Aaron Altherr Out Four To Six Months Due To Wrist Surgery
The rebuilding Phillies suffered a significant loss today, announcing that oufielder Aaron Altherr requires wrist surgery and will be sidelined for four to six months. Altherr’s surgery will repair a torn extensor carpi ulnaris retinaculum in his left wrist and will be performed tomorrow by Dr. Randall Culp. Altherr reportedly suffered the injury making a diving play back on March 4, though his initial belief was that this injury wasn’t as serious as a previous wrist injury that required surgery in 2013.
The 25-year-old Altherr figured to receive everyday at-bats (or close to it) in Philadelphia on the heels of a solid rookie campaign in which he batted .241/.338/.489 in 161 trips to the plate. Altherr racked up 11 doubles, four triples and five homers in addition to six steals in his brief time with the Phils, flashing the extra-base power and speed that made him one of the organization’s more intriguing prospects. Between that success and the .293/.367/.487 batting line authored by Altherr between Double-A and Triple-A last year, the German-born outfielder had little to prove in the minor leagues.
With Altherr now spending the bulk, if not the entirety of the season on the disabled list, the door is open for Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel to make the club and carve out a role with the team. The Phillies also have sophomore Odubel Herrera (a Rule 5 pick himself a year ago) in the mix after his own strong rookie season. Veteran Peter Bourjos and former top prospect Cody Asche are both options for manager Pete Mackanin, too, though each will need to rebuild his stock after a poor showing in 2015.
Morton Discusses Success In Small Stadiums
- Charlie Morton is hopeful that his groundball-inducing ways will translate to hitter-friendly Citzens Bank Park, PhillyVoice’s Ryan Lawrence writes. Morton produced a 4.81 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 pitching with the Pirates, although with an excellent 57.3% ground ball rate. “I had a theory about smaller parks, and the ground that outfielders have to cover, it’s minimized when you have a smaller park,” Morton says. “So if you can pitch to contact and pitch to weak contact, especially ground balls, I think you’ll do really well. Knock on wood, but I’ve had some success at Great American Ball Park, Great American Small Park. I think some of the reason why that is is because if I’m inducing weak contact or ground balls.” Morton has, indeed, posted a career 3.83 ERA in 54 innings at “Great American Small Park,” better than his career 4.54 ERA. That could merely be a sample-size issue, however. In any case, if Morton succeeds in the tight confines of Citizens Bank Park, he could perhaps, as Lawrence points out, fetch a prospect or two for the Phillies this summer.
Jeremy Hellickson On Offseason Trade
As a part of the Diamondbacks’ efforts to remold themselves into a contender, they sent one of their starters off to a rebuilding club. In November, the D-backs shipped Jeremy Hellickson to the Phillies in exchange for 20-year-old righty Sam McWilliams. Hellickson, unlike McWilliams, comes with a lengthy track record at the big league level — something that could theoretically have appealed to the win-now Diamondbacks — but he’s struggled in recent seasons, logging a 4.73 ERA over the past three seasons after an outstanding start to his career. The Diamondbacks decided to use his relatively sizable projected salary elsewhere.
Leading up to the deal, Hellickson says that he didn’t get a phone call from anyone in the organization indicating that a move might be coming down. However, he sensed that he could be traded at any moment. “I didn’t have any indication [that a deal could happen], you just kind of get a feeling with the direction that they’re going in,” Hellickson said in Clearwater, Fla. late last week. “I didn’t know that they were going to sign guys for that much money after trading me, but I just got the feeling that was going to happen.”
After Hellickson’s departure, the Diamondbacks spent $206.5MM on Zack Greinke; paid a hefty premium in terms of player personnel to acquire Shelby Miller (Ender Inciarte, Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair); signed Tyler Clippard to a two-year, $12.25MM deal; and acquired Jean Segura and righty Tyler Wagner from the Brewers for Chase Anderson, Isan Diaz and Aaron Hill. Now, after winning 79 games in 2015, the D-backs could very well contend for the NL West crown. Even though the Phillies seem more likely to wind up in the cellar of the NL East than at the top, Hellickson says that he isn’t bothering to concern himself with his former club’s dealings.
At the age of 28, Hellickson is one of the team’s “veteran” starters, along with 32-year-old Charlie Morton (a fellow offseason trade acquisition). Hellickson admits that it’s an odd role to play for someone who is on the right side of 30.
“It is a little bit weird being one of the veteran guys on this rotation,” said Hellickson. “It was kind of the same situation alst year [in Arizona] but the game is getting younger. There are guys getting called up at 21 or 22 years old. I don’t feel old at 28, but 28 is kind of old in this game right now.”
Hellickson and the Phillies avoided arbitration back in January with the right-hander getting $7MM instead of his projected $6.6MM salary. After this season, the Scott Boras client is headed towards free agency. Hellickson may or may not rack up wins this season, but the former American League Rookie of the Year could position himself for a nice payday with a rebound campaign in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Notes: Cole, Braves, Altherr, Klentak
Last weekend, it was discovered that Pirates ace Gerrit Cole was displeased to have his contract renewed for the same pay as he earned last season. While Cole may be peeved by the lack of raise, it doesn’t mean he and the club don’t have common ground for an extension, writes Travis Sawchik of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Former Phillies ace Cole Hamels made similar public comments back in 2008 before inking a three-year, $20MM deal for his arbitration seasons. Sawchik also relates a number of details about Cole’s specific situation as well as the players’ share of revenue league wide – it’s well worth a read.
- The Braves rotation is a shadow of the unit that dominated the National League for over a decade, writes the associated press for the New York Times. The entire unit has issues. “Ace” Julio Teheran is coming off his worst major league season, and he’s the only lock for a job. As manager Fredi Gonzalez joked, there’s a wave of high profile arms, but they’re “out by the Marshall Islands.” Pitching prospects are notoriously fickle. Before the high ceiling talents get a chance to work in the majors, Atlanta fans will have to hope players like Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz, and Bud Norris can show some sign of life.
- Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr suffered a left-wrist injury on a diving play yesterday, writes Matt Breen of Philly.com. Altherr had the wrist in a splint today and has not received X-Rays yet. The former prospect is familiar with wrist injuries which sapped his development in late 2013 and early 2014. He doesn’t believe this round is anywhere as serious as his previous injury which required surgery. Altherr is widely expected to start for the Phillies after a breakout 2015 season. In my view, the club could option him if they preferred for him to ease into action in the minors.
- For those curious about Phillies GM Matt Klentak’s playing background, Mike Sielski of Philly.com has the details. Klentak, 35, attended Dartmouth College where he played shortstop for head coach Bob Whalen – himself a friend of now-Mets GM Sandy Alderson. From there, it’s not a far jump to Moneyball. Klentak also offered a couple interesting quotes, including “Players will reach their ceilings when they’re playing confidently, when they’re in an environment that’s loose and that allows them to be the player that they want to be.“
Aaron Nola Says He Hopes To Top 200 Innings
- Aaron Nola impressed in his first 77 2/3 innings last year for the Phillies, and he tells MLBTR’s Zach Links (via Twitter) that he’s not interested in easing his way into things this year. “I want to go 200+ innings. I want to throw as many innings as I can,” Nola said recently. Actually, that seems like rather an attainable goal, as he ran up 109 1/3 innings in the minors last year.
Phillies’ Jake Thompson On Being Traded Twice
It can be tough for a player adjust to a new organization, and Phillies prospect Jake Thompson has already had to make that change twice in his young career thanks to his inclusion in a pair of significant trades. The first time around, Thompson was shipped from the Tigers to the Rangers as a part of the Joakim Soria deal. One year later, he went from Texas to Philly in the Cole Hamels deal. After his Spring Training start on Thursday, Thompson explained that going through deal No. 1 helped him transition better after deal No. 2.
“I tried to overdo everything [after the first trade]. I tried to throw every fastball max velocity, and I wasn’t really utilizing all the strengths of my game like the movement on my fastball,” Thompson told reporters in Clearwater, Fla. after allowing three hits over two innings with one walk and one strikeout. “I was trying to do things that I wasn’t capable of. So, this time around I decided to be myself and see how that turns out. I’ve tried to get a whole lot more contact since I’ve been with the Phillies and the last part of [Double-A] Reading that really panned out for me and as my command gets better here I’m going to try to keep doing that. I’m going to keep trying to get more ground balls.”
As he adjusts to the Phillies organization, Thompson says that he is leaning on veteran leadership for advice and support. Of course, there aren’t many veterans left in the Phillies clubhouse with 28-year-old Jeremy Hellickson qualifying as a grizzled veteran in the team’s babyfaced rotation. Thompson, 22, cited Charlie Morton and Carlos Ruiz as two of his mentors here in Clearwater.
Thompson was also more at ease after the Hamels deal because he came to his new club with fellow pitching prospects Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff, catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, and outfield prospect Nick Williams.
“That’s one thing that is a little bit different from the first time I was traded. I came here with a few teammates and I actually played with all of them except for Matt Harrison, so that made things a lot easier. I had some familiar faces with me,” Thompson explained.
The trade talk buzzed around Hamels in Philadelphia for years and reached a fever pitch leading up to July 2015. Even though the Rangers were often mentioned as a likely landing spot for the ace, Thompson says that he ignored the trade talk. When the trade did go down, Thompson admitted that he was flattered to be a key piece of a deal for one of the league’s biggest names.
“There’s a huge honor in that. Cole Hamels is Cole Hamels, he’s undeniably good. For me, I just try not to get super wrapped up in it. Every day I’m trying to become a Major League pitcher, and I just try to keep getting better.”
Thompson may not have to wait too long to realize that goal. Though he just turned 22 in January, he reached Double-A at the age of 20 and spent the entire 2015 season, his age-21 campaign, at that level. Thompson recorded a 3.73 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 132 2/3 innings last year despite being nearly four years younger than the league average. That performance and his raw stuff prompted Baseball America to rank him third among Phillies farmhands and 75th in all of baseball. Similarly, MLB.com listed him second among Phillies prospects and 55th in baseball, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated Thompson second in the organization and 63rd in all of baseball.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Charlie Manuel On Phillies’ Rebuilding Process
The rebuilding Phillies have just two players left from their 2008 World Series Championship team — Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz. They’re not the only members of the organization that were in the dugout then, however; former manager Charlie Manuel is now serving as a senior advisor to the General Manager — a job that keeps him involved and plugged in as the team looks to continue its rebuilding process. The overhaul has left the Phillies with an exceptionally young club, but that’s not unfamiliar territory for Manuel. 
“When I was with the Twins in 1986 and ’87 we had some young players. We had [Kent] Hrbek, [Gary] Gaetti, [Kirby] Puckett, and all these young guys that turned out to be real good players. This group of guys is something similar to them,” Manuel told MLBTR in a one-on-one interview in Clearwater, Florida. “When you look at this group, we’ve got a lot of talent. These players have a lot of tools. We can go first to third, we can go second to home, but we still have to develop ourselves as hitters to be able to be regular players at the Major League level. And, when it comes to young pitchers, we got so many that some of them have to be good.”
Manuel is particularly impressed with the team’s young pitching and pointed to Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Jake Thompson as “big arm” pitchers that can be future stars for the club. Part of Manuel’s new role with the team will be to help identify the next crop of amateur pitchers that can blossom into impact players.
“During the season, I go to all of our minor league teams and help evaluate players,” the World Series winning manager explained. “Also, when Spring Training is over, I’ll get involved in the amateur draft and I’ll check out some of the top guys, guys that are going in the first through fifth rounds. After the summer, I’ll pick up some Major League scouting and key in on some free agents. I’ll also be in Philadelphia up in our box as a part of our own in-house evaluations.”
In 2008, Manuel’s Phillies won 92 games on their way to an National League East crown and, of course, a World Series title. This year’s Phillies aren’t a popular pick for the postseason, but the 72-year-old ex-manager doesn’t think it’ll be long before we see the Phillies in the postseason again.
“I think a few years from now, you’ll see us where the Astros are,” Manuel said as he gestured towards the visiting dugout. “They backed up and made a lot of good draft choices and look at how good they are now. That’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Peter Bourjos Eager For Fresh Start With Phillies
In December, the Phillies added to an already stacked outfield mix when they claimed Peter Bourjos off waivers from the Cardinals. The outfielder’s time in St. Louis was not terribly memorable and many pointed to his lingering hip injury as the culprit for his struggles. However, Bourjos says it was something else keeping him from playing his best with the Cards. 
“I think it was more just being in and out of the lineup. It was tough getting into a rhythm,” Bourjos told MLBTR in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday. “That’s the role I was in, that was the role I accepted, and you just try to do your best with it. It’s tough coming in and facing the set-up guy or the closer in pinch hit at-bats. It’s tough to get something going.”
Because of his inconsistent playing time, it was no surprise to Bourjos when he was exposed to waivers in the offseason.
“I didn’t really think I’d be back there, just because of how things played out down the stretch. I think I had three or four starts in the second half of the year. I didn’t really have a lot of at-bats. You can just kind of see the writing on the wall, that they had a lot of good young outfielders coming and it probably just wasn’t going to be a good fit,” said Bourjos.
Realizing that he wouldn’t be back with the Cardinals, Bourjos and agent Curtis Dishman huddled up to discuss potential landing spots and which teams would make the best fit for him. With the potential for significant and consistent playing time, the Phillies were “at the top” of his personal wish list. General Manager Matt Klentak told MLBTR back in December that his familiarity with Bourjos from their shared Angels days played a role in acquiring him, but the outfielder says that the Phillies have actually had interest in him for years, dating back to the Ruben Amaro-led front office.
It’s easy to see why the Phillies would have coveted Bourjos for so long. In 2011, the defensive wizard made a name for himself in baseball when he slashed .271/.327/.438. Now on his third big league team, Bourjos is determined to make the most of his fresh start.
“Whenever I’ve had consistent at-bats, I’ve played pretty well, and that goes back to 2013. The at-bats were consistent, but I got hurt. I was playing pretty well up until that point. It’s about getting out there and being consistent in the lineup. It kind of goes both ways, I have to prove that I can do that. I can’t get off to a bad start, I have to prove that I belong out there.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL East Notes: Cuddyer, Arroyo, Badenhop, Hernandez
While some believed that Michael Cuddyer‘s retirement saved the Mets the full $12.5MM he was owed for the 2016 season, that’s not the case, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Cuddyer was paid a buyout in the range of $2-3MM, according to Puma. GM Sandy Alderson told reporters today that he’d still have been able to pursue Yoenis Cespedes this offseason even if Cuddyer had remained with the club, though he did acknowledge that some of the Mets’ other moves might not have been realistic. The Mets made small to mid-range signings of Jerry Blevins ($4MM), Alejandro De Aza ($5.75MM), Bartolo Colon ($7.25MM), Antonio Bastardo ($12MM) and Asdrubal Cabrera ($18.5MM) on the free-agent market this offseason.
A few more items pertaining to the NL East…
- Nationals right-hander Bronson Arroyo hopes to crack the rotation and return to the Majors this season, but he’ll receive some notice if that’s not likely to be the case, he told reporters yesterday (Twitter link via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). Arroyo’s deal stipulates that the Nationals inform him whether he’s made the team five days before Spring Training ends, presumably in order to allow him to latch on elsewhere if he doesn’t make the club in D.C. It’s been more than 18 months since Arroyo last pitched in a big league game after undergoing Tommy John surgery with the D-backs.
- Right-hander Burke Badenhop spoke with Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post about the feeling of being a veteran player in camp hoping to win a roster spot. Badenhop explained that he landed with the Nationals in part because they showed a greater sense of urgency when pursuing him than other clubs, and also because playing for a contender with a number of experienced players held appeal to him. Interestingly, Badenhop tells Janes that he’s learned manager Dusty Baker is quite familiar with him; Baker revealed to Badenhop that the Reds tried to trade for him when Baker was managing the club. Assistant GM Doug Harris told Janes that Badenhop gives hitters a different look than the rest of their current ‘pen candidates, which could be a point in his favor this spring.
- David Hernandez looks to be the favorite to serve as the Phillies‘ closer this season, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Hernandez’s very presence in Phillies camp might’ve seemed improbable to him several months ago, as he kicked off the winter by telling his agent he hoped to sign with a West Coast club that played its spring games in Arizona. However, Hernandez inked a one-year deal with an East Coast club that plays Spring Training in Florida, in part because the Phillies told him he could end up with an opportunity to close. Hernandez signed shortly before the trade of Ken Giles to the Astros, and as Zolecki notes, the club likely knew full well that a trade of Giles could come together in the near future, helping to stock the farm with young talent and create an opportunity for a free-agent to inherit the ninth inning role.
NL East Notes: Klentak, Marlins, Maddux, Moore, Drew
Here’s the latest from around the NL East…
- Phillies GM Matt Klentak has already been through rebuilding (while with the Orioles) and spending on big free agents (while with the Angels) in previous front office jobs, and he tells Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he hopes both experiences will help him in the initial and latter stages of the Phils’ rebuild. Perhaps Klentak’s best example of a successful rebuild, however, is how his own team rebuilt in the early 2000’s to form the core of the squad that won five NL East titles and the 2008 World Series.
- Edwin Jackson is battling some younger arms to win a spot in the Marlins rotation, and the veteran righty tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he has unfinished business as a starting pitcher. “I still look at myself as a starter. There’s still something I want to prove to myself, not to anyone else,” Jackson said. Pitching exclusively as a reliever in 2015, Jackson posted a 3.07 ERA, 1.9 K/BB rate and 6.5 K/9 over 55 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics indicate he was perhaps a bit fortunate to manage such a low ERA. Still, it was a big improvement over Jackson’s rough previous two seasons in the Cubs rotation and now he’s hoping to rebound in Miami.
- In another item from Jackson, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill expects big things from his lineup, saying he’d “put our position player talent against anybody in the National League.” Miami scored the second-fewest runs in baseball last season, yet Hill expects a big improvement thanks to Barry Bonds‘ contributions as hitting coach, more development from young players and better health (most notably in the case of Giancarlo Stanton).
- Pitching coach Mike Maddux may prove to be the Nationals‘ best offseason acquisition, the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell writes. Hiring the very well-regarded Maddux represents a new step for the franchise, as Boswell notes the Nationals have rarely invested much money in managers or coaching staffs.
- Tyler Moore took some grounders at third base seemingly just as a routine drill, though as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, versatility at a new position could help save Moore’s job. Moore is out of options and faces a roster crunch to make the Nationals‘ Opening Day roster. Learning the hot corner is easier said than done, of course, especially since Moore has never played anywhere besides first, left or right in his eight-year professional career.
- Stephen Drew knows how being a qualifying offer free agent can impact one’s market, so the new Nationals infielder tells MLB.com’s Bill Ladson that he sympathizes with what Ian Desmond is going through as the former Nat continues to look for a new team. After rejecting the QO in the 2013-14 offseason, Drew didn’t find a contract until May, re-signing with the Red Sox (notably, the only team that weren’t required to give up a draft pick to sign him). As you might expect, Drew is all for changes to the qualifying offer rule in the upcoming collective bargaining talks. “The union has to do a good job going over that rule and check out what we can come up with. As players, we probably want to get rid of it. We need to really take a look at the way the logistics are,” Drew said.