Klentak still shopping after deal he couldn’t seal
PHILADELPHIA » Rather than swing a deal for another New York elder slugger, Matt Klentak followed the money.
Multiple reports had the Phillies claiming the Mets’ Jose Bautista on revocable trade waivers Monday, a precursor to working out a deal for the veteran slugger who has seen better days.
Citing MLB keep-yeryap-shut rules, Klentak would neither confirm nor deny the report about Bautista, but did offer up a vague hint or two that he is trying to put together another trade to help a thin bench that he’s already spent the better part of the past seven weeks fortifying.
First, however, he wanted to be shown the money.
“I was working on a trade this afternoon, but it’s not the one you’re asking about,” Klentak said. He went on to say he’d traded minor leaguer Jack Zoellner to Baltimore for a batch of international pool money. Quite the splash.
“I know that’s not what you’re asking about,” Klentak said, “but that did take place today.”
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Actually, no one should complain about the lack of a more exciting move, since Klentak has made a few of them of late, with former Met Asdrubal Cabrera and new veteran catcher Wilson Ramos both in the starting lineup for this game against the Nationals, with Justin Bour’s bat having made a somewhat significant contribution since he was acquired in a waiver-trade deal Aug. 10.
But Bour is now on the shelf and could miss another few weeks with an oblique injury, reason enough for Klentak to try to acquire another bench bat, even if it’s another aging Met. At 37, Bautista is five years older than Cabrera. But the deal will likely get done before the Aug. 31 midnight waiver trade deadline, as the Phillies continue to seek help in trying to outslug the consequences of their ridiculously poor team defense and tiring pitching staff.
Klentak perhaps could have made a different kind of deal, back before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. That familiar Cole Hamels guy who for a time at midsummer looked like a washed up ex-Series MVP? Since being traded to the Cubs a month ago, Hamels is 4-0 with an 0.79 ERA.
But the Klentak claim then is the same as it is now.
“I’m still not all that worried about our starters exceeding their workloads by a dangerous margin,” Klentak said. “I think we’re in pretty good shape there. I do think the fact that we’ve been able to carry an eightman bullpen all year, and mostly an effective eightman bullpen that will grow in a few days (with the Sept. 1 roster expansion) ... is only going to further enable us to take care of our starters and get them out of there earlier if necessary.”
OK, but only one starter, Aaron Nola, is pitching at the level Hamels has been firing in recent weeks. While a GM can’t go all crystal ball at a trade deadline, Klentak easily could have looked at Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta and guessed that somewhere down the road, another veteran starter on the club would’ve been beneficial in what he still hopes is a pennant race. Beyond that, Jake Arrieta hasn’t been so magical of late, allowing 10 earned runs over 17 innings while losing his last three starts.
So perhaps it’s not so surprising that Klentak did let slip Monday that he’s been amenable to acquiring more pitching, saying the Phils this month “have made claims on starting pitchers, none of which have led to a trade.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
“The fact that we’ve made claims on those guys says nothing,” Klentak claimed. “It doesn’t diminish our confidence in our current group. I think we just have to be smart about recognizing value when we see it. I don’t expect us to add a starter between now and Saturday. I don’t think that’s a pressing need for us. We really like the guys we run out there.”
To that end, manager Gabe Kapler and Klentak both waxed excitedly over the pending return of one Jerad Eickhoff, the master curve-baller who hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since Aug. 30 of last year. He’ll soon be here to work long relief out of the bullpen, and if the Phillies need another starter at some point in September ... it’s back to the rotation for Eickhoff.
In a way, it’s appropriate for Klentak to reach back into recent Phillies history for a cost-free acquisition to give the club help where it really needs it.
Even if digging a little deeper for an older hand like Hamels would have been a better deal.