- Phillies righty Nick Pivetta has somewhat quietly been one of the team’s biggest surprises of the year thus far, as Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia observes. The right-hander spoke after his most recent quality outing about how last year’s struggles — a 6.02 ERA in 133 innings — have helped prepare him for better success in 2018. “I worked hard with [pitching coach Rick Kranitz] and everybody not trying to be so perfect in the strike zone,” said Pivetta. “I think that really has carried over this year and it’s been good so far.” Manager Gabe Kapler praised Pivetta for improving his concentration level since the beginning of Spring Training, his willingness to attack up in the zone with his fastball and his ability to throw his curveball for a strike when needed.
Phillies Rumors
Maikel Franco Switches Agencies
Phillies third basman Maikel Franco has switched agencies and is now a client of Octagon Sports, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (Twitter link).
Although he’s still just 25 years old, this may be a make-or-break season in Philadelphia for Franco, who has batted an underwhelming .248/.301/.428 (91 wRC+) through 1,663 plate appearances since debuting in 2014. Franco was outstanding as a rookie in 2015, when he hit .280/.343/.497 (129 wRC+) across 335 PAs and looked like a long-term core piece for Philly. He struggled during the two ensuing seasons, however, and is now fighting to stay relevant for a Phillies team that may have a replacement on hand in 23-year-old infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery, whom they signed to a long-term contract last month. Kingery landed his deal before ever logging a major league at-bat, demonstrating the confidence the Phillies have in him.
Franco, to his credit, has responded to the pressure in 2018, albeit over just 18 PAs. He has thus far slashed .313/.318/.813 (213 wRC+), including a grand slam on Saturday. Regardless of whether he stays with the Phillies, he’s controllable via arbitration through the 2021 campaign. Franco’s on a $2.95MM salary this season.
Phillies Notes: Neshek, Hunter, Kapler
The Phillies received good news after righty Pat Neshek underwent an MRI, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. There’s some inflammation, as might have been expected given that he had identified an issue, but nothing more concerning than that. The expectation at this point, though, is that Neshek will remain on ice for “a couple more weeks” to allow things to calm down. Philadelphia has yet to receive a contribution from Neshek or fellow recent signee Tommy Hunter, though as Zolecki recently tweeted, it seems Hunter is nearing his return and perhaps Neshek won’t be far behind.
- New Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler was again forced to defend his early-season decision-making, as Zolecki also writes. This time, the questions arose in relation to defensive positioning, yet another area in which the Philadelphia club is experimenting with unconventional methods. Interested readers will want to review the full post for the details. Generally, though, Kapler again emphasized that he believes the process will pay dividends in the long run, even if the short-term results have raised the ire of many Phillies fans.
Phillies Receive Formal Warning From MLB Over Bullpen Mistake
The Phillies will receive a formal warning letter from Major League Baseball in the wake of an unusual situation from Saturday’s game, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The league ruled that home plate umpire Jerry Layne was right to allow Phils reliever Hoby Milner some extra warm-up pitches after Milner was brought into the game seemingly without warning by manager Gabe Kapler, as Milner wasn’t even up in the bullpen. The Braves objected to Milner being allowed any warm-up pitches after being called into the game, yet Layne felt the extra time was necessary for the sake of Milner’s health. Kapler’s usage of his bullpen has already become a controversial subject in Philadelphia, as the Phillies used 21 pitchers over their first three games of the season. “Any time we have a miscommunication it’s my responsibility so I take full responsibility for it,” Kapler told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salibury and other media after the game.
Phillies Notes: Arrieta, Neshek
Phillies right-hander Jake Arrieta is on track to make his first start with the club on April 8, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Arrieta’s going to miss the first week-plus of the season because he’s not yet in game shape, having gone without a contract in free agency until the Phillies handed him a three-year, $75MM guarantee on March 12. The former Cubs star will join Aaron Nola atop Philly’s rotation when he does debut with the team.
- In not-so-good news for the Phillies, righty Pat Neshek is fearful that the shoulder strain which forced him to the disabled list could “be something serious,” the reliever informed Matt Breen of Philly.com and other media. The 37-year-old Neshek added that this is the first time he has dealt with this type of injury. “And that’s what’s kind of weirding me out a little bit,” he continued. “But it’s something like, if I had to pitch today, I know I could. But I’m more worried about how it’s going to progress over the next couple weeks.” Neshek was the recipient of a two-year, $16.25MM deal in the offseason. Teammate and fellow reliever Tommy Hunter also landed a two-year deal (for an even richer $18MM). Both pitchers opened the season on the DL, though, with Hunter battling a hamstring strain.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/31/18
We’ll use this post to keep track of some minor moves from around MLB…
- The Phillies have released right-hander Shane Watson, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Watson had been with the organization since it used a supplemental first-round pick (No. 40 overall) on him in 2012. Injuries, a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis and a 50-game suspension for a non-PED drug policy violation beset Watson during his Phillies tenure, however. He climbed to the Double-A level for the first time in 2017 and posted a 4.10 ERA/5.60 FIP with 4.86 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 across 83 1/3 innings.
Earlier moves:
- The Dodgers have signed catcher Cael Brockmeyer to a minor-league contract, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports on Twitter. Brockmeyer was released by the Cubs earlier this week; he’ll report to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate. Brockmeyer hit .179/.256/.308 last season with Chicago’s Double-A affiliate with a 27% strikeout rate, but still received a promotion to Triple-A late in the season. Hoornstra adds that the team released minors catcher Shawn Zarraga in a related move.
- The Reds have released infielder Darnell Sweeney, tweets C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic. Sweeney had been in spring training camp as a non-roster invite; he hit .287/.355/.420 across 363 plate appearances last season for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, though his .347 BABIP suggests that at least a bit of good fortune was involved in that batting line.
Phillies Place Pat Neshek On Disabled List
The Phillies have placed right-hander Pat Neshek on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Fellow right-hander Yacksel Rios has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in Neshek’s place.
Neshek, 37, will join fellow offseason signee Tommy Hunter on the disabled list, meaning the Phillies will lose a combined $34.25MM in relief help before either of the two recipients of those contracts makes an appearance in the 2018 campaign. There’s no word, at present, of just how long Neshek will be sidelined, though obviously the news still serves as a blow to what now looks to be a largely inexperienced relief corps.
Last season, Neshek opened the year with the Phillies before being traded to the Rockies in July. In 62 1/3 innings between the two clubs, he turned in a 1.59 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9 and a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate.
The 24-year-old Rios, meanwhile, made his MLB debut with the Phils in 2017, working to a 4.41 ERA with a 17-to-9 K/BB ratio in 16 1/3 innings. He split the rest of his season between Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 1.92 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a roughly 38 percent ground-ball rate
Phillies Acquire Dean Anna
- In a minor swap for an unknown return, the Phillies acquired Dean Anna from the White Sox, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). The 31-year will give the Phils some infield depth, though they will surely hope not to have a need for it at the MLB level. Anna has scant MLB experience but has been playing at Triple-A since 2013. Most recently, he posted a .285/.364/.376 slash at the highest level of the minors with the Royals in 2017.
White Sox Acquire Ricardo Pinto
The White Sox have acquired righty Ricardo Pinto from the Phillies, per a club announcement. International bonus pool money of an unknown quantity will head to the Phils in the swap.
Pinto becomes the latest hurler to join the White Sox bullpen depth chart, though the odds are that he’ll open the season in the minors. The 24-year-old did not show well in his first effort at the majors but has generally been effective in the minors.
Last year, Pinto worked to a 3.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings. Though he mostly functioned as a starter in prior seasons, he split his time between the rotation and bullpen in 2017. It certainly seems as if Pinto’s future hopes lie in the relief corps.
Sam Fuld Talks Player-Friendly Analytics
- Sam Fuld’s status as a former player and a newly-minted member of the Phillies analytics department makes him an ideal conduit for bridging the gap between advances metrics and everyday baseball use, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “Players are told to do something from someone that doesn’t quite have playing experience at a high level and it can be frustrating when you’re told to do something that is really, really difficult,” Fuld said. “It’s taken for granted sometimes. Hopefully I can relate.” Rhys Hoskins, for one, has already taken to Fuld’s advice, such as using a “cheat sheet” to determine specific batter-by-batter positioning while in the outfield.
