The Phillies have agreed to a minors deal with catcher, etc. Christian Bethancourt, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It includes an invitation to participate in MLB camp.
Bethancourt came up as a rifle-armed catcher, but has been utilized in creative ways since cracking the majors back in 2014. The Padres put him in the outfield, at second base, and even on the mound. He has also seen professional action at first base.
That unique array of defensive capabilities makes Bethancourt an intriguing potential 26th man. While command problems make him little more than a mop-up man in a pitching capacity, his experience in that area adds at least some value.
Unfortunately, Bethancourt has never really come around with the bat. He owns a .222/.252/.316 slash in 489 plate appearances at the MLB level. And he was struggling against Korean pitching in 2019 before the KBO’s NC Dinos cut him loose mid-season.
If there’s an encouraging sign, it’s the thousand-plus plate appearances of .298/.326/.465 output Bethancourt has managed at Triple-A. As that slash hints, though, he’ll have to carry a hefty batting average and/or boost his power in order to hit at a palatable level in the majors, as Bethancourt has never drawn many walks.
catcher, etc. what?
as in he is a relief pitcher in name only.
All we need to sign is relive pitchers
are relief
Considering the offense struggled outside of Harper, Realmuto and Dickerson (who is no longer on the team), I don’t think this statement is true.
The Phillies lack a true CF and 3B. They also have little bench depth. Relievers and starters are also an issue. They are a win now team with a ton of holes.
They actually have 4 true CFs, Haseley, Herrera, Quinn, and Kingery, all of whom have, at one time or another, played a plus CF. You might not like them, for one reason or another, but the Phillies CF will come from this group. Alec Bohm is their 3B. While his defense has questions, they want him there. They’ll hold him down for service time issues.
The Phillies are done looking for every day players. Brad Miller would be a nice re-sign but they may want to see if they can unload Jean Segura first.
Didn’t we have cutch playing cf last year? His injury last year was the down fall of the season
Herrera is a huge question mark. Quinn is always injures and not quite a proven starter. Haseley is a young talent, I like him a lot, but on a win now team you need more from a bat. Kingerey has been geeat but is currently our only option at 3B.
You said “The Phillies lack a true CF” but what you clearly meant is “I don’t like the CFs they have.” They have plenty of options in CF and they’re not going to give up trade assets to trade for a player like Jackie Bradley who isn’t a discernible upgrade. They have very little money left under the threshold and they won’t use it in CF.
The Phillies don’t need an option at 3B for more than around 15-20 games. Alec Bohm will be playing 3B before May 1. Maybe Kingery plays there a few weeks but then moves to CF.
Again, you might not think that’s the best way to go but it is the way they will go. They aren’t adding another CF and if they add a 3B it’ll be Brad Miller.
The Phillies will likely bring in any significant player via trade, because they don’t have much money left under the threshold. That trade or trades will be for pitching.
It’s more than I do not like their options. It’s that 2 out of the 4 options aren’t and have never been every day starters. The 3rd option is not a true CF and will likely be slotted in at 3B. And the 4th option was suspended for domestic violence and his status is completely up in the air. So I stand by the fact that they really don’t have a true starting CF.
What gives you the idea Alec Bohm can or will play an adequate major league level third base? I haven’t seen a single scouting report that has stated that he can. It’s also a fact that he has yet to produce at the plate at AAA. Sounds like you’re stating wishful thinking to me.
Haseley was the every day starter for most of August and September. He was an every day CF in the minors. He has been an every day starter and is transitioning from every day in the minors to the majors. Kingery won’t be the 3B for long. I stand by my opinion that you don’t like the options but they are there.
I get the idea from the Phillies. They think he will play an adequate 3B in the Majors and that’s the only opinion that counts. They’ll play him there.
He hasn’t played at AAA but so what? Juan Soto didn’t either.
@double–pretty spot-on take; agree 100%. VonPurpleHays seems to think that the Phils are just going to load up every position with an established star from Free Agency, but that’s not how it is going to work. Was the rebuild a failure? Yea, kind of… but then again not every team comes out of a rebuild with a stacked group of stud position players like the Astros. Klentak and Co. are clinging to that last bit of hope that Haseley and Kingery (and Bohm) make huge strides forward this year so that they don’t have to cover up their drafting & developing deficiencies with more 100 million dollar FA signings. Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but this lineup, as currently constructed, is going to do a lot of damage. My main concern is the bullpen at this point, and I’m still a bit frustrated that they didn’t match TEX’s offer for Kluber
Kluber would’ve been a questionable acquisition. His salary would’ve put them way over the luxury tax. He’ll be 34 next year. Pitchers at that age aren’t good bets to bounce back. He’s not the guy you want putting you over the tax.
Klentak’s draft picks have yet to produce and he hasn’t acquired any young unproven players who’ve blossomed. There have been no Jayson Werths or Shane Victorinos. His trades haven’t produced a ton of excess value. The Realmuto deal may go down as a win although Sixto Sanchez looks really good.
Actually, they are not Klentak’s draft picks. He has nothing to do with scouting and drafting. That is the job of the scouting director, who reports to the club president. The GM is not involved
Johnny Almaraz reported to Matt Klentak not Andy MacPhail. Klentak is quoted in the Phillies’ press release announcing Brian Barber’s hiring, not MacPhail, because Klentak hired him.
inquirer.com/phillies/phillies-scouting-director-b…
Doesn’t change the fact that scouting and drafting is not the responsibility of the GM . Google Phillies from office, a Wikipedia page breaks down the responsibilities of the GM, scouting director, and club president. GM hires scouting directors but does not himself scout or draft.
As in, Jeffrey Todd writes how he wants!
I could house 40 McNuggets
prove it
They wanted to grab him before “Kapler” and his a Giants would grab him. You know…Kapler may need him too for pitching relief help! Haha
Phillies fans are like: “That’s not the catcher we’re waiting for you to sign.”
Speaking of JT, is an extension for him inevitable or will he hit the open market? He would be a pretty popular guy in free agency…
Matt Klentak’s background is in MLB contracts, trained in New York City. Read his wiki.
Klentak’s contract offer will be based off Grandal and Realmuto can crush that in every way in free agency. Unless Realmuto is stupid he’s headed to the open market with Mookie Betts. It’s just those two.
Yankees will be ready to move on from Gary Sanchez, Boston has nothing at catcher or on their farm but will have money to spend, the Angels need a catcher and Arte Moreno pays position players. Then you have the Giants whose manager has a man crush on Realmuto.
That’s just off the top of my head.
There’s also the Braves, Mets and Nats. Realmuto is going to get paid.
Dont care what it takes, extend that man. If they offer him something like 7/200, I cant see him turning that down. Unless he doesnt like playing in Philadelphia for some reason.
Philly might be the best place in MLB to win, but it’s the worst to lose.
Harper is in for bad times ahead if the media lets John Middleton off the hook. That’s what happened to Mike Schmidt and Terry Francona.
At first I scoffed at the idea of $200 million without the benefit of a free agency bidding war. Mauer’s 8/184 is the benchmark followed by Posey’s 8(?)/167. As great as Realmuto is, and he is GREAT I just don’t know if a team would shell out that commitment to a catcher given the recent catching contracts (Martin, McCann, Weiters, etc.) have gone by the wayside. That kind of nine-figure commitment usually comes from a team that has years worth of medical, development, and other evaluation information that isn’t privy to anyone outside of the building. At best, I’d go 5/140 for Realmuto.
I would agree with you, except I’ve read quite a bit from Realmuto himself about how happy he is in Philly and how much he wants to stay. Sure, that could be BS, or even if true, mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Still, there at least seems to be some possibility of an extension where JT bypasses FA and re-signs with the Phils. Unlike Betts, Lindor & Bryant, to name a few. I realize it would be smarter from a money standpoint to create a fight for his services, but if he is truly happy there, what the hell’s the difference between $100 million and $125 million other than the 25 mil? It’s not like he can’t live on that.
” the difference between $100 million and $125 million other than the 25 mil?”
Zillow dot com.
Look what $25 million buys.
Richie (Dick) Allen too!
The Phillies traded for Realmuto because Harper wanted him. There is *ZERO* chance the Phillies don’t extend him before Opening Day.
It’s a matter of when, not if.
End of discussion.
Remember, when judging Realmuto’s supposed happiness to be in Philly, that he used to play for the Marlins. That bar is set so low that even the Razor City Dumpster Dogs would be a step up.
They have an issue here. Whether you agree they should or not, they don’t want to go over the luxury tax threshold. Right now, Realmuto figures to have a salary around $11 million for 2020. If he signs a similar contract to Grandal, his salaries for 2021 until the end of the contract will be $18-21 million. So his luxury tax number would go up significantly, probably putting them over the tax.
There’s no reason to go over the tax if you don’t have to and an extension won’t change Realmuto’s 2020 salary. So they may have to wait to sign him.
the Phil’s could just work it so j.t. makes the same amount this year as he would have or maybe alittle less. just backload that extension. let him make $8-$10mil in 2020, but in 2021 it could go up to $18+ mil per yr
They can do that but the luxury tax is an average of the contract. If he signs for $10 million in 2020 and then 5 years and $100 million for 2021-2025 then his luxury tax hit for 2020 is $18.3 million. That would put them over the threshold.
Ya know, you actually have some valuable input when you’re not crying about John Middleton’s money.
SMMFH
Nothing to see here, folks. Move on.
safe to say the world series will be residing in Philly after this move.
Mr. Stupid Money hiding in his airplane hanger.
Bryce Harper aka the Russell Westbrook of the MLB
…aaaannnnd we’re back… that didn’t take long…
What are his framing statistics?????
legacy.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?c…
It’s a big stretch to call Bethancourt a utility player. In reality he’s a jack of few trades and a master of none. He’ll get you by in an emergency until you snag a better option on the waiver wire.
Was really hoping he’d be solid for the Braves years ago. Such talent all through the system and couldn’t make the jump
bravesfan: I disagree. Watching him throughout the minors was a tough thing to watch. He showed flashes of being average but more often than not I believed he was a career minor leaguer. Betancourt ( in my opinion) just never had the knowledge nor the drive to be a good ballplayer. I recall him also being ” lazy” at/ behind the plate and the front office couldn’t stand to watch him play. I hope he gets it together but to say he had talent may be a bit of a stretch.
Unbelievable! Yea, let’s waste more of our money on players who won’t even be on the 40 man roster. I’m glad to see there thinking more about the minor league teams than the actual team. This is BS
total b.s.
you dont understand how Minor League Deals work, do you?
Relax. Phillies need depth. This move addresses that. May not make the team, but it’s not like Andrew Knapp was wowing everyone.
I guess for the casual “phan” it is easier to spout off anger than it is to take a minute to understand the word depth.
probably a AAAA player at this point, and I would rather have Brantly back, but he’s still young, so maybe he could still figure it out. (just please no pen work for him)
The poster child of failed prospect. Had all the talent to be the catcher of the future for the Braves with a terrible work ethic. Perfect example of prospects being hit or miss.
He hasn’t pitched since 2017, just sayin.
the pitching thing was really just a Padres delusion and it shows. they sent him to the minors to pitch and it might have cost him a return to teh Majors in any form.
*the
Is being a 2-way players dependent upon what you did last season? He probably doesn’t have enough innings along with plate appearances on any level to qualify.
phenomenalajs………………..
“A player qualifies for two-way status if he:
1) Pitches at least 20 Major League innings AND
2) Plays at least 20 Major League games as a position player or designated hitter, with at least three plate appearances in each game in either the current or previous MLB season.
Once a player has earned the two-way player designation, he maintains that status for the rest of that season and the following season. And while he has that status, his team no longer has to use one of its pitching roster spots on him.
Long story short: A two-way player is basically a position player who is allowed to pitch with no restrictions.”
Jack of all trades, master of none. They messed this guy up bad. He could have at least been one of those back up catchers that hung around the league for 15 years had he learned the position. Instead the Braves and Padres experimented with him and just ruined him.
The Padres were the only MLB team to use him as something not a catcher. The Braves never used him as anything but a backstop.
My mistake. The Braves’ mistake with him was not really giving him a chance to be the starter.
mlb1225 is correct. Only the Padres tried to turn him into a super-utility guy. Once he got to Milwaukee it was “Ok. No more goofing around. You’re a catcher.”
This is the kind of signing that gets fans all worked up yet really is just about adding some depth. The Phillies will be fine with Realmuto behind the plate unless he gets hit by a bus. Won’t stop fans from complaining though.
Hope the Phillies can find a taker for Segura. Aside from his .280 BA, he largely disappointed last year.
We only got his bad contract because the Mariners took on Carlos Santana’s bad contract from us. Of course, Santana went on to have an all-star year with the Indians while our 1B looked like a Little Leaguer in the second half.
Matt Klentak is in over his head. The sooner Cigar Guy admits that and dumps him, maybe we’ll win again.
Dude dope
He actually had a pretty decent season with the Brewers his last time stateside in AAA , was close to getting a September call up. He is still young and could become a decent back up
Another Padres’ failed experiment with someone’s career.
They messed up Sean Burroughs (and many others) too. “Hit .300 but they want more power” kind of tinkering…
If JTR goes out and does another 1100 innings again, you can surely bet that the wear and tear on his body will catch up to him quickly during his long-term contract. Hey, the way it’s rolling right now, maybe that won’t even be the Phillies’ problem! Yes, any team wants him out there for 1100 innings because he’s the best, but the Phillies had another reason to play him so much–they lacked any production whatsoever from his backup. While Bethancourt does provide depth, I think the Phils should be looking at the long list of available FA catchers with a likelier chance at MLB-level production–Castillo, Castro, Chirinos. If these guys are holding out for starting jobs, sign one of two guys with a long track record but are now in backup roles (Lucroy or Martin).
Problem is, all these guys would only get the same 10 – 12 at bats a month Knapp does. I highly doubt any of them would be so much better with the same lack of regular playing time.
Go Cubs Go
Been hearing about Cigar Guy’s “Stupid Money” for two years. So far, the return is Harper and Wheeler. The rest of the money Klentak spent didn’t produce much because of injuries and/or poor performances.
One big key for the Phillies this year is Cutch returning 100% healthy to man LF. Never want to doubt a player with the high character Cutch has demonstrated, but at his advanced age, coming back from his second ACL tear won’t be a slam dunk.
Girardi should manage his innings in the OF; use him as a DH when that opportunity arises and hope he can get 125 solid starts from him.
I’m not sure Klentak knows what the hell he is doing. The starting rotation is currently all right handed, the bullpen has not been upgraded, CF and 3B are weak spots in the everyday lineup. We could have signed Ryu and Bentances if we had been prepared financially. The Phillies will not smell the postseason unless they start developing some serious talent in the minors to fill some of the holes they have on their Major League roster!
‘Stros almost won the World Series without a single left-handed pitcher on the roster, so the fact that the Phils have all right-handed hurlers is not really the issue here. You want to sign Ryu for 20 million per year for four years? Yea, Toronto is going to be regretting that one about half-way through. Betances was injured all of last year; you think that’s the kind of guy to count on to provide stability in an injury-ravaged bullpen? And your final statement applies to every single team in MLB, not just the Phillies. I’m not a Klentak fan either, but you can’t blame him for everything going wrong with the Phillies. Cutch and D.Rob have had YEARS of healthy, productive seasons, yet they both sustain long-term injuries this year. Just bad luck. Not Klentak’s fault there.
I would blame for not being more aggressive in the pursuit of Kluber, who went to the Rangers for next to nothing. Phils could have easily matched that offer without even considering Bohm/Howard in the trade talks. I also wanted Hamels back, too, but that might just be nostalgia talking….
glad they didnt match the Ryu and Betances contracts. and CF is not a weakness, Haseley is great, nor is not having a LHP.
The Phillies weren’t giving an often injured 33 year old pitcher a 4 year $80 million deal. Betances likely didn’t want to leave New York.
Wow Phillies suck
Rafael Ortega
This is a nothing move, just another guy to fill the Pigs roster up and barring complete disaster in Philly, he will live out his last days in baseball humming living here in Allentown.
As for this offseason, Girardi replacing Krapler raised my hopes that they were truly engaged in a serious attempt to compete for the division. Then Klentak settled for Wheeler and called it a day on rotation help turning his attention to his homage to Abbott and Costello with his sequel “Carlos Santana 2 – Who’s on first….I don’t Know…….Third Base” AKA” Da Doo Doo Doo Da Dii Dii Dii”…. Joe better know cause if he don’t, the Phillies will blow……
if Santana could play 3B and could be had for a Kluber-like return, Id embrace a Slamtana reunion.
I’m beginning to worry if he is holding out. 1 week, no news.