The Phillies After July’s Trades

During the rain delay, you can hear baseball conversations without much effort. One gear-wearing local expressed his disappointment regarding Klentak’s pickups. He should have got a blue-chipper from the Colorado Rockies, but they only gave up lottery types. Wasn’t Nick Pivetta – his friend questioned – one of those? Well, his ERA is over 5.00 and he’s no ace, is he? Hey, they’re removing the tarp.

Regarding the rotation, the battle is for the bottom two rungs: Pivetta, Jake Thompson, Ben Lively, Zach Eflin and Mark Leiter Jr. are the top arms if Klentak doesn’t add a veteran during the offseason. In fact, the competition is very fluid. Thompson, for instance, had an unexpected opportunity but had a good and poor start. For now, however, Pivetta, Eflin, Lively, Leiter and Thompson will get more chances.

"NICE CATCH:     “I’ve learned to never expect or require performances that exceed the player’s ability. If they just equal their ability, that’s what you want.” – Ned Colletti"

For the relief corps, Leiter replaced Thompson, the southpaws are there due to shortcomings with left-handed relief, and Jesen Therrien – linked at Jesen Dygestile-Therrien – filled one opening. Unfortunately, Edubray Ramos had been on the seven-day disabled list at Triple-A from July 24 with a blister problem, but he rejoined the Philadelphia Phillies after one test outing on August 1 to fill Joaquin Benoit’s spot.

If you’re expecting first baseman Rhys Hoskins, he had an inconsistent July with a .211 average, five home runs and 15 RBIs. Meanwhile, right fielder Dylan Cozens is slumping, and his July stats were .189, five homers and 12 RBIs. As for Nick Williams, though, he was down to .277 but he has rebounded. However, his improvement with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs and the Phillies is a small sample size, and Klentak just added left fielder Hyun Soo Kim, a left-handed hitter. But Kim has struggled this season with limited playing time due to a crowded Baltimore outfield after hitting .302 last summer in 305 at-bats.

Next: Ashburn vs. Herrera (a timeframe comparison)

To sum up, Klentak acquired three starters, two late-inning relievers, Kim and one middle infielder, who could possibly switch to third base (just a thought). Presently, Williams will have some competition for left field: the GM’s backup plan. And what is it for Williams and Kim? Audition time!