Michael Conforto

NL News & Rumors: Cubs, Schwarber, Mets, Giants, Bucs, Braves

By Connor Byrne | December 9, 2018 at 3:48pm CDT

The Cubs, who have always been bullish on Kyle Schwarber, continue to spurn inquiries for the slugger, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Still only 25 years old, Schwarber just turned in a 3.2-fWAR season in which he batted .238/.356/.467 (115 wRC+) with 26 home runs in 510 plate appearances and unexpectedly received positive marks in left field (two DRS, 9.8 UZR). Schwarber will play his first of three potential arbitation seasons in 2019, when he’s projected to earn just $3.1MM.

Here’s more from the National League:

Unsurprisingly, the Mets aren’t willing to part with both Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo in a trade for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. Moreover, the Mets don’t want to trade young infielder Amed Rosario at all, Heyman adds. As great as Realmuto is, it wouldn’t make sense for the Mets to trade Conforto and Nimmo – their most valuable outfielders – for two years of control over him. Conforto still has another three years of control left, while Nimmo has four more – including a pre-arb season in 2019.
The Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations a month ago, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was among the candidates they spoke with before then, according to Heyman. It’s unclear how serious the Giants’ interest in Huntington was, but it is known that he’s under contract in Pittsburgh through 2021. Next season will be Huntington’s 12th as the Pirates’ GM.
More on the Mets, who – along with the previously reported Chili Davis – have added Chuck Hernandez and Luis Rojas to their coaching staff, Heyman tweets and the the team has since made official. Hernandez will be their bullpen coach, while Rojas will serve as a quality control coach. Hernandez worked as the division-rival Braves’ pitching coach from 2017-18. They dismissed him after last season.
Speaking of the Braves, they’ve hired Gary Rajsich to work in professional and amateur scouting, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Rajsich had been the Orioles’ scouting director since 2011, bu they booted him from their front office last month.

Mets, Others Involved In J.T. Realmuto Market

By Steve Adams | December 5, 2018 at 11:44am CDT

TODAY: The Mets are “resistant” on including Rosario in a deal, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). It seems the Marlins have at least some level of interest, unsurprisingly, in Nimmo, Conforto, and Rosario.

All things considered, it does not appear at present as if the sides have settled upon a clear potential deal structure. There could well be other moving parts to getting something done. After all, the Mets would need to fill in for any departing MLB assets while the Marlins could conceivably involve a third team to spin off any acquired MLB pieces.

YESTERDAY, 8:32pm: The Mets have spoken to the Marlins and are at least considering the possibility of including Nimmo as a centerpiece in a Realmuto deal, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That said, Sherman cautions that there’s no deal close and that the Marlins are still in talks with multiple other clubs.

However, whether that would be enough for the Mets remains to be seen. Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM tweets that the Marlins don’t view Nimmo as a potential Realmuto centerpiece and would prefer Rosario or Conforto to headline a package of young players instead. That’s at least somewhat curious, given the fact that Conforto has only one more season of club control remaining than Realmuto.

6:55pm: Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that it’s unlikely the Mets would include Conforto in a trade for Realmuto.

5:35pm: Trade chatter surrounding J.T. Realmuto will persist throughout the offseason following the definitive declaration that he won’t be signing an extension with the Marlins. While the Marlins reportedly have a preference to trade Realmuto outside of the division, Andy Martino of SNY writes that the Mets are looking into Realmuto now that they officially have Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz on board. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, in fact, reports that the Mets reached out on Realmuto earlier today and are being “aggressive” in their pursuit (Twitter links).

Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets that the belief is that the Mets would have to include at least one young Major Leaguer in order to pry Realmuto loose from Miami, and Rosenthal suggests the same. (The Mets subtracted a pair of high-end prospects from its system when trading outfielder Jarred Kelenic and right-hander Justin Dunn to Seattle in the Cano/Diaz swap.) Martino speculated that Amed Rosario’s name could come into play, and Rosenthal adds both Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto as the type of talents that could pique Miami’s interest. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Mets would have any actual interest in dealing from that promising young trio. More specifically Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that Rosario and Nimmo would be Miami’s top two targets in talks.

The Mets already tendered contracts to both Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud, though either could be traded elsewhere or designated for assignment anyway, should the organization land an upgrade in the form of Realmuto. (Speculatively, either could also be sent back to Miami as a short-term stopgap in the absence of Realmuto.)

Elsewhere in the NL East (which, to this point, has been the runaway most active division in terms of offseason activity), Craig Mish of SiriusXM tweets that the Phillies have inquired on Realmuto but are considered to be a long shot. The Phils presently have Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp as in-house catching options now that Wilson Ramos is a free agent, and they’ve been aggressive early this winter, already acquiring Jean Segura and James Pazos from the Mariners.

Mish also suggests that the Braves have inquired on Realmuto, although both David O’Brien of The Athletic and Heyman have tweeted otherwise. O’Brien indicates that he was somewhat bluntly told there’s no validity to the report that Austin Riley and Mike Soroka have come up in discussions, while Heyman reports that the Braves haven’t even engaged on any serious Realmuto talks this winter. O’Brien further adds that the Braves have shifted their focus to adding a corner outfielder and shoring up the pitching staff (Twitter links).

Looking outside the NL East, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that the Rockies have checked in on the catcher — although talks between the two sides, to this point, have failed to progress. Colorado would make a perfectly logical landing spot, though, given that none of Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters or Tom Murphy stands out as an obvious front-line option. The Rockies also have plenty of young pitching — much of it MLB-ready, which would surely be of interest to the Marlins as they continue to build for the future.

It’s worth remembering, too, that the clubs here likely only represent a fraction of the market for Realmuto. Heyman notes that 14 teams have inquired with the Marlins about Realmuto this winter, and while clearly not all of those clubs will be particularly aggressive in their pursuit, the sheer volume underscores how many teams view the All-Star backstop as a potential difference maker. A trade isn’t necessarily guaranteed, but it’s likely that Realmuto’s value is at its apex this winter. The Marlins surely know that their time with Realmuto is limited following comments from agent Jeff Berry and, per Mish, a pair of rejected extension offers of four and five years in length (both at prices that are nowhere near Realmuto’s actual market value).

Mets Listening To Trade Offers On Veteran Players

By Steve Adams | June 18, 2018 at 3:19pm CDT

3:19pm: MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that while the Mets are indeed listening to offers, no deals should be expected in the short-term. Despite the recent run of poor play, the Mets will take another few weeks to see if they can turn things around before committing to a sale.

11:05am: With the Mets mired in an abysmal slump that has seen the team go 3-11 in the month of June, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports in his latest notes column (subscription required) that they’re “open for business.” While the Mets understandably prefer to hang onto controllable players like Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman and Jacob deGrom, Rosenthal notes that they’ll at the very least entertain offers for virtually anyone on the roster.

It’s been fewer than two weeks since Mets general manager Sandy Alderson called the chances of a major summer sell-off “very remote,” though Alderson admitted at the time of his comments that “circumstances could change” his stance. It’s perhaps telling that in the 13 days between the publication of those two stories, the Mets have gone just 3-8 and scored a paltry 25 runs in a span of 11 games. In the interim, they’ve seen Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes suffer setbacks in their recoveries from injury and revealed that reliever AJ Ramos is weighing season-ending surgery to repair his ailing shoulder.

Of course, the two reports can also coexist without contradicting one another. Dealing some short-term pieces this summer would hardly constitute a “major” sell-off, after all. And, generally speaking, Alderson was speaking out against the possibility of a full tear-down more than he was against smaller trades around the margins of the 25-man roster.

While there’s been no shortage of speculation surrounding deGrom, there’s been little indication that the Mets would truly be open to moving their ace. In fact, Rosenthal goes so far as to write that the Mets would actually be more open to trading Syndergaard, who has an additional year of control, though that’s perhaps more a statement on their unwillingness to move deGrom than it is their willingness to part with Syndergaard. Clearly, either pitcher would require a trade partner to surrender an absolutely farm-gutting haul of talent if the Mets were to even consider budging. The Mets shouldn’t be expected to shop either player aggressively.

[Related: New York Mets depth chart and New York Mets payroll]

More realistic trade pieces would include impending free-agents Asdrubal Cabrera, Jeurys Familia and Devin Mesoraco. Struggling lefty Jerry Blevins has a lengthy track record despite poor results in 2018, and there’s time yet for him to right the ship and hold appeal to another organization. The Mets also have a number of intriguing players who are controlled only through the 2019 season, including Todd Frazier, Zack Wheeler, Anthony Swarzak and Wilmer Flores. As is the case with Blevins, lefty starter Jason Vargas has a solid track record but poor 2018 results to date, though he’s begun to turn things around of late (3.91 ERA, 23 strikeouts, seven walks in his past 23 innings).

Certainly, the focus of many readers will be on just what type of package it’d take to pry away one of the Mets’ two young aces, deGrom or Syndergaard, but it seems likelier that they’ll instead focus on moving shorter-term pieces. Rosenthal adds that, in particular, the Mets will be “motivated” to move Familia given that they’re not likely to make him a qualifying offer following the season. As such, they’d stand to lose him for nothing if he’s not dealt this summer.

Familia did just have a minimal stint on the DL for shoulder soreness, but if he can prove that to be a non-issue, he’d certainly hold appeal. He’s earning $7.925MM this season (with $4.45MM yet to be paid out) and has worked to a 2.70 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.3 HR/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate in 30 innings.

Mets Could Demote Michael Conforto

By Connor Byrne | June 10, 2018 at 8:42am CDT

Mets outfielder Michael Conforto looked like one of the brightest young stars in baseball last season, his age-24 campaign, when he slashed .279/.384/.555 with 27 home runs and racked up 4.3 fWAR. Conforto piled up those stellar numbers over just 440 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending left shoulder surgery in early September, and because of that injury, the Mets went into the winter unsure of what he’d provide in 2018.

To Conforto’s credit, he worked his way back to the Mets’ lineup a few weeks earlier than expected, making his season debut on April 5. At that point, New York was amid a red-hot start that would see the team collect 11 wins in its first 12 games. Two months later, the Mets are a lowly 27-34, owners of the third-worst record in the National League and the NL’s second-worst offense by runs scored (235).

Even though he owns the majors’ 11th-best walk percentage (15.1), Conforto hasn’t really been part of the solution, having hit an uninspiring .219/.340/.365 line with seven homers in 212 PAs. The Mets even pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning of a one-run loss to the Yankees on Saturday, electing to sit the left-handed Conforto in favor of the righty-swinging Devin Mesoraco with southpaw Aroldis Chapman on the mound.

Unfortunately for Conforto, there may be a more significant demotion on the way if he doesn’t turn his season around soon. The Mets have considered sending Conforto to Triple-A Las Vegas to work through his issues, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The likelihood of that has decreased over the past day, Sherman notes, given that fellow outfielder Yoenis Cespedes suffered a setback in his injury rehab on Saturday. Had Cespedes remained on track, New York may well have optioned Conforto upon the veteran’s return. For his part, Conforto – whom the Mets previously sent to the minors during a disappointing 2016 – doesn’t believe he’d benefit from another trip to Vegas.

“Triple-A is not an answer. I’ve been through that,” he said. “I have done all I can do down there. I play at this level, that’s it.”

While Conforto understandably wants to remain in the majors, the Mets may have an outfield logjam on their hands when Cespedes does come back. He and the emergent Brandon Nimmo will be guaranteed starting jobs, manager Mickey Callaway informed Sherman, leaving one everyday spot for the struggling Jay Bruce (in the first season of a three-year, $39MM contract) and Conforto. Both players are lefty hitters, so the Mets wouldn’t be able to simply platoon them, and Conforto has options remaining. As such, the Mets may send him down so he’ll continue receiving consistent at-bats.

In another scenario, Sherman points out that Bruce and/or Cespedes could see time at first, which would perhaps spell the end of the Adrian Gonzalez era. The Mets brought Gonzalez in over the winter as a league-minimum free agent, but it hasn’t worked to this point. They’re mulling how much longer they want to go with Gonzalez, Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista – three mid-30-somethings whose best days appear long gone. Moving on from some or all of that group instead of demoting Conforto would seem to make more sense for a New York club that doesn’t look as if it’s going to contend this season, though it seems Conforto’s going to have to make a case for a roster spot as the team awaits Cespedes’ return.

While Conforto’s bottom-line production has declined this year, his underlying numbers have also worsened. After running up a .385 expected weighted on-base average a year ago, he’s at .332 this season. That’s still above the .321 league average, though it’s not the borderline elite figure he posted in 2017, when he averaged a 95.2 mph exit velocity on fly balls/line drives and made 95 mph-plus contact on 43.2 percent of batted balls. This season, Conforto has posted a 92.3 mph mean on flies/liners and seen his rate of 95 mph-plus contact drop to 32.8. Further, Conforto’s line drive rate has dropped off considerably since 2017 (from 24.4 percent to 17.7), while both his groundball percentage (37.8 to 41.9) and infield fly rate (10.1 percent to 14.0) have increased to discouraging degrees.

All of the above has helped add up to Conforto’s subpar start and may lead to a minor league demotion sometime soon. For now, he and his team, losers of eight straight (all at home), are left to dig out of a deep hole. Having scored just 10 runs this month, during which Conforto has batted .080/.207/.200 in 29 PAs, the Mets sit 8.5 games out in both their division and a crowded NL wild-card race.

Mets Activate Michael Conforto

By Jeff Todd | April 5, 2018 at 8:33am CDT

TODAY: The move is now official, which further sets the stage for an exciting early-season tilt between the Mets and Nationals. Conforto will play center and take the leadoff spot in the lineup.

YESTERDAY, 5:25pm: The Mets will activate Conforto before tomorrow’s game against the Nationals, Puma tweets. Infielder Philip Evans is being optioned out to create a spot on the active roster.

10:12am: The Mets will bring outfielder Michael Conforto on their forthcoming road trip to Washington, D.C., Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. While the precise plans aren’t yet clear, it seems likely that Conforto will be activated from the DL tomorrow, Puma notes.

This is the latest good news for a Mets organization that came into the 2017-18 offseason with numerous health questions. By and large, the uncertainties have resolved to this point in a positive manner, significantly improving the club’s outlook for the new season and beyond.

Conforto had suffered a worrying shoulder injury late in the 2017 campaign, undergoing surgery to repair a torn capsule. That procedure came with a roughly six-month recovery timeline, so in that regard it’s not altogether surprising that he is returning now. But the fact that he’s already geared up to spend almost all of the season in the majors surely represents the best-case scenario for an important young player.

Even as the Mets stumbled in 2017, Conforto turned in a monster year at the plate, slashing .279/.384/.555 and driving 27 balls out of the park in 440 plate appearances. Then came the news that the 25-year-old would join several other core players on the DL with significant injuries, clouding the team’s near-term outlook.

If Conforto can produce at anything approaching that level, he’ll return to a roster that increasingly seems primed to contend. The Mets signed multiple veteran pieces over the winter, bringing in outfielder Jay Bruce, third baseman Todd Frazier, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, infielder Jose Reyes, starter Jason Vargas, and reliever Anthony Swarzak. With the club’s high-end rotation generally showing promise this spring, there’s generally cause for optimism in Queens.

It’ll be interesting to see how the return of Conforto changes the team’s position-player rotation, which is now full of options. He joins Bruce and center fielder Brandon Nimmo as left-handed-hitting outfielders. Yoenis Cespedes will continue to get the bulk of the time in left, while Juan Lagares will presumably mostly see action against southpaws and in late-game situations. Though Bruce could in theory appear at first base to help alleviate the outfield logjam, Gonzalez also hits from the left side and is already accompanied by a right-handed bat in utilityman Wilmer Flores.

Injury Notes: Mets, Conforto, Gurriel, E. Jimenez, Gamel

By Connor Byrne | April 1, 2018 at 4:39pm CDT

Mets outfielder Michael Conforto could come off the disabled list as early as Thursday, manager Mickey Callaway announced (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Conforto, who’s working back from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last September, is already set to rejoin the Mets in New York, Healey was among those to report Sunday. It seems he’ll avoid a rehab assignment, then, and if last year’s breakout carries over, Conforto will once again pair with Yoenis Cespedes to serve as one of the Mets’ two best hitters this season. Plus, he’ll further deepen a Mets outfield that also includes Cespedes, Jay Bruce, Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares.

Meanwhile, Mets reliever Anthony Swarzak will undergo an MRI on his sore left oblique on Monday, per Tim Britton of The Athletic. Swarzak, who inked a two-year, $14MM deal with the Mets in free agency, suffered the injury Saturday.

More injury updates from around the game…

Astros manager A.J. Hinch told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday that he expects first baseman Yuli Gurriel to make his 2018 debut on Tuesday. Gurriel has been recovering from surgery on his left hand since late February, and because he’s not on the DL, he has been able to serve his season-opening suspension at the same time. Major League Baseball gave Gurriel a five-game ban as a result of an insensitive gesture he directed at then-Dodger Yu Darvish during the World Series last year.
White Sox outfield prospect Eloy Jimenez strained his left pectoral muscle and will lay off baseball activities for a week, the team announced Saturday. Jimenez, whom MLB.com ranks as the game’s fourth-best prospect, previously missed two weeks in spring training on account of knee tendinitis. Although the 21-year-old Jimenez hasn’t even played above the Double-A level yet, there’s optimism he’ll debut in Chicago sometime this season. He’ll begin the year in Double-A after he works his way back in game shape via extended spring training action, per the Sox.
Mariners corner outfielder Ben Gamel is recovering nicely from the strained right oblique he suffered March 2, manager Scott Servais informed Greg Johns of MLB.com and other reporters Sunday. Gamel is on track to be in Triple-A Tacoma’s lineup when its season begins on Thursday. Once he completes his rehab in the minors, he’ll be part of a Mariners outfield mix that also includes future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, who has started all three of their games in left in place of Gamel. Ichiro’s playing time figures to decrease upon Gamel’s return, though Servais didn’t want to discuss that Sunday, per Johns.

NL East Notes: Nimmo, Conforto, Cooper, Sanchez

By Kyle Downing | March 31, 2018 at 4:11pm CDT

The imminent return of Michael Conforto could force one of his deserving Mets teammates out of a job, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Specifically, leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo (who reached base four times on opening day) could end up being displaced to the bench, as the Mets also have Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce at the outfield corners. Nimmo, who was the club’s first-round selection in 2011, leapfrogged Juan Lagares on the depth chart with a fantastic spring. However, he doesn’t carry the upside of Conforto or the track record of Bruce or Cespedes. DiComo adds that the Mets are not considering shifting Bruce to first base, as the club seems content with Adrian Gonzalez at that position for the time being. For his part, Nimmo isn’t thinking about the outfield crunch at this time. “When Conforto comes back, we’ll deal with that,” he said. “But as far as right now, I’m just going to try to be me, and be the best me I can.”

Other items from the NL’s eastern teams…

In other Mets news, Anthony Swarzak left today’s game with an apparent injury. Said injury was later described as a “sore oblique”, and he’s considered day-to-day for the time being (h/t Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). For Swarzak’s part, he’s “not panicking” about the soreness and is hoping it’ll disappear tomorrow.
After being hit by a pitch on the wrist in yesterday’s 17-inning marathon, Marlins outfielder Garrett Cooper was replaced by fellow outfielder Cameron Maybin. After the game, the club described the injury as a “wrist contusion”, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. It’s good news for Miami to hear that Cooper’s wrist isn’t broken, but he’s day-to-day for the time being, and it’s unclear when he’ll return to the lineup. “I took the sleeve off, and it was pretty purple,” Cooper said of the injury. “No fracture. Just day-to-day right now. I can move it around. Just a little swollen.”
The Braves currently have three catchers on the roster, but manager Brian Snitker says that one of them could give way to right-hander Anibal Sanchez soon. David O’Brien of the Atlantla Journal-Constitution writes that while Sanchez has been tabbed for the fifth spot in the rotation (when necessary) for some time, the club may add him sooner than that in case they need to deploy him as a reliever. Sanchez pitched to a horrific 5.67 ERA across 415 2/3 innings across his last three seasons with the Tigers, though his strikeout (8.14 K/9) and walk (2.84) ratios remained generally good during that time.

Quick Hits: Miller, Tribe, Conforto, Ubaldo, Cubs, Rangers

By Connor Byrne | March 25, 2018 at 9:08am CDT

Indians reliever Andrew Miller could be one of the faces of a star-studded class of free agents next winter, but he’d prefer to continue his career in Cleveland. “I’m focused on this season. But absolutely. If I have an opportunity to stay here, I would. I love it here. The city’s been great to us. I can’t imagine a better place to be,” Miller told Grant Segall of Cleveland.com. After combining for a 1.93 ERA with 14.7 K/9, 2.48 BB/9 and a 51 percent groundball rate from 2013-17, the 32-year-old Miller will attempt to turn in yet another elite campaign in 2018. He’ll earn $9MM in the process.

Juan Lagares Still Drawing Trade Interest

By Steve Adams | March 13, 2018 at 5:32pm CDT

5:32pm: The A’s don’t have interest in Lagares at this time, tweets the Post’s Joel Sherman, removing one speculative partner from consideration.

4:20pm: The Mets have received recent trade interest in Juan Lagares and “haven’t ruled out” a trade of the defensively gifted center fielder, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Per Puma, at least one AL club has maintained interest in Lagares into the middle portion of Spring Training.

Lagares, who turns 29 on Saturday, is guaranteed $6.5MM in 2018 and $9MM in 2019, plus a $500K buyout of a $9.5MM option for the 2020 season. While his bat has been a negative asset since he signed his $23.5MM extension prior to the 2015 season, his glove remains superlative; over the past three seasons, Lagares has amassed 1914 2/3 innings in the outfield (nearly all in center field) and delivered 25 Defensive Runs Saved and 22.1 Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast’s OOA metric pegged him at seven outs better than an average defender in 2017.

Moving Lagares would obviously thin out New York’s outfield mix, though Puma notes that Brandon Nimmo could be leapfrogging Lagares on the depth chart with a strong spring showing while Lagares struggles at the dish. Michael Conforto is expected to man center field upon his return — which Puma notes could come by early May — with Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce lining up in the corners. Conforto’s return would push Nimmo and Lagares further down the depth chart. Cespedes, it should be noted, is being slowed by a sore wrist, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that X-rays on the wrist came back negative.

The Mets are currently set to open the 2018 season with a club-record payroll of more than $152MM, and the fact that they already have $95MM+ on the payroll for the 2019 season creates some further impetus for moving Lagares if he’s been pushed to fifth on the outfield depth chart. The Mets figure to get some of those projected Opening Day figures back in the form of an insurance policy on David Wright’s salary — he’s expected to be shut down from baseball activity for eight weeks — but it obviously stands to reason that no team would relish the notion of paying a fifth outfielder at that relatively lofty rate.

Speculatively looking around the American League, the A’s, Tigers, White Sox and Rangers were among the clubs that received questionable defensive ratings from their center field contingents in 2017, and the Royals lost Lorenzo Cain to free agency (though they’ve since added Jon Jay on an affordable one-year deal). The Mariners, meanwhile, are dealing with a thin outfield mix that is being slowed by injuries and have placed a premium on defensive value under GM Jerry Dipoto, who is never shy about making trades.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Conforto, AGon, Robles

By Jeff Todd | March 13, 2018 at 11:16am CDT

As the Phillies introduce Jake Arrieta today, the organization is now much more clearly in a competitive posture than it was at the outset of the winter. But the pedal won’t be fully pressed down, it seems, despite the presence of a few other notable free agents who’d improve the near-term outlook in Philadelphia. GM Matt Klentak says that he does not anticipate any further additions before the start of the season, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets.

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