GM Meeting Notes
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
GM Meeting Notes
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Be forewarned: none of what you are about to read will stop the earth on its axis. At the very least, though, it will give you something to do at work other than, well, work.
1) The Phillies have indeed reached an agreement on a minor league deal with lefty Dan Meyer, a Kingsway High product who had a solid 2009 campaign for the Marlins before spending most of last season in the minors. Meyer, who will be 29 next season, pitched in 71 games in 2009, posting a 3.09 KERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9. He battled a calf injury early last season, but recovered to pitch well at Triple-A New Orleans, where he posted a 3.38 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 32 appearances.
Meyer will participate in big league spring training, where he will attempt to earn a spot in the Phillies bullpen, which continues to seek re-inforcements this offseason.
Asked if Meyer had a chance to earn a spot on the active roster, assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said, "If he goes back to performing the way he did in '09, absolutely."
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the signing "does not preclude" the Phillies from adding a lefty on a major league deal.
2) One sign the Phillies might be better off biding their time in the hunt for relief pitching? The Tigers today agreed to a three-year, $16.5 million contract with righthander Joaquin Benoit. The deal is bigger than any deal signed by a major league free agent reliever last offseason, and it was signed by a player who just completed his first year back from shoulder surgery. If Benoit reproduces his 2010 season in each of his next three seasons, the deal will be a tremendous bargain. After all, the 32-year-old righty posted a 1.34 ERA, 11.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 63 appearances for the Rays. He pitched on back-to-back days 19 times, allowing just one run and four extra base hits with 21 strikeouts and 3 walks in those situations. Of coure, that is a big if.
The biggest deal by a big league free agent last season was the three-year, $15 million pact between Brandon Lyon and the Astros.
The prevailing opinion here at the general managers meetings is that there is a strong possibility of some quality relief bargains being available in January.
3) Club president David Montgomery arrived in Orlando today. Amaro re-iterated that he has not been given a firm payroll budget number by Montgomery. The Phillies payroll has grown steadily over the last several seasons, peaking at between $136 and $138 million last Opening Day. The Phillies still have plenty of room before they reach the luxury tax threshold of $178 million, after which they would be taxed at 22.5 percent. Still, Amaro dampened expectations for a huge increase in spending.
"I just don't know if we can generate enough revenue to get (to the luxury tax threshold)," he said. "I don't know if we are physically able to, as an organization, generate that kind of revenue. I mean, we're maxed out as far as our ability to put people in the ballpark. What were we, at 103 percent capacity this year? Just silly numbers. That's not going to go up very much. And even though the ticket numbers went up very, very modestly, I don't know how much that accounts for how much our payroll seems to be continuing to increase."
Bud Black may well deserve being named NL MOY but a good case could be made for his team's late season collapse having cost the Phils a WS ring...— stan the man too- Very good point stan.— sla6yer
- You imply that the Tigers overpaid for a reliever. I don't see how the that deal leads to bargains in January.— P Even
- Trade Victorino to free up some $$$ and sign Werth to play center. ALso, fire Rich Dubee.— Dr. Michael
- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz— hititwheretheyaint
- Agree that Dubee should be let go. Replace him with Jamie Moyer who knows the hitters around the league and has been advising his peers for the last 3 years anyway. He would bring respect, knowledge and the necessary experience to correct deficiencies and guide the younger guys too!— chaseu007
- What a valuable contribution, hitit. Thanks for coming. Dave, is there any sense of mutual attraction between the Phils and Fuentes, or Feliciano?— Nutburgers
- Fire Rich Dubee? You're dumb.— ktdb05
- Amaro must have forgotten the increase in ticket prices recently announced. I am not a mathematician but I believe increased ticket prices means increased revenue? Duh! Phillies are probably raising advertising rates as well. Sounds like Montgomery and the Teflonics are reverting to old habits. I guess season ticket holders like myself should tell them: Sorry, I am maxed out, will not be able to pay that increase this season.— chuckw
- Anyone saying fire Rich Dubee isn't a Phillies fan. Seriously, the guy gets it done year after year. Who are you going to replace Dubee with? And you can't call this organization cheap anymore, they're spending around $140 million on the big-league payroll, that doesn't include operating costs at the stadium or minor-league expenses. C'mon guys, we've got one of the best run organizations in the league and you're not happy?
- This is off-topic but may be worth mentioning. If they're looking for another right-handed bat, I'm more and more convinced that the Padres' Chris Denorfia is the best choice. He's just a great all-around player and seems to get better and better. The Padres have so many outfielders now (and Denorfia is eligible for arbitration) that they would almost certainly make a deal.— JayW
- Cahseu007Kudos to you Sir. Dubee should be fired and replaced with Gomer's buddy-Dick Pole. But I like Jamie Moyer as coach better.— Dr. Michael
- Michael and Chase: It's better to type before you light the bong.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- Andrewfrombrooklyn- Rich Dubee is the worst pitching coach in MLB.Move back to your stinky, smelly New York borough where you belong.— Dr. Michael
Rube says the revenue stream is maxed out.That may be true but when you get this close to the ultimate goal you need to find the money to sure up your weak points- Bullpen and RH power protection. You can find that money in the franchise equity these owners have accumulated. The owners now have a little toy that the fans of Philly have help turn into a $550M asset. Dip into that $550 M to get a bullpen.— argonne
