From the day he arrived as Phillies general manager in October, Matt Klentak made it clear that his No. 1 goal was to build pitching depth for now and the future.
He has made huge strides in that area, first by trading for veteran starter Jeremy Hellickson last month and most recently by acquiring another veteran starter, Charlie Morton, from the Pittsburgh Pirates and five other starters in a headline-grabbing deal that sent closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since the Giles trade, Klentak on Monday called the deal “an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”
He also touched on other topics. Here are some observations and explanations after a flurry of Phillies moves.
Why did the Giles deal change?
When the winter meetings ended Thursday, the Phillies were set to send Giles to the Astros for a package of three pitchers, led by big-leaguers Vincent Velasquez and Brett Oberholtzer, and minor-league outfielder Derek Fisher.
When the deal was finalized two days later, the Phils ended up with the right-hander Velasquez, the lefty Oberholtzer, former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel and minor-league pitching prospects Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz. Fisher was out of the deal and the Phillies added 17-year-old shortstop Jonathan Arauz, signed for $600,000 in the summer of 2014, to the package.
What happened?
“Sometimes trades come to fruition quickly and sometimes they take longer,” Klentak said. “We went through a lot of combinations of players names before we ultimately arrived at the final package.”
Klentak’s vagueness was understandable because health issues were involved in finalizing the trade and teams seldom talk about those things. According to a major league source, the Phillies expressed some reservation about the health history of one of the pitchers they were getting in the deal. The Phillies’ reservations weren’t enough to kill the deal or their enthusiasm for it, but they decided they wanted more pitching and looked to have Appel included. The Phils had to include the shortstop Arauz to get that done.
Which pitcher concerned the Phillies?
It was likely Velasquez, who missed the 2011 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Though Velasquez is fine now — he made seven big-league starts in 2015 — the inclusion of Appel could be considered insurance.
Velasquez remains the centerpiece of the Phillies’ return.
“He’s a 23-year-old right-hander who is all about power and under control for six years,” Klentak said. “We like the idea of him pairing him with (Aaron) Nola and (Jerad) Eickhoff to form the nucleus of a rotation going forward.”
Can Appel be part of that nucleus?
The Phillies sure hope so. The 24-year-old right-hander is a huge part of the deal. He was twice a first-round pick while at Stanford. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2013 and signed for more than $8 million, but has often struggled in two-plus seasons in the minors.
Appel made 12 starts in Triple A last season. He will likely get a look in big-league camp this spring and open the 2016 season in Triple A with Jake Thompson, the organization’s top pitching prospect.
There have been plenty of theories why Appel has yet to put it together. Some suggest he lacks deception in his delivery, others suggest he lacks toughness, still others say the expectations of being the No. 1 pick have been suffocating.
Appel gets a fresh start in Philadelphia and the Phillies might end up the big winners.
“The biggest thing we believe in is Mark has great stuff,” Klentak said. “He had great stuff at Stanford and still has great stuff.
“All players develop at different rates and there are different factors behind that. We want to appreciate players for what they are and not for what they are not or what the expectations were at one time. We want to appreciate Mark for what he’s done, that he’s made it to Triple A, has really good stuff and he’s still young.
“As we build a pitching staff and a team going forward, we believe Mark Appel is going to fit right in with what we’re trying to do. We’re going to try to put him in an environment and help him through things that will allow him to reach his ceiling. What’s encouraging to us is the physical stuff that drove him to be the first overall pick is virtually all still there.”
What is Oberholtzer's role?
Klentak said building a balanced pitching staff was important. He noted that Nola, Velasquez and Eickhoff were young and relatively inexperienced. He called Hellickson and Morton veteran “stabilizers.” He put the lefty Oberholtzer, 26, in that class, too.
“I appreciate Brett Oberholtzer,” Klentak said. “This is a guy who has made 42 starts and thrown 250 innings with a sub-4.00 ERA in his major-league career while pitching in a hitters’ park. We’re very happy to have him.”
There will be competition for rotation jobs in spring training. Oberholtzer is out of minor-league options so that will surely help his chances.
How tough was it to trade Giles?
“At some point in time, most GMs go through something like this where they are trading one of their marquee players,” Klentak said. “It’s not easy. We know that. We hate to lose a player like Ken Giles. But when you’re confident that it’s the right thing for your organization it makes it a whole lot easier emotionally.
“I don’t think finding an elite closer is easy by any stretch. … But putting together a starting rotation for the present and future is hard to do. That’s a huge factor in this trade. We were able to turn one reliever — albeit a really good one — into five starting pitching candidates, two in big leagues, one knocking on door and two in the system. That’s big. I've said it before: If you can pitch you have a chance every night, and we believe through these moves we give ourselves a lot better chance on the mound heading into 2016.”
There were other moves
The Phillies signed free-agent reliever David Hernandez last week. The right-hander had some strong seasons in Arizona and came back from Tommy John surgery last season. He has experience at the back end of the bullpen and should get a shot to be the closer in spring training. Another name to watch: Ernesto Frieri, who was signed to a minor-league deal on Monday.
Interestingly, Klentak said he’s heard from the agents of several relievers looking for opportunities now that Giles has been dealt. More bullpen additions, more spring competition, could come before the winter is over.
Clearwater competition
The added pitching depth in the rotation and bullpen is going to make for good internal competition for jobs and roles in spring training. The outfield mix will also have to shake out as in: Who plays center field, Odubel Herrera or Peter Bourjos? Will the Phils use Herrera in a corner spot and go with Bourjos, a defensive specialist, in center?
And there will be competition behind the plate, too. The Phils on Monday signed veteran catcher J.P. Arencibia to a minor-league deal. Could that spell trouble for Carlos Ruiz, whose performance and playing time both declined badly in 2015? Ruiz is owed $9 million for 2016, so trading him would require eating a large amount of salary.
“Ruiz and (Cameron) Rupp are the incumbents, the two to beat, and we have some kids (Andrew Knapp and Jorge Alfaro) pushing them,” Klentak said. “J.P. has been on and off big-league rosters for a few years now. He’s got some power and some experience and we felt bringing a little competition into camp would be a good thing for all parties. You can never have enough catching in spring training and early in the season and we’ll see where it takes us.”