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Phillies Outright Six Players

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The Phillies announced that six players — outfielders Odúbel Herrera and Travis Jankowski, infielder Ronald Torreyes, catcher Andrew Knapp and right-handers Ramón Rosso and J.D. Hammer — have all cleared outright waivers. Each member of that group has elected free agency.

Herrera is the most notable of this bunch, although it was apparent his time in the Philly organization was nearing its end when the team declined his option on Wednesday. He has fewer than six seasons of big league service, so he’d technically remained eligible for arbitration, but he was an obvious non-tender decision at that point. Rather than wait until next month’s non-tender deadline, the Phils will cut him loose and clear a roster spot a few weeks early.

The move officially brings to a close Herrera’s six-season tenure in Philadelphia. Selected out of the Rangers’ organization in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the left-handed hitter offered strong production on both sides of the ball over his first few major league campaigns. The Phils rewarded him with a long-term extension in December 2016, but his production started to slip by 2018.

Herrera performed terribly for the first month and a half in 2019 before being arrested and charged with domestic assault. MLB suspended him for the remainder of that season, and Herrera spent all of last year in the minor leagues after being outrighted off the roster. He returned to the majors in 2021, serving as Philly’s primary center fielder and hitting a slightly below-average .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances.

Knapp has been a career-long Phillie, appearing in the majors in each of the past five seasons. The switch-hitting backstop has worked primarily in a reserve capacity, mashing in a brief 2020 run before stumbling to a .152/.215/.214 mark over 159 trips to the plate this past season. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.2MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract, he’ll instead be let go as the Phils look elsewhere for a J.T. Realmuto backup.

Torreyes and Jankowski have bounced around the league as role players in recent seasons. Both players were arbitration-eligible, with Torreyes projected for a $1.6MM salary and Jankowski slated to make around $900K. The Phils will let both go and look elsewhere to fill their respective utility infielder and backup outfielder roles. Torreyes hit .242/.286/.346 in 344 plate appearances in 2021; Jankowski slashed .252/.364/.351 in 157 tallies at the dish.

Neither Rosso nor Hammer had been eligible for arbitration, but the front office decided to reallocate their spots on the 40-man roster. Rosso posted a 6.11 ERA/4.95 SIERA over 17 2/3 combined MLB innings between 2020-21. Hammer owns a 4.38 ERA/5.07 SIERA in 39 frames dating back to 2019.

Phillies Claim Ryan Sherriff From Rays

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The Phillies have claimed left-hander Ryan Sherriff off waivers from the Rays, per a club announcement. Should he stick around, Sherriff will look to help solidify a leaky Phillies ’pen that pitched to a 4.60 ERA (sixth-worst in the bigs) and 4.61 FIP (fourth-worst) in 2021. Sherriff posted a mediocre 5.52 ERA across 14 2/3 innings (16 appearances) this year, albeit with 16 Ks and a 3.65 FIP that suggest he may have suffered from a bit of bad luck. For his career, the lefty has been good for a 3.65 ERA (3.98 FIP) in 44 1/3 innings.

Originally a 2011 28th-rounder of the Cardinals, Sherriff debuted in the majors in 2017, making 18 relief appearances in St. Louis before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2018 season. The Cards released him shortly thereafter, and he landed in Tampa on a minor-league pact shortly thereafter. He didn’t get back to the bigs until midway through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but put up by far the best numbers of his career when he did, not giving up a single earned run in 9 2/3 innings — albeit while striking out only 2. He also covered two scoreless innings for the Rays in the 2020 World Series.

Though he made the opening day roster, Sherriff spent the season on the Triple-A shuttle, covering nearly twice as many innings for Durham as he did for Tampa. With just over a year in aggregate service time, Sherriff comes with considerable control and could become a mainstay for the Phils if he manages to establish himself in Philadelphia. How he’ll be asked to slot in remains to be seen, but sticking around in the Phillies’ notoriously leaky bullpen should prove a much easier task than it had been at the back end of Tampa’s stable of high-end arms.

Tampa Bay has also outrighted right-handers Oliver Drake, DJ Johnson and Chris Mazza in addition to lefty Cody Reed. All four of Drake, Johnson, Mazza and Reed will become free agents.

Phillies Decline Club Options On Andrew McCutchen, Odubel Herrera

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The Phillies have announced that they have declined their club options on outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera for the 2022 season.  McCutchen will receive a $3MM buyout rather than a $15MM salary next year, and Herrera has been bought out for $2.5MM rather than a $11.5MM salary.

Today’s decision closes the book on the three-year, $50MM free agent contract McCutchen signed with the Phils in December 2018, a deal that ended up as something of a mixed bag.  Both sides might wonder what have been had McCutchen not suffered a torn ACL in June 2019, as the veteran had gotten off to a very strong start in his first 59 games in a Phillies uniform.

Since returning from injury rehab, McCutchen has provided above-average (106 wRC+, 107 OPS+) offense and hit .232/.331/.441 with 37 home runs over 815 PA in 2020-21.  It isn’t bad production by any stretch, though McCutchen’s .222 batting average in 2021 was a career low, and defensive metrics didn’t like his glovework as the Phillies’ regular left fielder.

Between these diminished numbers and the fact that McCutchen turned 35 in October, he might have to settle for a one-year deal this offseason.  That said, McCutchen will surely catch on somewhere, quite probably with a contender that will value having one of the game’s most respected players in the clubhouse to provide some veteran leadership.  A return to Philadelphia might not be out of the question, even if the Phillies would certainly rather pay “Cutch” a great deal less than $15MM.

Herrera is still under team control via one final year of salary arbitration, but since he is projected to earn $11.6MM, the Phillies are likely to non-tender Herrera and end their seven-year association with the outfielder.  Selected away from the Rangers in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, Herrera earned an All-Star nod in 2016, which led the Phils to sign him to a five-year, $30.5MM extension in December 2016.

However, Herrera was arrested on assault charges related to domestic violence in May 2019, and while the charges were dropped, the league suspended Herrera under the purview of the MLB/MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.  Herrera missed the rest of the 2019 season due to the 85-game suspension, and also didn’t play in 2020 when the Phillies outrighted him off their 40-man roster.  It seemed as if the Phillies were ready to part ways with Herrera, though he re-emerged in 2021 to play 124 games for the team, hitting .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances.

If neither McCutchen or Herrera are brought back, the Phillies are in drastic need of outfielders to line up alongside Bryce Harper.  Existing in-house options (Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley, Travis Jankowski, Roman Quinn, Matt Vierling) don’t hold a lot of appeal as regular big league options, so outfield figures to be a key target for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski this offseason.

Front Office Notes: Mets, Angels, Rangers

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The Mets’ front office search has become a rather prominent storyline in baseball at the moment, as several notable executives have either removed their names from consideration or been denied permission by their current clubs to interview. Despite those struggles in pursuing rival GMs and presidents, SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Mets are not considering some of the rumored former baseball ops leaders who are no longer running a department. Former Giants president Brian Sabean, former Marlins president Michael Hill and former Astros president Jeff Luhnow are not currently being considered, per Martino. Rather, current Mets president Sandy Alderson is still actively seeking permission to interview the No. 2 and No. 3 executives with various clubs as the Mets seek a new baseball ops leader.

Some more front office notes from around the game…

  • The Angels have hired Tim McIlvaine away from the Brewers to fill as their new scouting director, Kiley McDaniel and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN report (Twitter thread). McIlvaine, who was previously the Brewers’ assistant director of scouting, worked extensively with current Angels vice president of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery when both were in Milwaukee. Montgomery was one of the first hires by under new Angels GM Perry Minasian last offseason. The Angels removed former scouting director Matt Swanson from his post last week but offered him a position elsewhere in the organization. Swanson was hired by former general manager Billy Eppler and has overseen the Halos’ past five drafts.
  • Josh Bonifay is returning to the Rangers organization as their new farm director, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Bonifay had been the Phillies’ farm director for the past three seasons but was removed from that role and offered a spot on the team’s pro scouting staff for next season back in August. The son of former Pirates general manager Cam Bonifay, Josh has spent more than a decade in baseball operations, mostly in the Astros organization, but was also the Rangers’ field coordinator and a member of the Major League coaching staff with then-manager Jeff Banister in 2017. Bonifay has also spent time as a minor league coach and manager, a minor league field coordinator and was the Astros’ hitting coordinator in 2018 before being hired by Philadelphia.

Phillies Hire Bobby Dickerson As Infield Coach

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Oct. 25: The Phillies have formally announced the hiring of Dickerson as the Major League infield coach for the 2022 season.

Oct. 22: Turnover continues in the Philadelphia and San Diego dugouts, as the Phillies are set to hire Bobby Dickerson away from the Padres to serve as their infield coach reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Dickerson pulled double duty during the 2021 season for the Padres, serving as the team’s official bench coach and third base coach following the front office promotion of previous third base coach Glenn Hoffman.

The hiring serves as a reunion between coach and organization, as Dickerson served in the same infield coach capacity for the Phils during the 2019 season. This followed an eight year stint with the Orioles, who boasted a few Gold Glove-winning infielders during Dickerson’s tenure.

As was the case with the team’s recent hiring of Kevin Long, Phillies manager Joe Girardi adds a veteran coaching presence to cajole some new talent out of the existing roster.  Dickerson will look to help Girardi in the latter’s third year with the team and boost an organization that has been stuck in a near .500 rut for four years in a row.

Philadelphia’s move to rehire a respected defensive coach comes on the heels of what the front office surely recognizes was an organizational weakness this past season. By measure of Defensive Runs Saved the Phillies ranked last in all of baseball in 2021, with the Jean Segura-manned second base the only position on the team to score plus marks in the metric.

As for the Padres, the departure of Dickerson comes as no surprise in the wake of recent firings to pitching coach Larry Rothschild and manager Jayce Tingler. It remains to be seen what other changes await a San Diego dugout that is quickly growing accustomed to making them.

Phillies Notes: Galvis, Bohm, Arbitration

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Infielder Freddy Galvis makes no secret about his desire to return to the Phillies in an interview with Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Breen explores, Galvis had an immediate impact on the clubhouse and team morale and was generally beloved and viewed as a veteran leader — both by teammates who’d played with him during his original run with the club and by newcomers who knew little of Galvis before the Phils acquired him from the Orioles this past July. Fellow utilityman Brad Miller tells Breen he was caught by surprise to see the clubhouse excitement after the trade was announced, but he quickly understood why. “It’s the epitome of being a pro,” Miller said. “Like we say it all the time, ‘That guys a pro’ or ‘He’s a good teammate’ or ‘He’s a winner.’ All these little terms. That’s what it comes down to when you’re a major-league baseball player is having those traits. He’s prepared for everything.”

Galvis wouldn’t be a candidate to start for the Phillies, but he could serve as a versatile infield piece and perhaps a bridge to prospect Bryson Stott — if the Phillies don’t pursue one of the higher-profile names on the free-agent market this winter. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski plainly acknowledged the need to improve at shortstop after the season and said veteran Didi Gregorius is not assured the starting job in 2022.

More out of Philly…

  • Newly hired hitting coach Kevin Long is already headed to the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla., where he’ll get an early start on working with Alec Bohm, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly. Bohm, 25, looked well on his way to cementing himself as a mainstay in the heart of the Phillies’ order in 2020 when he hit .338/.400/.481 in 180 plate appearances as a rookie. He mustered only a .247/.305/.342 slash in 417 trips to the plate this season, however, and eventually found himself optioned to Triple-A. Long, previously the hitting coach for the Yankees, Mets and Nationals, notes that young players are “really, really important to big-market teams,” as they can offset the cost of high-priced free agents and arbitration-eligible players. Long calls Bohm “one of the best hitters in the league in 2020” and suggests that Bohm “is a big part of the Philadelphia Phillies and us winning a championship.” Dombrowski acknowledged at season’s end that Bohm probably won’t win any Gold Gloves at the hot corner (link via 97.3 ESPN) but can be a bat-first option for the team moving forward. “His key is he has to hit. If he hits well enough, you’ll live with the defensive aspect of it,” said Dombrowski.
  • Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia took a look at the Phils’ upcoming arbitration class earlier this week, opining that Odúbel Herrera, Ronald Torreyes, Travis Jankowski, Roman Quinn and Andrew Knapp might all be cut loose this winter. None of Torreyes, Jankowski, Quinn or Knapp would cost much to bring back, but everyone in that group comes with performance and/or durability question marks. The Phils hold an $11.5MM club option on Herrera’s services for next season that comes with a $2.5MM buyout. Even if they decline the option, the Phillies could retain Herrera via arbitration, but his projected $11.6MM arb salary isn’t any more affordable (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). That indeed seems like a steep price for a player who hit a fine but unspectacular .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances this past season. Herrera underperformed early in the 2019 season, then was suspended for the remainder of that year after violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. He didn’t play in 2020, but the Phillies brought him back to the majors in late April this year.

Yankees Have Options With Joey Gallo

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Joey Gallo has long been one of the most inconsistent stars in baseball. If you see him on the right day, he’s a surefire MVP, a towering power hitter with surprising range in the outfield. He looks like a designated hitter, but he can passably cover centerfield.

See him on the wrong day, however, and you’ll be surprised to hear that he ever makes contact (36.9 percent career strikeout rate). He can seem passive at the plate, and when you see his sub-Mendoza-line batting average come across your TV screen, you may wonder why he’s even in the lineup.

For 58 games, the Yankees got a much heavier dose of Gallo version two as he slashed .160/.303/.404 in 228 plate appearances with a 38.6 percent strikeout rate. He did hit 13 home runs with a .245 ISO, but Yankees fans might be wondering if he’s worth the $10.2MM he’s projected to make in his final season before free agency. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explores some trade possibilities for Gallo, should the Yankees look that way this winter.

It would be a tough turnaround to flip Gallo, as they almost certainly wouldn’t be able to get as much as they gave up to get him. Besides, the short porch in Yankee Stadium still offers a tantalizing advantage for Gallo over a full season. Had he played the entire year in New York, public sentiment might be different. For the year, Gallo posted 3.5 fWAR with a .199/.351/.458 line with 38 home runs and 90 RBIs. Though you might not love the shape of it, those are solid bottom-line numbers.

In all likelihood, the Yankees hold onto Gallo for the final season of his contract. Despite their relative health this season, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton still come with a lengthy injury history, and Gallo provides significant power/patience insurance for a lineup that faltered at times.

If they do want to move him, however, they could start with the clubs that explored a trade for him at the deadline. Sherman provides that list: the Rays, White Sox, Braves, Brewers, Giants, Padres, and Phillies. The list of teams would almost certainly grow if the Yankees put him out there this winter. There’s a deal out there for the Yankees if they want it, but Gallo version one might still be the guy the Yankees want and need in the middle of their order.

Coaching Notes: Dickerson, Phillies, Padres, Washington, Bochy, Yankees

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The Phillies made a notable addition to their coaching staff today, hiring former Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long to fill the same position. They’re apparently considering making another noteworthy hire, as Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports the Phillies have discussed bringing back Bobby Dickerson as infield coach. Dickerson spent the 2019 campaign as Phils’ infield coach before joining the Padres as Jayce Tingler’s bench coach entering 2020. Dickerson remains under contract with San Diego, but Padres’ staffers were given permission to explore opportunities elsewhere once Tingler was fired last week. The Phils are on the hunt for a new infield instructor after dismissing Juan Castro.

More on coaching/managing situations around the league:

  • The Padres have already been tied to Ron Washington after announcing Tingler’s dismissal. Washington is hoping for that opportunity, telling Robert Murray of FanSided he could “get that team over the hump.” Washington was the runner-up in the Friars’ last managerial hiring cycle, and the baseball lifer would indeed seem to be a good fit on the surface for a San Diego team that has gone with two first-time managers (Andy Green and Tingler, respectively) over the past few seasons. Washington managed the Rangers — where his time in the organization overlapped with that of Padres’ president of baseball operations A.J. Preller — from 2007-14. He’s spent the past few seasons coaching with the A’s and Braves, currently serving as Atlanta’s third base coach.
  • In addition to Washington, there’s been some speculation about the possibility of Bruce Bochy returning to manage the Padres, as he did from 1995-2006. Speaking with Chris Russo of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM last week, Bochy said he hadn’t yet been contacted by either of the clubs (San Diego and the Mets) with managerial vacancies. The 66-year-old sounded amenable to considering a return, though, telling Russo he’d “never rule anything out” if contacted. Bochy stopped short of lobbying for an opportunity, telling Russo that pursuing a managerial job is “not something (he’s) thinking about right now,” although he admitted he hasn’t lost his competitive desire over the past couple years. Bochy managed the Giants from 2007-19, leading the club to four postseason appearances and three World Series titles. He stepped away from the manager’s office after the 2019 season, assuming an advisory role in the San Francisco front office, but he’s never formally closed the book on a potential return to the dugout.
  • There’s still some uncertainty about the Yankees’ managerial position, as Aaron Boone’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season. Lindsey Adler of the Athletic examines the situation, reporting that the bulk of Boone’s coaching staff (excluding pitching coach Matt Blake and catching coach Tanner Swanson) are also on expiring deals. Boone has had plenty of success over the past few years, leading the team to a 328-218 record and postseason appearances in all four of his seasons at the helm. But the Yankees have had star-studded rosters throughout his tenure and only gotten past the Division Series once in the past four years (losing to the Astros in the 2019 ALCS). Without a World Series or pennant win under his belt, Boone has faced his share of criticism, and there’ll surely be speculation amongst the Yankee fan base about his future until the club announces a formal decision on his status for 2022 and beyond.

Phillies To Hire Kevin Long As Hitting Coach

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The Phillies are set to hire Kevin Long as their new hitting coach, Britt Ghiroli and Matt Gelb of The Athletic report (via Twitter). Long, who has been the Nationals’ hitting coach for the past four seasons, will be reunited with manager Joe Girardi and bench coach Rob Thomson in Philadelphia. The trio worked together in New York, where Long served as the hitting coach for much of Girardi’s managerial tenure. Long was on a one-year contract with the Nats for the 2021 season, and while he was reportedly open to a return to D.C., he also had the freedom to gauge interest elsewhere.

With the Phillies, Long will replace the recently dismissed Joe Dillon — his former assistant hitting coach with the Nats. The Phils hired Dillon as their hitting coach prior to the 2020 season, but his tenure proved relatively short, as the Phils made some changes to Girardi’s staff after another disappointing playoff miss. Phillies hitters ranked sixth in the Majors in walk rate from 2020-21 and are tied for the seventh-lowest team strikeout rate at 22.6 percent in that same span. They ranked 10th in runs scored (1040), 13th in home runs (280) and posted an overall .244/.324/.417 batting line (97 wRC+) during Dillon’s two years as hitting coach.

Moving from Washington to Philadelphia, Long will also reunite with one of his highest-profile pupils, Bryce Harper, whom he coached with the Nationals during Harper’s final season prior to free agency. (His time with the Yankees did not overlap with embattled Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius.) Girardi and Long had a heated exchange earlier this season after Girardi called for then-Nationals ace Max Scherzer to be checked for foreign substances on the mound mid-inning, though doesn’t seem to have formed a lasting rift between the longtime colleagues, based on today’s news.

Long, 54, has a pair of World Series rings: one for his 2009 work with the Yankees and a second for with the 2019 Nationals. He served as Yankees hitting coach from 2007-14 before joining the Mets in the same capacity from 2015-17 and the Nationals from 2018-21.

The Phils also parted ways with infield coach Juan Castro and gave assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero the freedom to explore other opportunities, so Long’s hiring will be the first of at least a couple of coaching changes in the weeks to come.

East Notes: Rasmussen, Girardi, Orioles, Nationals

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The Rays first looked into acquiring Drew Rasmussen from the Brewers last offseason, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes, well before Tampa finally landed the right-hander as part of the Willy Adames trade in May.  However, Tampa Bay’s interest in Rasmussen really dates back to when the Rays selected him with the 31st pick of the 2017 draft, though a signing never took place because a post-draft physical revealed elbow damage, and led to the second Tommy John surgery of Rasmussen’s young career.

The lack of a deal was a disappointment for both Rasmussen and for veteran Rays scout Paul Kirsch, who brought Rasmussen to the team’s attention after evaluating his high school outings.  Kirsch did finally get to see Rasmussen pitch for the Rays in Seattle this past summer, which by that point counted as a rare trip to the ballpark for Kirsch after a three-year battle with ALS.  Kirsch passed away in September, and Rosenthal’s piece serves as a moving tribute to Kirsch, a beloved figure in the Rays organization and around the scouting community.

More from around both the AL and NL East…

  • The Phillies haven’t yet had any talks with manager Joe Girardi about his contract, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski admitted to media (including The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber) earlier this week that he “didn’t even know” about the Phillies’ club option on Girardi for 2023 until asked by a reporter.  2022 is the last guaranteed season of Girardi’s original three-year contract with the club, and Dombrowski didn’t believe the manager would be bothered by the lack of longer-term security, and added that “I think Joe did a good job for us.”  Girardi is 110-112 in his first two seasons in Philadelphia, a lack of success that has largely been attributed to the Phillies’ leaky bullpen and flawed roster construction moreso than any specific failings on the manager’s part.  Former Phils GM Matt Klentak hired Girardi after the 2019 season, before Dombrowski replaced Klentak last winter.
  • Cedric Mullins’ tremendous season cemented him as a building block for the Orioles, and Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun figures Mullins, Austin Hays, and Anthony Santander have become the team’s top outfield combination heading into 2022, with Ryan McKenna likely the top bench option.  The O’s have enough young outfield depth, however, that the position could be an area of surplus for the offseason.  If the Orioles look to trade from this surplus, Santander’s name has surfaced in trade rumors in the past, but his stock has likely fallen after an injury-shortened season.
  • Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has already prioritized some offseason changes in how the Nats scout and develop their players, due to a lack of recent help in the minor league pipeline.  The draft is the most glaring example of this issue, as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman notes that Anthony Rendon (picked sixth overall in 2011) is the last Washington draft pick taken in any round to generate more than 1.0 WAR for the team.  Of course, the Nationals have lost their share of picks for compensation purposes, and they’ve also traded some prospects (Lucas Giolito, first and foremost) who went on to become established big leaguers for other teams.  While these moves culminated in Washington’s 2019 World Series title, the thinned-out farm system has become more glaring in the wake of the Nationals’ 91-131 record since winning that championship.
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