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Matt Klentak

Phillies Notes: Suarez, Sosa, Klentak

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The Phillies were dealt a scare over the weekend when Ranger Suárez took a comeback line-drive off his throwing hand. While that raised initial concern about a potential injured list stint, the southpaw avoided any fractures.

Suárez played catch without issue today and is scheduled for a bullpen session on Wednesday, manager Rob Thomson told reporters (via the MLB.com injury tracker). The Phils will know after tomorrow’s throwing session whether Suárez can take the ball for his next start. The 28-year-old would be lined up opposite Sean Manaea and the Mets on Saturday in London.

Arguably the best pitcher in the majors through two months, Suárez carries an MLB-leading 1.70 ERA over 74 innings. He has punched out 28.5% of batters faced while running an excellent 53.7% ground-ball rate. Opposing hitters have turned in a pitiful .167/.225/.261 slash line over 277 trips to the plate. Suárez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez have all been excellent, giving the Phillies perhaps the top rotation in MLB.

That’s one of myriad reasons the Phils have built a seven-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. Philadelphia’s 43-19 record matches the Yankees’ mark for the best in the majors. They haven’t missed a beat despite losing Trea Turner to a hamstring strain exactly a month ago.

Edmundo Sosa has excelled since taking over for Turner. Sosa is hitting .303/.367/.556 in 110 plate appearances. Both Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved have credited him with plus glovework in more than 200 shortstop innings. Sosa’s performance has unquestionably been propped up by a .394 average on balls in play — his 6.4% walk rate and 26.4% strikeout percentage are each a bit worse than the respective league marks — but he’s hitting for a lot more power than expected. Sosa has connected on four homers and triples apiece and picked up five doubles in only 33 games.

While he’s certainly playing well enough to stick in the lineup, he’s not going to displace Turner when the latter is healthy. Neither Bryson Stott nor Alec Bohm is offering much of an opportunity for Sosa to take over at second or third base. While Sosa has never started an MLB game in the outfield, Thomson suggested over the weekend the Phils could consider playing him in a corner outfield spot once Turner comes back.

“Absolutely [a possibility],” the manager told reporters (link via Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “If he keeps hitting like this, it’s going to be tough to keep him out of the lineup. So, got to find a spot for him someplace.” The Phils subsequently lost Brandon Marsh to the injured list, leading them to call up the hot-hitting David Dahl to man left field. Nick Castellanos is playing everyday in right field. He has been a rare weak point in the Philadelphia lineup, struggling to a .214/.277/.342 line through 256 plate appearances.

Few would’ve anticipated the Phillies looking for ways to keep Sosa in the lineup when he was acquired in a relatively low-profile deadline deal two years ago. Philadelphia landed the infielder from the Cardinals in a one-for-one swap sending lefty JoJo Romero to St. Louis. It has turned out to a be a surprisingly consequential trade for both clubs, as Romero has developed into the Cards’ second-best reliever.

The Sosa acquisition is a nice feather in the cap for baseball operations president Dave Dombrowski and his staff. It’s one of a number of strong pickups for the Dombrowksi-led front office, as one would expect on the top team in the National League. As the Inquirer’s Scott Lauber explored over the weekend, the prior regime led by former general manager Matt Klentak also deserves some credit for putting part of the roster in place.

Klentak, who is now working in the Milwaukee front office, led baseball operations in Philadelphia for five seasons. He held the GM role between October 2015 and the end of the 2020 campaign. While a rebuilding Phils club didn’t make the postseason during Klentak’s tenure, Lauber observes that Philadelphia acquired Harper, Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, and Cristopher Sánchez, as well as drafting Stott and Bohm, during that five-year window.

As with any front office tenure, Klentak and his staff had some misses (e.g. selecting Mickey Moniak first overall in an admittedly weak 2016 draft and extending Scott Kingery). Still, there’s no question the Phils made a number of key moves in the 2010s that have contributed to the team’s success over the first half of this decade.

Lauber’s piece is a reminder that most organizations turn over front offices quickly enough that any good roster is a product of multiple regimes. Suárez and Nola were first acquired during Ruben Amaro Jr.’s GM stint. The Phils have added Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Sosa, and overhauled the bullpen since Dombrowski has been at the helm. Dombrowski’s group has also hammered out new deals to keep each of Nola, Realmuto and Wheeler in Philadelphia for the long haul.

Brewers Promote Matt Klentak, Three Others

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The Brewers have promoted Will Hudgins, Matt Kleine and Karl Mueller to assistant general manager, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Meanwhile, Matt Klentak receives the title of executive advisor to the general manager.

Klentak served as the general manager of the Phillies from 2016 to 2020. The club was rebuilding for much of that period but it wasn’t proceeding as hoped and he stepped down after the shortened 2020 campaign. He stayed with the Phillies for a while in a lesser role but joined the Brewers prior to 2022 as special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns and general manager Matt Arnold.

The Brewers’ front office has had some transition in recent years. Stearns moved into an advisory role after 2022, with Arnold taking over as the primary baseball decision maker. Stearns then departed the organization entirely a couple of months ago to become the president of baseball operations for the Mets. That seems to have created some room for Arnold to promote from within the organization, tapping Klentak for a new title.

Per the Brewers’ staff directory on MLB.com, Hudgins previously held the title of vice president, baseball systems and high performance. Kleine was vice president, baseball operations. Mueller was senior vice president, player personnel.

Brewers Hire Matt Klentak As Special Assistant

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Jan. 27: Though Klentak’s formal title is special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns and general manager Matt Arnold, he’ll actually be assuming oversight of the team’s international scouting department, tweets MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. That responsibility had formerly fallen under the purview of vice president of player personnel Mike Groopman, but he was hired away by the Red Sox as an assistant general manager back in November.

Furthermore, Stearns indicated to reporters that Klentak’s role with the club is expected to eventually increase (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). “As he becomes more familiar with our processes, we look forward to his contributions in other areas as well,” Stearns said of Klentak.

Jan. 23: The Brewers have hired Matt Klentak for a special assistant role, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb (Twitter link).  Since stepping down as the Phillies’ general manager in October 2020, Klentak had still been working in Philadelphia’s front office as a strategy and development officer, and Rosenthal notes that Klentak will depart a year before his contract with the Phils was up.

While known best for his time in Philadelphia, Klentak has close to 20 years of baseball experience, including stints with the Rockies, the Orioles, MLB’s Labor Relations Department, and four years as an assistant GM with the Angels.  Klentak moved from Los Angeles to Philadelphia after being hired as the Phillies’ GM in October 2015.

Klentak took over a Phillies team in the midst of a rebuild, but the Phils never posted a winning record over Klentak’s five seasons in charge, even after turning the course and signing several bigger-name veterans heading into the 2018 campaign.  An 81-81 record in 2019 was the best the Phillies could manage under Klentak, as while the club acquired Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura, and many other prominent players, the Phils still couldn’t crack the .500 mark.

Not all of Klentak’s big acquisitions worked out, of course, and yet the ex-GM did better than most at landing premium veteran talents for the roster.  The bigger issue seemed to be a lack of help from within, as beyond Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins, the Phillies had trouble developing in-house prospects to provide extra (and cheaper) production alongside the pricier names like Harper.  After the club went 28-32 in 2020, Klentak stepped down as GM, though the Phillies just reassigned him rather than let him go from the organization altogether.

Klentak will now provide Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns and GM Matt Arnold with another experienced voice within Milwaukee’s front office.  It isn’t yet known what Klentak’s specific duties will be with the Brewers, as “special assistant” responsibilities tend to vary based on the team’s needs and the talents of the individual in the job.  Klentak is the latest familiar name to join the Brewers as a special assistant, as the team also has Doug Melvin, Carlos Villanueva, Dick Groch, Quinton McCracken, and Nick Davis working under that title in various departments.

Phillies Announce Dave Dombrowski As President Of Baseball Operations

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The Phillies got their guy. Loudly on the hunt for a veteran executive – for a personality big enough to match their sense of urgency – the Philadelphia Phillies coaxed two-time World Series winner Dave Dombrowski to leave his position in Nashville and answer the call.

The news broke yesterday, but today, the organization formally announced Dombrowski as their first-ever President of Baseball Operations. He signed for four years and $20MM, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca points out, that’s the most money handed out to a free agent so far this winter.

Dombrowski comes heavily decorated. He won the World Series in 1997 with the Marlins and in 2018 with the Red Sox. He built two pennant winners with the Detroit Tigers (2006, 2012). He has 31 total years of experience running an MLB franchise, and he’s the only general manager in MLB history to lead three different franchises to the World Series. That’s quite the feather in his cap. He’s also the only two-time winner of Baseball America’s Executive of the Year award.

In the press release, managing partner John Middleton said this of Dombrowski:

This is a great day for the Philadelphia Phillies. David Dombrowski is one of the most accomplished executives this great game has ever seen, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Philadelphia. Between David and Joe Girardi, we now have two of the best people in place to set us on the path back to where we want to be, and that is the postseason and contending for world championships.

Interestingly, the press release also made special mention of Dombrowski’s track record of success in the draft, listing Rondell White, Cliff Floyd, Charles Johnson, Cameron Maybin, Mark Kotsay, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Verlander, Nicholas Castellanos, Josh Beckett, Andrew Miller, and Rick Porcello among the standouts. That’s noteworthy particularly in the context of previous comments made by team president Andy MacPhail back in October when they began their search, per the Athletic’s Matt Gelb. :

Our R&D department has been good with one exception. I’m just being blunt. I look at Tampa. They’re able to unlock the hidden value or potential in minor-league players that have been around a while that they recognize something that we’re not picking up on yet. I think that’s one thing that this franchise needs to improve on. Our R&D needs to obviously help with that.

Specifically, the Phillies were seeking someone with a track record of success in player evaluation. For more insight into Philadelphia’s thinking, let’s take a cue from Brad Pitt in Moneyball: What’s the problem? As Gelb helpfully reminds us, at the time of former GM Matt Klentak’s reassignment, Middleton said this:

I think the problem the Phillies have had for a hundred years is they don’t evaluate talent well.

Dombrowski’s win-now mentality is getting headline treatment, with assumptions being made about the free agent dollars Dombrowki will spend and the prospects he will trade away. The Phillies themselves, however, are underlining some other aspects of Dombrowski’s resume. Player evaluation plays a role in every aspect of roster building, of course. Still, it’s intriguing that system building has been at the forefront of Philly’s messaging in the early going.

Dombrowski will answer questions from the media this afternoon.

Latest On Phillies’ General Manager Transition

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Phillies GM Matt Klentak stepped down on Saturday after five seasons running baseball operations in Philadelphia. Despite making an impact on the hot stove with significant free agent spending on stars like Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Didi Gregorius, and Andrew McCutchen. The trade for J.T. Realmuto brought in the premier catcher in the game, one of just a couple of  backstops capable of managing a staff while wielding a middle-of-the-order bat. He also brought in presumptive third baseman of the present-and-future Alec Bohm with the third overall pick of the 2018 draft.

Klentak’s record wasn’t spotless. The David Robertson signing fell apart due to injuries. He doled out large sums to Michael Saunders and Carlos Santana, only to move on after disappointing starts. First overall draft pick in 2016 Mickey Moniak hasn’t developed into a superstar as one might expect from a 1-1 pick.

But the darkest mark on Klentak’s record was a failure to make the playoffs during his five years in charge. The Phillies have the second-longest playoff drought in the game. Despite many successful moves, the Phillies disappointed year after year, leaving principal owner John Middleton somewhat befuddled. As successful as Realmuto has been for the Phillies, for example, Sixto Sánchez’s success has to be particularly galling. One of the pieces used to acquire Realmuto from Miami, Sánchez helped the Marlins leapfrog the Phillies into the playoffs this year. Realmuto’s time in Philadelphia, meanwhile, could already be reaching an end – he’s an unrestricted free agent this winter.

With Klentak demoted, the Phillies are considering their options for how to fill out the head of the baseball operations department moving forward. They could look to hire a head of baseball operations as well as a GM. They could wait to bring in a head of baseball ops until Team President Andy MacPhail retires at the end of 2021, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. MacPhail’s impending retirement is very much a part of Middelton’s decision-making.

The pandemic complicates all significant hiring decisions, of course, and it could be some time until the Phillies make a final decision. There was a roughly 6-week hiring process to bring in Klentak, but his replacement could take more than a year to find, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). 37-year-old Ned Rice has been elevated to the interim GM position for now, and it’s on the table that Rice could serve in the role for the entirety of next season.

Middleton spoke highly of Rice, saying in a quote provided by Gelb, “One of the reasons that we chose Ned is because he has by far the most breadth of experience in the organization other than Matt and frankly the most depth as well. For example, he put together the presentation for Bryce Harper when we flew out to Las Vegas the first time. He was involved with all the meetings, discussing strategy and tactics of when to make offers and what the offer should be, analyzing the offers that Scott (Boras) put out and how we should respond. He has significant experience, and his input in that process is invaluable.”

On the surface the process might feel disjointed, but it’s entirely within the realm of reasonable solutions for the Phillies to take their time in deciding the management structure moving forward, especially considering the complicated nature of a mixed-bag tenure like Klentak’s. Middleton remains the unequivocal head of the organization and traditional concerns about continuity and organizational clarity are mitigated somewhat because of the presence of MacPhail and Rice. More important for the Phillies is that whoever comes in next has a clear plan in place with benchmarks that Middleton can use to measure the success of the program.

Matt Klentak Steps Down As Phillies GM

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4:11 pm: Team President Andy MacPhail, who was instrumental in Klentak’s initial hiring, will remain in that position, Middleton confirmed to reporters (including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). MacPhail will be involved in the search for the club’s next GM, the owner added.

3:03 pm: The Phillies announced that Matt Klentak has stepped down as the team’s general manager. He’ll remain in the organization in another position. Assistant general manager Ned Rice will take over on an interim basis while the club conducts a formal search for Klentak’s replacement.

“I have stated publicly that winning is what matters, not just in Philadelphia but in all cities and in all sports,” Phillies managing partner John Middleton said in the accompanying press release. “While Matt made many significant contributions to the organization, we did not accomplish our goal of playing baseball in October. Consequently, we have mutually agreed to allow new leadership to head Baseball Operations.”

Previously an assistant GM with the Angels, Klentak took over the Phillies’ baseball operations department in October 2015. He inherited an organization somewhat in flux. The club’s massive success at the tail end of the previous decade was squarely in the rearview mirror. Outgoing GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. had already kicked off a rebuild, but the organization was surely anticipating some growing pains coming off a 63-99 season.

That proved to be the case, as the Phillies’ revamped roster struggled through a pair of miserable years in 2016-17.  By 2018, though, the organization was ready for a push toward contention. Philadelphia brought in Gabe Kepler to manage that offseason and saw core young players like Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery cement themselves as everyday players. The club even added Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana on three-year free agent deals, moves that proved ill-fated when Arrieta struggled and Hoskins proved incapable of adequately playing left field to open a spot for Santana at first base. Philadelphia didn’t make the playoffs that year, but their 80-82 record was a fourteen-win improvement over the prior season and seemingly positioned them on the verge of a breakthrough.

Clearly, the organization felt they were just a few players away from putting themselves over the top. The Phillies swapped out youngsters like J.P. Crawford and Sixto Sánchez for established everyday players Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto. To top it off, Philadelphia broke the bank for Bryce Harper, inking him to a record 13-year, $330MM free agent contract in February 2019.

Unfortunately, those offseason splashes didn’t translate into on-field improvement. Philadelphia plateaued at 81-81 last season, leading to Kapler’s ouster in favor of Joe Girardi. As Middleton noted, Klentak’s big ticket acquisitions generally performed well. Harper, Realmuto, Segura and fellow free agent addition Andrew McCutchen all turned in solid to very strong seasons, but the club never found answers in the rotation behind Aaron Nola.

To Klentak’s credit, he attempted to fix that deficiency over the offseason, signing Zack Wheeler to a five-year deal. Wheeler was highly productive in year one, while Zach Eflin locked himself in as a capable #3 starter. Yet again, though, the team as a whole fell flat. Weighed down by an atrocious bullpen, Philadelphia went just 28-32 in this year’s shortened season and missed the expanded playoff field, punctuated by a season-ending sweep at the hands of the Rays. Ultimately, the team’s lack of productivity despite plenty of high-priced acquisitions proved too much for Middleton to ignore.

Philadelphia is the second team to look for a new baseball operations leader this offseason. Angels’ GM Billy Eppler was let go last weekend. After the hiring of Kapler, a first-time manager, didn’t work out, the Phillies turned to the more experienced Girardi. Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) anticipates the club will similarly target a long-tenured front office executive after Klentak’s first GM job came up shy of expectations. The Phillies should have plenty of interested suitors, given the club’s high-quality core and generally aggressive ownership.

First on the docket for any new baseball ops head could be a call with Realmuto’s camp. The All-Star headlines this year’s free agent class at catcher; the two sides have had extension talks in the past, and it stands to reason any incoming executive would similarly have interest in keeping Realmuto in the fold.

Latest On Matt Klentak

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The Phillies hired Matt Klentak as their general manager before 2016. They were amid a four-year playoff drought then, and they haven’t gone to the postseason since. Even in 2020, a year with expanded playoffs, the Phillies finished just 28-32 and didn’t go anywhere, so Klentak’s job security seems to be in question. With that in mind, Phillies owner John Middleton is deciding what to do with Klentak, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports. Meanwhile, a team source told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the club’s likely to retain Klentak.

The Phillies haven’t had a single above-.500 campaign under Klentak, whose clubs’ best season came during an 81-81 effort in 2019. Manager Gabe Kapler then fell on the sword, leading Klentak and the rest of Philly management to replace him with Joe Girardi, but the bottom-line results certainly weren’t better this past regular season. The Phillies never got more than four games over .500 in 2020, and they finished with seven losses in their final eight games en route to another failed campaign.

There’s no doubt the Klentak-led Phillies have come up short of expectations; to Klentak’s credit, though, he has been in charge since they’ve brought in some of their premier players. Outfielder Bryce Harper, who signed what was then a record contract worth $330MM over 13 years, joined the club on Klentak’s watch heading into 2019. The Phillies also added well-compensated veterans such as Zack Wheeler, Andrew McCutchen and Didi Gregorius in free agency, and they’ve traded for the likes of J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura. For whatever reason, though, those pickups haven’t led to the Phillies earning another playoff berth.

Regardless of whether Klentak remains at the helm after this season, the Phillies will have to work to keep Realmuto and Gregorius – a pair of pending free agents. The Phillies are in for a difficult winter as they try to keep those two, who will be among the best available players at their positions.

GM Trade History: Phillies’ Matt Klentak

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It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game. We’ve already covered the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, the White Sox’ Rick Hahn, the Tigers’ Al Avila, the Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos, the Padres’ A.J. Preller, the Blue Jays’ Ross Atkins and the Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto. Let’s now head to Philadelphia to evaluate Matt Klentak, who has worked alongside president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail with the organization since 2015. (Deals are in chronological order and exclude minor moves; full details at transaction link).

2016 Season

2016-17 Offseason

2017 Season

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

2019 Season

2019-20 Offseason

  • None

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What are your thoughts on Klentak’s trades in Philly (Poll link for app users)

 

Filing Day Reactions: NL East

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After a busy filing day, let’s see what’s in store for a couple of teams in the NL East…

  • Only Shane Greene remains from their arbitration pool. The Braves and Greene have a $500K gap in their filing numbers to reconcile lest the panel get the final say. Greene will figure in the back end mix no matter his price point. With Will Smith in tow and a full season of Mark Melancon, Greene should slot in somewhere closer to the 7th inning along with Chris Martin and Luke Jackson. Overall, the Braves payroll is already set to open at a franchise record $130MM for the 2020 season – and that’s without Josh Donaldson, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien. It certainly says something that the Braves are still trying to bring back Donaldson despite already setting a team record for payroll. Despite the Nationals’ World Series title, the Braves are the back-to-back defending NL East champs, and they’ve been aggressive this winter in their attempt to make it a turkey with a third consecutive division crown in 2020.
  • The Phillies came away from filing day with deals with all but two of their arbitration candidates: J.T. Realmuto and Hector Neris. Philadelphia would like to hammer out an extension for Realmuto, with Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer supposing Realmuto to desire “something in the neighborhood of five years and $100 million.” An extension could grant GM Matt Klentak important flexibility. Right now the Opening Day payroll figures to land around $202MM, giving the club about $6MM in wiggle room for in-season additions before exceeding the luxury tax. Phillies managing partner John Middleton is prepared to pay the tax, but not for a team that doesn’t figure for the playoffs. For the second consecutive year, it looks like the Phillies will wait to see where they are in the standings before deciding to pay the tax.
  • The Nationals settled with all their arbitration eligible players, but GM Mike Rizzo spoke with the media today, touching on a number of topics. They expect resolution on the Ryan Zimmerman front shortly, per MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. GM Mike Rizzo met with Zimmerman for 90 minutes on Friday, and it’s long been expected that the Nats would bring back Mr. National for the title defense. As for third base, Rizzo considers the position filled without totally shutting the door on a Donaldson signing, per The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli. Asdrubal Cabrera and Starlin Castro figure to get time at third, and speculatively speaking, Howie Kendrick saw a few innings at the hot corner last year as well. Bottom line, the Nats plan on creativity and flexibility for their whole infield this year, and they are okay not naming and everyday starter, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

Phillies Reportedly Extended Klentak, MacPhail Prior To Season

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The Phillies never announced contractual lengths for president Andy MacPhail or general manager Matt Klentak upon hiring the pair to spearhead the organization’s baseball operations department, and Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the team was similarly quiet about a pair of previously unannounced extensions for that duo. According to Gelb, MacPhail signed a three-year extension back in 2017 that runs through the 2021 season, while Klentak was extended through the 2022 campaign four months ago.

The extension for Klentak came on the heels of an offseason in which he aggressively reshaped the Phillies’ lineup by signing Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen while acquiring several players via trade (headlined by J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura). The Philadelphia offense has improved in 2019, though probably not quite to the extent the front office had hoped. Phillies hitters have posted a combined .245/.323/.423 batting line and scored 460 runs — up from .236/.319/.390 and 411 runs scored at this same point in 2018.

Philadelphia’s defense has seemingly improved as well. After turning in a stunning -146 mark in Defensive Runs Saved and a -8.0 UZR/150 in 2018, the Phillies have logged a collective +3 DRS and +5.1 UZR/150 to this point in the 2019 campaign.

Unfortunately for the Phillies, the pitching staff has gone in the opposite direction. The offseason efforts put into bullpen acquisitions have been torpedoed by a near-unparalleled level of injury among the Phillies’ relief corps. David Robertson, for instance, has been baseball’s bullpen iron man over the past decade. However, since signing a two-year deal with the Phillies due in no small part to that durability, he’s been limited to 6 2/3 innings as a result of elbow troubles. High-priced bullpen pickups from the 2017-18 offseason like Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek haven’t been able to stay healthy in 2019. Promising younger arms like Seranthony Dominguez (UCL injury), Victor Arano (arthroscopic elbow surgery) and Edubray Ramos (shoulder impingement) have also fallen victim to injury.

As one might expect of a team that has essentially lost an entire bullpen’s worth of solid MLB arms, Philadelphia relievers are tied for the game’s fifth-worst ERA (4.97). But the more alarming struggles have arguably come in a rotation that went largely unaddressed in the offseason. While the modest price the club paid to extend ace Aaron Nola still looks like a shrewd move, the 26-year-old hasn’t been as dominant in 2019 as he was in 2018. Jake Arrieta, meanwhile, is pitching through a bone spur in his elbow with understandably mixed results. Zach Eflin has been solid but not spectacular. Beyond that trio, the Phillies have received a combined ERA well north of 5.00 from the group of Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta and Jerad Eickhoff.

The end result is a Phillies club that has underachieved to the point of falling 8.5 games back of the division-leading Braves. Philadelphia is still three games over .500 and holds a half-game lead over Milwaukee for the second spot in the NL Wild Card race, so the season is far from lost. But the quietly extended front office regime will also have its hands full in endeavoring to address some of the flaws that have led to the current predicament. Gelb writes that, to this point, the Phillies “have not displayed an overwhelming sense of urgency” in their efforts to do so, although they’re hardly the only team that has not jumped into action; to this point in the “trading season,” there have only been three deals of even moderate note consummated (Andrew Cashner, Homer Bailey and Martin Maldonado).

The extent to which the Phillies ramp up that level of aggression could well be dependent on the current roster’s play in the next couple of weeks, but it still seems likely that the club will function as a buyer in the next 14 days.

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