The Phillies still need a lot of bullpen help with spring training on the horizon | Extra Innings

The countdown is on. Teams have been told spring training is going to start on time, and for the Phillies that means 34 days until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater for the team’s 75th straight preseason camp in that beautiful city on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The date to circle is Feb. 17.

Now all they need to do is fill in the roster blanks, which most likely means adding a catcher (preferred candidate J.T. Realmuto), a shortstop (preferred candidate Didi Gregorius), a starting pitcher (preferred candidate Cole Hamels), and some relief arms (we’ll get to the preferred candidates in a moment).

How the roster is put together will determine the level of excitement about the Phillies ahead of the 2021 season, and it’s no secret they have a lot of work to do after their disappointing 2020 campaign.

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— Bob Brookover (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

Relief pitching is often the first commodity to move on baseball’s free-agent market because it is something almost every team needs and, relatively speaking, it can be had at a lot lower cost than many of the other positions. This year, however, the relief market has also moved at a snail’s pace.

The top prize finally came off the board this week when the Chicago White Sox signed Liam Hendriks to a three-year deal worth $54 million, only $4 million less than the other 20 free-agent relievers who have signed so far this offseason. That list includes lefty Adam Morgan. The former Phillies reliever received $900,000 to join the Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have subtracted more from the worst bullpen in baseball last season than they have added. In addition to Morgan, they also allowed Tommy Hunter, Jose Alvarez, Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, Blake Parker, David Phelps and David Robertson to leave.

The team’s six bullpen additions have been Jose Alvarado, Johan Quezada, Ian Hamilton, Neftali Feliz, Michael Ynoa and Sam Coonrod.

All of the above, with the exception of Alvarado, are inexpensive shots in the dark for a bullpen that needed serious upgrading.

Quezada, a 26-year-old right-hander, was claimed off waivers from Miami after posting a 9.00 ERA in three appearances with the Marlins last season. He had a 4.05 career ERA in 116 minor-league games with Minnesota before last season.

Hamilton, a 25-year-old right-hander, was claimed off waivers from Seattle after compiling a 4.50 ERA in four appearances with the White Sox last season. He had a 3.24 ERA in 123 minor-league relief appearances with Chicago. Neither Feliz, 32, nor Ynoa, 29, has pitched in the majors since 2017, and both have been invited to camp as nonroster players. They are both pitching well in winter ball in the Dominican Republic at the moment, but still must be considered long shots to rejuvenate their careers.

The Phillies acquired Coonrod from San Francisco for 6-foot-8 right-hander Carson Ragsdale, the team’s fourth-round pick last year. Coonrod, a 28-year-old right-hander, had a 9.82 ERA in 18 games last season after posting a respectable 3.58 ERA in 33 games as a rookie in 2019.

In his first trade as team president, David Dombrowski acquired Alvarado, a 25-year-old lefty, from Tampa Bay in a three-team deal that sent pitching prospect Garrett Cleavinger to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Alvarado struggled last season, posting a 6.00 ERA in nine relief appearances with the Rays, but he has a 3.46 ERA in 149 career appearances and will likely arrive at camp as the primary lefty in the back end of manager Joe Girardi’s bullpen.

The leftovers from 2020 include veterans Hector Neris and David Hale, and a cast of younger guys, including Connor Brogdon, JoJo Romero and Ranger Suarez. Vince Velasquez also could join the bullpen group if he does not win a spot in the starting rotation, but we know you’ve read that story before.

The Phillies obviously still need help in the bullpen, and fortunately for them, the cast of free agents is still pretty good even without Hendriks. It would not be a bad idea for the Phillies to bring back a few of their own free agents. Alvarez, for example, pitched well each of the last two years, and Robertson and Phelps are worth consideration, especially if they can be had at a discounted price.

The best-case scenario is that they go after one of the remaining top free agents, a list that includes Brad Hand, Alex Colome, Trevor Rosenthal, Shane Greene, Mark Melancon and Kirby Yates. The Phillies should also be willing to take a look at a long list of guys who can come on the cheap just to see if they can find some strength in numbers. That was a strategy that did not work for former general manager Matt Klentak last season, but it’s worth trying again.

Manager Joe Girardi finalized his coaching staff this week, and the one big surprise is that the team will not have an assistant pitching coach working with new pitching coach Caleb Cotham.

Matt Breen provides all the details of the trade that brought Coonrod to the Phillies from the Giants. He also explains how Coonrod got involved in a controversy on opening day last season when he decided to stand for the national anthem.

Baseball could find itself in the middle of our nation’s political firestorm if former Phillies pitcher and far-right conservative Curt Schilling is elected to the Hall of Fame on Jan. 26.

Tomorrow: Salary arbitration figures exchanged.

Jan. 26: Hall of Fame balloting announced.

Feb. 17: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Feb. 27: Grapefruit League opener against Toronto.

April 1: Season opener at home against Atlanta, 3:05 p.m.

First baseman Rhys Hoskins, Alvarado and Velasquez are the three Phillies scheduled to exchange salary arbitration figures with the ballclub Friday. Hoskins and Alvarado are first-time eligible arbitration players. MLB Trade Rumors projects that Hoskins will be paid between $3.4 and $5.5 million in 2021 and that Alvarado will earn roughly $1.1 million.

Velasquez is in his third year of salary arbitration and projected to make between $3.8 and $4.8 million. Velasquez’s contract for last year was $3.6 million, but he received only $1.33 million because 2020 salaries were prorated to reflect the shortened 60-game season.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @brookob.

Question: If the Phillies cannot bring back Didi Gregorius, do you think they should consider signing Freddy Galvis to play shortstop for the 2021 season while Bryson Stott continues to get experience in the minor leagues. — Tommy T., via email

Answer: Thanks for the question, Tommy. I always liked Galvis when he was with the Phillies and felt he was undervalued by former Klentak. There is actually a pretty good but somewhat risky crop of free-agent shortstops.

Andrelton Simmons has four Gold Gloves and is considered the premier defensive shortstop of his generation, but you’re going to get a lot more extra-base power from Galvis, who is also still an outstanding defensive player. Marcus Semien had a down year at the plate in 2020, but he is just one year removed from hitting 33 home runs and finishing third in the American League MVP voting. If you can get him on a one-year deal, it could be a steal on par with the single seasons Atlanta got from Josh Donaldson in 2019 and Marcell Ozuna in 2020.

If the Phillies were to sign Galvis, who is 31, they could probably count on him hitting between 15 and 20 home runs and 25 to 30 doubles, but he will have a low batting average and on-base percentage. The defense will be stellar. To answer your question, he’s definitely worth consideration on a one-year deal and maybe a guy you keep around after that as a super utility player.