Here’s what I heard today.
The outfield is set. Garcia will be in RF.
Castellanos will be cut or traded by opening day.
Bader could be brought back on a reasonable deal, but it’s unlikely since Garcia is at RF, Crawford at CF, and Marsh in LF. Gabriel Rincones Jr. as a name that will be in the mix as well, along with Otto Kemp for the outfield.
The Ketel Marte trade is still up in the air, but they need to trade Miller and Painter.
Tatsuya Imai has narrowed his decision to two teams: the Phillies and the Mets. Both teams have the exact same offer. It’s just a matter of where Imai wants to go. The Phillies slightly have the edge since they’re the only team to have their logo on a Japanese magazine, and Imai has expressed he wants to take down the Dodgers (they killed us in the DS), and Imai expressed he doesn’t want to go to a team with another Japanese player on it, which the Phillies don’t have but the Mets do, just the same amount of money on the contract. He has until January 2nd to make his decision.
Dombrowski also said there is no movement on Realmuto or the C position, compared to last week and it may be like that for a little while.
17 comments
It really sucks that we’re getting an SP instead of the good outfield bat that the team needs. We have the strongest sp rotation in the league….
Do we think Rojas will be part of the outfield mix? As a platoon with Marsh or Crawford? (Obviously the hope is Crawford is an every day player, but that may take some time….)
Pretty sure that info on imai is from just some random mets fanpage with no real credibility.
Also interesting to hear on Imai? Other reports saying Cubs, Phils, Yanks on reports. That would be pretty exciting, although I assume would mean no Ranger which would make me sad. I know he’s most likely gone either way though
– I’ve seen Suarez compete, we don’t want to go with a proven commodity that has done special things in PHI compared to Imai?
Phillies need to get Imai, the last time we had a real shot at a player from overseas was Masataka Yoshida who was a Bryce Harper superfan however he wouldn’t have fit because we had Casty in RF.
Good question, I could see that as a possibility. I know Rojas’s name was shopped around a couple times, but nothing happened haha.
Where is this info on Imai coming from? Don’t get me wrong I’d love it if it were true, but can’t find anything remotely like what you’re saying
Seattle got Josh Naylor at the deadline who was basically their Bader (arguably better). They just signed him on a long term deal. I’m still holding out hope the Phils figure out something with Bader.
Putting a lot of confidence and pressure on Crawford to be an everyday player on a contender this early in his career.
The fact that Imai reportedly said he wants to be the trailblazing Japanese player who takes down the Dodgers means there’s no one higher on my list. That’s exactly the kind of player we need.
Even if the Imai news isn’t true at all, we still need our first NPB superstar to pave the way for others, so sign him anyway!
Also Ketel Marte, but I think that’s a pipe dream.
I feel like Casty’s dust up with Thomson that resulted in him being sat for a game was a real turning point for him and how the team felt about him. It seemed by the end of the season a lot of the positive vibes towards him had really dried up. Performance was undoubtedly an issue, but I get the impression the incident didn’t win him friends in the clubhouse or the front office. And now we’ve arrived at a point where the team has entirely moved on regardless of whether they have to cut him or if someone else will take him and a bit of his salary. I’m curious how much that incident and how he reacted to it really played into how all of this unfolded.
Trading for Ketel Marte makes ZERO sense when you have so many free agent options. Moving your 2 best prospects that both can fill important holes on your team in the next 1-3 seasons for a 32 year old who will be on the decline. Especially when you can get Okamoto/Bregman/Bichette/Suarez for only money (and assets you don’t have yet like a lower draft pick and less int’l bonus money) AND keep Painter & Miller. Painter being a No. 4 or 5 that can grow into succeeding Wheeler is big and assuming Miller improves, having one of those FAs with Turner, Miller, & Harper solidifies your everyday infield for the next 5-6 seasons.
Not to mention they needed to have a presser for him because his teammates said he quit on them by requesting days off the last week of the season being in a pennant race and then embellishing a house break-in so he could miss games for an extended vacation. They had to rehab his image as being a “team leader”.
If you can get marte then I’m fine with trading painter and miller
Imai is interesting to me because of his innings – 158, 173, 162 the last 3 years. He has been healthy and pitching full seasons. The rigors of the MLB season and throwing every 5th day are different than the NPB, but he is in position to step right in.
Especially if they go to 6 man when Zach Wheeler returns. A rotation of him, Sanchez, Luzardo, Nola, Painter and Imai could be outrageous. Like wow.
Saying the Dodgers killed the Phillies in the DS this year does not give enough respect to what the Mets did in 24. And I don’t respect the Mets at all.
Thank you for sharing!