Phillies President Andy MacPhail Remains Adamant About Pitching Depth

Phillies president Andy MacPhail spoke Monday in Clearwater about the necessity for building as much pitching depth as possible.

The Phillies saw the volatility of starting pitching firsthand in 2016. Four of the five members of their Opening Day rotation – Aaron Nola, Jeremy Hellickson, Vincent Velasquez, and Charlie Morton – all missed time due to injury in 2016. The team also saw pitching prospect Mark Appel and rookie Zach Eflin both undergo surgery. It was safe to say the team needed as much pitching depth as possible.

Team president Andy MacPhail has stressed the importance of pitching ever since joining the team in 2015. Nearly ever deal the team has made with MacPahil at the helm has involved one or more pitching prospects coming to Philadelphia.

The Ken Giles trade brought back five pitchers to Philadelphia, including Velasquez, who is currently in Philadelphia’s rotation, and Appel, a former No. 1 overall pick. The team also got back Jerad Eickhoff, who is also in the rotation, and Jake Thompson, who was the team’s top pitching prospect before exceeding his rookie limits in 2016, in return for Cole Hamels in 2015.

More from Phillies News

• Bryce Harper’s absence should lead to Phillies lineup tinkering
• Pirates’ bizarre Vince Velasquez hype video will make Phillies fans laugh
• Acquiring Brandon Marsh gave the Phillies flexibility
• Former Phillies starter Zach Eflin shares heartwarming goodbye message
• Is Rhys Hoskins the future at first base for the Phillies beyond 2023?

The team also made moves to acquire veteran pitchers as well this offseason. They traded for starter Clay Buchholz and reliever Pat Neshek along with signing potential closer Joaquin Benoit.

However, it doesn’t appear MacPhail is done building pitching depth anytime soon.

MacPhail said Monday at a press conference in Clearwater: [quote via Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice]

"“After improving the pitching, the next thing we should do is improve the pitching, and then after that, we should improve the pitching. Because look at what we did this offseason. Matt signed two corner outfielders. My experience has been that you can find the hitters. Particularly in our ballpark. And we have resources. When you have to sign pitchers through free agency, they’re fragile, they’re expensive. There’s times when you’re going to have to do it, but the more you can avoid it, the more you should. To me, it’s about pitching.”"

While Philadelphia doesn’t have one truly elite pitcher in their system, MacPhail agreed they have a stockpile of “solid” pitching prospects. saying:

More from That Balls Outta Here

• Prospect Andrew Baker could help Phillies bullpen in 2023
• Bryce Harper’s absence should lead to Phillies lineup tinkering
• Phillies rumors: Club targets Seth Lugo for possible bullpen role
• Pirates’ bizarre Vince Velasquez hype video will make Phillies fans laugh
• Acquiring Brandon Marsh gave the Phillies flexibility

"“We think our starting pitching, we have a lot of depth through the system. Not necessarily front-end rotation types, but, honestly, I would rather take numbers of solid prospects over the higher valued few. Give me numbers because we know the attrition rate. So I think we’re in good shape there. Our expectation is that we’ll be better than we were a year ago and our expectation is that we’ll continue to introduce new talent onto our major league team not unlike we did last year.”"

Some of those solid young pithcers include guys like Eflin, Eickhoff, and Thompson at the major-league level.

They also have prospects of this caliber like Ben Lively, Nick Pivetta, and Appel at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak may very well acquire even more pitching depth at this year’s trade deadline if they manage to trade any of the veterans they acquired this offseason.

Next: Phils Spring Training Preview: Starting Rotation

The Phillies have consistently showed that they value pitching depth and will continue to do so throughout this rebuilding process.