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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.

Phillies Considering Hiring Bobby Dickerson As Infield Coach

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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.

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.

No Extension Talks Yet Between Phillies, Joe Girardi

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  • 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.

Dombrowski: Gregorius Not Guaranteed Phillies’ Starting Shortstop Job In 2022

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The Phillies remained in playoff contention until the final week of the season but ultimately came up short, missing the postseason for the tenth consecutive year. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski conducted his end-of-season press conference this afternoon (video provided by 97.3 FM ESPN) and offered some insight into the front office’s plans for returning to contention next year.

Dombrowski suggested the team was prioritizing lineup help, pointing to their need to complement Bryce Harper in the middle of the order and for more production from the leadoff spot. (Phillies leadoff hitters had a .236/.302/.404 cumulative slash line that ranked third-worst in the league by measure of wRC+). One potential position at which the Phils could look to upgrade is shortstop, where incumbent Didi Gregorius struggled to a .209/.270/.370 line over 408 plate appearances.

When asked whether Gregorius would return as the club’s top shortstop option, Dombrowski was noncommittal. “It very well could be him. But he knows, we’ve had a discussion with him that he needs to be better. And we’re in a position where we also are going to be open-minded to what’s going to take place at shortstop next year. It could be internal, could be him if he comes back. …. Maybe it is him. He’ll come in (next season) in shape, but he’s not guaranteed — and he’s been told — that he’s for sure the shortstop. It doesn’t mean he can’t play other positions for us too, and maybe we’ll have a DH that’ll be a part of our club too.”

Gregorius is guaranteed $14.5MM next season under the terms of last winter’s two-year free agent deal. In addition to his offensive struggles, Gregorius rated as eleven runs below average by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Dombrowski alluded to the 31-year-old’s issues with the glove, a microcosm of a team-wide issue for the Phils throughout the past few seasons.

Bryson Stott, the Phillies first-round pick out of UNLV in 2019, has spent the bulk of his minor league career at shortstop. The 24-year-old hit a solid .301/.368/.481 with ten home runs over 351 plate appearances at Double-A Reading, earning a late-season bump to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Dombrowski said Stott could factor into the shortstop mix next season, but it’s also easy to connect the Phils to the star-studded upcoming free agent class at the position.

Dombrowski suggested the Phillies didn’t feel adding a star player was inherently necessary, pointing to Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola as among the club’s impact players. That’s indeed an enviable core, but this offseason presents a unique opportunity to land a potential marquee shortstop. The Phillies have made big free agent splashes in each of the past three winters — signing Harper, Wheeler and Realmuto in succession. Those players have hefty contracts on the books through at least 2024, but the Philadelphia organization has long been one of the game’s biggest spenders.

In the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, the Phillies already have north of $142MM in both actual payroll and luxury tax commitments on the books for next season. That’s before accounting for arbitration raises for Hoskins and Zach Eflin that’ll likely tack on another $12-15MM. The Phils entered the 2021 campaign with an estimated payroll just north of $191MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, although they did take on some additional salary midseason by acquiring Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy at the trade deadline.

It’s possible the Phils could invest heavily at the top of the shortstop market, although that’d leave them without much more breathing room to address other potential areas of need like center field, third base and the bullpen before approaching this year’s spending level. That’d be less of a concern were owner John Middleton is willing to sign off on further spending, though, and Dombrowski suggested Middleton had expressed openness to exceeding the luxury tax threshold this past trade deadline to accommodate a potential impact addition. Ultimately, the Phils did not surpass the CBT threshold, and next year’s tax threshold remains unknown, subject to the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.

It remains to be seen in which specific direction the Phils will go, but Dombrowski’s long been known as one of the league’s most aggressive executives. There was never any expectation the club would have any interest in taking a step back, but Dombrowski’s presser only served to confirm the Phillies are again looking to address weak points on the roster and build around their high-end core.

Harper: Phillies "Need Homegrown Talent"

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Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins stand out as recent success stories from Philadelphia’s player pipeline, but apart from that duo, the Phillies have struggled to find consistent contributions from within the organizations.  Highly-touted youngsters like Alec Bohm, Scott Kingery, Mickey Moniak, and Adam Haseley have yet to make much of an impact at the big league level, and Gelb notes that the Phils have been lacking a streamlined approach throughout the organization — there appears to be “a disconnect between what was taught below and preached in the majors.”  The Phillies are already making changes in the player development department and are on the lookout for a new hitting coach, though it remains to be seen if the team can figure out this “disconnect” while still addressing their 2022 needs and being competitive next season.

For players eager to win now, they usually want their teams to add veteran players to help put the club over the top.  Bryce Harper may be an exception, as when speaking to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters following the Phillies’ season-ending loss to the Marlins, Harper stressed that “we can’t just keep going out and buying and buying and buying.  We need homegrown talent. When you look at teams that have homegrown talent, those are the teams that have success….We need guys to come up from the minor leagues and have success and be successful.  Not have to go up and down.”

Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins stand out as recent success stories from Philadelphia’s player pipeline, but apart from that duo, the Phillies have struggled to find consistent contributions from within the organizations.  Highly-touted youngsters like Alec Bohm, Scott Kingery, Mickey Moniak, and Adam Haseley have yet to make much of an impact at the big league level, and Gelb notes that the Phils have been lacking a streamlined approach throughout the organization — there appears to be “a disconnect between what was taught below and preached in the majors.”  The Phillies are already making changes in the player development department and are on the lookout for a new hitting coach, though it remains to be seen if the team can figure out this “disconnect” while still addressing their 2022 needs and being competitive next season.

Phillies Fire Coaches Joe Dillon, Juan Castro

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The Phillies fired hitting coach Joe Dillon and infield coach Juan Castro this afternoon.  Assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero wasn’t let go but was given permission to look for other jobs, as the Phils intend to let their next hitting coach hire his own assistant.  The rest of Philadelphia’s coaching staff will return in 2021, according to manager Joe Girardi.

“I think they [Dillon and Castro] worked extremely hard, but we just felt at this time it was time to make some changes,” Girardi told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and other reporters.  “We always talk about, at this level, it’s a production-based business.  It’s difficult.”

Dillon was in his second season as hitting coach, and across the board, the Phillies’ offensive numbers declined.  After hitting a collective .257/.342/.439 (108 wRC+) in 2020, Philadelphia batters took a .240/.318/.408 slash line (93 wRC+) into today’s season finale.  Even with Bryce Harper enjoying an all-world season, the Phillies weren’t much beyond middle-of-the-pack in most major offensive categories.

A lack of consistent hitting was far from the only issue that plagued the Phillies this year, as poor defense may have been an even bigger problem for the team.  This cost Castro his job, though as Lauber noted, it was perhaps asking a bit much of Castro to improve an infield full of subpar defenders.  Castro (a former MLB infielder who spent parts of eight seasons each with the Reds and Dodgers) is also in his second year on Philadelphia’s coaching staff.

Phillies Recall Seranthony Dominguez, Place Connor Brogdon On 10-Day Injured List

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The Phillies have recalled Seranthony Dominguez from Triple-A for the final two games of the season. Connor Brogdon surrenders his roster spot, heading to the 10-day injured list with groin tightness, per the team.

Dominguez makes his return from Tommy John surgery. Still just 26-years-old, Dominguez was going to be a key piece for the Phils bullpen before the injury. He has not appeared in the Majors since 2019. Over his first two seasons, Dominguez flashed potential as a high-leverage arm, making 80 appearances from 2018-19 and logging 82 2/3 innings with a 3.27 ERA/3.20 FIP, 30.2 percent strikeout rate, 10.0 percent walk rate, and very strong 54.8 percent groundball rate.

Brogdon appeared in 56 games this year with a 3.43 ERA/3.77 FIP over 57 2/3 innings. Brogdon picked up 10 holds and a save while accruing 1.0 rWAR/0.7 fWAR as one of the more consistent arms in a much-maligned Philly bullpen.

Brogdon and Dominguez have yet to overlap in the Phillies’ bullpen, but they should both play a role next season. The Phillies maintain team control over Dominguez for the next three seasons and Brogdon for the next five.

Phillies Hire Preston Mattingly As Director Of Player Development

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  • While the Padres added one executive, they saw another depart. San Diego coordinator of advance scouting Preston Mattingly was hired as Phillies director of player development. (Dennis Lin of the Athletic first reported the news). Mattingly, the son of Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly and a former first-round draft choice, had spent the past five seasons with the Friars. The Padres have already seen quite a bit of turnover in the front office on the heels of their second half collapse.

Phillies Recall Alec Bohm, Release Matt Joyce

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The Phillies announced a few transactions before the start of their must-win series with the Braves. Third baseman Alec Bohm has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while reliever Connor Brogdon is back from the 10-day injured list. Reliever Ramón Rosso and utilityman Luke Williams were optioned out to clear active roster space. Additionally, veteran outfielder Matt Joyce, who had been designated for assignment over the weekend, has been released.

Bohm is back with the big league club after being optioned a little more than a month ago. That came amidst a very disappointing sophomore season, in which last year’s NL Rookie of the Year runner-up slumped to a .245/.302/.342 line with subpar defensive ratings. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference have pegged Bohm as below replacement-level this season, a surprising drop after the 25-year-old hit .338/.400/.481 through his 180 plate appearances last year.

Since being demoted, Bohm has bounced back a bit at the plate. Over 68 trips to the dish with the IronPigs, he’s improved to a .271/.353/.407 mark. He’s only popped one home run in fifteen Triple-A contests, though, and Bohm has continued to struggle to elevate the ball. After posting one of the league’s highest ground-ball rates in the majors (52.8%), the right-handed hitter has hit 25 of his 45 balls in play (55.6%) on the ground in Triple-A. He’ll assume a pinch-hitting/bench role as the Phils look to erase their two and a half game deficit behind Atlanta over their final six games, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer).

Brogdon returns after missing two weeks due to a right groin strain. It’s a bit surprising he’s made it back so quickly, as reports immediately after he suffered the injury suggested he was likely to miss the rest of the season. The 26-year-old has been a reliable middle relief option, tossing 55 innings of 3.60 ERA ball.

Joyce broke camp with the Phils to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench. Injuries cost him a good chunk of the season, though, and he didn’t produce over 69 plate appearances. He was a league average hitter as recently as last season with the Marlins and has a long history of drawing plenty of walks and hitting for a fair amount of power. Assuming the 37-year-old wants to continue playing, he shouldn’t have trouble landing a minor league deal somewhere with another invitation to Spring Training this winter.

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