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Phillies Place Roman Quinn On IL

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The Phillies have placed outfielder Roman Quinn on the COVID-19 injured list and have recalled Kyle Garlick, according to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Quinn, however, has not tested positive for the coronavirus. Rather, the outfielder cited minor symptoms this morning and will sit out as a precautionary measure. As such, there’s no minimum time that Quinn must spend on the injured list; he may be activated as soon as he is cleared to play.

With Quinn landing on the injured list, the Phillies are left without a true center fielder on the active roster. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the position in the coming days; Garlick has no experience in center, though Bryce Harper does. Even so, it seems more likely that Scott Kingery will serve as Quinn’s replacement.

Either way, we’re hopeful that it’s a brief absence for Quinn and that he’s avoided contracting COVID-19. If that’s the case and he tests negative, it shouldn’t be long before he’s back in the lineup for Philly. With Adam Haseley on the injured list, Quinn has been a capable starter for the Phillies, batting .278/.297/.500 in 37 plate appearances this year.

Even though they haven’t had any cases during the regular season, they’ve had to work around several postponements due to their proximity to the Marlins at the outset of the outbreak within the Miami organization. Having played their 17th game this afternoon, they’re still slightly behind most MLB teams, but are largely caught up by now.

Reds Claim Nick Williams

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The Reds have claimed outfielder Nick Williams off waivers from the Phillies, as first reported by Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports and confirmed by Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Williams will join his new club at the Reds’ alternate training location.

Williams, who played in 140 games for the Phillies just two years ago, has quickly been pushed out of favor in Philadelphia, thanks in part to the additions of Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen. Last year, he made just 112 plate appearances for the Phillies and largely failed to deliver, compiling a disappointing .151/.196/.245 batting line.

Nonetheless, Williams managed solid production in his first two big-league seasons: Between 2018 and 2019 (which he played at ages 23 and 24), he hit 29 home runs in 720 at-bats, posting a .269/.330/.446 slash line. He’s not far removed from that encouraging start to his career, and could certainly benefit from an expanded role with a new team.

Unfortunately, though, there’s no guarantee that such an opportunity will come in Cincinnati. As mentioned, he’ll begin his Reds career at the alternate training site and serve in a depth role, but with several existing corner outfield options, playing time might be scarce for Williams. Between Nicholas Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino, and others, it’s already a crowded mix, so we’ll have to wait and see just how Williams fits into the picture in his new environment.

Outrighted: Phillies, Angels

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Let’s check in on a few of the latest outrights…

  • Phillies hurlers Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Kelley cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. The Phillies designated both right-handers for assignment in recent days. De Los Santos joined the Phillies in a one-for-one swap with the Padres for infielder Freddy Galvis before 2018. While De Los Santos then had a strong first season in the Phillies’ system, his stock fell last year in a rough showing divided between Triple-A and the majors. Kelley, whom the Phillies claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last winter, allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings this year before Philly designated him.
  • The Angels outrighted Jose Rodriguez to their alternate site after he cleared waivers. Rodriguez has thrown 21 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball as an Angel since 2019, but he has allowed five home runs, struck out just 13 hitters while walking 12, and logged a 6.72 FIP/6.27 xFIP.

Phillies Designate Edgar Garcia, Place Adam Haseley On Injured List

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The Phillies announced Thursday that right-hander Edgar Garcia has been designated for assignment, while center fielder Adam Haseley has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist sprain. The moves pave the way for the promotion of top prospect Alec Bohm, whose first call to the big leagues was reported earlier in the day. He’s batting sixth for the Phils tonight and playing third base.

The loss of Haseley for at least the immediate future likely means Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn will share time in center field. Bohm, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, should get a legitimate audition at the hot corner, which will mean Jean Segura seeing extra time at second base. Haseley had been out to a hot start in 10 games, slashing .333/.364/.429 in 22 trips to the plate. Since debuting in 2019, the 2017 first-rounder has posted a .272/.327/.399 slash while playing quality defense in the outfield. Kingery’s versatility helps to cushion the loss, but the Phils will obviously be hoping for an abbreviated absence for the promising 24-year-old.

Garcia, meanwhile, hasn’t pitched in the Majors this year. The 22-year-old made his big league debut with last year’s Phillies, compiling 39 innings but pitching to an ugly 5.77 earned run average. Walks were a huge flaw for Garcia, who whiffed 45 hitters in that time but also yielded 26 free passes (in addition to four wild pitches). He does have strong numbers in the upper minors and a minor league option remaining beyond 2020, so it’s possible another club could take a look at Garcia either in a small trade or as a waiver claim.

Phillies To Promote Alec Bohm

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The Phillies have decided to promote top prospect Alec Bohm, per Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic (via Twitter). Bohm was already in the team’s 60-man player pool but will require a 40-man roster spot. He follows fellow blue-chipper Spencer Howard in getting his first shot at the bigs.

Bohm, 24, was the third overall pick of the 2018 draft. To this point he has made good on that lofty selection status. Bohm slugged his way up to Double-A last year, where he slashed .269/.344/.500 with 14 long balls and a 38:28 K/BB ratio over 270 plate appearances.

There wasn’t much doubt as to Bohm’s readiness for the majors heading into 2020. He finished up his ’19 effort with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League and came into camp hoping to force his way into the immediate MLB plans.

While it was never likely the Phils would start Bohm’s service clock on Opening Day, he was obviously a part of the club’s plans for the present campaign. With the team lagging in the standings out of the gates, and little time to dally, it’s time to see if he can make the final step in his development and turn into a productive major leaguer.

Just how the Phils will line up with Bohm on the roster remains to be seen. He may not play everyday out of the chutes; unlike a typical season, he won’t be missing development opportunities in a minor-league campaign. But with Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery scuffling at the plate, and a fair bit of positional flexibility available to work with, the team could give Bohm room to run as a regular at the hot corner and let others battle for the lesser remaining chances.

Phillies Designate Nick Williams, Trevor Kelley For Assignment; Nick Pivetta Optioned

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The Phillies announced a series of roster moves Tuesday, selecting the contracts of right-handers Connor Brogdon and Blake Parker. In corresponding 40-man moves, Philadelphia designated outfielder/former top prospect Nick Williams and right-hander Trevor Kelley for assignment. Right-hander Nick Pivetta was also optioned to Philadelphia’s alternate training site.

Williams, 26, was considered one of the game’s 100 best prospects for several years but has yet to put things together in the Majors. The 2012 second-rounder went from Texas to Philadelphia as one of the centerpieces in the Cole Hamels blockbuster, but the club never seemed completely sold on his abilities. Williams fared reasonably well at the plate in 2017-18, hitting a combined .269/.330/.446 (105 wRC+ and OPS+), but defensive shortcomings overshadowed that respectable output at the plate.

Once the Phillies signed both Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen in the same offseason, the writing has appeared to be on the wall for Williams. He stuck with the club through the 2019 season by virtue of the fact that he had a pair of minor league options remaining, but playing time was sparse — even after Odubel Herrera was suspended and McCutchen tore his ACL. Williams in just 67 games and took only 112 plate appearances, batting a woeful .151/.196/.245 in that extremely limited role. A club looking for a low-cost outfield flier could do worse than speculating on Williams, but it’s also perhaps telling that he’s been a largely superfluous piece in Philadelphia for more than a year and has yet to be traded.

Kelley, 26, appeared in four games with the Phils this season but was tagged for four runs on eight hits and a walk in 3 1/3 frames. He’s appeared in the Majors in each of the past two seasons — with the Red Sox in 2019 — but struggled in a small sample of games. The former 36th-round pick has a sharp minor league track record in terms of ERA, but he’s never missed a huge number of bats or demonstrated particularly strong control. The Phils plucked him off waivers when the Red Sox designated him back in December.

Turning to Pivetta, the 27-year-old is in his final option year and could well be running out of chances with the Phils. He’s long been praised for his raw abilities, but Pivetta has yet to demonstrate that he can efficiently command what appears to be a solid arsenal of pitches. He’s been prone not only to walks, hit batsmen and wild pitches but also to the long ball.

At his best, Pivetta sits nearly 95 mph with his fastball, drops a curve with elite spin, generates swinging strikes at a strong 12 percent clip and averages nearly 11 punchouts per nine frames. However, those appealing traits are still accompanied by inconsistency and results that fall shy of what one might otherwise expect from a pitcher with his stuff. Philadelphia has tried him both as a starter and reliever, and he’s offered glimpses of his potential at numerous points without settling in as a consistent contributor.

As for today’s two new additions, Parker is a well-known reliever who spent half the 2019 season with the Phils. The former Angels and Twins closer has a mid-90s heater and a big splitter that can function as an out pitch when he’s at his best. Consistency has been an issue for him as well, but the 35-year-old has a career 3.56 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 285 2/3 frames.

The 25-year-old Brogdon will make his MLB debut the first time he takes the hill. The Phillies’ 10th-round pick back in 2017, Brogdon skyrocketed across three levels last year, ultimately putting together a combined 2.61 ERA with 106-to-24 K/BB ratio (12.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9) in 76 innings of relief.

Phillies Promote Spencer Howard

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August 9: Howard has officially been promoted to the Phils’ active roster. His addition comes with a couple of corresponding roster moves, as reported by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com: RHP Enyel De Los Santos was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Cole Irvin was optioned off the active roster to the team’s alternate training location.

August 8: Phillies pitching prospect Spencer Howard is set to make his Major League debut on Sunday.  According to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Howard has been told that he will be starting one of tomorrow’s games in the Phils’ doubleheader with the Braves.  Another transaction will need to be made in order to open room for the right-hander on the 40-man roster.

Howard, a second-round pick in the 2017 draft, has looked impressive in his brief pro career, posting a 3.28 ERA, 3.80 K/BB rate, and 12.0 K/9 over 211 1/3 minor league innings.  None of those innings have come at Triple-A, and Howard only tossed 30 2/3 frames at Double-A last season, due in part to some shoulder problems that limited his overall workload to 71 total innings in 2019.

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Nevertheless, there was speculation dating back to Spring Training that Howard would eventually suit up for the Phillies in 2020, even if the club was looking to manage his innings so as to not over-extend his arm.  As per Lauber back in March, the shortened nature of the 2020 season will help Howard in this regard, as he could now end up pitching quite a significant portion of the schedule for a team in need of pitching depth.  Due to the week of postponed games in the wake of their exposure to the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak, the Phillies have only played seven games, and Sunday is the first of six doubleheaders remaining on Philadelphia’s schedule.

While Howard’s lack of Triple-A experience provides a reasonable case for the Phillies in holding off on his big league promotion, it should also be noted that waiting until a couple of weeks into the season ensures the Phils an extra year of control over Howard before he gains enough service time for free agency.

Howard is a consensus choice as one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, with Keith Law, Fangraphs, Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus all ranking him between 22nd (from Law) and 36th (BP) on their preseason lists of the sport’s best minor leaguers.  A fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90’s and has gone as high as 99mph is Howard’s signature pitch, and he also has what Fangraphs describes as “three nasty secondary pitches” in a curveball, changeup, and slider, though all of these offerings are less consistent.  Howard’s control is also solid, as Baseball America’s notes that his “delivery is simple and repeatable.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Big-Budget Long-Term Payrolls

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Looking at long-range payroll commitments, there’s a fairly sizable gap between the top-five spenders and the number six club (the Padres, at a total of $396MM). Here’s that top-five:

Rank Team Total
1 Angels $651.00
2 Yankees $612.00
3 Dodgers $533.36
4 Nationals $488.68
5 Phillies $488.50

That list isn’t remotely surprising. Some other deep-pocketed teams have pared back or simply not yet agreed to blockbuster extensions with existing stars. The handful of teams listed above have each recently agreed to monster contracts with one or more superstars.

Looking at a team’s future outlook involves quite a bit more than its contractual commitments. We’d want to consider controllable young talent, the prospect pool, and a wide variety of business factors in assessing which organization is best-situated for the long haul.

Here, though, we’ll just focus on the deals that are already locked in. First, I’ll re-list each of those five teams’ eexisting commitments. Then, you will vote for the one that you’d most prefer to have were you operating a large-budget franchise. (Click on the links to expand the image.)

The Angels feature two mid-prime superstars, including the greatest player of this generation.

The Yankees have an ace, a former MVP who could still return to his former glory, and a group of quality players.

The Dodgers had only limited future commitments until they struck a bold deal to keep one of the game’s best players.

The Nationals are all-in on high-grade rotation pieces.

The Phillies spent big to pluck high-end talent from division rivals.

Which is the best slate of contract commitments? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

Phillies To Resume Season Tonight

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The Phillies announced this morning that their latest wave of testing again revealed no new positive Covid-19 tests. The team is traveling to New York to play the Yankees in the Bronx tonight, per the announcement. Jake Arrieta is lined up to face Gerrit Cole in tonight’s series opener, and Aaron Nola is starting tomorrow night’s game, per the team.

It’ll be the first game for the Phillies since last Sunday’s game against the Marlins. The Miami organization housed Major League Baseball’s first team outbreak, prompting the Phillies’ season to be paused as the league conducted additional testing and contact tracing. The Phillies did wind up with positive tests among the team’s coaching and clubhouse staff, which might have served to further delay their return to the field, but their players have consistently tested negative. They’ll get back to game action tonight in New York but are well behind schedule, with just three games in the books to date.

In a season that would’ve only included six scheduled off-days, the loss of a full week right out of the gate is particularly tough for the Phillies. They’ll seek to make up for lost time with doubleheaders and some added games on what would’ve otherwise been days off. As it stands, they’re set for a four-game, home-and-home series against the Yankees this week before hosting the Braves at Citizens Bank Park next weekend.

Marlins To Resume Season On Tuesday; Updates on Cardinals, Phillies

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9:42AM: Yesterday’s testing of Phillies personnel revealed no new positive cases, according to a team press release.

TODAY, 9:04AM: For the second straight day, the group of Marlins players currently in Philadelphia haven’t had any positive COVID-19 test results, the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson reports (Twitter link).  The team is planning to head to Baltimore today in advance of Tuesday’s series opener.

AUGUST 1: Major League Baseball released a statement this afternoon providing updates on a number of clubs, including the Marlins, who have been out of action for the last week after a COVID-19 outbreak within the organization. As of now, Miami is set to resume its season on Tuesday with a four-game series against the Orioles in Baltimore, which will take place over three days and include a doubleheader. The Marlins will be the designated “home” team for two of those games.

MLB’s announcements, which also include the latest on the Cardinals and Phillies, can be found in their entirety here, courtesy of MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

For a second consecutive day, the scheduled Brewers-Cardinals matchup has been postponed. The decision comes after this morning yielded news that the Cardinals have several more positive tests on their hands. As of now, there’s no word on when the Cardinals can be expected to take the field again.

Meanwhile, the Phillies and Yankees will begin a four-game home-and-home series on Monday. The Phils were also sidelined this week after potential exposure to the coronavirus during last weekend’s series against the Marlins. However, it appears that Philadelphia has avoided the worst-case scenario, with MLB revealing that two of the three positive tests in the Phillies organization appear to have been false positives. No players have tested positive for COVID-19 since the team’s last contact with the Marlins on Sunday.

The proliferation of the virus within the Marlins organization has posed an early threat to MLB’s plans to conduct a baseball season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and the developing outbreak within the Cardinals could be similarly crucial to the outlook for the remaining two months of play.

These intra-team infections mean that the MLB schedule is fluid and evolving, with postponements forcing on-the-fly adjustments to the schedule. This can have a ripple effect throughout the league, as several other teams in MLB’s East division have been forced into schedule alterations despite maintaining comparatively good health. Health concerns notwithstanding, teams like the Phillies and Marlins might be faced with especially demanding schedules as they attempt to squeeze more games into a shorter time period for the remainder of the season.

Additionally, extended “break” periods like those endured by the Phillies and Marlins over the last week could interrupt players’ mojo during an already irregular season; whereas daily games allow players to establish a rhythm, a “stop-and-start” schedule means that players will be expected to jump right back into competitive games after several days off, perhaps akin to a team awaiting an opponent after handily winning a playoff series. We’ll have to see whether that produces any noticeable effects, and even then it will be an imprecise science, but it’s one of many difficult circumstances unique to the 2020 season.

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