Jan. 18: Bradley has passed his physical, and the contract has been formally announced by the Phillies.
Jan. 14: The Phillies are signing free-agent reliever Archie Bradley, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. It’s a one-year, $6MM pact for the right-hander, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan of ESPN.com were first to report that Bradley was nearing a deal with a team. Bradley is a client of BBI Sports Group.
Bradley has been on the open market since the Reds non-tendered him Dec. 2 in lieu of paying him a projected $4.3MM to $5.7MM in arbitration. The move was particularly surprising when combining Bradley’s solid track record with the fact that the Reds acquired him from the Diamondbacks for two players – utilityman Josh VanMeter and young outfielder Stuart Fairchild – at last August’s trade deadline.
The Bradley trade did pay off initially for Cincinnati, as he gave the playoff-bound club 7 2/3 innings of one-earned run ball with six strikeouts, no walks and four hits allowed during the regular season. Bradley didn’t fare as well in his lone playoff appearance, though, surrendering the only run in a 13-inning defeat to the Braves in Game 1 of a wild-card round that Cincy went on to lose.
The seventh overall pick of the Diamondbacks in 2011, Bradley was regarded as a premium prospect over the ensuing few years, But he couldn’t put it together as a big league starter in Arizona from 2015-16. The proverbial light bulb went on the next season when the Diamondbacks shifted Bradley to their bullpen. Bradley enjoyed a serious increase in velocity that year (from 92 mph-plus to upward of 96) and pitched to a 1.73 ERA across 73 innings. Although Bradley’s results weren’t as dominant from 2018-19, he continued to keep runs off the board at a good clip while eating innings (over 70 in both seasons) and throwing better than 95.
Bradley’s average fastball velo dipped to around 94 last year, but it was still one of his most effective seasons yet. The 28-year-old notched a 2.95 ERA/3.44 SIERA and recorded a 24.7 percent strikeout rate with a personal-best 4.1 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 innings. Bradley’s 9.4 percent swinging-strike rate was a bit above his career average of 8.7, while the .274 weighted on-base average he allowed wasn’t too far from his .297 expected wOBA.
Now with the Phillies, his third organization, Bradley should provide some much-needed help to a bullpen that helped cost the team a playoff berth in 2020. The Phillies’ relief corps finished last in the majors in ERA (7.06), and the tandem of new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld have tried to improve the group with the acquisitions of Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Sam Coonrod and Ian Hamilton this winter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates or Orioles
Finally, the Phillies signed an okay reliever.
Great pick up! Another miss by angels
I second that.
He’s as volatile as relievers come and has a below average fastball now, which is his bread and butter pitch. I don’t think the Angles missed out on anything but more sadness here.
Fangdango,
You might be right. The Angels specialize in volatile relievers. When one has a good year, they make him a high leverage relievers the following year. And once these RPs are promoted to high leverage relievers, they stink and they blow game after game after game.
It has bee the one Angel constant over the last decade. It takes them six weeks to figure it out, by then they are playing catch-up.
I was hoping this new GM was different, but I doubt he is.
Wow what a revealing title
He was going for a cliffhanger.
White Sox or Chicago Bears!
If it’s the White Sox that would be ‘unfair’ to the rest of MLB. If it’s the Bears, that would be ‘unfair’ to Archie Bradley and Chicago fans because GM Ryan Pace is still in charge and any QB he puts his hands on turns to crap. He’s got the Midas Touch in reverse!
Even though it’d probably cement a “super-bullpen,” the Sox have bigger needs, like SP, RF (I don’t believe Eaton is the answer and that signing still confuses me), and DH. Vaughn may come up and do great immediately, but he’s still not played above A+. Plus, the Sox after 2021 will have 3 SP spots open for some combo of Kopech, Cease, Crochet, Stiever, Kelley, and Lopez. And that’s if they don’t sign another SP, which is very possible. The others become either RPs or trade bait. They needed a lockdown closer, but I don’t think they need any other RP help.
Bears still need him.
$6 MIL a bargain.
@hyraxwithaflamethrower
Depending on who it is, I won’t complain if they get another SP and DH (obviously they won’t get another RF) as long as both are 1 year deals. If the SP is a TOR, then obviously I’m fine with multiple years.
Personally I’d go with Collins/Mercedes as DH until Vaughn is ready. And I’m fine with Cease and Kopech #4 & #5. If Kopech needs a little time in AAA in April, just stick Lopez in there until Kopech comes up (only a few starts). I’m not saying I’m right, it’s just my opinion.
As for Eaton in RF, I wonder if the Sox are so high on Cespedes that they wanted a relatively inexpensive 1 year deal so they can slot him in RF once he’s ready (whenever that is). That’s the only thing that makes sense about the Eaton signing to me. Though he is an upgrade to Engel being the everyday RF.
Keep this in mind, Sox fans: they are only $47MM away from the tax threshold (due to their many team friendly deals). These team friendly deals will work to their advantage in the next few years with the tax threshold. They are now at $125.8MM actual payroll and $162.7 CB Tax (according to Cot’s)–easily the biggest difference in MLB.
What’s my point here? They probably won’t make another move until they try to extend Giolito (or sign him to this year’s contract if they can’t come to an extension agreement). They will have to see where they’re at after that (and if they decide to try and extend Madrigal or even Vaughn) before handing out another decent sized (or bigger) contract.
I do keep forgetting about Cespedes. I wouldn’t count on him, but it’d be nice if he showed something. Maybe, just maybe, Adolfo will figure out how to stay healthy for a full season and give them another option.
I agree with most of what you say, but why do you think Collins can hit in MLB?!!!
Adam Eaton was an upgrade over Nomar Mazara. Adam Engel will continue to be as valuable a 4th outfielder as there is in MLB. The two Adams figure to share RF with Eaton getting the bulk of the playing time as a left-handed hitter.. Engel and Eaton can also spell Robert in CF when he needs a day off or suffers an injury. Whichever Adam doesn’t start in RF will be available as a defensive replacement for Eloy Jimenez in LF.
That said, don’t sleep on the White Sox adding another left-handed bat to mix in at LF and DH. It could be a player like Andrew Benintendi in a trade or a free agent like Joc Pederson. Any player sought to fill that role figures to be on a short term commitment. Benintendi has two years left of cheap control if he can duplicate his pre-2019 production. Unlike Benintendi who has demonstrated an ability to be a successful full-time player, Pederson will strictly be a platoon option versus RHP. Either would be a significant defensive upgrade ove Jimenez in LF. The acquisition of either would allow Tony La Russa to utilize Jimenez more as a DH where he is best suited due to poor defense and a propensity for getting hurt. This would be more likely when a RHP starts a game with Benintendi or Pederson also penciled in the lineup as the left-fielder.
It’s also a near certainty that Rick Hahn will add one more veteran starting pitcher to the 2021 rotation mix. Most likely it will be also be one on a shorter term deal and preferably with a postseason pedigree. There are an number of former TOR’s available this offseason who are returning from health issues and likely to sign a make-good short term contract loaded with incentives. Ideally, this SP would also be a southpaw which would help balance out a rotation that only has Dallas Keuchel throwing from the left side. I’m thinking of somebody James Paxton, Cole Hamels, AJ Happ or Jon Lester who each figure to sign one year deals. I might prefer former White Sox Jose Quinata over any of them but it would likely be on a two-year contract.
Another former White Sox possibility might be recently non-tendered Carlos Rodon if his medicals check out. Rodon could probably be had with a very minimal one-year guaranteed deal loaded with incentives. If his meds check out, I wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of an impact new pitching coach Ethan Katz might have on him. Hopefully Katz will also be instrumental in fulfilling the ace potential of Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, Michael kopech and Garrett Crochet over the next two seasons. Cease has a leg up on the #4 or #5 rotation spot depending on who might be added before opening day. Lopez could be a contender for the last rotation slot and is also battling for a spot anywhere on the White Sox staff as a pitcher with no more minor league options available. Crochet is a near certainty to be in the White Sox pen in 2021 like Chris Sale was in 2011 before he transitions to a starting role next season. Kopech will begin this season at AAA Charlotte building up an arm that hasn’t thrown an official pitch since late 2018 while also hoping to regain the command he finally found earlier in 2018 ahead of his brief MLB debut.
In regard to potential White Sox extensions, keep in mind that Friday is the deadline for players and teams to exchange contract numbers and hopefully avoid an arbitration hearing. Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez are the two remaining arbitration eligible players left who have not agreed to 2021 contract yet. Giolito is the core player the White Sox would want to extend asap as he nears free agency following the 2023 season. It will be interesting to see what transpires on Friday with the deadline looming. The ideal scenario would be news of an extension. Settlement on a deal for 2021 would also be preferable to an arbitration hearing which often results in bad blood. Of course, an extension could also be agreed upon at any time but the longer this plays out, the less likely it gets done or the more expensive it becomes.
Lopez is another story altogether. He has also been mentioned as a possible trade piece for teams seeking younger MLB pitchers with some team control. Despite his lack of minor league options, he still possess 3 more season of arbitration control. The Red Sox are said to be looking for young MLB pitching or MLB ready pitchers in their trade discussions for Andrew Benintendi this past week. Lopez would fit that description and could potentially be part of a package going back to Boston in such a deal. With the recent signing of closer Liam Hendriks, the White Sox may also have a pen arm available to the Red Sox in a potential trade. Benintendi would be a nice get for the White Sox lineup and its been reported that he’s likely to be trade by this weekend. Stay tuned!
As for Yoelqui Céspedes, his signing should also become official on Friday (today) which is the first day of the 2020/2021 international signing period that should have been last July 2nd but was delayed due to COVID-19 (mlb.com/news/mlb-international-signing-day-2020-21). Céspedes is the Cuban half-brother of Yoenis and is considered the #1 international prospect in this class. The White Sox are also expected to announce the signing of the #15 best prospect, RHP Norge Vera who (surprise, surprise!) is yet another Cuban headed to the ChiSox organization.
Friday looks to be the single busiest day on the MLB offseason calendar as the first day of the new international signing period along with being the last day for eligible players to exchange contract numbers with their teams with the hope of avoiding arbitration. With spring training only a month away, with so many free agents still available and with numerous trade proposals being discussed, the potential for breaking news on Friday is staggering.
This certainly looks like a lot of words.
Him and everyone else
the Mystery Team finally got their man!
No, the Mystery Team is going after Springer. This is the Unknown Team.
Assuming he’s staying here, I’m going to guess the Cardinals. Don’t ask me why because it’s just a guess.
Why?
I asked not to ask why because it was just a guess. The Phillies with their vaunted pen makes sense but then again half the league needs pitching.
Blue Jays.
It better be, they have been intrested in way too many not to be the unknown in this story!
Hmmmm. We know the Blue Jays are “interested”, but only the White Sox, Padres, Mets, and Nationals are actually offering real contracts this winter, so my guess is it’s one of those four.
I’m thinking he is going to the Angels, Perry needs to get some pitching, but Perry needs to sign a big time pitcher to have a good off season.
It’s the Phillies
Could this be the bullpen piece that many Angels fans have wanted ???
no
Probably the CHW
This coming from the guy who thought the Braves needed Baumgartner to make it to the NLCS. I would trust it about as much as you throwing 98 on the outside black.
@Kappel who are you talking to? you got the wrong guy if you think that’s me
@ John Kappel. What are you even talking about?
5tool, it’s one of the pieces I wanted.
I’m glad the Angels didn’t get Baez, no matter how badly I want another RP, waiting a minute between pitches is just not worth it.
good for holding the runners, lol!
Phillies?
You win!
@MetsFan22 nice guess. I was hoping you were right.
Thanks. It’s a no brainer for them. That’s why I thought it was them.
signing with the Irish
It’ll be an AL team. Angels,A’s Blue Jays or Rays is my guess.
I want it to be the cubs.
Incorrect.
Cubs cannot afford $6MIL!
Who you crappin’?!
He would make an affordable closer in Detroit.
Do they even need one?
Yes, they do. They need a veteran to take the pressure off the youngsters, while keeping them affordable for the long haul.
Why shouldn’t the Tigers continue to have younger guys like B. Garcia as closers? They better invest any money earmarked for relievers in a good veteran starter, who might become sought after at the trade deadline.
Gruß,
BSHH
Relievers have quite a bit of trade value, also.
I think he was referring to the fact that the Tigers aren’t usually winning when the 9th inning comes around.
Skeeters
Probably the Superbas.
“Unknown Team”…welp, they just revealed the new name for the Indians.
Is he going to host an infomercial telling us where he will take his “talents”?
MARINERS!!!
Please be the Angels.
Redsoxs obviously
Rangers
I’ll go Twinkies
Yankees! Get out the razor!
I got that one wrong.
Well..in your defense, I only saw one commenter get it right and I wasn’t him, so…
Orioles!!!
Braves
Red snapper!! Very tasty!!!!!
GIVE UP? IT’S AN ORANGE!!!!
hope it is the angels finally wising up to strengthen the pen.
This is so incredibly cool. I will totally sign up for more of this suspense. Who does he sign with? Astros?
If there have been no leaks about which team is close to signing him, that must mean it is the Dodgers!!!!!
Btw, does this just mean that Passan didn’t know who the person that leaked the info was affiliated with? lol Some random guy leaked the info and then hung up before he could tell Passan the team.
I was assuming it came from Bradley’s camp to ESPN. Like a “heads up my guy is signing with a team today, I just can’t tell you where yet though” type situation. But honestly who knows…
Rangers.
I’m calling Boston
PHILLIES
HE JUST SIGNED WITH THE PHILLIES
Do you have some fundamental beef with non-capitalized letters?
I SUFFER FROM VOICE IMMODULATION
LolzMets isnt pleased
The grammar police aren’t pleased with you and I. Granted, your offenses just flat out piss people off sometimes and Idk why.
It’s the Phillies, so…
The Phillies are probably my least favorite team. Idk why I typed it in all caps lol. Excitement of a signing, I guess.
Finally solved the mystery. Rangers29 = MetsFan22. I’m not serious btw. Just teasing. Maybe.
Today on Juuuuudge Judy!
Lol I know you are joking but me a rangers 29 don’t even write the same way. Also why would I make two accounts.
To be fair, a lot of people here don’t write like me. I – unlike many others here – spend a lot of time writing out and proofreading my comments. That isn’t a knock on the people here; that’s just something I tend to be more diligent about than most.
@MetsFan22 Yeah. I mean I wasn’t trying to insult either one of you (as I enjoy your posts even when I disagree completely). It’s just that Ranger29 seems to be a big Mets fan who hates the Phillies. So I went with the most obvious Mets fan on the boards that I could think of.
I hate them because they’re not a likeable team lol. They also take up too much room at the bottom of the division lol. It’s almost an un-founded hatred, but I’ve really never liked them.
Yeah don’t worry lol. I knew right away. It’s just some guy reading that was like “ bro he is ranger29!” Lol.
I should hate them too for the last 10+ years if I’m being honest. Haha.
Dear Rangersfan29. Please stop being MLBTR’s most lovable poster. The saccharin-sweetness is giving me diabetes. Thankyou
Signed the future Diabetic Society
All in good fun busy. =))
I might’ve just said “aww” out loud, but don’t mind me. Big strong… male… testosterone… muscles… testiculars….man… thyroid….adam’s apples… athlete’s foot… Big strong manly man didn’t say “aww” lol.
Did you have a seizure while you typed that out or something? =D
WAIT?! YOU MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE VOICE IMMODULATION DISORDER ALSO KNOWN AS VID? NUMEROUS PROMINENT AMERICANS SUFFER FROM THIS DEBILITATING DISEASE, SUCH AS THE GUY WHO PLAYED RAJ ON “WHAT’S HAPPENING?” AND TENNIS GREAT, PETE SAMPRAS. IS A WHEEL CHAIR FUNNY TO YOU? NOT UNLESS THERE’S AN INJURED CLOWN IN IT. HOW ABOUT SLAVERY? IS THAT FUNNY TO YOU? MAYBE YOU WANT TO SELL ONE OF THOSE BLACK FRIENDS YOU ‘CLAIM’ YOU HAVE TO ONE OF YOUR RICH IVY LEAGUE NEIGHBORS.
@Rangers29. There are almost no posters here who would use a semicolon (correctly) in a comment. Well done.
Want to borrow my Humulin SalaryCap?
ROFL! Very kind of you. I can just steal some from my father in law. Thanks for the idea though. =}
Ranger..made me laugh..proof reading? I’m so good at it that I make up new words every day.. (*_^)
Have no idea what some get from multiple accounts…I’ve been on MLB threads (when they still had them) since the day after I invented dirt..I was once accused of posting under multiple nom de plumes…except for the accuser, the room erupted with strings of LOLs…my style, what there is of it is very distinctive…
My game of Yu-Gi-Oh took an unexpected turn, as Archie was going to be my mystery opponent. Guess I gotta hit up Kaiba.
The Phillies activated your trap card?
Indeed they did.
Phillies gonna continue their annual tradition of bringing in quality relievers like Bradley and Alvorado just to have them blow up out of the blue?
ouch.
supernatural forces hate our pen
It’s the ghost of Ricky Bottalico…
@JDGoat this hurts because it’s 100% true. I would bet money on it.
I’m thinking he is going to the Angels, Perry needs to get some pitching, but Perry needs to sign a big time pitcher to have a good off season.
Phillies. As a Braves fan, looking forward to torching him.
I mean taking last year into account, the Braves torching the Phils pen is to be expected.
Braves fans are so lucky. Fans of the other 29 MLB teams don’t get to torch their opponents bullpens. Nice!
I’m not really impressed with Perry so far.
He could have easily had him included in the Iglesias trade.
Epic fail.
Don’t fret, you’ll sign that front line starter you’re looking for… like Julio Teheran!
…I’m sorry lol. I can’t imagine having the best player ever on your team and then not being able to make the playoffs because the team sucks. Is there a price to pay by having the best player ever? The baseball gods are watching.
except Bradley was non-tendered before the Iglesias trade
12/3 vs 12/7.
Are you saying the Iglesias trade just happened? More reason to be unimpressed.
You’re extremely impatient.
And yea, trades can happen quickly. Considering the Bradley non-tender was somewhat surprising, I don’t see how you could be upset he wasn’t included
It’s been over a decade since the Angels had the used the same late inning bullpen weapons in April as in May.
I have no idea how anyone can say I’m extremely impatient.
Every year they screw it up… Every year. And last year it cost them a playoff birth, and it wasn’t the first one. It’s unbelievable that fans don’t see that.
The fact is, there were a couple RPs the Reds wanted to dump and for whatever reason Perry didn’t react. I’m not impressed.
Nice signing for the Phillies.
Phillies is where he’s reportedly going
Now the Phillies need to sign just five more relievers and their BP is set.
I vote for Tony Watson, Mark Melancon, Tyler Clippard, Joakim Soria, and Trevor Rosenthal to close.
I’d take Brad Hand or Alex Colome in the mix also, but they might want more money than the Phillies will spend.
One of the most consistent relievers in the free agent class. Great signing.
Dombrowski getting to work with a solid signing
This just adds on to what looks to be a disastrous offseason for the Reds.
Really solid signing for them.
Wow the $6M number here implies that Cincy botched this right? He was probably going to get less than that in Arb, so he theoretically should have had some trade value even if it was minimal.
That non-tender looks even worse now.
Phillies look just as bad for not trading for him when they had the chance. Reds were about to non-tender him so it ain’t like they would have just not traded him if the Phillies weren’t offering anything decent.
It’s not as bad for the Phillies though because they were going to pay for it one way or another. Whether it’s in increased salary or in the form of prospects/players via trade.
Let’s say he would have gotten $5M in Arb to keep it round. If the Phillies had to trade a prospect that they value at $1M to get him, their acquisition cost is the same in the end it’s just structured differently.
You can say that’s an overpay or whatever and the Phillies should have paid less, but the Reds are the ones who walk with nothing so it’s worse for them.
The Phillies wouldn’t have had to trade a prospect they valued at $1m to get him. The Reds non-tendered him. They weren’t going to just not trade him if they weren’t exactly thrilled with what was offered.
The Reds continue to be the gold standard when it comes to transaction missteps. They could have kept him even at the high end of that arb range and traded him for something at least. Instead they come away with nada……again.
Lol. I kept refreshing the article hoping it was the Phillies and it is! I was literally doing it for 15 minutes. Pleasant surprise! I like the move. Much needed bullpen help.
He was projected for $4.7m in arbitration. Why didn’t they trade the Reds a PTBNL for him???? That would have benefited both teams. Reds get something for him, Phillies save some $.
In order to complete a trade, you need to have something of value that you’re willing to part with. Phillies maybe don’t want to give up a PTBNL.
No you don’t have to have something of value. The Reds were going to non-tender him so they would have just taken anything. Just trade them a non-prospect and save the $1.3m
To be clear, the projected non-tender was $4.3MM to $5.7MM. It could have been higher. So we can’t assume it was just 1.3. Your point is still valid though.
Even at the high end of that the Phillies would have saved some $ by trading for him.
At the time Bradley was non tendered, the Phillies didn’t have a front office. I would guess the Reds explored whether or not there would be takers before making the decision.
Not trading for him wasn’t stupid because the Phillies didn’t have a front office. It was stupid because they could have gotten him for less $ and an org filler. And the Phillies don’t offer him $6m if no one else is willing to even touch him at $4.7m.
and that presumes the Reds properly probed the market or that the $4.7 estimate was accurate.
The difference to the 40 on a million dollars for Bradley is nominal
It was a pure slash, as was Raisel Iglesias
I dont think these moves are reflective of the front office being incompetent as many are trying to elude to.
They are a travesty of the current times/landscape more than a reflection of the Cincy org
It was a perfect example of incompetence. There was nothing stopping the two teams from coming together on a trade.
@Cap & Crunch Absolutely. This is a baseball problem; not a Red problem.
Projected up to $5.7!!
Even at the high end of that, the Phillies save $ by trading for him.
Nice move for Philly and it worked out well for Bradley.
maybe this gets the Soria, Melancon, Watson level of reliever market moving a bit.
Yeah, I’m hoping this helps define the mid-level market a little bit.
Wow….. I just said in another comment I would like the Phillies to sign all 3 of those guys. All were solid for a long long time.
ah, I remember seeing him in his early days with ‘Zona. had a terrible start and it was interupted by rain.
IIRC he looked really promising in his first few starts then he got hit in the face by a comebacker and wasn’t the same afterwards.
He was rated as one of the best starting pitching prospects throughout the minors.
lets hope that’s not our whole RP budget lol. now make him the closer and put Neris in the 8th.
@DarkSide830 Yes. Neris scares me when he’s closing. Too inconsistent despite his number of saves. I still want Cishek.
I still want some backend starters so we could move VV into the pen. Still not a great option, but I’d rather him in the pen.
That’s what Cole Hamels is for.
Could be an insane idea here…
Segura for Alex Cobb and some combo thereof. Then Philly goes after a SS (Didi, Semien, someone else).
id look at Cobb but even for Segura id still probably want that contract paid down a tad
I guess the Yankees aren’t going to do anything this offseason.
Finally.
Great move by the Phillies and Dombrowski. He will go all out to make the Phillies a contender. That is all you can ask for in a GM. Time for Perry and the Angels to sign a pitcher!
One year deal will make him easy to flip as long as he pitches well.
Wow. This is a great deal. Someone might wanna forward this to the White Sox so they can see what an intelligent non-idiotic overpay for a reliever looks like.
$13.5M/yr for the best closer the last two years is hardly an overpay. Jansen got more than that and the Sox even paid David Robertson more several years ago.
I 100% agree with you. Except Liam Hendriks is not the best closer in baseball and people seriously need to stop labeling him that. One dominant season out of ten does not make you the best of anything in any sport. People are way too quick to the bandwagon in sports. And even both of your examples are in reference to guys who were dominant at the onset of their careers and for several years afterwards. Even though in hindsight they were terrible deals, at least they were deserved. We’ve seen relievers get labeled that plenty of times for one or two years to then completely flame out. Including Blake Treinen – The guy who Liam replaced in Oakland and has not been very good after being absolutely lights out for two seasons.
@hyraxwithaflamethrower I agree that the Hendriks contract was fine, but the Sox deal with Robertson was only 4/$46, so it was a smaller deal than the Hendriks one.
@Oddvark, I just looked it up and you’re right. For some reason, I was remembering 4/$56. Thanks for the correction.
Phillies need plenty of BP depth. Bradley is a great pickup for them and I could see him potentially being their closer. They should consider Colome too.
Good add for a weak BP
Phillies have quietly had a productive offseason; attempting to address their biggest weakness from last year.
Still plenty of work to do — wonder who they’ll bring in at SS? Barring a mystery team, Realmuto seems bound to return, no? They could also stand to add a back-end starter; maybe take a flier on a Rick Porcello or Mike Fiers type.
dont need to move quickly to have a good offseason. making adds where they are needed beat huge moves in a lot of cases. the Bradley deal for Philly is arguably a bigger deal then Lindor for NYM simply because of the size of the upgrade and the relative need for such an upgrade.
Player Agent to GM:” I’ll be honest with you. I’m talking to the Jays”
GM” “(falling off chair laughing) “Well, there son, you just keep talkin to dem dere Jays…..and when you call me back, the offer just went down two million”…
Seriously though (kinda), DD’s gotta be looking at the market wide eyed like the ephemeral kid in the candy store. He’ll come home with more…..
In an effort to improve their game, the Phillies next target is…..
MILTON BRADLEY !!
No, they’ll sign:
Yoenis Cespedes
Oliver Drake
Mike Fiers
Adam Duvall
Marcell Ozuna
Asdrubal Cabrera
!
I
See
What
You
Did
There
Thank you! Somebody noticed!
Hahah, YoMama!
That would be gaming the system.
Bradley will make you sick everytime he walks the lead off batter and goes 3-0 on the next batter. At 6 million he is a buy. Just get ready the stress when he comes in.
i remember watching Papelbon knock out the first two hitters with ease, then take his time finishing off the last one. its nothing new here. Neris blew a lead once vs LAD by allowing 3 straight homers in the 9th.
I blocked that Neris inning out of my mind. Thanks for reminding me.
Good for him making more than in arbitration. I like that dominoes are starting to fall. So what’s everyone’s best guess on where Hand and Colome end up, considering who’s addressed their BP so far?
While I don’t expect the Phillies to splurge on top end relievers, I don’t think they’re done with the bullpen.
Teams over pay arbitration projections all the time and players get more than protections all the time. 6 million was well within reach for him.
That’s not the point. The point is why didn’t the Reds and Phillies come together on a trade? One or both them clearly didn’t do their due diligence.
Hindsight is 20/20. Almost every surprise non tender (Schwarber, Bradley, Dahl) got better than their projected arbitration value and zero trades
There were trades, the Dodgers got Knebel at the tender deadline.
Yes and all 3 of those guys should have been traded. There was nothing stopping the teams from working out a trade.
I am sure every team would of taken a ptnbl if it was offered. I am guessing most front office just under estimated the market early on in free agency. I still think Bradley is the best value relief signing of the off season. Bradley has been above average to dominant every year in the bullpen
Staying out of the discussion about whether or not Bradley is worth $6m. But if the Phillies thought he was worth $6m they should have traded for him. Maybe trade the Reds cash considerations of $1.
And don’t try it with “bad optics.”
At the time they weren’t making any moves. They weren’t in on anyone because they didn’t have a front office. Since DD took over they’ve made a few moves.
Doesn’t mean they couldn’t make any moves. Them having or not having a front office doesn’t change Bradley’s on-field value.
Every single one of those players were shopped before the non-tender deadline and no team bit. Just like no team bit on Hand when he was DFA.
Teams were sitting, looking, seeing how the market would unfold, weighing the probables of the season starting on-time, with or without fans etc.
No team lets go of high upside players such as Schwarber, Bradley, Hand and Dahl without first shopping them around the league.
Using hindsight when determining a players value is always useless. Acting as though teams just release guys without calling other teams and asking them if they want the player is not logical and dumb. Obviously teams do that. Value of players change even in a couple months. Teams just prior to rule 5 draft try and clear 40 man space, lowers the value of a lot of players. Early December teams maybe thought there was only going to be a short season with zero fans again, Lowers the value of some players.
Saying he was projected to get less than he actually did on a open market is just dumb. For several reasons.
We still don’t know if the season will start on time. Or with fans. I have all the same concerns about Bradley that I had when he was non-tendered and maybe a few more.
Bradley was projected to get less than he did on the open market. The $6m he got was more than even the highest arb estimate for him. And his value has not gone up since he was non-tendered.
Whenever I see an insanely huge beard that I respect on a player, I’m relieved the Yankees didn’t sign said player.
Imagine if the Yanks signed Brett Myers or Brian Wilson back in the day. I’d be scared beyond repair.
That’s a big bill from the Yankee’s groomer.
& I think how good those same players would have looked *had* they signed with the Yanks.
(shrugs one shoulder)
Archie Bradley. So does this mean Bryce Harper and is hair flips will once again be absent from the post season?
Matt Kemp sends his regards
Still the worst team in the division
I was thinking that Boston was just biding its time and would sign multiple sought after pitchers by the beginning of January. Now it feels like they are content to play the same game of minor-league signings and waiver wire claims from 2020. Archie Bradley would have been a great piece for their bullpen at a reasonable cost. I highly doubt they’ll pay the money to sign Rosenthal or even Colome for that matter. Maybe Chaim is working behind the scenes on a Brandon Workman reunion! If Boston doesn’t spend up to or over the CBT this year they should be ashamed of themselves. They paid a heavy price in 2020 to reset and with some savvy moves this offseason, they could have snuck back into the wild card race. As it stands now, they’ll be battling Baltimore once again for the worst team in the AL East, even with E-Rod back and Sale on his way back. Too many holes in the bullpen, rotation & a big hole in the OF and all they’ve done is sign Renfroe and Andreise? Embarrassing for a recently proud franchise who would do whatever necessary to try to win. Good luck taking this team public…
He was projected to earn $4.3 – $4.7 million in arbitration so this is a nice raise for him.
Heck, wasn’t some player some time ago traded for $1? The Reds could have traded Bradley to the Phillies for $1 and it wouid have benefited both sides. Obviously what ended up happening is better from Bradley’s POV but neither front office has a fiduciary duty to Bradley. Leave that to him and his agent.
I do like this deal, if we can get Colome id be pretty happy with our BP
Was really hoping Jays were gonna get this guy. Especially at this cost.
A nice add to our league worst bullpen. Dombrowski is checking off one box at a time from My off season check list. Colome is probably the closer most realistic to sign for the Phillies (2 years w/a 3rd year option), and if they can add the closer our BP will be much improved.
Another SP preferably a LH (Paxton, Hamels, Quintana) or (Kluber, Taijan Walker) to fill in the 3-4 spot
1 more mid level BP arm
CF (Bradley Jr.) maybe
Resign JT & Didi.
If Dombrowski can pull most of this off, the Phillies can be a playoff contender.
So far Dombrowski has done a solid job in his short time in his new role.
Resign vs. Re-sign… punctuation matters.
It really does address one of their biggest weaknesses in the bullpen. So let’s see how it plays out with him on their team locking down late game situations. They do need much more than this guy to help with their major problem but it’s getting some there at least.
What happened to the vow of silence the Philly FO took?
I thought they were protesting off-season acquisitions ? Maybe I misunderstood….
I wonder about the reds. They could have had him at a discount. Is cincy serious about contending in that division? If there were ever a time to do it, now would be that time but they are letting key peices walk (Bauer, Bradley) and talking about trading other key peices (Gray, Castillo). Are they tearing it all down? How do you spend so much money last offseason only to dismantle it the next? This is how teams wind up stuck in the mud for decades at a time. Harry Styles is running that team, they have no direction.
No fans, no income? Maybe that is how you spend money in the 2020 offseason but not the 2021… seems like a no brainer to me.
Anyway, as far as the Reds are concerned, they have enough offense (as of right now) to compete in the division, they have a good starting rotation, bullpen is in shambles after trading Inglesis and non-tendering Bradley. Unless the Reds unload more pieces I think they can get in a three team dog fight with the Cubs and Cardinals for the division and come trade deadline time, all bets are off!
I cannot blame any team for cutting payroll at this point, regardless of what fans think, MLB teams lost money last season. This year, as of right now, they stand to lose even more since they will have to pay salaries for the entire team, plus the minor league system.
I think, NL Central-wise, you see teams kind of hoping just to be competitive within the division and then see how the season plays out… a lot can happen with a team at the trade deadline. If there is fans in the stands and they are generating income (while simply being competitive within the division) then you can see them add payroll in trades to round out rosters.
The whole “there’s no fans in the stands, covid thing” is such a crap excuse. Every single team has to deal with that but other teams are willingly adding payroll and playing to win. It’s a level playing field in this regard. Trading their bullpen and losing possibly 3/5 of their rotation won’t win hearts and minds and this season fans should be trickling back into the stands but the question is, will there be a product on the field worth going back to?!? Serious question for the Reds. I can see them easily slipping back to 4th in that division without a viable path out of that position if they’re not careful.
I completely disagree, all I can speak for is the Cubs because I’m a Cub fan and I know more about their finances but:
The Cubs funded 100% of the Wrigley renovations themselves, at a staggering 1 billion dollars. The renovations were complete and their bill was due at the end of the 2020 season…. I don’t remember the link but the bank that holds their loan required them to pay 200 million after the 2020 season. You can talk about owners being rich all you want but even Elon Musk would feel a 200 million hit.
The majority of owners do in fact re-invest the majority of the money a team earns back into the roster once the roster is in their “championship window”. The Reds were/are no exception. The Reds 2019 and 2020 roster was the most expensive it has ever been… by tens of millions of dollars so without knowing everything about their financial status, I would assume their profit margin was razor thin while they went all in for their playoff run. Their roster is still sitting at 125 million despite the trades and non-tenders which is the most it’s been since their last playoff window.
That is something a lot of fans do not understand, people want to know why their team isn’t spending, it’s because they are pretty much maxed out given the current state of uncertainty. And what teams are adding payroll? Obviously the Padres but the Mets (new owner) and the Royals (also new influx of cash). most of the other teams are not. Everyone is talking about the Blue Jay being major players but they have yet to make a major move. Virtually every other team, especially teams that have operated at a higher payroll (Phillies, Cubs, Yankees, Houston, St Louis) have all been pretty stagnant.
If the rest of the league was spending widely and there were a couple teams doing nothing, you’d have a reasonable complaint, but as you said, Covid has hit every team roughly the same and hardly any team is spending… yet.
Ok but the problem here is that the Reds are actively trying to REDUCE payroll.
Different teams have different % of their income from in person transactions. Just because you don’t understand that different teams are in different situations, doesn’t make it so.
And? They most likely were working on a razor thin budget last season with the presumption that fans WERE going to be in the stands and then they lost all in game income, and possibly this years in game income… I’m not sure what you are failing to realize here.
Im not an idiot, I mean of course teams are in different situations (way to point out the most obvious) but they’re all in the same situation when it comes to covid. My issue is why sign free agents like crazy last offseason only to blow it up this offseason?!
Everyone is in the same situation except for the yankees because they lost more money than most countries. The Bronx is flooded with owners’ tears.
“I’m not an idiot”.
Would you like a second opinion? Drasco could not be more clear and concise. You refuse to listen and learn.
Morosi reporting that LeMahieu finalizing a contract to return to the Yankees, could this be the domino that kick starts the top free agent signing frenzy?
Not for the Blue Jays!
The bar for bullpen improvement in Philly has been set at an all-time MLB low, thus picking up Bradley and the other arms can’t be any worse than their previous folly into signing FA relievers. Sooner or later, one or two have to work out. Gulp, I hope!
BTW, is David Robertson healthy? If so, Phils should sign him on the cheap. Good bounce back candidate IMHO.
Good move by Philly, imho.
It makes me wonder how hard the Reds tried to move him prior to the non-tender deadline.
Man the Phil’s are really going for it this year!
Things are moving..slowly, but moving…If the team can resign JTR and DD G, then I think more arms to stock LV are in order..I know many do not agree with me, but I think they should go with Goofy in center and concentrate on the more important needs. Arms, arms, arms, arms, arms……
I agree with Von, move VV to the pen..I think thats a positive move for him.. Hector Scare Us should be a middle reliever…
Bradley seems like a good second pickup…..
Good signing, pretty obviously. At 28 Bradley rates to give the Phillies 50-60 innings with an ERA+ around 130.
Anyone know if they’re doing much at the minor league level, in AA and AAA to keep the guys with ERAs of 6, 7, and 8 from giving them innings when they have to turn to their #9, 10, 11, 12… relievers?
@Phillies fans –
I’ve been looking over the free agent relievers. Cashman specifically referenced acquiring some bullpen help yet.
What’s the deal re Jose Alvarez? He had good numbers last year & throughout his entire career. I guess with the Phillies well known bullpen problems I’m wondering why they’re not pursuing him.
Perhaps they are & it hasn’t shown up here. Just wondering what you guys can tell me about him.
If you get this & respond merci.
I love the word play on your name. I wasn’t even born yet. I’ve heard enough stories and seen plenty of highlights of that HR.
He is good, I wouldn’t really call Alvarez a very big strike out guy he will have a mid 3 era, There is some worried about if he losses his control he could go down hill very fast in New York with how small the stadium is, but in Philadelphia he got the job done most of the time I don’t know about big situations since the Phillies have been in one in the last 10 years.
A 1/6 is a steal.
Then why did no one claim him at 1/$4.7m
Really? Fourth posts already…