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Phillies’ Jake Thompson On Being Traded Twice

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It can be tough for a player adjust to a new organization, and Phillies prospect Jake Thompson has already had to make that change twice in his young career thanks to his inclusion in a pair of significant trades.  The first time around, Thompson was shipped from the Tigers to the Rangers as a part of the Joakim Soria deal.  One year later, he went from Texas to Philly in the Cole Hamels deal.  After his Spring Training start on Thursday, Thompson explained that going through deal No. 1 helped him transition better after deal No. 2.

Jake Thompson (vertical)

“I tried to overdo everything [after the first trade].  I tried to throw every fastball max velocity, and I wasn’t really utilizing all the strengths of my game like the movement on my fastball,” Thompson told reporters in Clearwater, Fla. after allowing three hits over two innings with one walk and one strikeout.  “I was trying to do things that I wasn’t capable of.  So, this time around I decided to be myself and see how that turns out.  I’ve tried to get a whole lot more contact since I’ve been with the Phillies and the last part of [Double-A] Reading that really panned out for me and as my command gets better here I’m going to try to keep doing that.  I’m going to keep trying to get more ground balls.”

As he adjusts to the Phillies organization, Thompson says that he is leaning on veteran leadership for advice and support.  Of course, there aren’t many veterans left in the Phillies clubhouse with 28-year-old Jeremy Hellickson qualifying as a grizzled veteran in the team’s babyfaced rotation.  Thompson, 22, cited Charlie Morton and Carlos Ruiz as two of his mentors here in Clearwater.

Thompson was also more at ease after the Hamels deal because he came to his new club with fellow pitching prospects Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff, catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, and outfield prospect Nick Williams.

“That’s one thing that is a little bit different from the first time I was traded.  I came here with a few teammates and I actually played with all of them except for Matt Harrison, so that made things a lot easier.  I had some familiar faces with me,” Thompson explained.

The trade talk buzzed around Hamels in Philadelphia for years and reached a fever pitch leading up to July 2015.  Even though the Rangers were often mentioned as a likely landing spot for the ace, Thompson says that he ignored the trade talk.  When the trade did go down, Thompson admitted that he was flattered to be a key piece of a deal for one of the league’s biggest names.

“There’s a huge honor in that.  Cole Hamels is Cole Hamels, he’s undeniably good.  For me, I just try not to get super wrapped up in it. Every day I’m trying to become a Major League pitcher, and I just try to keep getting better.”

Thompson may not have to wait too long to realize that goal.  Though he just turned 22 in January, he reached Double-A at the age of 20 and spent the entire 2015 season, his age-21 campaign, at that level.  Thompson recorded a 3.73 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 132 2/3 innings last year despite being nearly four years younger than the league average.  That performance and his raw stuff prompted Baseball America to rank him third among Phillies farmhands and 75th in all of baseball.  Similarly, MLB.com listed him second among Phillies prospects and 55th in baseball, while ESPN’s Keith Law rated Thompson second in the organization and 63rd in all of baseball.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Charlie Manuel On Phillies’ Rebuilding Process

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The rebuilding Phillies have just two players left from their 2008 World Series Championship team — Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz.  They’re not the only members of the organization that were in the dugout then, however; former manager Charlie Manuel is now serving as a senior advisor to the General Manager — a job that keeps him involved and plugged in as the team looks to continue its rebuilding process.  The overhaul has left the Phillies with an exceptionally young club, but that’s not unfamiliar territory for Manuel. Charlie Manuel (vertical)

“When I was with the Twins in 1986 and ’87 we had some young players.  We had [Kent] Hrbek, [Gary] Gaetti, [Kirby] Puckett, and all these young guys that turned out to be real good players.  This group of guys is something similar to them,” Manuel told MLBTR in a one-on-one interview in Clearwater, Florida.  “When you look at this group, we’ve got a lot of talent.  These players have a lot of tools.  We can go first to third, we can go second to home, but we still have to develop ourselves as hitters to be able to be regular players at the Major League level.  And, when it comes to young pitchers, we got so many that some of them have to be good.”

Manuel is particularly impressed with the team’s young pitching and pointed to Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Jake Thompson as “big arm” pitchers that can be future stars for the club.  Part of Manuel’s new role with the team will be to help identify the next crop of amateur pitchers that can blossom into impact players.

“During the season, I go to all of our minor league teams and help evaluate players,” the World Series winning manager explained.  “Also, when Spring Training is over, I’ll get involved in the amateur draft and I’ll check out some of the top guys, guys that are going in the first through fifth rounds.  After the summer, I’ll pick up some Major League scouting and key in on some free agents.  I’ll also be in Philadelphia up in our box as a part of our own in-house evaluations.”

In 2008, Manuel’s Phillies won 92 games on their way to an National League East crown and, of course, a World Series title.  This year’s Phillies aren’t a popular pick for the postseason, but the 72-year-old ex-manager doesn’t think it’ll be long before we see the Phillies in the postseason again.

“I think a few years from now, you’ll see us where the Astros are,” Manuel said as he gestured towards the visiting dugout. “They backed up and made a lot of good draft choices and look at how good they are now.  That’s what we’re hoping to do.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Peter Bourjos Eager For Fresh Start With Phillies

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In December, the Phillies added to an already stacked outfield mix when they claimed Peter Bourjos off waivers from the Cardinals.  The outfielder’s time in St. Louis was not terribly memorable and many pointed to his lingering hip injury as the culprit for his struggles.  However, Bourjos says it was something else keeping him from playing his best with the Cards. Peter Bourjos (vertical)

“I think it was more just being in and out of the lineup.  It was tough getting into a rhythm,” Bourjos told MLBTR in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday. “That’s the role I was in, that was the role I accepted, and you just try to do your best with it.  It’s tough coming in and facing the set-up guy or the closer in pinch hit at-bats.  It’s tough to get something going.”

Because of his inconsistent playing time, it was no surprise to Bourjos when he was exposed to waivers in the offseason.

“I didn’t really think I’d be back there, just because of how things played out down the stretch.  I think I had three or four starts in the second half of the year.  I didn’t really have a lot of at-bats.  You can just kind of see the writing on the wall, that they had a lot of good young outfielders coming and it probably just wasn’t going to be a good fit,” said Bourjos.

Realizing that he wouldn’t be back with the Cardinals, Bourjos and agent Curtis Dishman huddled up to discuss potential landing spots and which teams would make the best fit for him.  With the potential for significant and consistent playing time, the Phillies were “at the top” of his personal wish list.  General Manager Matt Klentak told MLBTR back in December that his familiarity with Bourjos from their shared Angels days played a role in acquiring him, but the outfielder says that the Phillies have actually had interest in him for years, dating back to the Ruben Amaro-led front office.

It’s easy to see why the Phillies would have coveted Bourjos for so long.  In 2011, the defensive wizard made a name for himself in baseball when he slashed .271/.327/.438.  Now on his third big league team, Bourjos is determined to make the most of his fresh start.

“Whenever I’ve had consistent at-bats, I’ve played pretty well, and that goes back to 2013.  The at-bats were consistent, but I got hurt.  I was playing pretty well up until that point.  It’s about getting out there and being consistent in the lineup.  It kind of goes both ways, I have to prove that I can do that.  I can’t get off to a bad start, I have to prove that I belong out there.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Notes: Cuddyer, Arroyo, Badenhop, Hernandez

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While some believed that Michael Cuddyer’s retirement saved the Mets the full $12.5MM he was owed for the 2016 season, that’s not the case, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Cuddyer was paid a buyout in the range of $2-3MM, according to Puma. GM Sandy Alderson told reporters today that he’d still have been able to pursue Yoenis Cespedes this offseason even if Cuddyer had remained with the club, though he did acknowledge that some of the Mets’ other moves might not have been realistic. The Mets made small to mid-range signings of Jerry Blevins ($4MM), Alejandro De Aza ($5.75MM), Bartolo Colon ($7.25MM), Antonio Bastardo ($12MM) and Asdrubal Cabrera ($18.5MM) on the free-agent market this offseason.

A few more items pertaining to the NL East…

  • Nationals right-hander Bronson Arroyo hopes to crack the rotation and return to the Majors this season, but he’ll receive some notice if that’s not likely to be the case, he told reporters yesterday (Twitter link via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). Arroyo’s deal stipulates that the Nationals inform him whether he’s made the team five days before Spring Training ends, presumably in order to allow him to latch on elsewhere if he doesn’t make the club in D.C. It’s been more than 18 months since Arroyo last pitched in a big league game after undergoing Tommy John surgery with the D-backs.
  • Right-hander Burke Badenhop spoke with Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post about the feeling of being a veteran player in camp hoping to win a roster spot. Badenhop explained that he landed with the Nationals in part because they showed a greater sense of urgency when pursuing him than other clubs, and also because playing for a contender with a number of experienced players held appeal to him. Interestingly, Badenhop tells Janes that he’s learned manager Dusty Baker is quite familiar with him; Baker revealed to Badenhop that the Reds tried to trade for him when Baker was managing the club. Assistant GM Doug Harris told Janes that Badenhop gives hitters a different look than the rest of their current ’pen candidates, which could be a point in his favor this spring.
  • David Hernandez looks to be the favorite to serve as the Phillies’ closer this season, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Hernandez’s very presence in Phillies camp might’ve seemed improbable to him several months ago, as he kicked off the winter by telling his agent he hoped to sign with a West Coast club that played its spring games in Arizona. However, Hernandez inked a one-year deal with an East Coast club that plays Spring Training in Florida, in part because the Phillies told him he could end up with an opportunity to close. Hernandez signed shortly before the trade of Ken Giles to the Astros, and as Zolecki notes, the club likely knew full well that a trade of Giles could come together in the near future, helping to stock the farm with young talent and create an opportunity for a free-agent to inherit the ninth inning role.

NL East Notes: Klentak, Marlins, Maddux, Moore, Drew

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Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak has already been through rebuilding (while with the Orioles) and spending on big free agents (while with the Angels) in previous front office jobs, and he tells Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he hopes both experiences will help him in the initial and latter stages of the Phils’ rebuild.  Perhaps Klentak’s best example of a successful rebuild, however, is how his own team rebuilt in the early 2000’s to form the core of the squad that won five NL East titles and the 2008 World Series.
  • Edwin Jackson is battling some younger arms to win a spot in the Marlins rotation, and the veteran righty tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he has unfinished business as a starting pitcher.  “I still look at myself as a starter.  There’s still something I want to prove to myself, not to anyone else,” Jackson said.  Pitching exclusively as a reliever in 2015, Jackson posted a 3.07 ERA, 1.9 K/BB rate and 6.5 K/9 over 55 2/3 innings, though advanced metrics indicate he was perhaps a bit fortunate to manage such a low ERA.  Still, it was a big improvement over Jackson’s rough previous two seasons in the Cubs rotation and now he’s hoping to rebound in Miami.
  • In another item from Jackson, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill expects big things from his lineup, saying he’d “put our position player talent against anybody in the National League.”  Miami scored the second-fewest runs in baseball last season, yet Hill expects a big improvement thanks to Barry Bonds’ contributions as hitting coach, more development from young players and better health (most notably in the case of Giancarlo Stanton).
  • Pitching coach Mike Maddux may prove to be the Nationals’ best offseason acquisition, the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell writes.  Hiring the very well-regarded Maddux represents a new step for the franchise, as Boswell notes the Nationals have rarely invested much money in managers or coaching staffs.
  • Tyler Moore took some grounders at third base seemingly just as a routine drill, though as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, versatility at a new position could help save Moore’s job.  Moore is out of options and faces a roster crunch to make the Nationals’ Opening Day roster.  Learning the hot corner is easier said than done, of course, especially since Moore has never played anywhere besides first, left or right in his eight-year professional career.
  • Stephen Drew knows how being a qualifying offer free agent can impact one’s market, so the new Nationals infielder tells MLB.com’s Bill Ladson that he sympathizes with what Ian Desmond is going through as the former Nat continues to look for a new team.  After rejecting the QO in the 2013-14 offseason, Drew didn’t find a contract until May, re-signing with the Red Sox (notably, the only team that weren’t required to give up a draft pick to sign him).  As you might expect, Drew is all for changes to the qualifying offer rule in the upcoming collective bargaining talks.  “The union has to do a good job going over that rule and check out what we can come up with. As players, we probably want to get rid of it. We need to really take a look at the way the logistics are,” Drew said.

NL East Notes: Lazarito, Phillies, Lincecum, Wright, Colon

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The Phillies are not pursuing Lazaro Armenteros (aka Lazarito), writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. The club will begin the next international spending period with a little over $5.61MM of pool money – the largest bonus pool in the league. They can trade for an additional $2.8MM. Lazarito figures to sign for well over either maximum. Since the team is rebuilding and may have another large pool in the 2017-2018 period, Zolecki doesn’t believe the club is willing to incur spending prohibitions. However, the signing of Jhailyn Ortiz for $4MM last summer indicates the club will use it’s financial might on other highly talented names.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak is excited to see his prospects in live action, writes Jim Salisbury for Baseball America. Notable players who could reach the majors this season include J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel, and Zach Eflin. The Phillies have acquired enough major and minor league depth that these players can develop at their own pace. In other words, there’s no guarantee we’ll actually see any of them this year, or they could all reach the big show.
  • The Marlins are continuing to monitor the free agent and trade markets for pitchers, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The club is happy with their current staff, but there is room to add more depth. Frisaro mentions Tim Lincecum by name, but the former Cy Young winner has yet to schedule a day to throw in front of scouts. Such an outing has been rumored to be in the works since January.
  • Mets third baseman David Wright elaborated on the plan for managing his spinal stenosis, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Previously, GM Sandy Alderson suggested Wright would play about 130 games. Now, Wright is saying “you can’t have a plan” for managing the injury. He’ll ease into Spring Training and see how his body responds. The important thing is that player, manager, and GM are all on the same page – even if that’s frustrating for fans. One unmentioned aspect of Wright’s injury – the club may want to consider another backup third baseman beyond Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada.
  • The $7.25MM contract Bartolo Colon signed with the Mets wasn’t the best offer he received, writes DiComo. Per Colon, “there were higher-money offers, but that’s not something that even interested me because this is my family here.” Colon is the elder statesman of a young, exciting pitching staff. It appears he signed for the always-rare “hometown discount.”
  • The Nationals are not negotiating an extension with Bryce Harper, GM Mike Rizzo tells reporters including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The club has engaged in some basic conversations with agent Scott Boras to start the ball rolling. Harper is under contract for another three seasons. A highly marketable player, the Nationals and Harper have every reason to take their time proceeding.

Analytics Notes: Red Sox, Phillies

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Red Sox owner John Henry spent two months “under the hood” of the team’s analytics process late last season, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. What he found led to the hiring of Dave Dombrowski who is well regarded as a talent evaluator. Now the Red Sox are poised to pivot away from their past role as Moneyball with money.

Per Henry, “A lot of our advantage was purely financial. We were never as far toward analytics as people thought we were.” The club has spent the second most on payroll since 2002 which helped to mask a multitude of mistakes. In particular, Henry noted an overemphasis on using past performance to project future ability. That could be why the Sox were more bullish about Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval than other clubs. While those are just two of the most glaring examples, Henry says the same evaluative techniques failed up and down the roster. While it’s popular to quip that Boston should have signed Jon Lester or traded for Cole Hamels prior to 2015, there were too many problems with the roster.

During the Theo Epstein era, the Red Sox had a blend of scouting and analytics, but that balance may have been lost upon his departure, writes Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. However, the shift in strategy could be an overcorrection. In particular, Dombrowski is known for using trades of minor leaguers to bolster the major league club. He’s already executed one high profile move in acquiring Craig Kimbrel. The previous front office seemed to emphasize developing talent, with players like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Blake Swihart representing the first wave of talent.

In an interesting reversal, the Phillies are now making strides to become more analytically proficient. If the Red Sox were the team most synonymous with sabermetrics, the Phillies were usually identified as the most traditionalist club. Now the two franchises are moving in opposite directions.

Director of baseball research and development Andy Galdi will drive the analytics process in Philadelphia, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. The 30-year-old former Google and YouTube employee praised the Phillies’ recent efforts in building their PHIL computer system. Galdi also mentioned the important marriage between scouting and analytics, emphasizing that the two need to work hand and hand.

Galdi believes uncertainty is the missing piece in baseball analysis. Statistics shouldn’t be used to say a player will do X. Rather a range of possibilities should be identified with scouts helping to narrow the focus. It’s important to note that all statistics come with a margin of error. For what it’s worth, sabermetricians have emphasized the importance of error margins for years.

Phillies Notes: Payroll, Prospects, Bullpen

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GM Matt Klentak says the Phillies plan to do plenty of spending “under the hood” this winter, Matt Gelb of Philly.com writes. By “under the hood,” Klentak means spending that isn’t necessarily entirely public, like on analytics, scouting, player development and infrastructure. (The Phillies currently have about $77MM committed to ten big-league players and figure to come in significantly below their usual Opening Day payroll figure of $160MM or so.) Klentak also notes that the Phillies have the first pick in the June draft and have the largest bonus pool (about $5.6MM) with which to sign international amateur talent. They are not expected to incur penalties by significantly exceeding that bonus pool amount, Gelb writes; that likely makes sense, given that the Phillies figure to have a large pool next year as well and there is skepticism about the possibility of MLB establishing an international draft by then. Here’s more out of Philadelphia.

  • Phillies president Andy MacPhail says the organization will learn plenty this season about how quickly it can return to being competitive, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes. “What we’re going to find out this year more than anything is what kind of track we’re on,” says MacPhail. “That’s going to be determined by the 25 we break with. It’s also going to be determined by how some of those next-level guys progress and how many of them demonstrated they’re ready to come to the big leagues.” MacPhail adds that the team will be careful with the promotions of top prospects (like J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Mark Appel, Jorge Alfaro and Roman Quinn) — the Phillies don’t want to have to demote their top youngsters after they’ve been promoted for the first time, so they want to make sure they’re sure they ready before they call them up.
  • After sending Ken Giles to the Astros, the Phillies have plenty of space in their bullpen, Zolecki notes. They added David Hernandez on a big-league deal this offseason and hope to use one or perhaps more of four minor league signees — Andrew Bailey, Ernesto Frieri, Edward Mujica or James Russell — as late-inning options. Of course, Bailey pitched sparingly in 2015 and the other three had rough seasons, but all except the lefty Russell have closing experience, and the Phillies aren’t counting on all four to be successful. “I can’t say they’re all going to be as impressive,” says manager Pete Mackanin. “I’d like to believe that more than a couple guys are going to make our job difficult.”

Matt Harrison Likely Out For The Season

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  • The Phillies don’t expect lefty Matt Harrison to appear at camp this spring after a recent trip to a back specialist, GM Matt Klentak told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter). Indeed, it would seemingly come as a surprise if he returns to pitch all season as he continues to deal with serious back issues. Harrison went to Philadelphia as part of the financial balancing in last summer’s Cole Hamels trade, and his new club would stand to recoup some insurance proceeds for whatever period he is unable to work. Though he had rather remarkably returned to the hill for Texas, Harrison hasn’t suited up since.

NL East Notes: Baker, Nationals, Goeddel, Hart, Braves

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Dusty Baker’s remarkable life and career is profiled in an insightful piece from Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post.  Baker shares several intimate details about his many professional and personal ups and downs, some responses to criticism that his managerial style is too “old-school” for today’s game, and his path back into baseball as the Nationals’ new skipper.  Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • The bullpen and defense stand out as the biggest areas of improvement for the Nationals if they’re to rebound, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson opines as part of a reader mailbag.  It remains to be seen how new relief acquisitions like Shawn Kelley, Yusmeiro Petit and Trevor Gott will fare in Washington, and Ladson wonders if Jonathan Papelbon will also start to decline in his age-35 season.
  • The Phillies are looking to make another big score from the Rule 5 Draft in the form of Tyler Goeddel, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes.  Goeddel was the first pick of December’s draft, going from the Rays farm system to a shot at a regular Major League gig in the Phillies outfielder.
  • In an interview with Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link with an audio clip) Braves president of baseball ops John Hart said his club is “gonna be players” on the international market and they “hope to be very active.”  Atlanta is expected to be perhaps the most aggressive team in the 2016-17 international signing period, as the Braves are reportedly prepared to far exceed their bonus pool limit in order to load up on premium young talent.  They’ve already been linked to such notable top prospects as Venezuelan infielder Kevin Maitan and Cuban outfielder Lazaro “Lazarito” Armenteros.
  • Liberty Media, the Braves’ corporate ownership group, has released some documentation about the team’s finances as part of its plan to issue public shares in the Braves, Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes (subscription required).  It’s a very interesting behind-the-scenes look at the Braves’ financial picture, including how the team suffered quite significant operating losses over the last two years, though depreciation and amortization played a large part in putting the team in the red.
  • In NL East news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson shared the latest on the relationship between Jose Fernandez and the Marlins.
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