be a very good middle reliever or set up guy this year. They will keep him stretched out tho, and probably use him to piggyback the backend guys on nights they cant get thru the 4th inning. He’ll get some spot starts and they may turn him loose in extra inning games.
Rondon to Toronto
I’d be surprised if they let Watson walk , he’d be grabbed in a heartbeat by a club.
Keep in mind that he seemingly had to resort to signing a minor league deal, so there may not be as much interest in him as you’d think. I’m not sure why, considering he’s been one of the most steady lefty relievers in the game for years, but perhaps some teams think he’s washed up. If it were up to me, I’d keep him and Kintzler over Rondon.
The conversation about Andrew Knapp made me start to laugh again as I was remembering the game against the Yanks two days ago..As I watched the YES feed, their announcer had a horrible night..First, Mathis was catching and the announcer said he is a outstanding defensive catcher and he WOULD be backing up J.T. during the season.. No, it will be Knapp…
Next, not in order, but he called Alec Bohm Alex.
Then he referred to Roman Quinn as Ra-Mone..He wasn’t done yet, He proceeded to kill Odubels. name..called him Od-a-bel..
You can’t make this stuff up…There were others but at the moment, I don’t recall…
He misidentified Rojas as Quinn for the final putout in the ninth as I recall.
Yes, I forgot that one..
Velasquez got his 4 mil before Dombrowski came aboard. Don’t think DD would have tendered him.