Philadelphia Phillies Offseason To-Do List with Ruben Amaro Jr.

Philadelphia Phillies Offseason To-Do List with Ruben Amaro Jr.

We are going to lay out the offseason to-do list for the Philadelphia Phillies right now with Ruben Amaro Jr. And you can catch Ruben in a lot of different spots, including on Philly’s broadcasts and the so popular Philly show, one of the three stars of the show there. Ruben, great to have you on. And let’s do this right from the jump. you know this and how to do this more than anyone as a former GM of the Phillies. How would you lay out their offseason strategy one through three top of your list? Yeah, great to be with you guys. Uh right out of the shoot I mean I I don’t think there’s a more important position than the catching position on the field. I know Kratzy would believe uh that uh number one I think they have to figure out what they’re going to be doing at the catching position. Obviously with JT Realm Mutoo being a free agent that’s a big one. Uh, number two, they got to figure out that big bat in the middle of the lineup, whether it’s going to end up being, you know, the college horsers of the world. But, um, you know, that big bat in the middle of the lineup, it’s really important for them. And then finally, it’s the bullpen. They have to tighten that bullpen up and get somebody to take the baseball to Jawan Duron. Uh, I think the pen has to be addressed as well. Those would be the three and in that order for me. All right. Well, catcher, the most important position on the field, not some utility infield or whatever position you really were. I know you played some left, but whatever. Catcher, is it JT Ral Muto or bust for the Phillies? Because you look at the market, there’s not a lot out there, and I don’t think Garrett Stubs and Raphael Marawn are putting together 162 games between the two of them. I would tend to agree with you. I like Marawn a lot. I just don’t know if he can if he can catch 100 games, 110 games. I like Stubby as well. I like both of those guys. I just don’t know whether you can put your eggs in that basket. And JT is as good as anybody preparing. I think the pitchers have a tremendous amount of confidence in his preparation, his knowledge, uh what they feel, and how they feel throwing to him. Uh I I think in a lot of ways it is JT or Bust. Uh, and if it’s not JT, then they’re gonna have to figure out some way, some ingenious way to try to get somebody in a trade somehow someway, just because with no with all due respect to to Raphael Marshon and to Garrett Stubs, I mean, you’re talking about two pretty darn good backups. Um, I just don’t know that with the importance of of what, you know, this team is about, which is pitching. I think that’s their biggest strength. They have to have somebody who can handle that pitching and do it well. I want to reiterate what you said there because you actually had a conversation with me after my 2012 season. People were like, “Well, do they need to resign Carlos Ruiz? Do they need to like It’s like I had a good season, but a backup is way different than a starting catcher. Can you say what goes into maybe trying to sign a guy like this who clearly sees the team? you were a GM sees the team needs a starting catcher. He’s probably going to get in a three-year $15 million range. How hard is that for you? And I know you worked with Mr. Montgomery when you were the GM and he was very straightforward. He was very much market, hey, we want to treat this guy right. How hard is that for you as a GM when you’re trying to lure him back? Oh, and you really need it. Yeah. I mean, it’s difficult. Well, it’s a little bit of a rock and a hard place because the the the you know, the agent knows and the player knows that they really need him and they also know that the marketplace out there is not very strong. I mean, where else are they going to go? Uh that said, I do think JT loves it in Philadelphia. I think this is the place he wants to be. They did have a situation like this earlier in his career and he ended up signing back with them. It’s not the first time this might happen. Um, but I think it that JT also owes it to himself to find out where the marketplace is, right? That’s uh that’s the beauty of being a free agent and that’s what he’s going to do. There may be a team out there that goes crazy. Buster Posey might say, the Giants might say, “Hey, guess what, brother? I need a catcher, too. I’m going to go to four years. I’m going to go to some, you know, ridiculous number.” Who knows? Does Steve Cohen go that crazy? um knowing that even though he’s got a young catcher um you know in his stable, maybe he wants to get a veteran guy cuz he knows how important that catching position is. Who knows? I know it’s important. The whole industry knows it’s important and he’s really the only guy out there. He is older and his offensive numbers are starting to drift south, but his ability to handle the staff is as good as anybody’s in baseball. And you know, you start thinking about the Yadier Molenas of the world. How important was was he to the St. Louis for many many years, you sort of have to overpay for that and I think that’s what the Phillies are going to have to do. We’re going to move down that that checklist and uh go to the big bat. Kyle Schwarber probably the obvious choice, but it feels like the theme of the off season right now is breaking up the band. You know, we saw what happened with Marcus Simeon, Brandon NMO. Are we looking at a situation maybe in Philadelphia where I know Schwarber is not the problem in that clubhouse and I there’ll be a followup with that, but is it are they at the point where they’ve had this band together for so long that maybe some parts need to be separated a little bit to see where the Phillies can really go? For the Phillies, this is one of the most fascinating off seasons ever because yes, they have two great players that they want to bring back and are really important to this ball club and to the heart of this ball club in Schwarber and JT, but at the same time, they cannot run it back. They just cannot do that because they’ve seen what it happens at the end of the day and it’s really important for them to mix it up now. So, where do they go? Um, I I do believe that Schwber is one of the most influential players in baseball in a lot of ways, not just on the field with what he does, but off the field with what he brings to the table. This is a guy that if I was a GM, I’d be fighting my rear end off to bring to the to to my ball club because he wins. He understands what it is to be a teammate. The his teammates love him. He is a community service guy. He’s really the total package and it’s really nice to uh to be able to have spent some time with the man. Um and and the difficulty of that is if you bring him back for the Phillies, do they have the flexibility in their payroll to really do much more? Um I know we talked about bringing JT back already. So they bring both these guys back. Where do they go? How do they change things up? Um this is where Dave Dumbrossski’s uh you know his role in this situation is not just uh a difficult one but a little bit rock in a hard place because they may have to change things up and in some ways they’re going to have to be ready to go to plan B or C and it may not it sound sounds crazy even though I would love to have Schwarber back and he’s such an integral part of the team if they don’t bring him back that does give them a chance to do some other things. Maybe they bring a Pete Alonzo in. Maybe they think that that’s the right-handed bat that gives a little protection for Harper. Maybe it’s a Bo Bashette. Um someone to mix things up who can play a variety of infield positions just to change up this ball club, which I think is an essential piece of this too. It’s fascinating off season. And uh I honestly I don’t want to be in Dave Drowski’s shoes. In terms of if Schwber doesn’t come back, are Harper’s days playing the outfield over, does he now become a a a DH, assuming you bring in a guy like Pete Alonzo to play first base? And in your opinion, Schwarber, if he’s gone, is Harper the next guy in line to kind of be that leader, or is it was it kind of a leader by committee with Schwarber and Harper? I think it’s more of a leader by committee. Just to answer your last uh question first, I think Schwarber probably is a little bit more vocal, someone who would uh tend to put his arm around a guy a little bit more than maybe Harper would. Uh JT quiet leader also. Um a lot of these guys, I think this is one of the reasons why Harrison Bader coming on at the end of the year was so important for this ball club because they don’t have too many like quote unquote energy or rah type guys. And I think you can overstate that sometimes, but for this Phillies team, I think it was important because everybody’s just so calm and professional that maybe you do need a little swagger. Maybe you do need a little something something um in that clubhouse. Um I it’s it is so interesting to see how things will play out. Um as far as Harper is concerned, he’s they’re really happy with him at first base. He’s made an amazing adjustment. and he’s made himself a pretty damn good first baseman. I think down the road he’s going to end up wanting to be a DH. I don’t think there’s any question uh about that, but I think he still has the ability to go to the outfield and and I don’t know. I know it’s going to probably depend on whether it’s a Scott Boris client or uh or something like that where whether or not you know Harper goes back out to the outfield. If I were a betting man, I would assume that unless a Pete Alonzo comes on board that he’s probably locked in to first base. And even if Pete Lonzo does come on board, they may just share that DH role rather than move Harper out to right field. I think he’s feeling really comfortable there. And uh frankly, I I’d be surprised that he would move out to right field unless um unless they end up getting two pieces and it sort of puts them in a position to make their best team with him in right field and uh and maybe Allonzo or someone like that at first. I mean, he got drafted as a catcher. Ruben, come on. Think with your head here. We can get Harper change. You know, Mookie Mookie switched to shortstop and should have won a gold glove. So, why can’t Harper switch to catcher? No, I won’t I won’t put that on you. You didn’t say that. But I will put it on you. The one part of the team in the NLDS, part of the Phillies team that was beaten by the Dodgers because the Phillies out hit the Dodgers. The starting pitching beat the vaunted Dodgers starting pitching. They out pitched them the bullpen. And you said they need to do they need to do some big things. Obviously, Alvarado will be coming back and you know, you don’t know what he’s going to give you, but obviously $9 million, it was an easy yes. And then Johan Duran is going to be the closer. What are they looking for? And is it something that I think maybe Donowski fell short last off season building it up enough? Yeah, that is the trickiest part of the game, I think, because you just don’t know what you’re going to get from year to year. I mean, unless you’re Mariano Rivera, you really don’t know what you’re going to get out of your bullpen, guys. And they have a phenomenal closer now. Made a great trade to get Don. Uh, now you got to get somebody to to to hand the baseball to him. Now, he got Robertson at the end of the year, which I think was important. He was hoping that Kirkering would be able to to to handle that. Um, they had a bunch of other, you know, guys, Romano that they tried. It’s a difficult process and I think it’s really important. There’s a lot of things that are hinging on on where they go here. Do they have the confidence and Kirkerink can bounce back from that very very difficult uh playoff series and the one particular play? Does he have it in him to be able to bounce back and be a guy that can be a setup guy? I think that that he can in some ways, but you can’t necessarily count on that to be the guy. They’re thinking about the possibility of maybe moving Stum just to change things up a little bit because they have Alvarado and they have Tanner Banks from the left side. Maybe they move Stum in a deal where they go lefty for righty. I think they need a right-hander uh in addition and or someone that can get both righties and lefties out in the eighth inning that they can hand the ball to Don with knowing that they can uh you know make this like more of a sixout game. Um, and that’s why I think the bullpen is a huge one for them. Uh, maybe somebody can step up from the minor leagues. Maybe this young kid named Gage can step forward at some point during this during the course of the season. I think that’s a long shot. I don’t know that he’s has the uh ability to do that. I know they want to make him a starter, but I do think that the bullpen’s an important piece here. I’d love to have somebody be able to hand the baseball to Dro. All right. off your list and maybe not necessarily the Dumbrasseski way in the off season, but trades. You already mentioned possibly Stum to be creative, but last year I heard rumors of Costanos and Bow packaged for Kyle Tucker. Is there a trade from the position player standpoint that could net them some of these three needs? Yeah, well, they’re sort of locked into uh you know, they’re locked into Turner. They’re locked in to Harper. They’re not going anywhere. They’re the big contracts that basically are going nowhere. Wheeler’s not going anywhere. And I don’t think Nola is going anywhere either. So, they got some pretty big contracts that aren’t being moved. Now, can you move a guy like Scott? He’s got he’s under control. Can you move a guy like Bone? He’s under control for just one more year. What is the value out there for a guy like that? Unless it’s a team that just needs that one piece for one year, a right-handed bat. I mean, there’s value in Alec Bow. There’s no question. But his value might be for the Phillies. It might be a higher value, and that’s one of the reasons why he never got moved last year. So, um, it it will be very interesting how they’re going to ingeniously try to and and and like have a little ingenuity to be able to move pieces around to change things up. I I love Scott. I think he’s improving. I think he made an adjustment with his hands at the end of the season last year to get closer to who he is. Um, and he’s a guy that probably has at least as far as out there in the industry. I think he has a little bit more value than than does Alec Bow, but I don’t really necessarily want to move the guy cuz he’s a baseball player. So, um, it’s a tough situation that Drosski’s in. I do think that Alec Bow has value. The question is, do you move that guy and do you just switch things up just to switch him up or do you move that guy and bring back something of real value? Can you bring like somebody who is a sort of a locked down eighth inning guy for the next few years? Uh because you’re, you know, if you walk away from Alec Bow, man, that’s like close to what 30ome doubles, 90 plus RBI’s, and someone who actually makes pretty consistent contact in the middle of your

Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. joins Foul Territory to break down the Philadelphia Phillies offseason to-do list. Ruben gives his expert insight on the JT Realmuto decision, how the Phillies should address their catching situation, and why finding a middle-of-the-order bat is so important. He also discusses Kyle Schwarber’s future, potential big swings like Pete Alonso or Bo Bichette, what to expect from Dave Dombrowski, and how Bryce Harper fits into the long-term picture at first base.

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