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Phillies Announce Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Phillies have made a series of roster moves today (per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb), activating newly acquired pitchers Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, and David Hale, along with outfielder Adam Haseley, who returns from the injured list. In turn, pitchers Cole Irvin and Connor Brogdon have been optioned and Jay Bruce was placed on the 10-day injured list. Relief pitcher Deolis Guerra was designated for assignment.

Hembree, Workman, and Hale are the fruits of two Friday trades with the Red Sox and Yankees, and the trio will hopefully offer a meaningful upgrade to a Philadelphia bullpen that has thus far stumbled to a 7.97 ERA, by far the worst mark in baseball.

While Workman’s 4.05 ERA is nothing special, his peripheral numbers give him a 2.57 FIP, which is just a hair off the 2.46 mark he posted a year ago, when he was quietly one of the American League’s most productive relievers. He brings top-notch strikeout prowess to the table, with walks representing his biggest weakness.

Hembree should bring some much-needed stability to the Philly bullpen, after contributing five years of consistently solid production for recent Red Sox teams. Hale has the capability to pitch multiple innings and can be deployed in long relief. He’s struck out 7 batters in 6 innings for the Yankees this year.

Although the Phillies will send one outfielder to the injured list, with Bruce’s nagging left quad injury now warranting an IL stint, they’ll welcome another outfielder back, with Haseley recovered from the wrist sprain that forced him to the sideline on August 13.

As for Guerra, the Phillies will have a week to determine their course of action for the 31-year-old right-hander, who has struggled out of the gates, allowing three home runs in his first 7 1/3 innings of work.

Bryce Harper Stumps For Spencer Howard To Make Rotation

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Philadelphia Phillies top third base prospect Alec Bohm understands the dynamics of service time manipulation, and he understands the business sense behind holding him back in the minors to start the year, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “That’s a smart business move,” Bohm said.

Bryce Harper isn’t quite as accommodating, speaking out recently about the possibility of Spencer Howard – another top Philly prospect –  not making the Opening Day roster, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. With intrasquad games such a heavy component of the ramp-up to Opening Day this season, Harper has seen Howard’s stuff up close and personal – and he’s impressed.

The Phillies rotation is set with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jake Arrieta slotted into the top spots with some competition for the final two roles. Still, there are plenty of capable veteran arms on hand, giving the Phils some plausible deniability when they decide that Howard needs more seasoning. Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, and Nick Pivetta all spent time in Philly’s rotation last season, and some combination of the three figure to get the early turns on the bump.

Howard, 24 in ten days, has a higher ceiling than those three, but he’s only pitched as high as Double-A – he made just 6 starts in Reading last year after starting the year in High-A. Given traditional development paths, it would be surprising for Howard to make the rotation from the jump – but that’s not to say he’s not capable.

As for Bohm, the 23-year-old is the long-term answer at third base for the Phillies. Like Howard, he made it as high as Double-A last season, hitting .269/.344/.500 across 270 plate appearances. His case for making the big league roster out of camp gained some traction over the winter, but all indications were – under normal circumstances – for Bohm to continue to develop in Triple-A at the start of 2020.

As in the rotation, the Phillies could certainly make room for Bohm if they so desired, but there’s more than enough veteran talent on-hand to make due. Jean Segura and Scott Kingery can split time between second and third, and veterans Josh Harrison and Neil Walker are also in camp as non-roster invitees. Jay Bruce slots in as the regular designated hitter – another veteran totally capable of handling a starting role, even if he might be better suited to the bench. In a vacuum, there’s room for Bohm, but it’s also not against baseball wisdom to give the vets a couple of weeks or more to prove they’re still capable of handling starter’s minutes.

With the shortened schedule, teams need only keep their top prospects off the major league roster for the first 6 games to secure an additional year of team control down the road. The issue, of course, has been hotly debated for years now, culminating in a grievance filed by Kris Bryant against the league. His grievance was unsuccessful. The issue persists year after year with players like Harper taking up the mantle to speak out for the rights of younger players. Service time manipulation of this sort will continue to be a hot button issue until it’s addressed – in some form or fashion – at the time of the next CBA negotiation in 2021.

Jay Bruce Hires Excel Sports Management

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Phillies outfielder Jay Bruce has changed representation and is now a client of Excel Sports Management, tweets Robert Murray. He’d previously been repped by Sosnick, Cobbe and Karon but sought new representation after his agent, Matt Sosnick, left the company following an arrest on charges of domestic violence. The agency has since rebranded as Apex Baseball.

Apex still retains a number of notable high-end clients (Pete Alonso, Blake Snell, Max Kepler, Blake Treinen, Mitch Haniger and Brendan McKay among them). Right-hander Chad Bettis also departed prior to the rebrand, hiring CAA Baseball to represent him moving forward.

The 32-year-old Bruce had a bizarre 2019 season, ranking ninth in the Majors (min. 300 plate appearances) with a career-high .306 isolated power mark (slugging minus batting average). But despite being one of baseball’s most powerful hitters in 2019, Bruce’s .261 OBP  ranked 270th of 273 hitters with that same 300-PA minimum.

One might think that Bruce suddenly became extremely prone to strikeouts or infield flies to drive down his average and OBP, but that wasn’t the case. His 24.6 percent strikeout rate wasn’t outlandish by today’s standards, nor were the eight infield flies he registered. He batted just .121 on grounders, though, suggesting that he was particularly prone to outs via the shift. Even still, his .200 average on balls in play seems ripe for positive regression in 2020.

Bruce is signed through the 2020 season under the three-year, $39MM contract he inked with the Mets prior to the 2018 campaign and will be a free agent for the second time in his career next offseason. He’ll join Didi Gregorius, Michael Brantley, Joc Pederson and Jake Odorizzi among notable Excel free agents next winter.

The change in representation for Bruce has been updated in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agency info on more than 2,500 players in both the big leagues and the minors. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Phillies Announce Roster Moves

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5:26PM: In other roster moves, the Phillies activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list and called up left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A.  The club also selected the contracts of infielder Phil Gosselin, righty Nick Vincent, and catcher Deivy Grullon from Triple-A.  This will mark the 23-year-old Grullon’s first taste of MLB action, after a seven-year stint in Philadelphia’s minor league system that includes an impressive .283/.354/.496 slash line over 457 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

3:38PM: The Phillies have designated right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson for assignment, according to an official team announcement. He’ll be dropped from the team’s 40-man roster, along with Adam Morgan and Jerad Eickhoff, who were transferred to the 60-day injured list.

The 25-year-old Anderson has only managed to get into two games for the Phillies this year, tossing six innings in his third big-league season. It hasn’t been a promising showing for Anderson, who surrendered five runs in those six innings, walking as many batters as he struck out. Unfortunately, those numbers represented a continuation of his struggles in his first two trials in Philadelphia. For his career, Anderson is sporting an unsightly 7.71 ERA over 21 innings of work.

What’s more, the minor-league numbers for Anderson haven’t been much more encouraging. While he’s excelled at Double-A, it seems that Triple-A has represented a significant barrier; across three seasons at the level, Anderson owns a 4.34 ERA while striking out only 7.4 batters per nine innings. If he clears waivers, he could accept an outright assignment and remain within the Philly organization — if he isn’t released. Otherwise, another team could take a chance on him and hope to turn him into a viable reliever.

Phillies Notes: Depth, Bruce, Neshek, Ramos, Franco

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The Phillies made a variety of notable offseason splashes, adding significant talent in several areas of the roster. While it might have been hoped that other players would thrive in reduced roles, that simply hasn’t been the case. As Matt Gelb writes for The Athletic (subscription link), the Philadelphia bench has been abysmal this year. In particular, the reserves have lagged the entire rest of the National League in overall batting output. As we explored recently, the bullpen has also been a problem area. It’s easy to look back and blame the front office for failing to add additional roster pieces last winter and/or during the summer trade period, it’s fair also to note that a variety of injuries, failures of young players to make strides, and unforeseen circumstances (in particular, Odubel Herrera’s suspension) have strained the roster.

If the Philadelphia org is to make its way into the postseason, it’ll need to squeeze value out of every corner of the 40-man. Here’s the latest on a few potentially key pieces:

  • Outfielder Jay Bruce appears likely to return at some point this season, though it’s not clear whether he’ll be able to take the field. The veteran slugger is launching a minor-league rehab stint but won’t throw, as Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to cover (Twitter link). Bruce has been sidelined with a flexor strain. Fortunately, the Phils also picked up Corey Dickerson in advance of the deadline. Both of those lefty hitters have performed at approximately league-average rates since landing in Philadelphia. Bruce remains under contract with the Phils for 2020, though the Mariners are responsible for most of the tab.
  • The Phillies’ veteran relief arms have not performed to expectations thus far in 2019. Now, Pat Neshek may join David Robertson and Tommy Hunter with a season-ending procedure. As the Inquirer’s Matt Breen tweets, Neshek’s injured hamstring may require surgery or a platelet-rich plasma injection. Both of those invasive approaches would put him on ice for the remainder of the campaign. Soon to turn 39, Neshek can be retained next season with a $7MM club option, but it seems quite likely he’ll instead be paid a $750K buyout.
  • Righty Edubray Ramos may be a likelier late-season contributor, but he’ll have to avoid any complications as he works to return from a shoulder problem. The 26-year-old is launching a rehab assignment, per a club announcement, which puts him on track to make it back for at least a few weeks. Ramos was a big contributor in 2018, when he worked to a 2.32 ERA over 42 2/3 innings, but he has not repeated that showing in 2019. Through 14 frames this season, he has coughed up eight earned runs on 18 hits (four homers) with a 9:5 K/BB ratio.
  • With those bench troubles in the backdrop, there were some questions about the club’s recent decision to send down Maikel Franco instead of Sean Rodriguez. As Lauber reports, the organization’s goal was to preserve versatility by keeping the multi-positional Rodriguez. (I’d add that the team also would have had to part with Rodriguez, since he can’t be optioned.) Skipper Gabe Kapler also emphasized that the aging utilityman holds an advantage over the younger Franco in his track record of pinch-hitting against left-handed pitchers. In any event, it seems fair to presume that Franco will be back as soon as the minimum ten-day option period is met. But as Lauber notes, it’s increasingly difficult to imagine him as part of the organization’s plans for 2020 and beyond.

Phillies Place Jay Bruce On IL, Recall Adam Haseley

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The Phillies are sending outfielder Jay Bruce right back onto the 10-day injured list, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported (via Twitter) and the team has now announced. He had just returned from an oblique injury, but has now been diagnosed with a flexor strain in his left arm.

Outfielder Adam Haseley had been shipped back down to Triple-A to make way for Bruce. Instead, he’ll come right back onto the active roster. (The usual requirement of a 10-day stay in the minors is waived since he’s coming up to replace an injured player.)

Phillies Reinstate Jay Bruce From 10-Day IL

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The Phillies have activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list, as per a team announcement.  Outfielder Adam Haseley has been optioned to Triple-A to create space for Bruce on the 25-man roster.

A right oblique strain sent Bruce to the IL on July 17, so such a relatively short absence is good news for both Bruce and the Phils, considering how oblique injuries often sideline players for at least a month, and often longer.  Now, the left-handed slugger will return to the Philadelphia lineup after already contributing a .256/.273/.564 slash line and 10 homers over 121 PA since being traded from the Mariners in June.

It remains to be seen how Bruce will be regularly deployed, since the newly-acquired Corey Dickerson will be taking over left field and obviously right fielder Bryce Harper isn’t going anywhere.  Both Dickerson and Harper are left-handed, so there’s even less opportunity for Bruce to get platoon action.  Rather than relegate Bruce to bench duty, however, Haseley’s demotion would seemingly indicate that Dickerson (or maybe even Harper in a pinch) could play center field against some right-handed starters, with the switch-hitting Roman Quinn playing in center when a lefty is on the mound.  It doesn’t exactly make for an ideal defensive alignment, but the Phillies might see it as a necessary evil if Bruce’s bat sparks a middling offense.

Haseley, the eighth overall pick of the 2017 draft, made a respectable accounting of himself in his first taste of big league action.  Haseley hit .274/.315/.452 with three homers over 89 plate appearances, while flashing some above-average glovework in the outfield.

Phillies Notes: Cashner, Farm System, Bruce

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The latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…

  • Before Andrew Cashner was dealt to the Red Sox, the veteran righty also drew some trade interest from the Phillies, but they ultimately “backed off in part due to concerns about the pitcher’s makeup,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required).  While personality is always a factor when adding a player to the roster, it could be that the Phils are putting a particular focus on such matters this season given that, as per Rosenthal, “several of the Phillies’ acquisitions last season did not mix well in their clubhouse.”
  • The Phillies’ multi-year rebuilding plan hoped to follow the model established by the Cubs and Astros earlier this decade, but as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (subscription required) notes, Philadelphia’s efforts have been hampered by a lack of consistent reinforcements from the minor leagues.  Aside from Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola, several of the Phils’ more highly-touted prospects or draft picks in recent years have either not produced much in the big leagues, or have yet to even arrive.  (Perhaps most troublingly, first-rounders Mickey Moniak and Cornelius Randolph have both seen their prospect stock drop, as both are posting unspectacular numbers at Double-A.)  Olney discussed the Phillies’ farm system with ESPN colleague Keith Law, who felt the problem could stem from a conservative approach to drafting pitching, as well the team’s “tendency to push [position] players to low-A Lakewood before they’re physically ready for it.“
  • Jay Bruce is hopeful that his injured list stint could just last between 10-15 days, as the veteran outfielder told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki and other reporters that his side injury was only a sprained right intercostal muscle.  “It’s not nearly as bad as an oblique could be, so that’s a positive….I think it’s more on the mild side, the shorter side of the timetable, fortunately,” Bruce said.  That would be a good scenario for both Bruce and the Phillies, who were already facing a lack of outfield depth prior to Bruce’s injury.  The veteran has been something of a one-dimensional bat since joining the Phillies earlier this season, as Bruce has hit .256/.273/.564 with 10 homers over his 121 plate appearances in a Philadelphia uniform.

Jay Bruce Exits With Oblique Strain

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Phillies slugger Jay Bruce exited Tuesday evening’s contest with a strained right oblique muscle, the Phillies announced. There’s no word on a a trip to the injured list, but the Phillies will likely have additional info after the game.

The majority of oblique strains send players to the injured list, and it’s not uncommon for position players to miss around a month with even a Grade 1 strain. Losing Bruce would be a blow to the Phillies’ lineup; while he’s only mustered a paltry .277 OBP since his acquisition, Bruce entered play Tuesday hitting .266 and slugging a whopping .574 with the Phils. He’s already drilled 10 long balls and six doubles with Philadelphia, and he’d plated 29 runs in his first 32 games with the team.

Bruce’s acquisition helped to offset the loss of Andrew McCutchen, who suffered a torn ACL earlier this season and won’t return until 2020. An absence for Bruce could open the door for the return of Nick Williams — the one-time top prospect who has yet to solidify himself as a big league regular in the manner most envisioned when he was rising through the minor leagues. The 25-year-old Williams logged an ugly .173/.221/.259 slash through 86 plate appearances with the Phillies earlier in 2019 before being optioned to Triple-A, but that poor output came in an extremely limited role that was surely foreign to him.

Since being sent to Triple-A for regular at-bats, Williams has laid waste to International League pitching. In 120 trips to the plate, he’s recorded a superlative .358/.417/.651 with six homers, 10 doubles and two triples. He’d be the obvious candidate to replace Bruce on a short-term basis, but one can only wonder whether the Phils would again look to the trade market for another outfield option. While the Phillies have quickly faded in the NL East race, they’re still very much in the thick of the NL Wild Card mix. And after such an aggressive offseason, it’d be a disheartening concession for the team’s decision-makers to operate as anything other than a deadline buyer.

Latest On Phillies’ Injuries

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The Phillies welcomed Pat Neshek back from the injured list today, activating the veteran reliever from the 10-day IL after he missed three weeks due to rotator cuff inflammation.  Cole Irvin was also called up from Triple-A for his third taste of MLB action this season, while the Phillies optioned Edgar Garcia and Ranger Suarez back to the minors to make roster space for Neshek and Irvin.

Neshek has a 4.67 ERA over 17 1/3 innings this season, though that number is a little deceptive.  Neshek’s final outing before hitting the IL saw him allow three runs in just two-thirds of an inning, inflating what had been a respectable 3.24 ERA.  Overall, Neshek has allowed runs in just five of his 19 appearances, though his K/9 sits at just 4.7, marking the second straight year that Neshek (whose career K/9 is 8.7) hasn’t missed many bats.

With one good bit of injury news in the form of Neshek’s return, the Phillies are hopeful of avoiding another IL stint after Jay Bruce had to leave last night’s game due to left hamstring tightness.  Bruce is considered day-to-day, and the club believes the outfielder won’t need any time on the injured list, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.  The Phillies are short enough in the outfield as it is, though Bruce has been an incredible boon since being acquired from the Mariners on June 2.  Bruce has already hit five homers and posted a .308/.341/.744 slash line over his first 41 plate appearances in a Phillies uniform.

Bryce Harper, Scott Kingery, and Nick Williams lined up right to left in Philadelphia’s outfield today against the Braves, with Brad Miller and Sean Rodriguez available as utility options off the bench.  None of this group, not even Kingery, is a true center fielder, as the Phillies didn’t get Roman Quinn back from the IL this weekend as expected.  Quinn has been limited to just seven games this season due to both an oblique strain suffered at the end of Spring Training, and then a groin strain that has sidelined him since April 25.  According to Lauber, Quinn “felt discomfort” after being hit in the shoulder with a pitch on Friday during his Double-A rehab assignment, though Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the latest setback isn’t thought to be serious.

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