Grading the Phillies’ last offseason through the first half of the 2023 season
How well has the Philadelphia Phillies done this past offseason in improving their team so far as we hit the midway mark of the 2023 season?
After reaching the World Series last year for the first time since 2009, the Philadelphia Phillies were determined to continue their playoff success this season with quite the active 2022-23 offseason. The Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski believed in the stance that philosophically “you win with star players”. With that strategy in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Phillies’ 2022-23 offseason moves and how they have worked out so far for their 2023 season.
1. Key incoming players through waivers (originating team in parentheses)
Andrew Vasquez (SF), Luis Ortiz (SF), Jake Cave (BAL)
Most of the time, players claimed off waivers are sent to the minor leagues as they try to work their way back to the majors after showing their ability to produce and be effective. As a result, for the majority of the time, they are a work in progress and not much is expected from them right from the start. This holds true for both Luis Ortiz and Jake Cave, as they have failed to maintain a big league gig with the Phillies this year and have spent most of their time in the minors so far in 2023.
However, they appeared to hit the jackpot with Andrew Vasquez. Practically coming out of nowhere, literally (well, the San Francisco Giants to be exact), Vasquez appears to be the hidden gem for the Phillies’ bullpen so far in 2023, as he has posted a 2-0 record, with a 1.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, giving up only seven earned runs, 11 walks and 31 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched. He also has the flexibility to go more than one inning if needed, allowing the Phillies to deploy him in different situations at their will.
Grade: A-
Just the fabulous work Vasquez has done in itself is a win for the Phillies with regards to obtaining an impact player through waiver claims.
2. Key incoming players through free agency
Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker, Craig Kimbrel, Matt Strahm, Josh Harrison
Going with Dombrowski’s vision of winning with star players, the Phillies did end up going out on a limb to nab one of the biggest stars in the game that was available in free agency in Trea Turner. Signed to a massive 11-year, $300 million contract, the Phillies were expecting big things from Turner as he should be one of the key players to help lead the team to success once again in 2023. However, Turner has struggled to produce for the bulk of the 2023 season, leaving the Phillies’ faithful frustrated and worried at the same time. For the season, Turner has hit .247 with only 10 home runs and 32 RBI over 88 games played. Given his track record and dominant production in the past, he should eventually get back on track, but the main thing now is just a matter of when and if soon enough.
The trio of Taijuan Walker, Craig Kimbrel and Matt Strahm have been strong value signings made by the ballclub. Walker has been a strong, effective No. 3 starter behind Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler, posting a brilliant 10-3 record with a respectable 4.03 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, with 85 strikeouts in 96.1 innings pitched. Kimbrel, on the other hand, has been just lights out recently during the Phillies winning stretch, essentially being worth every penny that they have spent on him. For the season, Kimbrel is 5-1 with a perfect 14-for-14 in saves, along with a 3.41 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, with an astounding 57 strikeouts in only 37 innings pitched. Matt Strahm has also had a solid season to date, compiling a 5-3 record, one save, to go along with a 3.74 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 72 strikeouts in 55.1 innings of work, both as a reliever and a starter at times this year.
The biggest disappointment has been the signing of Josh Harrison, who was expected to play a big role as the team’s utilityman off the bench with his veteran experience and solid production throughout his career. However, his numbers have regressed tremendously this season, as he has struggled to even get any playing time in the daily lineup as a result. As the trade deadline nears, his spot on the roster could be in jeopardy.
Grade: B+
The strong performances of Walker, Kimbrel, and Strahm have helped offset the disappointments by Turner and Harrison, as they have somehow kept the Phillies in the thick of things with respect to the playoff race. Without them, along with the offensive outage of both Turner and slugger Bryce Harper for much of the season, the Phillies could have been out of the playoff picture long time ago.
3. Key offseason trades
Matt Vierling, Nick Maton, Donny Sands to the Detroit Tigers for Gregory Soto and Kody Clemens
The key return from this trade is focussed on the centerpiece in Tigers’ electric closer Gregory Soto. Armed with a fastball that could constantly hit close to triple-digits, the Phillies were hoping to add to their already strong firepower in the backend of their bullpen. However, compared to his fellow bullpen teammates, Soto has struggled with some inconsistency so far in 2023, with a 2-4 record, 4.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, giving up 16 earned runs, 14 walks and 37 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched. Kody Clemens has gotten some big league playing time this year as a result of Rhys Hoskins’ injury earlier in Spring Training, but has struggled in providing any solid production for the ballclub. Together with the Phillies’ intent to move Bryce Harper to first base following the All-Star break, Clemens was no longer guaranteed a roster spot and was subsequently sent down to Triple-A on July 2nd.
Matt Vierling has had a solid season so far for the Tigers, whereas Nick Maton and Donny Sands have mainly struggled, whether in the majors or minors. Vierling has hit .280 with a .763 OPS, with 27 runs scored, seven home runs, 24 RBI, and five stolen bases and has fit in seamlessly to help complement the Tigers’ overall offensive lineup.
Erik Miller to the San Francisco Giants for Yunior Marté
This minor trade transaction may come back to bite the Phillies in the long run, as Yunior Marté has mainly struggled for the bulk of the year, sporting a 5.32 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, whereas Erik Miller has produced a strong season thus far in the Giants’ minor league system, with the chance to be eventually promoted later this year to the big leagues. For now if Miller stays in the minors, the trade is somewhat a wash between the two teams. For Phillies’ sake, they surely hope Marté can pick up his game in the second half to make the trade much more worthwhile.
Grade: C
Soto will need to pickup his game in the second half of the season, or else the trade will turn out even worse for the Phillies. With Vierling doing fine work with the bat so far in 2023 for the Tigers, it could have been the ideal bat the Phillies could have used, along with his versatility to play potentially in all the outfield positions and perhaps even first base. This grade could get worse if Miller turns out to be a hidden gem that helps the Giants down the stretch, in addition to Marté potentially hindering the Phillies as the weakest link in their current bullpen.
3. Notable players leaving for free agency
Corey Knebel, Kyle Gibson, David Robertson, Brad Hand, Noah Syndergaard, Zach Eflin, Jean Segura
The Phillies had quite an exodus of players that ended up electing for free agency at the end of the 2022 season. With a fair number of them having played a huge part in the team’s success last year, one would wonder how letting so many of them go at one time would affect their team performance for 2023.
Corey Knebel was having a solid season for the Phillies for 2022, toiling with a 3.43 ERA and striking out 41 batters in 44.2 innings, before he went down with an unfortunate season-ending injury with a right shoulder capsule tear in late August. Surprisingly, despite his performance prior to the injury, he was not resigned by the Phillies and has been a free agent ever since.
Both Brad Hand and Noah Syndergaard have caught on with new teams for 2023, but both have had disappointing seasons thus far. Hand has an ugly 5.16 ERA and 1.55 WHIP with the Colorado Rockies, whereas Syndergaard has been much worse, sporting a horrendous 7.16 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, with only 38 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched and only one win to show for all season despite playing in the pitching haven in Los Angeles (Dodgers). In addition, Jean Segura has found a new gig with the Miami Marlins this year, but has been struggling mightily, posting career worst numbers in batting average (.216), OPS (.546), along with tallying just two home runs, 16 RBI and six stolen bases over 72 games played. So technically, all three of them haven’t been sorely missed at all. Kyle Gibson had improved a bit from his time with the Phillies, but remained far from his All-Star form back in 2021. He has posted a 9-6 record with a 4.60 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, with 89 strikeouts in 19 games started.
The ones that really got away were pitchers Zach Eflin and David Robertson. Eflin is now with the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, and has formed a strong one-two punch with Rays’ ace Shane McClanahan. For the season, he has a dazzling 10-4 record, 3.25 ERA, 0.987 WHIP, striking out 105 in just 102.1 innings pitched. He certainly would have looked good along with the Phillies big three of Nola, Wheeler and Walker, and the Phillies probably wouldn’t have to worry about upgrading their starting pitching for the stretch run as a result.
Robertson, on the other hand, has done just as well for the surprisingly disappointing New York Mets. Despite the team’s struggles for the entire season, Robertson has provided the much needed steadiness in their bullpen, pitching to a sparkling 2.06 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, with 46 strikeouts and 13 saves in 36 games. As the Phillies’ closer down the stretch in 2022, the Phillies sure miss his consistency and reliability this year, but luckily Kimbrel has been coming through to ease the pain.
Grade: B
Getting rid of Hand, Syndergaard, Segura and Gibson hasn’t hurt the Phillies one bit, but the dominance of both Eflin and Robertson after leaving town leaves a lot to be desired. Knebel is definitely still available to be picked up if the Phillies really want to get back one of their more reliable relievers from 2022, and perhaps Robertson may even be available by trade, so things could get even better for the Phillies soon if they do the right thing.
4. Overall team grade from the offseason transactions
Overall Grade: B+
Despite quite the huge overhaul of their roster from their 2022 contending team, the Phillies had done quite well overall in addressing their needs during the past offseason. They may have lost some key valuable players in Eflin and Robertson to free agency, but they have provided adequate replacements for them with Walker and Kimbrel to help calm the stormy seas. They could have done much better in terms of their offseason trades, with neither one of them having much impact for the current team, but as the saying goes, sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make, so at least the Phillies didn’t end up losing a breakout, dominating player, for now (with Miller pending).
Building upon their current winning stretch, if Turner can turn around his season in the second half, along with some key upgrades at the upcoming trade deadline, look for the Phillies to return to the playoffs this year and be in strong contention perhaps once again for the World Series title.