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Phillies Notes: Realmuto, Dominguez

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J.T. Realmuto was removed during the sixth inning of Sunday’s 13-6 Phillies win over the Marlins after feeling tightness in his left hamstring, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.  The issue arose while Realmuto was running the bases during a seven-run inning for the Phils, and the blowout nature of the game may have also contributed to the early exit, since Realmuto said the injury wasn’t serious.  The All-Star catcher described the problem as “just a little standard tightness thing,” and manager Gabe Kapler felt Realmuto would likely be fine for the Phillies’ next game on Tuesday.  Realmuto has yet to really catch fire since coming to the Phillies from Miami in a blockbuster trade, as his 95 wRC+ (off a .265/.319/.431 slash line in 310 PA) represents his lowest numbers since 2015.  Still, Realmuto’s .353 xwOBA far outpaces his actual .320 wOBA, so his production is likely to improve as long as he keeps up the quality contact.

  • Also from Breen, Seranthony Dominguez will receive a re-evalution of his damaged right UCL on Wednesday.  This is the latest step in Dominguez’s quest to avoid Tommy John surgery, as the Phillies right-hander instead opted for a platelet-rich plasma treatment.  If everything checks out on Wednesday, Dominguez could begin throwing at the beginning of next week.

Phillies Outright Fernando Salas To Triple-A

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  • The Phillies announced that righty Fernando Salas cleared waivers, and has been outrighted to Triple-A.  Salas signed a minors deal with the club earlier this month and was called to the big league roster for one game (with one inning pitched) before being designated for assignment on Friday.  This brief cameo marked Salas’ appearance in a tenth MLB season, following much longer stints with the Cardinals, Angels, and Mets throughout the decade.  The 34-year-old had a 4.50 ERA over 40 innings with the D’Backs in 2018, and after a brief stay in the Braves’ minor league system last year, didn’t land with a new team until his contract with Philadelphia.

David Robertson Aiming To Return By Late July

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Injured Phillies reliever David Robertson is finally progressing toward a return, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Robertson, out since mid-April with a right flexor strain, threw a successful bullpen session Sunday. Although Robertson’s velocity isn’t where it needs to be yet, he expects to return to the majors by the end of July.

Robertson will end up missing at least three months, which is a shocking turn of events considering the durability he has shown in the majors. The former Yankee and White Sox entered 2019 off nine straight seasons of 60-plus innings. He has also been eminently effective when on the mound. The 34-year-old came into the season with a 2.88 ERA/2.81 FIP and 11.97 K/9 against 3.56 BB/9 across 657 major league innings, during which he handled closer and setup roles with aplomb.

Robertson’s track record as one of baseball’s best relievers in recent memory earned him a two-year, $23MM contract with the Phillies over the winter. Thanks largely to his injury, the signing has been a disaster for the club thus far. Plus, before Robertson went down, he allowed four earned runs on eight hits and six walks (with six strikeouts) in 6 2/3 frames.

The Phillies, who are in a dogfight for a playoff spot, will need vintage Robertson to reappear once he’s healthy enough to return. That’s especially true given the general struggles of their bullpen, which is one of five in the game with an fWAR in the minuses this season. Even with Robertson working back, the unit figures to be an area of focus for the Phillies’ front office approaching the July 31 trade deadline.

Phillies Designate Fernando Salas For Assignment

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The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Fernando Salas for assignment and reinstated right-hander Tommy Hunter from the 60-day IL. Philadelphia also reinstated center fielder Adam Haseley from the 10-day IL and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Salas, 34, pitched just one inning for the Phils, recording a strikeout but also surrendering a solo home run. Salas opened the season in the Mexican League and pitched quite well, prompting the Phillies to ink him on a minor league contract earlier this month. In 6 2/3 frames with the Phils’ top affiliate, he allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

A veteran of nine prior big league seasons, Salas has a career 3.91 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9 and a 37 percent ground-ball rate in 488 innings. The Phils will have a week to trade Salas, release him or pass him through outright waivers, although Salas has the service time to reject an outright assignment even if he does clear waivers.

Hunter, 33 next week, signed a two-year, $18MM contract with the Phils prior to the 2018 season. He turned in 64 innings with a 3.80 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9 and a 52 percent ground-ball rate in the first season of that pact. He’s yet to pitch at the MLB level in 2019 thanks to a forearm strain that has kept him on the IL all season until today’s activation.

Phillies To Sign First-Rounder Bryson Stott

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JUNE 27: The two sides have an agreement, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Stott will sign a below-slot deal worth $3.9MM, according to Callis.

JUNE 24: The Phillies expect to sign first-rounder Bryson Stott this week, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. As the 14th overall pick, Stott’s slot comes with a recommended value of $4,036,800.

Stott’s a 21-year-old shortstop from UNLV whom draft pundits ranked even higher than where the Phillies selected him. Entering the draft, MLB.com put Stott at No. 9, while Baseball America (No. 10), FanGraphs (No. 11) and ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 13) viewed him similarly.

In their free scouting report of Stott, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com liken him to Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and credit his “solid all-around tools.” They add the lefty-swinging Stott’s “never overmatched” as a hitter, which could make him a plus offensive player in the majors, though there is some question as to whether he’ll stick at shortstop in the bigs.

Stott was by far the Phillies’ highest pick in this year’s draft, as they forfeited their second-rounder when they signed Bryce Harper in free agency last winter. The club didn’t pick again until the 91st selection, with which it chose high school shortstop Jamari Baylor. He’s already signed.

Matt Klentak Discusses Odubel Herrera

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The Phillies haven’t had center fielder Odubel Herrera since May 28, when Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave after an arrest on a simple assault charge relating to a domestic violence incident. MLB has since extended Herrera’s leave twice, and while it’s unclear whether he’ll return this season, the Phillies are operating as if they won’t be able to count on him, general manager Matt Klentak said Monday (via Matt Gelb of The Athletic).

“I can tell you from a roster building perspective,” Klentak said, “we need to assume that we’re not going to have Odúbel anytime soon.”

In addition to dealing with potentially abhorrent off-field behavior from Herrera, the Phillies haven’t benefited from his on-field presence of late. Herrera was a valuable producer from 2015-17, a span in which he accounted for 9.4 fWAR and landed a $30.5MM contract extension from the Phillies. He could still earn another $24MM on the deal, including a combined $3.5MM in buyouts from 2022-23, which is hardly a crippling amount for the club. Still, the Phillies haven’t gotten what they’ve wanted on the diamond from Herrera, who has essentially been a replacement-level player since 2018. The 27-year-old came out of the gates this season with a paltry line of .222/.288/.341 (66 wRC+) and one home run in 139 plate appearances before going on the restricted list.

Shortly after Herrera went away, the Phillies saw Andrew McCutchen suffer a season-ending torn left ACL in early June. They then promoted outfield prospect Adam Haseley, who quickly went to the IL because of a groin issue. With those three not in the mix at the moment, Philly has deployed Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn – almost exclusively the former – in center over the past two-plus weeks.

The 25-year-old Kingery’s enjoying a fantastic season, meaning the Herrera-less Phillies shouldn’t necessarily have to upgrade center in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. However, because Kingery’s also still seeing time at third base, where Maikel Franco has fallen out of favor, it’ll give the playoff-contending Phillies room to seek help at either position in the next month-plus.

Gabe Kapler Gets Vote Of Confidence

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It hasn’t been a banner year for the Phillies, who’ve fallen short of expectations after an action-packed winter, but they’re not going to assign blame to manager Gabe Kapler. He’s not in danger of losing his job this season, general manager Matt Klentak told Matt Breen of the Philadelpia Inquirer and other reporters Monday.

A longtime major league outfielder, the 43-year-old Kapler’s in his second season atop the Phillies’ dugout. They brought in the analytically minded Kapler after a three-year run as the Dodgers’ director of player development. Kapler got off to a rocky start at the outset of his tenure as a big league manager in 2018, though his club rallied in the summer to hold a first-place spot in the National League East from July 6 through Aug. 12. The Phillies sat at 65-52 with a month and a half left in the season, but they collapsed from there to finish 80-82.

While last year didn’t end to the Phillies’ liking, there was no way they were going to move on from Kapler, who was in charge for the team’s best record since 2012. Instead, Klentak & Co. focused during the offseason on giving Kapler more pieces. The Phillies aggressively acquired the likes of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson in free agency and trades. Aside from McCutchen, who suffered a season-ending torn left ACL three weeks ago, no one in that group has been as effective as they were a year ago.

Thanks in part to somewhat underwhelming production from their high-profile newcomers, not to mention shaky pitching, the Phillies are just 39-38. While the Phillies are 6 1/2 games back of the reigning NL East-winning Braves, they’re a mere one out of a wild-card spot. That gives the Kapler-led team a realistic chance to rally for a playoff spot even though it has lost six straight – including sweeps at the hands of sub-.500 division rivals Washington and Miami – and 16 of 22 overall.

Phillies Select Fernando Salas

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The Phillies announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran reliever Fernando Salas. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen was moved to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster, while fellow righty Enyel De Los Santos was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to clear a spot on the active roster.

Salas, 34, opened the season pitching in the Mexican League but signed a minor league contract with the Phillies a couple of weeks ago. Salas notched a terrific 30-to-4 K/BB ratio while pitching in Mexico and has been sharp for the Phils’ Triple-A club since signing. In 6 2/3 frames with Lehigh Valley, he’s allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Last season, Salas spent the bulk of the year with the Diamondbacks, logging a 4.50 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 40 innings of relief. He’s a veteran of nine big league seasons and has thrown at least 30 2/3 frames at the MLB level every year dating back to his 2010 debut with the Cardinals. In 487 innings as a Major Leaguer, Salas owns a 3.90 ERA with averages of 8.7 strikeouts, 2.8 walks and 1.03 homers allowed per nine innings pitched. He’s tallied 30 saves in his career to along with 76 holds.

The Phillies have the equivalent of a full MLB bullpen on the injured list, but the team announced some encouraging news with regard to its bevy of injured relievers today. Per Scott Lauber of Philly.com (Twitter link), right-hander Tommy Hunter will throw 20-25 pitches in a rehab appearance at Double-A tomorrow, while David Robertson is playing catch today and could throw a bullpen session Wednesday.

Phillies Option Edubray Ramos, Recall Enyel De Los Santos

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The Phillies announced that they’ve optioned right-handed reliever Edubray Ramos to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled righty Enyel De Los Santos. The latter will start for the Phillies on Sunday.

Ramos’ demotion continues a dud of a season for a hurler who was one of the Phillies’ top relievers in 2018. After posting a 2.32 ERA/3.54 FIP with 8.86 K/9 and 3.16 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings last season, the 26-year-old has lost 2 mph on his fastball and his numbers have declined with it. He ran a 4.15 ERA/4.94 FIP with 6.23 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a subpar 28.6 percent groundball rate over 13 frames before the Phillies optioned him. Ramos also missed time earlier this season with biceps tendinitis, which may partially explain his 2019 drop-off.

Thanks to Ramos’ woes, not to mention a spate of injuries to other key relievers, Philly’s bullpen has fallen flat this season. The unit’s 4.73 ERA/5.01 FIP has helped lead to a disappointing start for the club after a headline-stealing winter. Losers of six straight, the Phillies are 39-37, though they’re still just a game out of a wild-card spot.

De Los Santos will try to right the ship for the pitching-needy team Sunday in his first-ever major league start. Acquired from the Padres for shortstop Freddy Galvis in December 2017, De Los Santos is MLB.com’s sixth-ranked Phillies prospect. There’s some question as to whether the 23-year-old will stick as a starter, though he has worked in that role in the minors.

So far this season, De Los Santos has totaled eight starts and 35 2/3 innings of 3.28 ERA pitching (with an ugly 5.24 FIP) with 11.1 K/9 and 3.28 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He debuted with the Phillies earlier this season and tossed seven innings out of their bullpen over four appearances.

Latest On David Robertson, Tommy Hunter

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  • Phillies relievers David Robertson and Tommy Hunter are progressing toward returns, according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. While Robertson hasn’t yet embarked on a rehab assignment, the hope is that he’ll rejoin the Phillies’ bullpen before the All-Star break. Robertson has been out since mid-April with a flexor strain in his right elbow. Meanwhile, Hunter’s in the early stages of a rehab stint. Hunter’s also working back from a right flexor strain, which has kept him out all season. The Phillies have guaranteed $41MM to Robertson and Hunter over the past two offseasons, but they’ve gotten just 6/2 3 innings from them this year (all from the former).
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