First Downer of the Spring

So much for all the good vibes. Phillies manager Joe Girardi says outfielder Andrew McCutchen won't be ready for Opening Day as he works to recover from ACL surgery last season.

That means we'll see some combination of Jay Bruce/Adam Haseley/Roman Quinn in left field and center field for the first few weeks of the season. Maybe Nick Williams makes the team as the fifth outfielder while Cutch gets ready to play.

This news wasn't really expected, but it's not a surprise either, considering McCutchen was injured in June. Nine months to recover from ACL surgery just isn't enough time, especially for a guy in his 30s.

Let's hope Bruce, Haseley, and Quinn can hold down the fort until Cutch is ready.

It Could Have Been Much Worse

Here's our first look at Phanatic 2.0. He's got new blue socks, new shoes, a bright blue tail, and the clamshells behind his eyes have been replaced with stars. And it looks like his eyebrows are a little lighter. The snout is also shorter and there are scales on his arms.

Hard to tell if he's been slimmed down, but his hips are wider and he's definitely recognizable. Crisis averted. Here's a side view, with photos from NBCSports Philadelphia.

Makeover

So the Phillie Phanatic has gotten a makeover. We're not exactly sure what he'll look like, but he's going to debut the new look at Sunday's spring training home opener in Clearwater, which will be televised on NBCSports Philadelphia.

Jim Salisbury of NBCSports Philadelphia says everyone's favorite Galapagos Islands native will be sporting new shoes and socks and might even have slimmed down a little.

The changes probably have to do with a lawsuit filed against the Phillies by the Phanatic's creators who want to take back rights to the Phanatic by June 15. Salisbury wrote that the Phillies hope the creative changes will be enough for the team to continue to legally use the best mascot on the planet. Or the cheating, rat-bastard Astros and their alleged mascot Orbit are somehow to blame.

I know everybody who reports to spring training says they're in the best shape of they're life. But the Phanatic is perfect as is. Here's hoping he hasn't slimmed down too much, because that belly roll is gold. It's gold, Jerry!

The Phillies open spring training games tomorrow against the Tigers. And speaking of openers, it's time to start obsessing about the weather for the Home Opener, set for Thursday, April 2. As of right now, AccuWeather is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 57. A little chilly, but we'll take it.

Masked Man Only Gets $10 Million

Well, the arbitrator has spoken and I hope Phillies management is happy. Catcher JT Realmuto lost his arbitration hearing, and will be paid $10 million for the 2020 season, not the $12.4 million he was looking for.

Now the Phils will try to sign Realmuto to a long-term contract. Good luck with that. Even though Realmuto said all the right things going into the hearing, there has to be a bit of a bad taste after losing. How anxious will he be to sign with the team that decided to fight him over $2.4 million, which is chump change by MLB standards. Team owner John Middleton probably has that much in loose change in the sofas on his private jet.

I really, really hope the Phils didn't blow this by taking the case to arbitration and winning it. Realmuto's price has automatically gone up by losing. The Phils have ZERO catching depth in the organization. If Realmuto decides to go to free agency, the Phils are royally screwed. Starting catcher Andrew Knapp is not something I want to read about in 2021.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Today is JT Realmuto's arbitration hearing in Phoenix. The best catcher in baseball, an all-star in 2019, has requested a salary of $12.4 million for the 2020 season. The Phillies countered at $10 million. The arbitrator will decide on one of the figures for his salary. Realmuto, who turns 29 next month, made $5.9 million last season.

The Phillies are looking to sign Realmuto to a long-term deal. They traded ace prospect Sixto Sanchez, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and another pitcher to get him, but not for two seasons. They want him here for years to come.

And apparently Realmuto wants to be here in the long-term. He said are no hard feelings about the arbitration and that he's going through the process to make sure future catchers get paid what they deserve.

Here's hoping JT wins the hearing and signs a deal that will keep him in Philly for another four or five seasons.

No More Whiskey for Segura

A slimmer, drier Jean Segura will be appearing at a ballpark near you this summer. The infielder, who looked a little tubby and didn't always hustle last season, told reporters today he has quit drinking and lost 14 pounds.

He also said he was troubled last year by Andrew "Larry" McCutchen's knee injury, which he blames himself for because he didn't hustle to first base on the play where McCutchen was injured. Segura said being moved all over the lineup was also difficult, adding he had never hit fourth in his life. He said he's been eating and sleeping better to prepare for the season.

Things should be better for Segura this year. He's likely to move to second base thanks to the signing of shortstop Didi Gregorius. Segura had his best season playing second for Arizona in 2016, when he hit .319 with an .867 OPS and a league-leading 203 hits. Let's hope a slimmer Segura can duplicate those numbers this season.

Harper Arrives

Bryce Harper finally showed up to Phillies spring training in Clearwater today. Position players weren't required to report until today, so he wasn't late or anything.

Like it or not, Harper is the face of the franchise. It would have said a lot if he was in camp earlier. There have been a bunch of position players in Florida for a couple of weeks already. The face of the franchise should have been one of them.

I know spring training is way too long as it is. I understand why someone would want to wait until the last minute to get there. The first full-squad workout isn't until tomorrow. The season starts in five weeks. But the optics aren't great when your superstar player waits until the last minute to report. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm turning into a cranky old fart.

Shut Up, Dusty

The more I think about the Astros sign-stealing scandal, the angrier I get. What really set me off was reading that new Astros manager Dusty Baker wants MLB to protect his players from retribution from opposing players.

Shut up, Dusty. Your players deserve whatever is coming to them.  If I'm a pitcher and facing the Astros, I sure as hell consider knocking them down and making life as unpleasant as possible. And on the bases, infielders Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are going to be marked men on sliding plays at second base. And Phillies advisor Larry Bowa has called for pitchers to drill Astros hitters at every opportunity.

The Astros players are already immune from punishment, thanks to a deal with MLB in exchange for information about the scandal. So as Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood pointed out today, a pitcher who hits an Astro will probably get suspended while the Astro gets a free base. It's wrong on so many levels.

Every player on the Astros roster from 2017 needs to be suspended as some form of punishment. I think 100-game suspensions would be in order. Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson got banned for life for gambling. This cheating, which Astros owner Jim Crane said didn't affect the outcome of any games (that's a whole other rant), had all kind of ramifications from guys losing jobs and missing out on awards and championships.

You could suspend groups of guys so the suspensions would overlap. But there's no way these cheating scumbags should get off scot-free. The manager and general manager lost their jobs over this. The players need to pay.

Luxury Tax, Shmuxury Tax

When the Phillies closed up their checkbooks after signing Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius this winter, it was widely assumed they were done spending because the team was nearing the $208 million luxury tax threshold.

Not so fast. Team president Andy McPhail says the team expects to go over the threshold this season. That doesn't mean a trade for Cubs third baseman and Bryce Harper bestie Kris Bryant is going to happen any time soon. It just means if the right deal comes around, the Phils are prepared to make it happen and spend the extra cash, if need be.

It could be a starting pitcher or reliever from a non-contending team. Or it could be a higher caliber player from a team that was supposed to contend but isn't. My guess is that the target will be a hard-throwing proven reliever who can also work as a closer, because as we know, Phillies closer Hector Neris is prone to doing Hector Neris things, and those things are bad.

It could be former Phils closer Ken Giles (pictured above), now with Toronto, if the Jays are out of the NL East race, which is entirely possible consider they'll have to overtake the Yankees and Rays and probably Red Sox to make it to October. Or someone else in the Giles mold.

Who's it Gonna Be?

Position players aren't officially due in Clearwater until next week, but it's never too early to start thinking about the roster that the Phillies end up with once Spring Training is over. MLB rosters will have 26 players this year, and only (?) 13 of them can be pitchers. Injuries are always a thing, but I'm writing this imagining everybody is healthy. So here goes:

Catchers - JT Realmuto, Andrew Knapp
Infielders - Rhys Hoskins, Jean Segura, Didi Gregorius, Scott Kingery, Logan Forsythe, Phil Gosselin
Outfielders - Andrew McCutchen, Adam Haseley, Bryce Harper, Jay Bruce, Roman Quinn
Starting Pitchers - Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jake Arrieta, Zack Eflin, Nick Pivetta
Bullpen - Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan, Hector Neris, Jose Alvarez, Tommy Hunter, Anthony Swarzak, Garrett Cleavinger, Vince Velasquez

I expect uber prospects Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard will start the season in the minors, unless Bohm absolutely mashes all spring long. If Bohm makes the team, I'd look for the Phils to try and trade Segura and move Kingery to second base.

I put Pivetta in the rotation because for me, Velasquez has always profiled as a reliever and he has trouble lasting more than 5 innings in a start. And Pivetta will be on a short leash with Howard waiting in the minors.  I'm hoping new pitching coach Bryan Price can do something magical with these two, who have all the talent in the world but haven't been anything close to consistent.

Forsythe and Gosselin provide flexibility off the bench. Both can play multiple infield spots as well as some outfield. Non-roster invitees Neil Walker and Josh Harrison also play multiple positions, but it seems like their best days are behind them.

I have Hunter making the team because he signed a Major League contract. Swarzak gets a spot thanks to his ability to induce ground balls, which is a good thing in Citizens Bank Park. And I have Cleavinger on the squad because he throws absolute gas. He struck out 83 hitters last season in AA in just 51.2 innings.

Welcome to the Party, Pal

Reggie McClain is among the 39 pitchers in Clearwater this spring competing for a spot on the Phillies roster. McClain was with the Mariners last season, and pitched pretty well against teams not from Houston, those sign-stealing, faux apologetic rat bastards.

Against the Astros, he allowed 11 runs in just 3 innings of work. Against everybody else, he allowed 3 runs in 18 innings. Things that make you go "hmmmmmmm."

McClain is not the only pitcher to suffer at the hands of the sign-stealing rat bastards. Former Dodgers pitcher Mike Bolsinger has sued the Astros, claiming that their sign-stealing scam resulted in a pitching performance so poor he hasn't been able to get a Major League job since then. Ouch. He wants $31 million in damages, which is the same amount of World Series bonus money the Astros were awarded. If he wins the suit, Bolsinger says he'll donate the money to charity.

Injured Phillies reliever David Robertson jumped into the fray, telling the New York Post "it's a disgrace what they've done." The Astros smacked Robertson around in Game 6 of the 2017 ALCS, costing Robertson and the Yankees a shot at a World Series title. He faced four hitters and gave up four hits and four runs. Here's more of what he told the Post:

“And I felt like in that game, I threw as well as I’ve ever thrown in my entire life. I had some pitches that got hit that I was a little shocked by and some pitches that didn’t get swung at that I was a little shocked by. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about what we know now. But it all comes together now and, you know, I’m upset about it, that’s for sure...I’m never going to get 2017 back,” Robertson said. “I can’t say moving forward I’ll never get to pitch in a LCS again, but I’ll never get that season back with that group of guys and that opportunity to win a World Series.”

Checking in on the Veterans

Pitchers and catchers had their first official workouts in Clearwater today, and veteran Phillies players are also in camp. According to WIP's Howard Eskin, 69-year-old former NFL running back Lawrence McCutcheon "looks fine."

I'm pretty sure he was talking about Andrew McCutchen, who DID play for the Phils last season before tearing up his knee. It's good to see Cutch back in action and hopefully, he'll be good to go by Opening Day.

And the Phils had some fun at Eskin's expense:

His real friends call him Larry. pic.twitter.com/WTwGKuM9QD

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 12, 2020

And speaking of injuries, this one is straight from the "Be Careful What You Wish For" Department. I was really hoping the Phils would bring Cole Hamels back this winter. Instead, he took $18 million and signed with the Braves. I don't blame him one bit. But the Braves announced today Hamels is being shut down for three weeks with left shoulder soreness. A 36-year-old pitcher with a sore shoulder in February isn't exactly a great sign.

And There was Much Rejoicing

Today is the day I've been looking forward to since the end of September. Phillies pitchers and catchers officially report to Spring Training in Clearwater, Fla. All is right with the world.

There are going to be a ton of new faces in camp this year. Seventy (70!) players are competing for 26 jobs, but in reality, only a few roster spots are open. But the most important new guy in camp is manager Joe Girardi, who begins his first season leading the Phils.

You have to think having a seasoned manager with a World Series title on his resume will help this team big time. Gone are new-age musings and participation trophy attitude of Gabe Kapler, who somehow managed to get another big league managing gig with the San Francisco Giants. Girardi is a  brilliant guy - he has an engineering degree from Northwestern - who embraces analytics without being a slave to them. Girardi brings instant credibility to the manager's office.

Here are some of the storylines to follow this spring:
- JT Realmuto's arbitration hearing and subsequent talks for a long-term contract extension
- Is Rhys Hoskins still broken? Can Girardi and new hitting coach Joe Dillon fix him?
- Who are the starting pitchers behind Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Jake Arrieta?
- Who's in the bullpen? The only guys who seem to have jobs locked up are closer Hector Neris and Jose Alvarez. It seems like most of the 70 guys in camp are relievers looking for jobs.
- And speaking of relievers, are Seranthony Dominguez and Adam Morgan healthy?
- Can the Braves and Nationals be caught now that they've both lost all-star third basemen to free agency?

That's a lot to deal with before the season begins in six weeks. But it's good to be talking about baseball again. Welcome back, everybody.

Forever Roy

The Phillies have just announced they’ll retire Roy Halladay’s No. 34 in May 29, the 10th anniversary of his perfect game against the Marlins. 

It should have been retired immediately after his tragic death in a plane crash, but I’m glad they’re doing it. The Phillies have traditionally only retired numbers of players elected to the Hall of Fame. Halladay was enshrined last summer.