2:46pm: MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that the two sides have also discussed right-hander Heath Hembree. Unlike Workman, the 31-year-old Hembree is controlled through 2021, so he’d give the Phils an option for this year and next. Hembree has yielded six runs through 9 2/3 innings in 2020, but he carries a solid 3.65 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 through 222 innings dating back to 2016.
2:06pm: The Phillies and Red Sox are actively discussing a deal involving “multiple players,” including Workman, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
12:47pm: The Phillies have spoken to the Red Sox about right-hander Brandon Workman as they look to upgrade their bullpen, Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic report (via Twitter).
The Phils just picked up David Hale in a small deal with the Yankees, and it’d hardly be a surprise to see them aggressively target additional bullpen arms. Philadelphia’s offense, fueled by monster seasons from Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, has been among the best in the game.
The rotation, led by huge efforts from Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, has pitched to a combined 4.10 ERA, although the unit beyond that top duo has been rather shaky. Jake Arrieta’s past two starts were rough, and top prospect Spencer Howard has yet to complete five frames. Righty Zach Eflin has missed bats at a surprising rate but has also yielded eight earned runs in his 14 innings.
Phillies relievers, on the other hand, have been the worst collective unit in baseball. The Philadelphia bullpen has produced an astonishing 8.07 ERA — nearly two runs worse than the 29th-ranked Reds — and also ranks 27th in FIP and 20th in xFIP. No Phillies reliever has even thrown 10 innings, and the only sub-4.00 ERAs among pitchers with at least three appearances belong to veteran Blake Parker, who was only recently added to the big league roster, and lefty Jose Alvarez, who was carted off the field in yesterday’s game.
As an impending free agent on the 8-18 Red Sox, Workman is among the likeliest players in MLB to change hands before the Aug. 31 trade deadline. He’s pitched to a 4.05 ERA in his tiny sample of 6 2/3 frames this year, but the 32-year-old also logged a 1.88 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 16 saves for the Red Sox in 2019. He averaged 5.7 walks per nine frames last year, which is obviously unpalatable, but his control prior to that season was generally sharp.
In all, since moving to the Red Sox’ bullpen on a full-time basis in 2017, Workman has compiled 159 1/3 frames with a 2.65 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 0.79 HR/9 and a 46.4 percent ground-ball rate.
If a deal involving Workman does ultimately come together, it’ll be telling to see what type of return the righty brings. Boston won’t be making a qualifying offer regardless, so the Sox are better off moving him than holding. But the Phillies (or any other team) would only be acquiring about a month of regular-season innings from Workman. The general expectation has been that rental players like Workman will yield relatively minimal returns due to that fact. To this point, however, we’ve not yet seen any such deals come together, so the first couple deals that come to fruition could conceivably serve as a barometer for other potential rental swaps.
Should be “the rotation has been generally effective too.”
Interesting. Hopefully, they work out a deal. Good luck for the Phillies. I want to see them in the playoff with Girardi.
They better change something fast. Braves might deal them a knockout punch over this series.
sad but true
Nola goes tonight & Wheeler tomorrow. I like philly’s chances tonight
Hey richt..you actually fooled people into thinking you are actually talking baseball on a baseball site. =}
Hopefully the hot stove starts to heat up! Will the Tribe deal one of those COVID Clowns?
Gonna be hard to make deals this year.
Can’t trade anyone not on your 60 man roster.
Should be very few “real” trades.
Yeah but you can somewhat get around the trade target not being on the 60-man by:
A. Trade for a PTBNL. This would be like the Jorge Mateo trade, where the PTBNL is someone who isn’t on SD’s 60 man that OAK will get this offseason.
B. Just add a guy to the 60 man in order to trade them. A lot of teams have those rosters under 60 so if there is someone specific the other side wants they could easily just add them and then complete the trade.
The hiccup is, the PTBNL list has to be agreed to when the trade is made.
Since those players aren’t working out now, it’s rather tough to assess them now, and that won’t get much easier over the next 6 months with the acquiring team not getting any looks at those players.
Likely, at least 23 of the 30 owners would prefer (a very quiet trade deadline) to (paying 15 more players a minor league per diem for five weeks).
I would hate to see Workman in another uniform. If he is traded then I’d like to see some young prospects come in return
Young starter for Workman?
That guy would have to be way down in the system. As the article States don’t hope for too much back for a closer who’s not quite lights out. He’s a decent reliever to plug into your staff. Hopefully a middling Prospect comes back which is better than getting nothing at all. Fingers crossed.
please I hope it isnt Glogoski or Lindow
Not lights out? He had the second lowest ERA amongst relievers last year, is finally over injuries and except 1 bad outing this year has been fantastic. You don’t have to be a hall of famer like Mariano or Trevor Hoffman to be considered lights out. The indians could be looking to move one of two younger starters in plesac and clevenger. Sometjing could form with other pieces involved
Someone like Pivetta would work.
Here we go. I prefer someone who had more years of control, but I’ll gladly take Brandon Workman.
I like your take on this and the David Hale acquisitions, crumpy24. Phillies fortifying that bullpen one serviceable arm at a time.
Medina or Howard here we come.
Should Sox take chance on Vince Velasquez??
Nope
I’d take a chance on Velasquez if he was not the best and/or highest upside player coming from the Phillies in a multi-player Brandon Workman trade.
Sox need major-league arms that can absorb innings, even at the risk of those innings being as bad as the 13 IP that Velasquez has thrown for PHL this year.
Even better if after the season Boston or some other team could then help Velasquez reinvent himself as a late-inning power arm.
Good I hope they make lotsa deals just make sure the cor KEY players are never touched.
If the Rangers were in a position to trade for a rental, Workman would be a guy I’d like to see us trade for. Locks down the back of the pen. Phillies would be smart to do it.
The Rangers are sellers this year. Fire sale
Twins should be in on Workman, c’mon Falvey…
Phillies drafted Workman way back when and didn’t sign him over a $75,000 difference in the bonus.
Phillies are still a 3rd place team at best. Monster season from harper and realmuto? Tatis and mookie have been far superior to them both
Phillies have a shot this year if they can fix the pen.
That division is wide open. Nobody is running away with it and putting themselves ahead of the pack.
Two days ago you were saying the Padres (now 15-12) should sell off their starters, but you think the Phillies (now 9-12) should buy?
I don’t think either team is going to win their division, Dodgers and Braves should but 2nd gets a playoff spot and theres 2 WC slots so both PHI and SD should be trying to fix their bullpens. Just pointing out that its bizarre you think the team with the better record should sell.
2 days ago I said if Padres are below .500 at the deadline, August 31st they should trade impending free agent Garret Richards and possibly Zach Davies if you get an offer you can’t refuse.
Also, where did I say Phillies should buy?
What I said was is if they can fix their pen issues they have a shot cause despite missing games Braves and Mets aren’t running away with the division.
If you’re going to paraphrase what I say paraphrase it correctly.
If the phillies can fix their bullpen, then I think they have a good shot. Klentak failed to fix it once Dominguez wasen’t gonna come back for the season, Should of made a move for Betances , and when Kelvin Herrera got released should of got him too.
Here’s exactly what I said. multiple times.
“Davies and Richards might be on the move if they’re out of contention or hovering around .500 by August 31st.”
“Them making trades is dependent upon where they are at August 31st. Not end of the season. If they’re below .500 theyll most likely sell. If they’re above they’ll stay put or buy.”
“Richards is a free agent after the season. If you’re out of the playoffs come August 31st yes I’d trade him.”
Phillies only have a chance bc they are the only healthy team lol. Imagine if they dealt with the injuries everyone else did. The Mets have a better record than them and they missed their 5 best pitchers at one point and still have 4 of them hurt
The Phillies bullpen is a mess because of injuries. For example, Robertson was supposed to be the setup man for Seranthony Dominguez. Both are injured. So no, the Phillies are not healthy.
@von, but Klentak knew that he wouldn’t get much from those two this year, yet still did very little to add depth to a glaring area of need. DRob and Seranthony have been hurt for over a year now.
Yeah you’re not wrong there, but bullpens are not an easy fix. And those weren’t the only injuries. Suarez, Arano…the bullpen was totally devastated
Mookie far superior to Harper this year? Might want to check their numbers
Numbers aside, Mookie catches Biggio’s double in Game 1 yesterday.
Mookie probably the best right fielder in the game
Yep. But, Bryce is doing his part offensively. Definitely other problem areas for Philly right now.
Agreed
It wasn’t a conversation comparing Harper and JT to Mookie and Tatis. Believe it or not, dozens of players are allowed to have ‘monster’ seasons for their respective teams. HIs comment was to simply show that the offense is carrying this team while the bullpen is severely preventing the team from reaching its potential.
Pivetta and De Los Santos should be enough, right??
Lol
I mean he is a rental, and a relief pitcher, I wouldn’t expect him to bring back a top prospect of any sort.
Like Rodriguez for Andrew
Miller?
Context is key
Yes please!!!
Eovaldi + Workman for Howard and Medina/Marchan, maybe one or two minor pieces mixed in?
No. Eovaldi needs to stay and he’s got the contract to do just that. He’s no #1, but he’s a rock solid #3 when Sale and ERod return.
Eovaldi is probably at peak value right now. Both because of the need for arms, and his relatively strong showing outside one bad start.
Depending who you get back for him in young arms, I’d wager Bloom is more interested in selling now and clearing that contract, then exercising perez’s option for next year.
I’ll take Eovaldi over Vinny V & Arrieta
JBJ or Pillar need a CF or JD Martinez in Deal
Klentak should not be trusted to make any kind of move except for his own resignation.
B I N G O
Since many teams may be interested in Workman, the return will depend on how badly one team wants to out bid the next…..the return could look better than many people expect….like getting 4 bids $20,000 over your asking price on your home……lol
Not Eduardo Rodriguez but something of value should be expected if the demand is there.
exactly
Yeah smart of Boston to already be shopping him now a little before the deadline. They already know they’re selling and there is plenty of time to play the Phillies offer against other teams to see if they can increase the return.
Is this the Phillies plan to acquire a Hale Mary player to save the season for them
The Phillies are 1.5 games outta a playoff spot….its more like a 7 yard slant
pun intended?
Here’s a challenge, should anyone wish to accept.
Name one player at the Phillies alternate training site likely to go in the other direction.
You lost me at “Name one player…” /j
Victor Arano.
Enyel de Los Santos, Nick Pivetta. Red Sox are out early. There should be other relievers becoming available.
This team blew two 7-run leads and just barely managed to win a game when they had a 9 run lead in the last inning. Not only is this bullpen bad, it’s historically awful. The one good thing about the Phillies is that the completely validate Tatis Jr’s 3-0 swing. No lead is safe.
Ooo, the hot stove is heating up…
Would you take the over or the under on a deal being done before midnight?
Whelp, you’ve got klentak on one side. Enough said.
Then on the other side you’ve got bloom who doesn’t stick to demanding another team’s top talent for anything, not even when dealing one of the top talents in MLB.
I like the under. Klentak feels the heat under his seat, and needs to woo JTR showing he’ll make moves to win. Bloom seems to lack the stones to demand a premium in trades.
Phillies don’t have premium to give, especially not for a rental arm.
Wouldnt shock me to see them give up on Medina or Arano
Doesn’t matter Von, Bloom doesn’t ask for it anyways.
Cite to LAD trade, a system overflowing with pitching, and bloom failed to extract a single arm
After yesterday I figured Philly would be orchestrating an exit strategy, but I guess Klentak wants to keep his job a little while longer. Bullpen questions, yes. But there is something wrong with this team. They can address the bullpen and I still do not think they are a good team. They are just ok. Watched them enough yesterday to know there are more fixes needed and they are running out of prospects and money to get it done (unless they are willing to spend above luxury. By a lot.)
Bullpen lost 2 games yesterday. I mean despite the other problems a decent bullpen puts this team in first. Of course that’s like saying the Phillies would be good if they weren’t bad.
First game was also lost by the bats, or lack thereof. Philly stopped hitting after the 1st inning in Game 2. There are more problems than just the bullpen.
That happens sometimes, but it’s a rarity. The offense has been pretty solid all year. No complaints there. Sure it was frustrating in game 1, but that was the exception, not the norm.
Every team struggles offensively from time-to-time; that’s part of the game. What’s not part of the game is continuing to break records in the categories you don’t want to, such as WORST BULLPEN EVER.
I’m suprised Bloom hasn’t made a move yet, Boston’s got so many players to deal from.
Not sure why the author thinks that trade return for players would be tremendously different than usual. Deals made at the trade deadline are for two months + playoffs…a deal made now would be for almost 5 weeks + playoffs, and of course would have a greater %-based impact than a deal made at the normal trade deadline in a normal year. And, of course, the playoff impact would be the same.
For reference, the Yankees got a hefty package with a top prospect (Torres) plus two other prospects, one seen at the time as a top-100 prospect too, for a rental of Chapman. Naturally, Workman is no Chapman, and the Phillies likely won’t be as motivated as the Cubs were at the time of the Chapman deal, but you could take the Chapman return and outright remove Torres from the package and get a return better than this article posits. Perhaps something like that would work?
The bigger wild card is how the industry feels about the season getting to the playoffs and beyond. If there is full confidence that it will happen (that is how I lean), then what I have written here seems reasonable, but the more doubt there is the less motivated buyers will be.
I see two reasons twams would shy away from even relatively major deadline deals.
COVID might stop the season in three weeks, and giving up six years of cost control for potentially zero playoff games is a deterrent.
Any player to be sent in exchange has to be (in the 60 man player pool), on the DFA list, or (agreed to in advance as a PTBNL, with no information up front, as he isn’t in camp. Nor would any information be forthcoming, as he is an employee of another team).
Boring deadline likely.
Third reason is the absence of revenue for a team taking on salary. Until shown, I’m skeptical a team will do that. The tv subscription packages are in. A player under team control suggests a player you can use in a revenue-generating season.. A free agent — nothing. What is a disenfranchised fan base going to do to prove its dissatisfaction — stay home? Don’t look for an overpay on Workman or any fee agent. Baseball is as much a business as it ever was.
This was the weakest link of the phillies team and Klentak failed to fix it.
Sox lose Hembree and Workman their team ERA will end up over 7.00
It’s probably headed there anyways
The problem just might be that sellers if the offer isn’t to their liking might want to wait until closer to the deadline than to set the market now.
“He’ll make you smoke cigarettes.”
I love the Eck
ah hembree – former future closer for the giants
Workman and J.Bradley for DeLos Santos, A.Hasley, & N.Pivitta.
Haseley is not worth both of those two combined
Workman, Hembree, and Barnes…all available
Can we trade Bloom too?
Your such a stupid fan.