Phillies will try to take the series with Fish on Sunday

Phillies wrap Marlins series in South Philly

After the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (15-12) dropped the opener of this four-game series with the last-place Miami Marlins (8-19), an unlikely and troubling scenario was presenting itself.

The Phillies roster was noticeably improved this past off-season by an influx of free agents and trade acquisitions. Much was expected of a team that was viewed as a legitimate contender, and they got off to a hot start.

But that loss in the series opener left the Phillies just a game over the .500 mark and struggling. They had lost six of their previous eight games and had suffered a series of recent injuries that seemed to sap the life out of the squad.

In order to win a division crown or a Wildcard playoff berth, teams are going to need to find a way to overcome injuries and other challenges. They are going to have to win series. And they are especially going to have to win the series that they are supposed to win.

This series against a bottom-dweller team at home was one that the Phillies needed to win, injuries or not. Losing the opener meant that in order to accomplish that, the club would have to capture three straight.

Well, we are almost there. The Phillies have recovered to win on Friday and Saturday nights, setting up the chance to win the series with a Sunday afternoon victory.

They won on Saturday night after building up what seemed to be an insurmountable 10-1 lead after five innings. But the Marlins, who have made an early-season habit of playing their best baseball on Saturdays, roared back to cut the deficit to just 10-9. 

Rhys Hoskins stepped up with a huge two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to clinch a 12-9 victory, setting up this Sunday opportunity.

Phillies shortstop Jean Segura, playing in his first game since being activated from the Injured List, was literally knocked out of the game on Saturday night when he was hit in the head by a pitch from Marlins starter Trevor Richards. His initial concussion examination came back negative, and after a re-evaluation this morning, Segura was cleared to play.

Phillies Nation wishes public address announcer Dan Baker well. An undisclosed illness caused Baker to miss his first game since Citizens Bank Park opened back in 2004. Generations of fans have listened as he introduced lineups, served as emcee for many events, and made numerous other announcements both at Veteran’s Stadium and CBP since 1972.

The Phillies currently are the only team in the National League East Division standings with a winning record. They hold a 1.5 game lead on the New York Mets, one game in the loss column. The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are both two games back in the loss column.

In wake of Mike Trout contract, Phillies fans need to move on and support their team

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Phillies fans are disappointed to not get a chance at Mike Trout

In one of my all-time favorite movies, 1988’s classic high school basketball film “Hoosiers”, there is a memorable speech delivered by Gene Hackman as coach Norman Dale.

He is a controversial new coach at the school and his star player has decided not to play that year in order to focus on class work. As the coach stands at center court to introduce his 1952 team, the crowd begins to chant for their star player.

Coach Dale’s response to the crowd is one that should be drilled into the minds and hearts of every team fan base at every level in every year:

“I would hope you would support who we are, and not who we are not.”

“These six individuals have made a choice to work, a choice to sacrifice, and put themselves on the line 23 nights for the next four months to represent you, this high school. That kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect. This is your team.”

There has been much excitement and speculation surrounding the potential for the Philadelphia Phillies to sign local product Mike Trout when he was due to become a free agent following the 2020 season.

Phillies fans have wanted it to happen for years, and recent free agent signee Bryce Harper only fueled the fires after he signed with the club earlier this month.

“I’m making $26 (million) a year, something like that, so I think that’s gonna be able to bring some other guys in as well that will help this organization win. I know there’s another guy (Trout) in about two years who comes up off the books. We’ll see what happens with him.”

That excitement was warranted. Trout is the best player in the game today. The argument is beginning to be made that he is one of the greatest players in the history of the game. You would have a hard time winning if you chose to argue against that point.

Trout is also a native of Millville, New Jersey. The town is just 45 miles southeast of Philadelphia. Trout grew up as a Philly sports fan. He tailgated at the 2008 World Series, has frequently attended 76ers games, and is a long-time Eagles season ticket holder.

ESPN names Bryce Harper as the most famous ballplayer on the planet

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Harper likely to fall further behind after already late spring start

Sports Illustrated has released its annual “World Fame 100” ranking of the most famous athletes on the planet. Only one baseball player made the 2019 list – new Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper.

There had been no baseball players to make the list in either of the last two years. Harper undoubtedly received a big push from his hotly contested pursuit in free agency this past off-season.

The folks at ESPN explain their process in this manner: “To identify the 100 most famous athletes in the world, we started with 800 of the biggest names in sports, drawn from 78 countries. We then ranked them based on a formula that took into account three fame factors.”

Those three fame factors are made up of the individual’s internet “search score“, the annual value of their current endorsement deals, and the size of their social media following.

The search score measures just how often the name was searched on Google by taking “the weighted average of an athlete’s Google Trends peak score (how much he spiked on his most searched day) and his average score (how much he was searched throughout 2018, on average.)”

ESPN uses a variety of resources including contributors to such sites as Forbes in order to approximate the endorsement values. The social media figure is taken from the individual’s number of followers on their most popular account platform.

Harper received a search score of 3, was listed as having a $13 million endorsement figure, and had 1.4 million followers (Instagram) on his largest social media account.

Mike Trout openly recruited to Philly by Bryce Harper

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Harper will try to bring Trout with him to Philly in 2020

Fans of the Philadelphia Phillies have been wishing upon a star for years now to one day see Mike Trout in red pinstripes manning an outfield position at Citizens Bank Park.

The Millville, New Jersey native is scheduled to become a free agent following the 2020 season. The Los Angeles Angels, who drafted him back in the first round of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft, are not likely to even consider trading their superstar any sooner than the non-waiver deadline at the end of July that year, if then.

Now it is not just the fans who are wishing and hoping to see Trout play his home games in Philly. Newly signed superstar right fielder Bryce Harper is getting in on the action, and is being public about his desire to see Trout join him in Philadelphia.

At his introductory press conference on Saturday in Clearwater, Harper first publicly alluded to Trout when he said “I’m making $26 (million) a year, something like that, so I think that’s gonna be able to bring some other guys in as well that will help this organization win. I know there’s another guy in about two years who comes up off the books. We’ll see what happens with him.”

That “other guy” is, of course, Trout. This afternoon on Philadelphia SportsRadio 94.1 FM WIP, the new Phillies star pushed the early recruitment envelope even further when the topic of Trout was broached directly by co-host Jon Marks: “Are you gonna be recruiting Mike Trout when he becomes a free agent?”

Harper’s response:

“I think that’s one thing about this contract that I’m able to do. Having 13 years in a place, I’m able to help recruit guys to this organization. And when I have conversations with John and Leigh (Middleton), I can put my faith and trust in them to make big decisions like that."

Bryce Harper appears to be taking final offers as free agency process nears an end

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Harper met with the Phillies, Dodgers and Giants in recent days

For months, the Philadelphia Phillies were among the leading contenders to land one of the two big free agents available during this Hot Stove season.

With infielder Manny Machado coming off the market last week, the focus of the team was squarely on the other prize. Now it appears that the battle for outfielder Bryce Harper may be finally drawing to a close.

The Phillies may have put their final best offer on the table this past weekend when principal owner John Middleton flew to Las Vegas and met on Saturday with Harper, his wife Kayla, and agent Scott Boras. Middleton then returned to Florida and has said that he will make no further public comments until the process is complete.

On Sunday it was the Los Angeles Dodgers turn to meet with the Harper group in Sin City. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was part of that Dodgers contingent and had this to say per Bob Nightengale of USA Today: “It was good, just trying to get to know each other. I think in the spirit of us, the Dodgers, vetting a certain process makes sense and for those guys to do their due diligence as well.”

Then on Tuesday the San Francisco Giants took their shot, with CEO Larry Baer and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi known to have taken part in meetings with the Harper team. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that their sources indicate “the Giants and Harper’s team have discussed a 10-year contract.”

If the most recent reports are to be believed, this would mean that both the Phillies and Giants have made long-term offers in excess of $300 million total dollars. It is believed that the Dodgers are hoping to lure Harper to SoCal with a more lucrative annual average value deal for a shorter term, perhaps three-to-five years for $35-40 million AAV.

There has also been increased speculation that a Harper deal for the long-term would have to include a player opt-out after three years. That would be smart from his perspective for a number of reasons.

First, it would allow him to re-enter free agency while still in his prime at age 29. Second, it would come a year after the free agency of Mike Trout, which will certainly elevate financial and other terms for all players. Third, it would come just as a new Basic Agreement was due between the players and Major League Baseball.

Everything is speculative at this point. Numerous sources are coming out with proclamations and predictions on a daily basis, stating that their individual sources have some new inside information to offer. Frequently these sources have differed wildly or outright contradicted others.

One thing feels certain. With spring training underway, game action already taking place in both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, and the calendar about to turn to March, this process is drawing to a close. These meetings for the Phillies, Dodgers, and Giants were very likely a chance to put up their last, best offers.

I am predicting that we have an end to this saga before the weekend. Let’s see what happens, Phillies Nation.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Battle over free agent Bryce Harper shows signs of drawing to a close"

Can right-hander Drew Anderson elevate his big-league profile?

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Drew Anderson has enjoyed minor league success

Barring the late signing of a veteran free agent such as Dallas Keuchel, the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching rotation would appear to be set as spring training gets underway down in Clearwater, Florida.

Aaron Nola is the newly-signed young ace. Jake Arrieta fills the proven veteran role. Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin are incumbents on the back-end trying to find consistency and elevate their games. Jerad Eickhoff is the returning-from-injury former rotation member trying to fight his way back in from the outside.

In the bullpen, veterans David Robertson and Juan Nicasio have been added to a group of right-handers that already included Seranthony Dominguez, Hector Neris, Pat Neshek, Tommy Hunter and Edubray Ramos. One of the most exciting arms in the early going has been 22-year-old righty Edgar Garcia.

So where does all of that leave Drew Anderson? He will reach age 25 in exactly one month, before the end of the Grapefruit League season. He has been tantalized with a taste of the big-league life on a handful of occasions spread out over the past two seasons.

Anderson has an uninspiring 0-1 mark with a 7.80 ERA and 1.733 WHIP thus far over 15 innings with the Phillies across seven mound appearances, six of those out of the bullpen. He has surrendered 23 hits with a 13/3 K:BB ratio.

What exactly has earned the Phillies 21st round pick in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft out of Galena High School in his hometown of Reno, Nevada a place on the current 40-man active roster?

Aside from his big-league struggles, Anderson has pitched very well over the course of a six-year professional career. He has risen incrementally through the system, making a stop at each of the Phillies minor league affiliates at one time or another. Anderson has pitched particularly well since missing the entire 2015 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery that April.

MINOR LEAGUE SUCCESS

When he returned in 2016, Anderson wowed by allowing just 55 hits across 70 innings with a 78/22 K:BB ratio over 15 starts split fairly evenly between Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater. That earned the 22-year-old a spot on the Phillies roster that off-season during an overall roster shakeup by the club. He has remained there ever since.

Phillies fans are going to have to wait on Mike Trout

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Phillies fans have never been shy about their affection for local guy Mike Trout

If you follow discussions among the Philadelphia Phillies fan base on social media you know that it is difficult to go more than a couple of days without someone admonishing the team to “bring home” the best player in baseball, Mike Trout.

It takes just a glance at the career of the “Millville Rocket” to understand the desire of fans to see the native of that South Jersey town play his home games in the Phillies red pinstripes.

While the Phillies were setting a franchise record with 102 wins during their last winning season back in 2011, Trout was breaking into Major League Baseball with an extended 40-game cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Angels.

During his official rookie campaign a year later, Trout captured the American League Rookie of the Year honors. He slashed .326/.399/.564 that year with 30 home runs, 65 extra-base hits, 49 stolen bases, and 129 runs scored.

Trout has now played in eight big-league seasons. He has been the AL Most Valuable Player twice and finished runner-up for the honors on three occasions. During his seven full seasons the lowest that he has finished in AL MVP voting has been fourth.

Now 27-years-old, Trout has 240 career homers, 648 RBI, 793 runs scored, and 189 stolen bases with a .307/.416/.573 career slash line. The OPS mark of .990 that he has put together during that period is the best in all of baseball. He is also a seven-time American League All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger Award winner.

Trout now has a 64.3 career WAR mark, tied with Roy Halladay for 144th in baseball all-time. With a typical season in 2019 he would move past a couple of dozen Hall of Famers including Halladay, Willie McCovey, Andre Dawson, Craig Biggio, Ernie Banks, Duke Snider, and Roberto Alomar.

Trout has never won a Gold Glove Award and yet is widely considered among the best center fielders in the game. Early in his career, television highlight shows featured him frequently. His everyday excellence in this area of the game simply seems to now be taken for granted.

Trout did not commit a single error last year, the only center fielder in Major League Baseball who can make that claim. In fact, he has not committed an error since April of 2017.

But the affection for Trout extends beyond his phenomenal on-field performance for Philly sports fans. Trout is one of us. He grew up as a fan of Philadelphia sports teams. Trout tailgated at the 2008 World Series. He is one of the biggest fans of the Philadelphia Eagles that you are going to find.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that when responding to questions about the Phillies current free agent search, Trout showed that he fully understands the passion and interest of the fan base by referencing his own situation.

State of the Phillies address given by GM Matt Klentak during radio interview

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Matt Klentak answered numerous questions today on 97.5 FM The Fanatic

It was just shy of three months ago now that I wrote here at Phillies Nation that general manager Matt Klentak should be considered as being on the proverbial ‘hot seat’ during this current ‘hot stove’ off-season.

My principle argument could be summed up at that time in one paragraph from that November piece: “Phillies fans have waited through those six losing years. Klentak has not done a single thing to this point to elicit their confidence. His statements so far this off-season, and those of club president Andy MacPhail, have done nothing to excite them.”

Since that time, the GM has made a handful of moves that could be pushing the club further along in their attempt to return to consistent contending status.

On December 3, Klentak shipped away the horrible Carlos Santana contract to the Seattle Mariners, correcting a misstep of his from a year earlier, along with perennially disappointing shortstop J.P. Crawford. In exchange he brought back a legitimate big-league shortstop in Jean Segura, as well as a pair of veteran relievers in righty Juan Nicasio and lefty James Pazos.

Just three days later he dumped righty reliever Luis Garcia, who had fashioned an ERA north of the 6.00 mark in two of the last three years, to the Los Angeles Angels. In return the Phillies GM brought back experienced southpaw reliever Jose Alvarez, who at age 29 is coming off the best season of his six-year big-league career.

Less than a week after that deal, Klentak signed free agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a three-year, $50 million contract. The 32-year-old former National League Most Valuable Player is certainly not the player that he once was during his 2011-17 peak with the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he will definitely improve the team’s left field defense, if nothing else.

Klentak started off the new year of 2019 strong when he inked veteran right-handed reliever David Robertson to a two-year, $23 million free agent contract. Robertson has been one of the best relief pitchers in the game for a decade, and further strengthens a bullpen that appears to be a strong suit heading into spring training.

That was a busy month for the GM, with two solid trades and two nice free agent signings between December 3 and January 3. But while he was making those moves, his counterparts in the NL East Division were not sitting on their hands.

NL EAST RIVALS ALSO MAKING MOVES

The Atlanta Braves, who won the division a year ago, added third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Brian McCann and re-signed outfielder Nick Markakis, all as free agents.

In radio interview, Manny Machado's father claims son has multiple offers

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The Machado free agency is expected to be resolved soon

Things are eerily quiet down at Citizens Bank Park here in the middle of January. But that just might actually be a sign that the Phillies are preparing to light up the ‘Hot Stove’ as the Philadelphia region prepares to enter the coldest stretch of winter.

One thing that can be said for the current regime under owner John Middleton, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, and general manager Matt Klentak is that they play it fairly close to the vest. You don’t get much, if anything, leaking out of the Phillies offices until the club is ready to announce something formal.

Manuel Machado, father of big free agent prize infielder Manny Machado, tossed a log on the hot stove during an appearance on Z Digital radio earlier today. The senior Machado stated that the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers had all made formal offers for the services of his son.

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Héctor Gómez@hgomez27

Manuel Machado, Manny’s Father:

“Manny has received offers from different teams: Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, now there’s a lot of interest from the White Sox.”#ZDigital #ZDeportes @z101digital @ZDeportes

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Per Jose Luis Montilla at Z Digital, the senior Machado further stated that there is a team “which nobody is thinking at the moment” also involved in discussions for his son.

Earlier this week, Richard Justice at MLB.com speculated that the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Saint Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, or Texas Rangers could emerge as such a “mystery team” in the sweepstakes for Machado or Bryce Harper.

Phillies reportedly still involved in Corey Kluber trade discussions

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Kluber is one of baseball's few genuine ace-caliber starting pitchers

Phillies Nation was rocked by a report on Boxing Day that the two high-profile free agents who the club has publicly pursued with big contract offers this off-season, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, may hold a negative opinion of the city, the Phillies organization, or both.

MLB insider Joel Sherman made the statement, writing the following in the New York Post: “Word is neither player particularly likes Philadelphia…”

That statement must be taken with a bit of a grain of salt for a number of reasons. The biggest, of course, is financial. The odds are that if either superstar turns down the Phillies, they would almost certainly be leaving tens of millions of dollars and multiple years of security on the table.

Then you have the source itself. Sherman is a New York guy. Of course, he would prefer to have Machado or Harper playing in his town, where he could enjoy watching them play and reporting on their exploits.

Finally, you have the statement itself. “Word is?” Where does this “word” come from exactly? And neither guy “particularly likes Philadelphia?” What does that even mean? Do they both hate Philly? Do they hold such a negative opinion that they would never play here? Do they even have a negative opinion at all, or are they simply ambivalent about our town?

Set aside the extremely questionable nature of the report, and let’s assume that it is completely accurate on its face. Neither Harper or Machado wants to play in Philly. Both go to a place they really do want, neither deciding to take the “stupid money” that John Middleton is offering. What next for the Phillies?

As Sherman’s report came out on the day after Christmas, at the same time another report was being released by Jon Paul Morosi at MLB.com that again linked starting pitcher Corey Kluber to the Phillies. The Cleveland Indians have been dangling their ace, hoping to land a package of younger players and prospects in return.

Jon Morosi

✔@jonmorosi

Corey Kluber trade talks are most intense with NL clubs now, sources say. #Padres, #Dodgers, #Phillies, #Brewers, #Reds involved to varying degrees. @MLBNetwork @MLB

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While Morosi’s sources have the San Diego Padres as the current front-runners and the Dodgers perhaps a close second in a possible Kluber deal, the Phillies are indeed again lurking and involved.

Tribe GM Mike Chernoff is reportedly looking for a package led by a young, MLB-ready player with upside potential and a couple of solid prospects. Nick Cafardo at The Boston Globe stated the following on the Kluber situation last week:

“…from what we’re hearing, the Indians won’t deal him unless they get value-plus. There would have to be an overpayment of prospects and young players to get a deal done.”

While Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery would certainly be off the table, a Phillies package could lead with any or a combination from among Maikel Franco, Nick Williams, Odubel Herrera, and Roman Quinn.

Any starting pitcher not named Aaron Nola or Jake Arrieta could go. From the prospect ranks, anyone below top prospect Sixto Sanchez should be in play.