Philadelphia Phillies: Trade bait up for debate
By Tal Venada
The Phillies have promised offseason fireworks with all but two stars available, but general manager Matt Klentak and his Analytics Department have two issues to address.
Kap-sized:
Before the Philadelphia Phillies begin making titanic-like deals, perhaps, GM Klentak should review the numbers with skipper Kapler. From, however, a nautical to a numerical point, the team had scored 690 runs in 2017 and 677 in 2018; but they played small ball and looked alive at September’s end.
"IN OTHER WORDS: “A mistake is only an error; it becomes a mistake when you fail to correct it.” – John Lennon"
Regarding production, the first fix is plating less runs with sabermetrics than the traditional way. And this inability is more striking because of the added firepower over the winter and July’s acquisitions. Sacrebleu!
As for the second problem, unused weaponry gets rusty. Cesar Hernandez, Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn have speed and can bunt. So, where were they when the club looked dead?
Glaring holes are obvious, but no franchise can fix every weakness without incurring the increased punishment for unbridled spending. Yes, even the New York Yankees in ’18 curtailed their expenditures to reset the Luxury Tax penalty due to 2019’s free-agent class.
By comparison to the faithful here, some Yankees fans go one step further by demanding a swindle by management of any organizations they work with. So, all supporters of the other 29 clubs are a bit more realistic.
Keep in mind, Klentak has competitors who have outfielders and third baseman to swap, and others are willing to accept lower offers or less capable regulars. And other GMs will point out every flaw involving Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, Justin Bour and Hernandez. High-stakes poker!
When the postseason ends, general managers will have decisions about who to protect from the Rule 5 Draft with a 40-man spot. Then, the Winter Meetings will begin on Dec. 9, and Klentak’s ground work will be slightly more visible due to leaks from other teams and agents. Translation: rumors!