Phillies arms waiting in the wings

While some Phillies fans micro-evaluate certain players and situations, general manager Matt Klentak doesn’t make knee-jerk moves because a starter had consecutive bad outings at a top organizational level.

Top guns:  

Despite the Philadelphia Phillies having rotation replacements with eye-popping numbers for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the red pinstripes, barring unforeseen events, won’t promote them during the first half. However, opportunities will be available when time runs out here on struggling hurlers.

"IN OTHER WORDS:         “Veterans get priority in the training room and better parking, but there is not a whole lot of difference in terms of how they’re treated in the competition for playing time. To me it doesn’t matter if a guy is a 10-year veteran or a rookie. If the rookie is better, he finds his way onto the field.” – Brendan Daly"

While every franchise has 15 slots on the 40-man roster besides the active 25, they include roughly 10 of their top prospects like right-hander Drew Anderson, a flamethrower. Last year, for instance, Klentak had more youngsters than his four remaining spots. One went to Seranthony Dominguez.

Unlike the new fan favorite, most minor leaguers receive advancement to the next plateau after the first or second half. But Dominguez is a rare exception, not the norm.

Holding out hope for a trade, the faithful have two strikes against them. Firstly, the Phils must be in the hunt after the toughest third of their schedule ends on July 1, and Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez or Nick Pivetta must require a replacement other than ones with Lehigh Valley.

On the other hand, Cole Hamels, 34, would be a perfect fit if he was the dominant ace from 2015. But he’s not! And keep in mind, the asking price will probably be a top prospect and the $13.5 million remaining on his contract. However, he could slot third on the staff for two months.

The main competition for Hamels could come from the Atlanta Braves, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals because they also are clubs he can’t block a trade to. Yes, other teams may have interest, but they might have to exercise his option for 2019: $20 million instead of the $6 million buyout. An additional $14 million!

Keep in mind, the plan was to form a rotation from the acquired pitchers and the farm system. And that includes five starters on the IronPigs: Ben Lively, Tom Eshelman, Enyel De Los Santos, Cole Irvin –the only southpaw– and Anderson. But remember, Jerad Eickhoff won’t be on the disabled list indefinitely.