Saturday quickies: Brown and (another) Dubee
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Saturday quickies: Brown and (another) Dubee
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
A few notes/thoughts before you and I go our separate ways for a weekend of football...
Domonic Brown joined Escogido of the Dominican winter league on Monday. He has yet to appear in a game.
A Phillies official said Brown is still getting back into playing shape after not swinging a bat for three weeks. So keep an eye this week on how (if) Brown is used. The Phillies certainly didn't send him there to sit on the bench.
Of course, there is still time for Brown to get some at-bats. He plans to spend about a month in the Dominican Republic and Escogido has 26 games remaining in its regular-season schedule that ends Dec. 21. That is around the time Brown will return to the states.
Escogido was picked by the Phillies and Brown's agent, Scott Boras, for specific reasons -- so one would think regular playing time is a possibility. The team's manager is Ken Oberkfell, who managed at the Mets' triple-A Buffalo affiliate in 2010, and the general manager is former major leaguer Moises Alou.
The Phillies wanted Brown to go play winter ball to make up for some of the lost development time he had sitting on the bench for most of August and September. He needs some work on his defensive skills, too.
Here's one name to remember come Rule 5 time -- and it's a familiar one to Phillies fans: Michael Dubee.
Yes, Michael is the son of Phillies pitching coach Rich. He was an 18th-round pick in 2006 by the Phillies and then traded to the White Sox at the 2007 trade deadline for Tad Iguchi.
After an impressive season at double-A Altoona in 2010, the Pirates left Michael unprotected.
In 76 1/3 innings, he had a 2.24 ERA. He allowed 62 hits, struck out 68 and walked only 19. He's also pitching well in the Dominican winter league with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings.
The righthander turns 25 in January. The Phillies have a need for young and cheap bullpen arms. The younger Dubee could be worth another look in spring training. Then again, it could be complicated with his father making some of the decisions.
But he was also left off the 40-man roster of the pitching-starved Pirates and that has to make you wonder too.
Another player left off Pittsburgh's 40-man roster was former ace Zach Duke. As a 22-year-old rookie in 2005, Duke showed tons of promise.
Since then, he hasn't done much. In 2010, he had a 5.72 ERA with a scary 1.65 WHIP.
But he's still young (turns 28 in April), lefthanded, and the kind of established pitcher the Phillies could look at for competition at the back end of the starting rotation in spring training.
Right now, Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley will compete for the fifth starter's job. (That is assuming Kendrick, who could be non-tendered, returns.) You can bet the Phillies will bring in an older pitcher on a non-guaranteed deal to add competition.
The question is, would Duke take that kind of offer? He was due a raise in arbitration after making $4.3 million in 2010.
From what I can tell, two of the prospects acquired in the Cliff Lee trade are both eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft. Tyson Gillies and Phillippe Aumont were both left unprotected -- perhaps the best commentary on the results of the trade to date.
OK, scratch that. Both Gillies and Aumont are not eligible for the Rule 5 draft. My bad. Carry on.
Hey onthebucks. You say:
The days of pretending that the Phils are comfortable with Blanton and Kendrick at the back of their rotation vanished when the Phils didn't return to the world series this year.
Phils has the best regular season record in baseball, so the lack of a "comfortable" 4th and 5th starter would seem not to have mattered and certainly had nothing to do with not returning to the WS. Remember that thing the disappearing bats?— nc_bg- Bottom line- you should still have a right-handed corner outfielder that has some power, can hit with RISP, and is selective hitter and can play defense reliably. I like Ben Francisco, but other then being right-handed not sure if fits the bill. Agree that Zach Duke is NOT a legit option- but neither is KK. Look for Rube to go for a high reward guy in the offseason. Then it is the BP and Takahashi would fit. Hey, it is totally unrealistic, but if I can have what Onthebucks had for breakfast, would love to have Ichiro.— Nigel#1
- This I know, or think I do. Phils should not ink an outfielder for more than 2 years as a replacement to Werth. Long term prospects exist within the system and the Phils tend to block the path of young talent with expensive aging vets. Learn from the Ibanez experiment. Now is not the time to be going after a Zach Duke or Michael Dubee. They should be looking at someone young with raw talent, as yet unharnessed. Don't have a name to suggest. One advantage or having 3 starters that figure to pitch late into games is that you can afford to stash a Rule 5 guy in your bullpen. Phils are better positioned to do that this year than they were last year with Herndon.— Claudio Vernight
- Battery and chuckw, since you asked, I'm glad to tell you just a little bit about myself. I have been around baseball and basketball my entire life. I played high level semi-pro baseball and basketball, was a championship high school baseball and basketball coach and have scouted high school athletes for various colleges and universities. I am a professional writer and author, and have been a lifelong fan of the Phils. I attend spring training yearly, and have written on internet blogs about such players as Shane Victorino, JA Happ and Wilson Valdez long before they were on most Philly fans radar. I blog occasionally on a few sports and finance sites, and although my professional writing is outside the realm of sports, I think I could hold my own as a sports writer. Thanks for asking, and to answer the burning questions of many who are reading this message, "So what and who cares," the answer is - those who know me.
- Old German, SteveS11, nc_bg, Nigel#1 and Claudio Vernight, the lack of a comfortable 4th and 5th starter had a lot to do with the Phils not returning to the world series last season because the bullpen was overworked when Kendrick and Blanton pitched, forcing Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt to pitch more innings than they should which, in turn, hurt a number of their later starts. Zach Duke is a legitimate option as the Phils next 4th starter, and at the age of 27, he is still a youngster. He's an all-star caliber pitcher who has just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. What's more, the Phils had more leverage against opposing teams when they had 2 lefties (Hamels and Moyer) in the starting rotation. Ichiro is by no means the most selfish player in baseball and people in Seattle say that he's available. Seattle's boss, Jack Z., has his eye on the future and he realizes that Ichiro probably won't be around when Seattle's team of the future finally takes the field. Kendrick would have surprising trade value as part of a package because of his age and early successes, and although the Phils might have to eat part of Blanton's salary if he were traded, the Phils would be cutting their losses by trading him and improving their starting rotation in the process. If Blanton couldn't be traded, he might help the Phils in the bullpen as a middle reliever. Blanton still has the ability to pitch in the bigs, but the Phils need their 4th and 5th starters to be able to pitch more than 5 innings a game and to have kept the Phils in the ball game when their days are done.
- Hmm a 22 year old needs to get into playing shape...aint buying that one, something is a miss here and lets hope the truth surfaces soon before rube sits pat with the thought of Ben and Dom replacing Jason's productivity.— tsump
- Make a bid on Beltre for 3rd base put PP over at 2nd base.....move Chase to LF, trade Raul and let DB play RF and play ball.— kefa461
- Given his age and salary, Ibanez is most likely untradeable. I think platoon of Bennie and Brownie is worth a try. IF it has not worked by trade deadline, then make a move.— NewMick314
- I see RAJ signing Jeff Franceour and throwing him into the mix, while trading Ibanez and picking up part of his salary. Franceour is similar to Werth in that flashes of talent were drowned out by questions that can be erased by...Charlie Manuel. Like Werth, Franceour would be the perfect platoon guy, either in left or right. Gives Brown some time to ease into is, and gets Francisco and Gload the opportunity for ABs. Any remaining budget is needed to rebuild the pen, or for a legitimate LHSP.— beegal99
- Sign Jeff Francouer, 27, and Charlie Manual would love to get his hands on his bat.— Romus
- onthebucks: the Duke and Ichiro ideas are intriguing; my son and I discussed Ichiro; I could go for him; I've always liked Blanton and still do-I'm not ready to give up on him as a starter because of his past success. He works hard and was injured and in recovery mode much of the year. Human behavior, being what it is, Blanton will want to show that the Phillies have 4 good starters, not just 3. I've got a good feeling about him for next year. A healthy Joe feeling positive peer pressure.
- onthebucks: interesting resume, much like mine (only I have published more), which does not change my views: 1. Zach Duke would be too expensive for the Phillies, and if, as you believe, he is such a potential gem, there will be other suitors with more cash to spend then Amaro will be allotted. I rarely like trading for players in any sport who put up poor numbers with bad teams. According to most reports, with a max velocity of 89 for the four-seamer, 82 for the slider, 74 for the slow curve, Duke needs to have pinpoint control to succeed, which he does not show. If he was willing to sign a one-year deal for $3 million, perhaps the Phillies would consider him, but he is eligible for arbitration and almost certainly wants $5 million per year and more than one year. We shall see. As for Ichiro, the Mariners may hint at trading him, but there are 20,000 Japanese speakers in the greater Seattle area, he is a superstar Japanese player, and there is no way the Mariners would trade him to a city without a large Japanese population, certainly not to Philadelphia. He is also 37 years old and the Phillies want to get younger, not older, and have been very careful not to disrespect Rollins who expects to lead off. As for Kendrick, he has little or no trade value unless matched with a quality player in a trade. He is at best a number 5 starter with no real hope to improve. As for Blanton, he was excellent over the second half of the season, worthy of a number 4 on the staff, having been hurt earlier in the year. He will not be traded and will NOT be turned into a middle reliever. The Phillies signed Contreras for that role and will most likely resign Durban and look for inexpensive specialist left handers in the pen. Lastly, Jeff Francoeur keeps being brought up; the Phillies are unlikely to spend more than $5 million on a platoon player. He cannot hit righthanders and is a human strikout reel, which is why the Mets dumped him.— chuckw
- Chuckw, insofar as you have no idea how many books I've published, the number of articles I've published or the number of periodicals in which I have been published, how do you know you've published more? What's more, you have no idea what I actually do for a living. My writing and personal appearances are just hobbies. Now on to more important matters. 1) In the worst case scenario, Duke will cost less than half of what the Phils are paying Blanton. What's more, Duke is only 27 years old with a lot to prove. He'll take what the Phils offer for the chance to play for a winner in a big market, regain his lost stature and ensure bigger paydays down the road. The Phils hitters weren't thinking about Duke's velocities when he was getting them out over the past 2 seasons. 2) How many of the 20,000 Japanese-speaking Seattle residents does Ichiro actually communicate with regularly? Probably the same number that live under his roof and would accompany him to Philly any way. People who actually have ties to the Mariners say that Ichiro is in extraordinary shape and plans to play another 5 to 6 years. His 200 hits and gold glove in 2010 clearly show he's still got game. How many younger Phils had 200 hits last season? Disrespecting Rollins' wishes to lead off are clearly not among the Phils current priorities. If Rollins is a true team leader, he'll relinquish the leadoff role for which he is no longer suited. 3) I've already stated that Kendrick, because of his age and scattered successes, would have trade value in a package deal and that the Phils would probably be happy to eat some of Blanton's salary to move him or move him to the pen if there are no alternatives. I'll take Duke and Worley over Kenrick and Blanton any day of the week and I think the Phils will also. 4) As I've previously stated, Francoeur is not my first choice for the outfield. Diaz is ahead of him and Ichiro is ahead of everybody else. Diaz and Ibanez, and Franciso and Brown would make solid platoons.
- Chuckw, The Phils will probably sign Takahashi as their left-handed reliever. They will because he's the best left-handed reliever available, not because Philadelphia lacks the Japanese-speaking population of Seattle. Signing Ichiro would also be based on Ichiro's playing ability rather than his first language. Another Japanese native, Tad Iguchi, was a big plus for the Phils a few years ago, and he survived his stay in Philly. So, I don't think ethnicity means much these days in major league baseball. Also, the Phils front office has clearly shown that it treats baseball as a business, plain and simple. If they can trade Cliff Lee, they can do anything in the name of business. Regardless of Rollins' preferences, the Phils management will make a pure, unemotional business decision and acquire a player who can actually lead off and get on base with some regularity. It may not be Inchiro. Instead, it may be Jose Reyes or some other player that many Philly fans will not initially like. The Phils management will be especially eager to acquire a legitimate leadoff man in the near future because they are starting to realize that Jason Werth was probably the best suited lead off man in a Philly uniform the past 2 seasons, and he is in the process of leaving. I like most of the current Phils, including Rollins, Kendrick and Blanton, but changes have to be made if the Phils are going to return to the world series with their current core of players. Rollins as a leadoff man and Kendrick and Blanton as starters have become weak links in the Philly chain of players. Leadoff men have to get on base and starting pitchers have to pitch more than 5 innings and be ahead when they leave the game. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and the Phils have a number of weak links they must replace. Fortunately, stronger links are currently available.
