By Eric G. Stark
3 Moves The Phillies Should Make
A change In Leadership Would Help Team
Well, it appears the Philadelphia Phillies waited nearly a week after the season to announce nothing more than window-dressing moves for a franchise that started 2019 with high expectations and finished a with a disappointing 81-81 record.
Fans thought this was the year the team would make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Fans expectations sky-rocked after signing Bryce Harper and trading for J.T. Realmuto.
By late July, these same fans turned on the team, wanting a change in the manager, Gabe Kapler, and the General Manager who hired him, Matt Klentak.
Remvoing Andy McPhail, the team president who said,”If we make the playoffs, we make the playoffs, if we don’t, we don’t”- might not be unreasonable, either.
What? What kind of winning mentality is that?
Now it appears the biggest off season move the Phillies are making is firing the pitching coach, Chris Young (good riddance), but how can that be the only move?
Here are the three moves the Philies need to make.
- Replace McPhail as team president with former Boston Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski, who just two years ago was running the Red Sox when they won the World Series.
Dombrowski built up a strong minor league system and made key free agents signings like JD Martinez. - Remove Klentak as General Manager. He’s already removed Johnny Almaraz, the team’s amateur scouting director. This is an admission he hired the wrong person, and the lack of proven talent in the minors proves he’s correct.
- Hire Buck Showalter as manager and remove Kapler. Put Kapler in player development.
Showalter and Dombrowski can handle GM duties. Dombrowski can hire the correct people to evaluate talent and Showalter can bring solid baseball knowledge and discipline to the Phillies, something the team lacks.
Showwalter helped mold the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles into championship-caliber teams. He is a proven winner.
3A. The Phillies can keep MacPhail and Klentak and still hire Showalter. MacPhail had hired Klentak in Baltimore in 2008, and Klentak remained on with the Baltimore Orioles as Director of Baseball Operations. Guess who was the manager? That’s right, Showalter.
So far none of this is happening. Management will now spin the dialogue, blaming injuries — especially to the bullpen where eight relievers are still on the injured list – and rationalize this was not their year. They can justify it as bad luck.
Kapler, who does not have a winning record in two years as skipper, makes game moves like he’s trying to prove he’s the smartest guy in the room, and most of the moves are baffling. Heck, his decisions on pitching moves easily cost the Phillies six to eight games this year.
A manager who does not hold his players accountable. Players do not have consequences for not running out balls. Players spend more time playing video games instead of studying pitchers and game film. Ask Carlos Santana about the clubhouse.
A story in the Philliesnation.com says Middleton is seeking the opinion of players about Kapler. One can only hope the players tell him how Kapler relies on stats too much.
But injuries can’t be the only reason the Phillies were 7-9 against the rebuilding Marlins this season. The wBraves were 15-4, the Nationals 13-3 and the Mets 11-4 against Miami.
How can owner John Middleton not see he has a manager that does not know how to use his bullpen – literally – waiting too long to call to get pitchers up (or forgetting to call to ‘pen altogether.
Middleton has to see the minor leagues lacks talent. He has to know his major league team had no bench. Even though the franchise had high draft picks the last six years, they lack talent and depth.
That falls on Klentak, the GM who worries too much about analytical analysis and not enough on talent evaluations.
The Houston Astros rebuilt in less time than the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves started to build at same time as Philly and won the last two division titles. The Braves have the fourth ranked farm system in Baseball America’s most recent rankings, while the Phillies were 25th.
Rebuilding clubs, need to hit on their top 10 picks, and the Phillies had five straight from 2014 to ’18, They drafted Aaron Nola and Cornelius Randolph; both drafted by former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. The last three (outfielder Mickey Moniak, outfielder Adam Haseley and third baseman Alec Bohm) under Klentak. Randolph has played parts of three years in Class AA Reading and Moniak two years in Reading. The team drafted outfielders three straight years because they couldn’t get it right by making a good selection.
Haseley , who played in Double A and Triple and the Majors this season, looks like he could be a solid role player, but not a superstar. Moniak, one the youngest players in Double A, looks like a bench player in the Majors, at best.
Phillies picked No. 1 overall in Klentak’s his first season in 2016. Other clubs are seeing returns on their picks from that year. The Phils have not.
The Phillies have high hopes for Class AA prospect Alec Brohm, but the verdict is still out on him being a star, or even what position he’ll play, first or third base.
Division rivals have young stars. The New York Mets have Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso, who is the first Met to hit 50 or more home runs (he had 53) and will likely win Rookie of the Year honors. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Ronald Acuna Jr. plays for the Braves and is one of the game’s best players, and MVP candidate, and Juan Soto, who plays for the Washington Nationals, is a rising star.
The Phillies have no rising starts and none on the horizon (Maybe Spencer Howard, a right-handed pitcher with Double A Reading). This year’s top draft pick shortstop Bryson Stott is has show promise, but he is three years away from making the big leagues.
For all their high draft picks in recent MLB drafts, the Phillies have nothing to show for it. That falls on Klentak. How can fans have confidence that he and his staff no what they are doing?
In late July Klentak tried to change the narrative about a passive trade deadline and how the Phillies refused to surrender anything of significance in a deal. He said the focus should be on the contributions made by the acquired players.
Corey Dickerson had a 0.3 WAR, according to FanGraphs, in 137 plate appearances. He broke his foot in September, after an August groin injury. The GM traded or bought five pitchers in July and August — Drew Smyly, Jason Vargas, Mike Morin, Blake Parker and Jared Hughes. They combined for a 4.79 ERA in 157 2/3 innings.
That’s hardly impressive.
The Braves, meanwhile, signed left-handed pitcher Dallas Keuchel. With less than two weeks remaining in the season, the Braves were 45-24 since Keuchel joined them on June 21. A sidenote Atlanta ranked fifth in the NL in ERA under the pitching coach Rick Kranitz, the coach let go after last season to elevate his assistant, Chris Young.
Name one Phillies pitcher that improved this season? The Phils ranked 11th in the NL in ERA.
From the online publication the Athletic: “In retrospect, there is another way to view the team’s trade deadline inaction. The Phillies clutched their better prospects because the farm system, even after an arduous rebuilding process, is not robust. They could not find a proper trade match with other teams because either the asking price was too high or other teams balked at the minor leaguers the Phillies actually deemed available. After years of rebuilding the organization — through higher picks in the draft and redirecting payroll money into player-development and technological initiatives — the Phillies did not have the capital or willingness to make a more meaningful transaction.”
This right there, signifies why significant changes need to be made.
The first comment at the end of The Athletic story nailed it.
Robert B. wrote:
“The first problem is that Kapler doesn’t seem like a leader that players want to follow. Charlie Manuel is a guy the players love. Kapler might say all the right things but if the players don’t believe in him, he can’t succeed.”
This comment was followed by Matt G. who wrote: “Klentak has worn out his welcome. He hasn’t done a good job, and I have 0 confidence he will turn this team around. The fans won’t buy tickets like they did last year due to the complacency of this team. It’s played out, and boring. The team itself has no identity.”
If Middleton and ownership read the fan comments and feel for the fan base they will make radical moves. Keeping the status quo will likely mean we’ll be having conversations about firing Klentak and Kapler again next October.
Here are a few other fan comments at the end of Phillies stories after late September games.
“I do wish they’d been more aggressive at the deadline, but I don’t know what conversation they had with other teams and what those teams asked for. The minor league system isn’t excessively strong so they’re not dealing from great strength in that area. They should’ve outbid Atlanta for Keuchel though.” – Dana P.
And then this from Derek S.:
“The vibe I get is that Kapler is back. That’s a mistake, and the attendances will show that most Phillies fans feel the same way. Players tuned Kapler out long ago, there’s nothing real about the guy. He says the most foolish things at times and I can only imagine what he says to the players. I’ve no faith in the from office. How on earth can Middleton be ok with Mcphail saying if “if we don’t we don’t” ? Not good.”
From Jim R.:
Can’t believe MacPhail put it, “If we don’t, we don’t.”
It was a curious remark, considering the Phillies had spent $572 million on free agents the past two offseasons, including $330 million this year.”
Yes Young needed to go as pitching coach. Zach Eflin pitched lights out after he stopped listening to Young.
I think there are three tell tale signs of leadership incompetence.
First, not even exploring the Dallas Keuchel signing tells me they did not have a good read on the starting pitching. The group of starting pitching assembled was completely overvalued and the rookie pitching coach provided no help.
Two, the firing of the hitting coach indicates they believe the position players are better hitters than they have been this year. They expected and built the offense to overcome all of the short comings of a poorly managed gameday team, poorly constructed pitching staff and a terrible minor league system.
Lastly, changing of the guard of the minor leagues scouting group. This move shows a team and organization desperate for changes.
I have no confidence in the front office to assemble better talent evaluators than the ones they hired the first time they had a chance to hire scouts.
What makes you think they will get it correct this time?