Machado to Dodgers, Kawhi to Raptors

[ishimonster]

Both instances could be considered a blessing in disguise IMO.

Phils could easily sign Machado next year and the Kawhi situation is messy to say the least.

Losing out on Machado hurts more though...

[IronEagle]

It’s ok. Phils are well ahead of where most expected and still should be in building mode. There are other fish to catch in the future.

[Anthony]

I'm not concerned at all. Kawhi is going to be a Laker in a year and Machado can still be signed in November. Phils are not good enough even with Machado to win anything this season. I actually expect them to fall back in the pack with that lousy bullpen and a tougher schedule.

[06hawkalum]

I'm not concerned at all. Kawhi is going to be a Laker in a year and Machado can still be signed in November. Phils are not good enough even with Machado to win anything this season. I actually expect them to fall back in the pack with that lousy bullpen and a tougher schedule.

The Phils will win the NL East this year. It is the Braves who are currently falling back in the pack now that they are playing tougher opponents. The Phils have already played the toughest part of their schedule, which was the entire month of June.

[Anthony]

I wouldn't dismiss the Nationals. They are a constant underachiever but have made the playoffs alot in the last few years.

The Phils will win the NL East this year. It is the Braves who are currently falling back in the pack now that they are playing tougher opponents. The Phils have already played the toughest part of their schedule, which was the entire month of June.

[rothdawg]

I'm not concerned at all. Kawhi is going to be a Laker in a year and Machado can still be signed in November. Phils are not good enough even with Machado to win anything this season. I actually expect them to fall back in the pack with that lousy bullpen and a tougher schedule.

I agree about Kawhi. I'm bummed about Manny. I don't think a deal centered around Medina would have hurt the Phillies farm system that much and I think it would have given them a leg up to resign him in the off season. We will see what happens, but I doubt he leaves LA now.

[slag]

I heard the deal breaker was a demand for Sixto ... which, frankly, I wouldn't have given either when there's a chance to sign him later anyway.

[Snakebitten]

Agreed. The Sixers and Phils are not winning anything this year so why bother. The plan all along was building teams that will have long term success. Moving young talent for possible rentals is foolish.

I heard they asked Manny if he had a good relationship with the Phillies front office since there was Baltimore roots and he didn't actually give them a ringing endorsement. We will see how true that is this winter. OT: I never realized Manny never drove in 100 runs in a season (yet). That's odd.

If I was the GM, I would build this team like the Giants and Cards built their winning teams in the past: Pitching. I would focus on getting one more quality starter. Not Hamels or Happ quality either. I would try and use those prospects and get another Nola. Yes, it's easier said than done but anything is possible. The reason this team is in first place is because of starting pitching. Get more. I prefer to not go 8-10 years on a position player not named Trout. That's just me.

[McCarthy12]

Bummer about Machado but this team is still going to be fun to watch for the remainder of the season and maybe they still sign him and lose nothing. Isn't the Dodgers regular shortstop (who is pretty good himself) hurt right now? Sounds like a rental.

I heard today that Kawhi is already not happy about going to Toronto. I don't know if he would have acted the same way about Philly, but this team doesn't need that type of distractions. Keep building with guys who want to be part of the process.

[rothdawg]

If that's the case, I agree with you.

[Snakebitten]

They have Seager at short, Turner at third, and Muncy at first. You're right, he's out the rest of the season and I think he's as good as Machado. Next year, I guess they could move Turner to second and Seager to third to accommodate Machado but that's a lot of people playing out of position.

If Kawhi has an issue with the what's going on in San Antonio, it's probably him with the issues. He appears to be too high maintenance for a young team. While I think his skill set is a perfect fit, his baggage may backfire here.

Either way, I'm willing to wait until next year.

[rothdawg]

I'm with you on the Sixers. Kawhi just seems like baggage at this point and nobody is beating Golden State anyway this year. Let the young nucleus develop for another year. The value of the Miami pick will likely be higher a year from now, add the missing piece then.

If the Phillies miss out on both Harper and Manny I'll be disappointed. Super star players at age 26 don't hit Free Agency often, I think A-Rod might have been the last. The pitching across the organization has improved immensely, we need power.

[JuTMSY4]

This has always been the plan

If I was the GM, I would build this team like the Giants and Cards built their winning teams in the past: Pitching. I would focus on getting one more quality starter. Not Hamels or Happ quality either. I would try and use those prospects and get another Nola. Yes, it's easier said than done but anything is possible. The reason this team is in first place is because of starting pitching. Get more. I prefer to not go 8-10 years on a position player not named Trout. That's just me.

Buy the bats, grow the arms. Since this regime arrived, they've aggressively developed young pitchers - bringing young arms in/up since they've arrived (who've had good but not great resumes like Pivetta, VV, Eickhoff, Eflin, etc) and developing high level ceiling talent - Sixto, Gowdy, Morales, Mills)

Medina was a nice player and he's fairly close to arrival time but the Phils have a ton of depth even in AAA/AA ball - Anderson, Eshelman, Irvin, De Los Santos so they have to do something with some of those guys. I think we'll see some pitching moved near the deadline/this winter because ultimately they have a glut of talent and only 5 spots in the rotation. None of those guys have futures in the Pen, I don't think.

[Snakebitten]

If you remove the PED part of the equation, long term MLB contracts usually suck. While being young is definitely a major factor here, I still prefer building a team the way the Giants did after Barry Bonds left. My biggest concern is that I'm not sure this front office is capable. They had the money to spend for power and pissed it away. I know it's only one year but it's very alarming.

[Snakebitten]

I wish they would get back to drafting pitchers in the first round instead of these '5 tool' position players. Man, some of these picks were awful. I get some years the pitching talent isn't there but how many outfielders do they need to draft? I'm ok with buying the bats. I'm just not sure buying some for 8-10 years is the way to do it. I see more teams win without these types of contracts than I do with them.