GM Klentak making moves
Even without signing big star, team getting closer to its goals.
With the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings now in the rearview mirror, it’s not Manny Machado and Bryce Harper but Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen and Jose Alvarez that have been added to the Phillies’ roster.
There’s still time for the Phillies to throw a ridiculous amount of money at one of those superstars but if they don’t, regardless of who else the Phillies acquire via trade or sign off the free agent market, there is going to be disappointment in Philadelphia. And you can’t really fault Phillies fans.
They’ve been subjected to seven straight seasons of .500 or worse ball with the consolation being that this franchise would loosen the purse strings to make it all better for the 2019 season. Patience would pay off. The
thing is, that patience is running thinner every day the Phillies go without signing Machado or Harper.
Because of how expectations for this offseason have been set up for Phillies fans, they won’t want to hear this, but the team is in much better shape than even just one month ago. General manager Matt Klentak has improved the club. As things stand right now, this club could easily be five wins better than the 2018 team, maybe even close to 10. And 10 wins would have had the Phillies tied with the Braves for the NL East title.
Harper and Machado are obviously the prized pieces but what Klentak has done so far is making sure, regardless of what happens the rest of the offseason, the Phillies are in a better position than they were
at the end of last season.
Some things will be out of Klentak’s complete control. After his visit to Citizens Bank Park this week, the Phillies could offer more money than anybody to Machado, and he could still turn it down. Playing for the Yankees could be worth more to him than a few extra million. So could staying at shortstop. If Klentak goes all-in for Machado and gets turned down, it won’t be his fault.
Not getting Machado will hurt but Klentak made sure the Phillies aren’t left out in the cold as far as improving the infield. Before the Winter Meetings even started he traded for a two-time All-Star, perennial .300 hitter and player who came in at 11 total fielding runs above average last season, according to Baseball Reference, to plug in on the left side of the infield.
The Segura trade also allowed the Phillies to improve by moving Rhys Hoskins back to
his natural position at first and severed ties with Carlos Santana after one year. Now instead of filling that hole left in the outfield by someone on the current roster, Klentak signed Andrew McCutchen for $50 million.
Signing McCutchen does much of the same — improves the outfield, just in case Harper isn’t signed. And if he is, then the outfield will be that much better. It’s not just McCutchen’s on-base percentage either, which was 20th-best in baseball last year. McCutchen gives the Phillies a boost defensively, especially over Hoskins. Hoskins’ ultimate zone rating (UZR) — a sabermetric stat used to compare fielding to the average player — was -11.3, according to Fangraphs. McCutchen’s UZR in left and right was the same at -0.4. Not great, but a major upgrade over Hoskins, regardless of which corner outfield position McCutchen takes.
While Klentak has had a
strong winter so far, it will be what he does with the rest of it that determines whether it’s looked at as a success. The Phillies’ three biggest remaining needs are a bat, a starting pitcher and a reliever.
Machado or Harper would satisfy the first of those needs. The second is where the Phillies could have some trouble.
They already came up one year short on Patrick Corbin, who got six with the Nationals, and would only go to two years with J.A. Happ, who wanted three. Happ didn’t get three with the Yankees, but the vesting option for 2021 (throw at least 165 innings or make 27 starts in 2020, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman) was sweet enough.
The newest rumor has the Phillies still grabbing a lefty, although it’s unclear which need he would fill.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber reported Saturday
the Phillies are mulling a trade for Texas’ Mike Minor. They could use him as a starter or reliever, although Lauber notes it’s likely the Phillies are looking at Minor for the rotation.
That makes sense since NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reported throughout the Winter Meetings that the Phillies were pursuing lefty reliever Zach Britton and tweeted Friday they’re still “strongly on Andrew Miller,” another left-hander for the backend of the bullpen.
Signing Miller would be another feather in Klentak’s cap and keep the Phillies in the thick of things in the NL East. But it’s all about expectations. And the only thing that will save this offseason for Klentak in the eyes of many is Harper or Machado, even though without them, the Phillies still should be a better in 2019.
Stephen Gross is a freelance writer.