Phillies will get firsthand look at potential trade-deadline targets during Detroit Tigers series | Extra Innings

Amazing, isn’t it, what a fresh arm can do for a team?

The Phillies signed Drew Smyly on Friday, one day after he opted out of a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. They put him in the starting rotation, shoving Nick Pivetta to the bullpen, then turned him loose Sunday in Pittsburgh. And Smyly delivered, throwing a curveball that, as Matt Breen described in The Inquirer, moved like a screwball and allowing one run in six innings of a 2-1 victory in 11 innings over the Pirates.

Smyly won’t solve all the Phillies’ rotation problems. At least not by himself. But the 30-year-old lefty, who is two years removed from Tommy John elbow surgery, represents the type of low-risk flier that the Phillies need to take to improve their starting pitching.

With less than 10 days until the trade deadline, the clock is ticking for general manager Matt Klentak to make another move. It might not net the Phillies a World Series ring, but their first playoff berth since 2011 could be hanging in the balance.

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— Scott Lauber (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

All along, Klentak intended to join the Phillies for the Detroit leg of this five-game road trip.

It’s serendipity, then, that his travel plan will enable him to do some trade-deadline scouting.

The Detroit Tigers have lost 45 of their last 57 games. They are locked in a virtual tie with the Baltimore Orioles for the worst record in baseball. And they might be the foremost seller in a decidedly seller-friendly market leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

It isn’t so much that everything must go in Detroit. It’s that everything probably should go. The Tigers are in the midst of a full-scale rebuilding project. They recently extended general manager Al Avila’s contract, giving him a mandate to keep building for the future. Few, if any, players on the big-league roster will still be under control when the Tigers are ready to contend again, so why not cash them in to keep restocking a revived farm system?

The Phillies will get a peek at those players during this week’s two-game interleague series at Comerica Park. They figure to have particular interest in these three:

Shane Greene, reliever: Even after blowing a save Sunday, the 30-year-old right-hander has a 1.25 ERA in 36 appearances. He’s also averaging 10 strikeouts and only 2.75 walks per nine innings. Greene surely would help the Phillies’ injury-ravaged bullpen. But with Greene having only a $4 million salary this season and with an additional year of club control, any interested team better be willing to give up a prospect. Considering how they’ve been burned by relievers, the Phillies might not want to go there.

Nicholas Castellanos, right fielder: A free agent after the season, he’s almost certain to be dealt. He’s slashing .284/.342/.480 with 11 homers, numbers that would look good with the Phillies. If only he still played third base. The 27-year-old, right-handed hitter is exclusively a right fielder now — and not a particularly good one. Probably not the best fit.

Matthew Boyd, starter: Given his potential and the Phillies’ needs, the 28-year-old is a reasonable target. And guess who will be starting the series opener Tuesday night. The Tigers have indicated they want a young big-league position player as part of any deal for Boyd, who is a) left-handed, b) averaging 12 strikeouts per nine innings, and c) controllable through 2022. Then again, they said the same in 2017 about Michael Fulmer, held out for a higher price, and got nothing after he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery.

Would a package of, say, Adam Haseley, Adonis Medina and a lesser prospect get it done?

Klentak can ask Avila in person this week.

Brandy Halladay delivered an emotional speech on behalf of her late husband, Roy, at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony Sunday. Bob Brookover was there in Cooperstown and noted that the support Brandy and her sons received from the Hall of Famers was “astounding.”

From the Baseball Is A Small World Department: Michael Dubee, son of ex-Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, is a part-time assistant coach for Halladay’s son Ryan’s 14-year-old travel team.

Fun read here from Brooky about former Inquirer writer Jayson Stark, who was honored at the Hall of Fame with the 70th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award.

Back to the Phillies, Jean Segura’s bruised left heel flared up again yesterday. His status for the two games this week in Detroit is not yet clear, as Breen writes.

In case you missed it, the Phillies traded for a reliever. Meet Mike Morin.

Andy MacPhail’s philosophy for roster-building: “Grow the arms, buy the bats.” Great idea, right? But what happens when you can’t grow the arms? I looked at the Phillies’ poor track record of drafting and developing pitching.

Today: Day off for the Phillies.

Tomorrow: Aaron Nola starts in Detroit vs. trade candidate Matthew Boyd, 7:10 p.m.

Wednesday: Vince Velasquez opposes Tigers right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, 1:10 p.m.

Thursday: Day off for Phillies.

Friday: Phillies return home to open three-game series vs. Braves, 7:05 p.m.

For the Phillies, a game such as yesterday’s is about as rare as a solar eclipse.

Start here: They had a left-handed starting pitcher on the mound for only the eighth time in 424 games since the end of the 2016 season. Drew Smyly, who signed as a free agent last week, became only the fifth lefty to start a game for the Phillies during that time, joining Ranger Suarez (three starts last season), Cole Irvin (three starts this year) and reliever Jose Alvarez, who was used as an opener June 1 at Dodger Stadium.

And then there’s this: The Phillies won, 2-1, marking only their fourth victory in 31 games in which they have scored fewer than three runs this season. In fact, four is usually the Phillies’ magic number for runs. They are 6-36 when they score three runs or fewer. Among National League teams, only the Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals have fewer wins when scoring fewer than four runs.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @ScottLauber.

Answer: Great question, @thunderdam13. Tell your friend that, honestly, I have no idea.

Here was what Phillies amateur scouting director Johnny Almaraz had to say on that subject a few days before last month’s draft: “I’m a big believer in taking position players because you have a better chance of developing a position player over time. With pitchers, if they blow [out their arm], then you have nothing. I will never take a position player over a pitcher if that pitcher has a chance to be a No. 2 starter.”

That seems to fly in the face of MacPhail’s philosophy. As you said, the Phillies haven’t used a first-round pick on a pitcher since Aaron Nola in 2014. They did select Kevin Gowdy and Spencer Howard in the second round in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and Howard is their top pitching prospect. In another year or two, we should have a better idea of whether he has top-of-the-rotation potential.