Jason Vargas and the San Francisco Giants are coming to Citizens Bank Park | Extra Innings
The Phillies acquired the Mets lefty ahead of their series against the Giants, who have crept into the wild-card race by going 18-5 this month.
July 29 has been an active day for deals in Phillies history, and another was made Monday by general manager Matt Klentak. This one — the acquisition of Jason Vargas and cash from the New York Mets for minor-league catcher Austin Bossart — does not figure to be as memorable as some of the others, especially the ones made during Ruben Amaro Jr.'s tenure as general manager.
In 2009, Amaro acquired Cliff Lee from Cleveland on July 29. A year later, he acquired Roy Oswalt from Houston. In 2011, he obtained Hunter Pence from the Astros. Two other moves that were made on July 29: Larry Andersen was acquired from Seattle in 1983 for cash, and Scott Rolen was sent to “baseball heaven” in return for St. Louis’ Placido Polanco, Mike Timlin and Bud Smith in 2002.
Vargas for Bossart probably will not be as sexy as those other moves, but it was a necessary one for the Phillies’ struggling starting rotation. Vargas is likely to start Saturday or Sunday against the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park.
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— Bob Brookover (extrainnings@inquirer.com)
A lesson to be learned from the Giants
The San Francisco Giants are coming to town Tuesday night, and a month ago, that looked like a soft spot on the Phillies schedule. Not anymore, and maybe that should serve as a message to the Phillies front office that anything really is possible regardless of how gloomy things might look at the moment.
At the end of May, the Giants were 22-34 and had the second-worst record in the National League. At the end of June, they were 36-47 and still had the second-worst record in the league, as rumors swirled that Madison Bumgarner could be traded as the Giants’ reconfigured front office attempted to rebuild the only team to win three titles in the 2010s.
Now, after going 18-5 in July, the Giants are very much in the middle of the race for the two wild-card spots and have no intention of trading Bumgarner, who has a 2.51 ERA in his last seven starts. The Phillies will not face Bumgarner this week, but general manager Matt Klentak will be staring at the trade deadline Wednesday.
As I wrote in a column, the Phillies still need another starter because it feels as though Jake Arrieta could be shut down at any time with that bone spur in his elbow and there is no reason to trust Vince Velasquez or Zach Eflin right now.
The Phillies don’t need to go for broke, but they have the resources to make the rotation even stronger.
The rundown
Klentak made it clear Monday that he feels as though the Phillies have added a reliable reliever in Nick Pivetta, who has looked well suited for the role, allowing just one run in three extended appearances since his most recent move to the bulllpen. It’s possible they will still need him in the rotation, but the Phillies’ preference is to keep him in the 'pen.
If you’re worried about the future health of the Phillies’ beat reporters, Klentak is sure there is no need to be. Klentak said newly acquired Jason Vargas’ obscenity-laced threat of a Newsday beat reporter last month was completely out of character. Klentak was around Vargas when both men were with the Angels in 2013.
Scott Lauber writes that the Phillies’ long-term rotation problems were not solved with the addition of Jason Vargas, but they did enhance their wild-card chances.
If you’re wondering who might still be available for the Phillies after the New York Mets’ surprise move to get Marcus Stroman from Toronto, Lauber listed some of the candidates still available on the thin market during Monday’s version of Extra Innings.
Suit coats are the standard attire for many charter flights in professional sports, but the Giants threw a change-up for their flight from San Diego to Philadelphia after their win over the Padres on Sunday. Instead of coats and ties, they dressed like teammate Pablo Sandoval, who has revived his career this season in his old stomping grounds. Scroll down in this story, and you can judge their attire.
Important dates
Tuesday: Drew Smyly opens series vs. San Francisco’s Tyler Beede, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Vince Velasquez against Jeff Samardzija, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday: Jake Arrieta scheduled for series finale vs. Giants, 1:05 p.m.
Friday: Phillies open three-game series vs. Chicago White Sox, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Phils celebrate 10-year anniversary of 2009 NL pennant.
Stat of the day
On this date in 2006, the Phillies traded outfielder Bobby Abreu and pitcher Cory Lidle to the New York Yankees for very little in return. The Phillies received outfielder/third baseman C.J. Henry and pitchers Jesus Sanchez, Carlos Monasterios and Matt Smith. Only Smith made it to the big leagues for the Phillies, appearing in 14 games in 2006 and nine in 2007.
Abreu, who will be honored with a plaque on the Phillies’ Wall of Fame on Friday night, hit .303 with 348 doubles, 42 triples, 195 home runs and 814 RBIs in nine seasons with the Phillies. He ranks fourth in franchise history in doubles, eighth in extra-base hits (585), second in walks (947), seventh in stolen bases (254), fourth in on-base percentage (.416), seventh in slugging percentage (.513), and second in OPS (.928). He is clearly deserving of Wall of Fame status.
That said, the Phillies went 37-23 after trading Abreu in 2006, and a season later started a run of five straight division titles that included two NL pennants and a World Series title. Abreu did reach the postseason a combined four times with the Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, but never won a World Series.
From the mailbag
Send questions by email or on Twitter @brookob.
Question: The Phillies get lots of hits, but they don’t always get them at the right times. For example, they outhit the Braves in the two losses Friday and Saturday. Why don’t they try to tinker with the order of the lineup to see if they can get hits at the right times to produce more runs? For example, Rhys Hoskins leads the league in walks and has an OBP of over .400, so he is on base all the time, though not always with hits. Why not try him at leadoff, with Kingery, Segura, and Harper to follow?
Answer: You make a valid point about the Phillies’ struggling to get clutch hits. The team has left more runners in scoring position than any other team in the National League, at a rate of 3.73 per game.
The Phillies’ overall lack of power this season (they are tied for 21st in baseball in home runs per game at 1.29) has been a disappointment, and even worse is that they have hit only 19 home runs with runners in scoring position when the pressure is more on the pitcher. Only Miami and Detroit have hit fewer home runs in those situations.
I don’t think the solution is to bat Hoskins first, but I’ll also admit I don’t know the solution. The Phillies were clearly a better team when Andrew McCutchen was at the top of the batting order, but he’s not coming back this season.