Phils Add RHP

It seems like the Phillies have gotten themselves a right-handed version of controlled-challenged reliever Jose Alvarado. Earlier this week, they selected Matt Seelinger from the Giants in the minor league Rule 5 draft.

Seelinger pitched well in Double A, striking out 64 in 41 innings with a 3.07 ERA. He averages 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings, while walking 4.1 per nine. Sound familiar? Alvarado has averaged 10.9 strikeouts and 5.6 walks per nine innings.

He'll probably end up in Lehigh Valley as a possible addition to the hard-throwing yet wild stable of arms available in the bullpen. David Dombrowski likes guys who throw hard. Let's hope this one misses more bats than he misses the plate. 

Allen Robbed

Enos Slaughter. Willie Stargell. Joe Torre. Bill Dickey. Larry Doby. Bill Terry. All of these guys are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And they all have a lower WAR rating than Dick Allen, who was snubbed by Cooperstown again on Sunday. By ONE vote. 

Allen was freaking robbed. I don't know what it's going to take to get the man in and show him the respect he deserves. His next chance for admission is in 2026. Allen is absolutely HOF worthy–351 homers, 1,848 hits, 1,119 RBIs. What's the problem?

They Finally Did Something!

Rest easy, Phillies fans. The team has finally made a move. They signed reliever Corey Knebel to a one-year, $10 million deal. He'll probably be the closer.

Knebel was an all-star with the Brewers in 2017, when he posted a 1.78 ERA and 39 saves. Since then, his ERA has nearly doubled, but the Phils are optimistic he'll be his 2017 self. Knebel was solid with the Dodgers in 2021, with a 2.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. 

Is it a sexy signing? Nope. Is he better than Hector Neris? Maybe. Is $10 million an awful lot to give a guy  who missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery and three months in 2021 with a strained back muscle. Big yup. But it's not my money, and the Phils must be confident he'll be more like 2017 than anything else. 

So, as it stands now, your bullpen includes Knebel, Connor Brogdon, Sam Coonrod, Jose Alvarado, and Seranthony Dominguez. And this might be the last baseball-type news we get for a while, since owners are widely expected to lock the players out as the basic agreement expires at midnight. Sigh.