When Dave Dombrowski was hired to lead the Phillies’ baseball operations in mid-December, he was given a long list of pending tasks.
Catcher and shortstop were the big items and Dombrowski, with the support of the property’s checkbook, eventually solidified the meetings with JT Realmuto and Didi Gregorius, both of whom became free agents.
Previously, Dombrowski had worked in the bullpen, negotiating with Jose Alvarado and Sam Coonrod, hiring the coveted free agent Archie Bradley and later adding several others in minor league businesses, including the talented Hector Rondon.
But even while Dombrowski was crossing out significant entries on his to-do list, one item looked back at him, startlingly – the organization’s initial launch depth, or lack thereof.
“One of our main goals when I came here was to deepen the launch,” he said on Wednesday. “We don’t think the organization with young people other than Spencer Howard – there may be some guys coming, but we don’t think we had much depth behind the first four (beginners) and after number 5 with Howard. We are looking for some individuals who can compete for our vacancies. “
Dombrowski continued: “We feel that we really need to protect ourselves and we don’t have this (from) an internal perspective with a club that we feel can compete to win a division.”
So, over the past week or so, Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld addressed the team’s internal lack of pitch depth with Ivan Nova and Bryan Mitchell signings for minor league deals and, most notably, signings. veterans Matt Moore and Chase Anderson for major league deals.
Moore, who was presented in a video conference on Wednesday, will win $ 3 million in 2021. Anderson, whose deal was confirmed by sources, but not announced by the team because it depends on a physical exam, will earn $ 4 million.
So, for $ 7 million, Phils added entries to the back half of a rotation that will need them more than ever as the game returns to normal in 2021. After making less than half of its normal number of matches during the pandemic – Short 2020 season, pitchers must be protected from injury while increasing their workloads to a more indicative location for a full season.
The Phils are defined with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin in the first three places of the rotation. After that, Howard and Vince Velasquez return and now Moore, Anderson and Nova are in the mix. Moore is the only southpaw, so you can bet he’ll be in the season’s opening rotation.
“While we’re sitting here today, I don’t know if we’re going to use a six-person rotation sometimes,” said Dombrowski. “We know that there are limitations on the number of entries that some of our pitchers can throw, especially a young man like Howard.”
Once again, in 2021, the schedule may be affected by COVID-19. When the double headers are stacked, the initial launch depth becomes vital.
However, even before COVID-19, few teams were able to spend a season with just five starting pitchers.
“Acquiring the depth of the pitch is very important because you know at some point and pray to God that it doesn’t happen, that someone is stolen and you need that depth,” said coach Joe Girardi. “I think, from a deep point of view, we have improved and I like where we are.”
In addition to mentioning the possibility of employing a six-man rotation at times, Dombrowski said there may be times when a pitcher skips a start to protect an arm. It is a situation of reading and reaction, as Brother Gabe Kapler used to say.
One of the first calls could come from Velasquez. It is not difficult to imagine Moore and Anderson pushing him out of rotation and his arm of strength being used in the bullpen. It is also not difficult to imagine it being negotiated.
Howard remains the organization’s best and most advanced pitching candidate. The 24-year-old right-hand made six unsurprising starts at the championships last year, spent time on the injured list due to shoulder stiffness and totaled just 24⅓ innings. Howard achieved 100 entries only once in his professional career. To leave it completely loose would be to risk injury. The team must be smart in building their workload.
“We don’t have a specific plan yet,” said Dombrowski, referring to Howard. “There are a lot of different alternatives – skipping games, throwing out of the bullpen, shortening starts. But we still haven’t figured out what we’re trying to do yet, and it will be something we’ll do before we get into spring training.”
“Obviously, we will have a target area for Spencer,” added Girardi. “We want him to go out and compete and bid as best he can to help us win games, and we will go from there. But he will be watched and we will have a plan for him and we will be ready to adjust if we need to.”
The Phillies’ payroll for 2021 is now hitting $ 199 million. The luxury tax limit is $ 210 million and the Phils, like almost every other team, are aware of this. The team could still move around the edges with another reliever, and a club off the bench seems likely. But with some initial and much-needed launch depth, “I think our club is close to being the club we will see in spring training,” said Dombrowski.
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