Philly Front Office

Thanks to Kyle Schwarber (and not the NY Mets), the National League won the All Star Game last night. It was a nice break before the second half stretch run makes me chew through my fingernails like a buzz saw. No team has fully pulled away from the pack. The whole League is wide open because each team has serious flaws that they need to address in the next two weeks before the trade deadline.

Currently the Phillies have a .5 game lead over the Mets in the NL East, the Cubs lead the Brewers by 1 game in the Central, and the Dodgers are up 5.5 on the Padres in the West. Those 6 teams would be in the playoffs if they started today. The Giants Cardinals and Reds are all within 2.5 games of the last Wild Card Spot. Those 9 are clear buyers. What do they need?

East

Phillies (55-41)

• Closer: Once Jose Alvarado was suspended, the Phillies all of a sudden had a huge hole at the top of the bullpen. Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm are simply not closers at this point and no one feels good about them trying to lock down a lead. The Phillies desperately need someone they can trust to finish games.
• Solid Reliever: The pen is also VERY thin. Outside of Kerkering and Strahm, who else do you trust to come in the game? Tanner Banks? 3 dependable arms is just not enough. Even if they land a closer, they need to be able to have arms to rely on in the playoffs. The more the team can push their 3 dependable guys down the depth chart, the better.
• Right-Handed Outfield Bat: Max Kepler is teetering on the edge of being DFA’d. A lefty who can’t hit lefties is one thing, but he has struggled against righties too (his .avg is slightly higher against lefties, WTF?). This really is just a matter of whether the team wants to promote top prospect Justin Crawford or not. Left Field has been a black hole for 2 years. Whether it is at CF or LF, the Phillies desperately need somebody.
• Note: What to do about 2nd base? Bryson Stott has been a huge disappointment. Do they want to just give up on him though? I doubt it, but it is on the table.

Phillies Dream Big

Mets (55-42)

• Solid Reliever: The Mets have one distinct advantage over their competitors, Edwin Diaz. Granted, I don’t think the Phillies are scared of him, but having your closer spot locked down is a luxury I wouldn’t know. This means the Mets don’t have to shop and compete at the top of the market where the Phillies and Dodgers are already waiting in line. Getting to Diaz is the problem.
• Centerfielder: They have Tyrone Taylor and Jeff McNeil manning center right now. The Mets are somehow getting even less production from this spot than the Phillies. Luis Robert has been bad this season, but his ability to hit left-handed pitching would make him an ideal platoon bat in center for the Mets.
• Note: I had Starter on this list initially, but assuming the team has better injury luck, their playoff rotation is set with Senga, Peterson, Holmes, and either Montas or Manea. If either Peterson or Senga goes down though, they are in trouble. They don’t have any offense at catcher, but that is not a position that is easily upgraded on the fly. The Mets have a big problem come playoff time in terms of right-handed hitting. The 3 headed 2nd/3rd base monster of Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio can’t hit lefties. The Phillies just happen to have three of the best left-handed starters in baseball. Much like the Bryson Stott problem, I don’t know how they fix that.

Central

Cubs (57-39)

• Starter: The Cubs have a surprising Top-2 of Shota Imanaga and Matt Boyd, but things get real murky after that. That’s the kind of rotation that loses a long series. They need to add a #1 or #2 starter.
• Solid Reliever: Daniel Palencia has been a god send for the Cubs and other than one INCREDIBLY bad outing for Ryan Pressly, he has been good too. The problem is that the rest of the bullpen is going to be used way too much thanks to their lack of quality starters. They just need more ammunition.
• Note: Their hitting has been phenomenal this season but that is the first thing to go in the playoffs.

Brewers (56-40)

• Solid Reliever: Trevor Megill has held down the closer role but they could use another high leverage arm. They should be calling the Pirates for all their guys. Their starters have been good and none should be replaced, but going deep into games has not been their calling card.
• Note: I don’t understand how the Brewers are doing this. Their starters have been great and they’ve scored the 3rd most runs in the NL. They have no business being this good, but don’t have any glaring holes.

Cardinals (51-46)

• Starter: This rotation is bad and made up of 5 middling starters, none of which you want to give the ball to in a short playoff series.
• Outfielder: It’s one thing to have 1 defense first position in the lineup, but the Cardinals outfield might be even worse than the Phillies. Lars Nootbar fell off a cliff this season and Victor Scott just doesn’t have it. I don’t know why I want to find a trade partner for Luis Robert so bad, but he would not be a bad platoon with Nootbar.
• Note: I don’t think this team is going to add anyone. They were not supposed to be good this year, but have been hovering around contention the whole first half. It’s almost a shame their record is good, because they could have been the most popular bachelor at the ball this trade deadline.

Reds (50-47)

• Starter: Hunter Greene going down was a real bummer for the Reds. Going Greene, Abbott, and Lodolo in a playoff series would have been pretty solid, but now they are missing that ace at the top. Chase Burns has potential, but he is not even close to anchoring a playoff staff after only a few starts. I don’t think they are the type of team to push their chips in to go get that ace either.
• Solid Reliever: Emilio Pagan has held down the closer role pretty well. His only losses and blown saves are in extra innings so far. That will play. As for everyone else, their pen is a mishmash of names you kind of know, but would not exactly be unhappy to see come into the game. They have been ok, but they could really use a David Bednar type to push them all down the depth chart.

West

Dodgers (58-39)

• Starter: This unit has been a walking infirmary all year. Yamamoto has been the only constant. Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow are back and are great when they are healthy, but that is a big condition. Blake Snell is close to a return and could completely change things. I can see them adding or staying put and betting on good health, but that has been a horrible bet for them the last few years.
• High End Reliever: Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates have not been the answer for the Dodgers. As much as Phillies fans get on the team about the bullpen, the Dodgers have been arguably worse considering how much they invested.

Padres (52-44)

• Positional Upgrade: I hate to be vague like that, but the Padres have great players at 3b, RF, and CF, everything else is in the bottom of the league. Luis Arraez plays first but offers nothing in terms of power, which sucks for the position. Xander Bogaerts is an albatross at SS. Padres designated hitters shouldn’t be given such a lofty title considering they rank 29th in baseball in OPS. If they could nab a power hitting first baseman and move Arraez to DH, it would probably help.
• Note: With Michael King on the mend, the Padres have a solid all around pitching staff come playoff time. After their top 3 bats though, they are hurting on offense. Even Tatis and Machado haven’t exactly hit like MVP candidates either, but they have been solid.

Giants (52-45)

• Starter: After Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, things fall off. Maybe they roll with Landen Roupp as a 3rd starter in the playoffs, but they could really use another solid arm behind those top 2. Their bullpen is crazy good, but might get seriously tested with a quick hook to a starter in the playoffs.
• Positional Upgrade: I liked the vagueness of the Padres distinction so much that I had to recycle it for SF. I don’t know how this team stays afloat with their total lack of hitting at certain positions. Here are their NL OPS rankings at certain positions: catcher, last; 1b, last; 2b, 14th; SS, 11th; RF, 13th; DH, 13th. WTF? They made a move for Devers already and they aren’t replacing Willy Adames, but adding another bat is a must
• Note: The Giants just need to scratch a couple runs across the board to win. Their bullpen is excellent. I hate them and wish they would just go away.

I did this because I want everyone to see that all of our competition is flawed in some way. The Phillies have far and away the best starters and an okay offense, but need a closer bad. The Mets will give games away in the middle innings. If the Dodgers and Mets don’t outhit everyone, they will lose in the playoffs. Somehow the Brewers might be the most complete team, but they aren’t elite at anything. The NL is wide open.