PhilaPhans

And they still presumably have Morales to trade. I'd be mildly surprised if they just let him go.

The Phillies made to the World Series, in large part, because of a very good performance by their bullpen.

Then the ran into arguably one of the Top 5 best bullpens in MLB history.

So they decided to double-down on their own bullpen, as something they think will provide benefits in both the regular season and October.

The days of "You need a Papelbon and then everything else falls into place" are long gone.

Christopher wrote: ↑Mon Jan 09, 2023 7:57 pm The Phillies made to the World Series, in large part, because of a very good performance by their bullpen.

Then the ran into arguably one of the Top 5 best bullpens in MLB history.

So they decided to double-down on their own bullpen, as something they think will provide benefits in both the regular season and October.

The days of "You need a Papelbon and then everything else falls into place" are long gone.

Which gets me back to the Kimbrel signing. I had to argue with people telling them he is not the set closer.

The closer is your best man available for that game at this point. In the analytics game, the saves stats will ween, and you won't see guys with career 300+ saves.

Be. Still. My. Heart.

https://twitter.com/2008Philz/status/16 ... _kczA&s=19

I feel like this lineup still needs a bat, then I realize that's because Castellanos was such a disappointment for so much of the season. He had it going for a bit, albeit streaky, but this team needs him to be the .300 hitter guy with a return of his power, especially until Harper gets back.

Yeah, the No. 1 key to 2023 is eventually getting a healthy Harper back into the lineup.

But besides that huge caveat, I'm pretty comfortable with the lineup.
-- Trea Turner a huge upgrade over Segura
-- Bohm and Stott likely to keep improving
-- Castellanos is a good bet to rebound

No matter where he hits in the lineup (that's a different debate), I'd like to see Schwarber cut down on his swing and his strikeouts. He's capable of being a .240 BA, .340 OBP guy with 80+ walks and only 150 strikeouts (instead of 200). He can benefit the lineup much more as that kind of guy, with only 32-35 home runs, than he can as a continued all-or-nothing guy.

Trey Mancini is an interesting idea.
The extent to which he fell off with Houston tells me there had to be mitigating circumstances.
He's a .750 OPS guy. See if he'll take a pillow contract, plug him into RF for half a year, and then bolster the bench

Phillies have signed 20-year-old starting pitcher Pan Wen-Hui of Taiwan, who has a 98 mph fastball plus a splitter, slider and curve. Had offers from at least four other teams. Signing bonus of $400,000 and scouts are pretty high on him.

He'll join Taiwanese infielder Hao Yu Lee in the Phillies' system. Hao Yu Lee was voted the Best Batting Prospect in the Florida State League in 2022 and should get to Reading this year for his Age 20 season. Doesn't really have a set position yet; second base might be best bet.

Phillies add RH RP Louis Head to the minors. Has some short-term success in majors with Rays. Might be fixable.

Christopher wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:54 pm Trey Mancini is an interesting idea.
The extent to which he fell off with Houston tells me there had to be mitigating circumstances.
He's a .750 OPS guy. See if he'll take a pillow contract, plug him into RF for half a year, and then bolster the bench

Signing with the Cubs