The Phillies are hiring away Astros minor league field coordinator Josh Bonifay as their new farm director, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription link). The 40-year-old Bonifay is the son of former Pirates general manager Cam Bonifay (1993-2001) and has spent nearly a decade working as a manager or coach in the Astros’ system with the exception of a 2017 stint as the Rangers’ minor league field coordinator. The Phillies parted ways with previous farm director Joe Jordan and several minor league hitting coaches in September, and Bonifay will be tasked with helping to implement a systemic change in the manner in which data is presented to minor league coaching staffs.
Here’s more from the NL East…
- Tanner Roark heads into a contract season with the Nationals in severe need of a rebound campaign, writes Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. As Zuckerman explores, Roark has now posted an ERA north of 4.30 in three of the past four seasons, making what previously looked like outlier campaigns perhaps the new norm. There’s no mention of a possible non-tender or trade in Zuckerman’s piece, though it’s fair to wonder if the Nationals will feel comfortable committing a hefty salary to the 32-year-old Roark given his run of largely pedestrian results; MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegs him for a $9.8MM payday in 2019 — his final season of arbitration eligibility. While the Nats have a clear need for starters behind Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, Roark is becoming a relatively pricey option, although to his credit, he’s been a durable rotation cog (30+ starts in three straight seasons).
- Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the Braves’ need for some help atop the rotation and the means by which they could acquire said help, though he notes that recent comments by GM Alex Anthopoulos caution against the possibility of an expensive splash. “If there’s a deal that makes sense for us, and it’s a good asset to have, we’ll do it,” said Anthopoulos. “I think the one where you scratch and really push, and you want to call it overpay in years or dollars, you feel like that’s the one final piece. … I don’t think we’re there yet right now.” Atlanta does have plenty of intriguing arms in the upper minors, some of whom have already debuted in the Majors. It’s possible that a few prominent contributors could yet emerge from within or that those pieces could be packaged for some high-end, cost-controlled help. A free-agent splash for someone like Patrick Corbin, however, seems decidedly less likely.
Corbin would be good for Atlanta
I’m guessing they take the trade route when it comes to acquiring SP considering that a team will probably overpay for Corbin, whos only had a good season and a half in MLB.
Definitely more than a season and a half. But I agree, a team might overpay for him
He’s been good for a season and a half basically. Half of 2013, and 2018. He’s either had injury problems or been ineffective for basically every other season. Check the stats if you don’t believe me, lol.
I’m pretty sure NYY is going to pay Corbin a boat load
Test
Hard pass
It’s gonna be MadBum. He is not going to want to go thru. Rebuild and what better place to play than home.
Then sign him to an extension.
Newcomb, Pache, Fuller, Davidson & Demeritte for MadBum & Smith
That’s a lot for a guy in the last year of his contract. Maybe if they’re allowed to work out an extension prior to the trade
If Madbum were willing to sign an extension the Giants wouldn’t trade him they would be the ones that extend him.
I mean that’s not necessarily true. The giants have to take an honest inventory of their team. They are very unlikely to be contenders in MadBum’s end of prime years. They’re the kind of team that should be shopping mad bum not extending.
That makes sense from a baseball standpoint but you are clearly unaware of the way the Giants FO operates. They are more interested in ticket sales than their record or the state of their farm system and Madbum sells tickets.
Once every 5 days he does. What about the other 4 days?
Agreed
Just because he’d be willing to sign an extension with Atlanta doesn’t mean he’d sign an extension with San Francisco or vice versa. The Giants have a year to decide the best route re: Bum, whether that be recouping some prospect value, extending his contract, or allowing him to become a free agent. Bumgarner’s power lies at this point where he wants to play the next several years. He could be traded w/o an extension and hit free agency next year or extend with a team. It’s a fascinating storyline to watch play out as you can logically see multiple conclusions.
Including Pache for a rental will be a hard pill to swallow even if it is to get MadBum!
Yes signing MadBum to an extension sounds like a great idea but it is not a sure thing!
Pache is really, seriously overrated. (He was 19 though this season so he’s relatively advanced)
Buyer beware on MadBum. Ever since the shoulder injury his advanced metrics have been trending in the wrong direction. Right now he’s getting by on movement and location. That’s not going to last forever.
Well now you edited it from Wright to Newcomb…still think it’s a ton for one guaranteed yeAr of madbum
Who tf is fuller?
I think Fuller = Kyle Muller.
This is a ridiculous return for MadBum. I wouldn’t go near that. They ain’t getting Pache and others. He is a dramatically pitcher since pulling a redneck Ron Gant and learning that an ATV has a quick start.
You’re also getting will smith. The price of a dominant left handed reliever is going to be steep. Perhaps not that steep but it’s not that far off.
Sorry Steelerbravenation, but that is a HUGE overpay for Bumgarner. In a recent fangraphs chat it was theorized in actual value he might be worth only as much as someone like Allard in a 1 for 1 swap. While I fully believe it would take more than Allard to acquire him, the proposal you made is an absurd overpay.
Southi. I think you and a couple others missed will smith in the trade. He isn’t some worthless throw in. He’ll command a high quality prospect on his own. The deal is less egregious with him and madbum. I think the Braves would part with more pitching in the trade over pache. Replace him with allard and it’s not that crazy.
And I think they’d try to move Teheran over newcomb obviously. A lot of Braves fans are really low on newcomb but he has plenty of team control left. He needs to be a more consistent strike thrower but if he is then you really have something
Newcomb is the second coming of Jon Lester, and that ain’t too shabby. Newcomb will still be striking out batters long after Bumgarner retired with arm trouble. Be careful what you wish for. Besides, Braves need back-end bullpen upgrade more than a SP. Farm system is stocked with starting pitching prospects. .
You are right that Smith is not just a throw in, but I did NOT miss his name in the deal. Even if you included Smith there is no way the Braves would pay that price.
Lets face facts. Honestly Braxton Davidson has almos no value. Travis Demerritte has some for sure but despite his defensive flexibility, propensity to walk and decent power Demerritte still strikes out too much to keep his batting average at a decent level. Muller definitely has value as well and should EASILY be a top 100 prospect by the end of 2019 (some see him as potentially better than Allard). Newcomb has several years of team control left, has already proven he has great stuff, but yes he has to work on his command more before he can be considered a reliable option on a contending team (on his own he MIGHT bring Bumgarner and Smith). Then you have Pache who by almost every account would challenge for a gold glove in his first big league season (but still needs to work on his offense). That is a HUGE overpay.
You’re forgetting the part where Madbum has to actually, ya know, AGREE to any extension.
Bumgarner is on the wrong side of things, he is on a decline. NO thank you.
This is not like getting Maddux in his Prime, this is more like getting Lowe at the start of his decline.
I’m still convinced that SteelerBravesNation is a 7 year old who doesn’t understand player value at all or he’s just a Braves troll. Always the most absurd trade proposals and 99% of the time they’re massive overpays just like this one. Go make some over fan base look dumb
Roark kind of reminds me of Corbin. If he bounces back like Corbin did this year he could be in the exact same position with the unsteady careers they’ve had.
Have to strongly disagree with you here. Roark will be 33 years old v Corbin who is 29. Roark is also a righty while Corbin is a southpaw. Roark will never see a payday anywhere close to what Corbin is going to see. Even if he had a fantastic season.
Roark likes steak and Corbin prefers fish. C’mon, they’re not even close!
If you would’ve said Corbin likes steak and Roark likes fish I might’ve gotten on board with you!
Roark is clearly a vegetarian. Get it right!
I’d be ok exploring what it would cost to bring in Wheeler
But I’m on the conservative end of thinking we need to actually add pitching and am confident just letting the young pitching develop and do its thing
If they want to make a big splash in the trade market I’d rather they go hard after a power RF bat like Eddie Rosario and see if the Twins will cave
Phillies are overhauling a lot of management posts. Dunno. Not completely on board with Klentak and Kapler. Fact is, I’m more off-board than onboard with those two..
Also I’m wondering when Cigar Guy (Middleton) is gonna start spending some of that excess cheese we’ve been hearing about for the past three years.
Hate to say it, but the Phillies will be hard pressed to win 80 games in 2019. What we saw over the final 45 games is probably closer to who this team really is. .
This is why re-builds are so difficult to predict. If every re-build were perfect the Pirates, Twins, Padres etc would have all won at least one championship. The truth is, as was pointed out in another site, the Phillies at the MLB and high minors levels are a team of positional utility players and 4A talent save for Hoskins. Poor (or bad luck) drafts and waiting too long to break up the 2008 core has yielded organizational depth but really no elite talent. Harper and Machado can’t fix their problems which is why McPhail was backpedaling on the extent to which this team would participate in the offseason free agent market.
IDK, $9M is a lot of money for Roark. But, the Nat’s minor league arms (Rodriguez and Fedde in particular) don’t look ready for the bigs.
They need a solid #3 arm, and preferably a lefty, at a minimum. They might need to add two SP, and they don’t have enough trade chips, so that means spending $ in FA.
This is just another example why IMO they can’t afford to pay Harper.
I would like to see Atlanta bring in Dallas Keuchel and sign Kimbrel to help in two spots the rotation and the bullpen.
i think a lot of people wouldnt mind that but Braves arent going to pony up that type of cash and/or prospects (wasnt sure if they are FA or not?)
Kimbrel and Keuchel are both free agents
The Braves should not sign older, declining players to huge contracts. So no to both.
I’m gonna say this again :
1) The Diamondbacks will want to resign their franchise player in Paul Goldschmidt
They will need payroll flexibility to do so:
1) Trade Zach Grienke ( full contract ) &
3b Jake Lamb to Atl for Julio Teheran
& Johan Camargo
We now have our Ace and power hitting 3b. By resigning Escobar & Goldschmidt it makes the 2016 Allstar expendable.
In 2016 Lamb had 30 2B, 30HR & 105 RBI.
With Grienke on board my next move would be to see if I could pry RF Mitch Haniger from the Mariners
2) Trade Folty & Adam Duvall to the
Mariners for RF Mitch Haniger and a
relief pitcher to bolster our bullpen
Haniger like Lamb adds thump to our everyday lineup
Grienke, Newcomb, Gausman, Soroka, Gohara or (Fried )
1) Inciarte. CF. LH
2) Albies. 2B. SH
3) Acuna. LF. RH
4) Freeman. 1B. LH
5) Haniger. RF. RH
6) Lamb. 3B. LH
7) Flowers. C. RH
8) Swanson. SS. RH
would rather have camargo than lamb
and trade folty? no thank you
Folty does not have what it takes mentally to lead a staff. Especially a staff of such young promising pitchers. Grienke on the other hand does and is a perfect match for what we need in an “Ace of the Staff “
The Mariners need starting pitching
They will not give Haniger away
Go look at his stats and years of control and what he gets paid.
If we get Grienke then Haniger is the perfect replacement for Markakis in RF for offensive production & salary relief to afford Grienke
Folty has taken major strides in controlling his emotions, he has proven that this year. You have Grienke JOIN Folty, not add Grienke and trade Folty. That is dumb as it strengthens and weakens the rotation all at the same time.
You and I must have been watching different games when Folty pitches. Maybe you don’t see him falling off the mound instead of a good fielding position or that temperament when he doesn’t get a call the way he thinks it should be. When he gives up the “big inning” because his head isn’t in the game because he’s upset about what happened 10 minutes ago.
Not an issue like in the past. Guess you didn’t watch any of his starts this year
Would you mind sharing some of what you are smoking?? Seriously?!?! I wouldnt mind trading for Grienke if Diamondbacks take on a lot of salary. No thank you to Jake Lamb, Camargo works just wonderfully, thank you. And trade Folty for Haniger?? You must have hit the bong super hard there on that one, because it is dumb.
Yes the 27yo, 6.1 WAR, Allstar
Mitch Haniger that hit .285 with
26HR, 382B, 93 RBI. Plays all three OF positions well. Has 4 years of control left and played for
$538,000 last year ??
I think you’ve already smoked all that stuff up that you think I have
plus I don’t think they wanna block Austin Riley for very long at 3B
If Riley beats Lamb out as the everyday 3B then so be it.
I doubt that happens in 2019.
But if and when that happens; Lamb becomes our new Lucas Duda.
Part time 3B, backup 1B and LH power bat on the bench
Then why not just have Duda. He would cost less than Lamb.
That’s a good question, I guess.
Lucas Duda is 5 years older and on the decline
Lucas Duda can only play 1b.
Jake Lamb could very well hit 40 bombs at Suntrust
He has two years of control left under arbitration.
He can easily be the starter at 3b and can fill in at 1b if needed
He may also be very affordable thru arbitration coming off if an injury
The Braves have at most about 50 Million to spend, why would they tie up more than 40 million on Greinke and Lamb? Lamb’s 30 HR will turn to 25 at Sun Trust, Camargo can probably hit as many in a full season at 3B, also don’t include RBIs, as a statistic it’s meaningless.
Trading Folty after acquiring Greinke makes no sense as it minimizes the benefit, we basically just paid 35 million to add 0.3 war (Greinke 4.2 war, Folty 3.9 war) and why would the Mariners trade Haniger, arguably their best player at the end of the season? Also Duvall is probably going to be non-tendered, so he has no trade value right now.
Would like to see Dylan Bundy in the Atlanta rotation. A good pitcher that needs a change of scenery and wont cost a fortune
Lol…he is a batting practice with all the HR he is giving up. We basically have younger version of him in Lucas Sims. Only reason to get Bundy is to make Teheran feel better about himself.
I see Sean Newcomb in him, his potential as well. He can head a rotation if he ever puts it all together. Worth a shot if we could get him for cheap.
we don’t need pitching with potential, we have plenty of that. we need a sure thing for a year or 2. I suggest giving Eovaldi a 2 year deal
Eovaldi is a mid-rotation pitcher, nothing better. We might as well just keep Terhan over Evaldi.Little up side and no ace potential in him.
Send a case of sunflower seeds to Dodgers for Kershaw and his salary. Some flavored ones. Barbecue, pickle or ranch flavored.
All code for…………………………. cheapness. Get some bullpen help and resign Markakis if reasonable or go get another outfielder.Those two moves won’t blow the budget.
I’ve seen people comment that Acuna should hit 3rd or 4th. Who would hit leadoff? Could FF hit 2nd or 4th? Could we get Schwarber to hit 4th? Or get Merrifield from KC to play LF and hit leadoff.
I think eventually Albies or Enciarte will bat lead off, Acuña 2nd.
Inciarte should lead off, needs to get his OBP up by getting a few more walks but is the teams best base runner, can steal a base. Had 200 hits in ‘16.
Albies a switch hitter with more pop than Ender, but plenty of speed needs to bat 2nd.
Acuna is a middle of the order bat and that starts in ‘19 Can also steal a base
Possible 30/30 guy.
Freeman slots in at cleanup
If we could pull off my two trade proposals Mitch Haniger would bat 5th in RF and Jake Lamb LH 3B w/ 30-40 HR potential would bat 6th.
Flowers 7th, Swanson 8th
That is the dumbest lineup I’ve ever seen. Why would you move Acuna from the leadoff spot when its been working so well?