Phillies Notes Hicks Pitching Depth Kilamb

Before signed with the Giants last week, the right-hander and the Phillies shared some mutual interest, according to . The extent of the talks between the two sides isnt known, or if the Phils offered Hicks anything in the ballpark of the four years and $44MM he received from Rayjon Tucker Jersey San Francisco. However, Gelb notes that the Phillies viewed Hicks as a reliever, which might have been a difference-maker since the Giants plan to give Hicks a chance to stick as a starting pitcher. The hard-throwing Hicks might have stepped right into the closers job in Philly, or at least joined , and in the late-game mix now that has left for the Orioles in free agency. It isnt a secret that Philadelphia has been looking for bullpen help, and while president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that further offseason additions would come more around the edges of the roster, the Phils pursuits of Hicks (before he joined the Angels) indicate that the club is still prepared to make a significant financial outlay on a po sible upgrade. As much as the Phillies would like to more options to both the rotation and relief corps, however, theyre in something of a Catch-22 situation of having too much pitching depth to acquire more pitching depth. Philadelphias starting five of , , , , and is set, and while the Phillies might want to add a more experienced depth arm in front of or , such available pitchers might seek out a team with a more clear-cut opportunity for innings. Ive got a list of names and all that , Dombrowski told . Once they get done with [holding out for] the promised spot in the rotation with another club, then they can start looking and say, Hey, maybe they dont have a lot of depth over there, so maybe thats an opportunity to go to Triple-A and be in that spot. Laubers broader piece focuses on the Phillies efforts to keep their pitchers healthy, including some changes to the front office and organizational structure during Dombrowskis three-plus years as PBO. These changes included the hiring of Brian Kaplan as the Phils director of pitching in 2022, some new hires on the strength and conditioning staff, and a more streamlined training and communication proce s between players, coaches, and trainers at both the Major League and minor league levels. The results were apparent last season, as the Phillies enjoyed an unusual amount of both quality and good health from their rotation. Philadelphia starters ranked first in baseball in fWAR (17.7) and third (899) in innings thrown by starting pitchers, despite something of a revolving door with the fifth starter position before Sanchez stabilized things. Of course, durability is no guarantee from one season to the next, so the Phillies want to be prepared in the likely event that the rotation simply wont be as healthy as it was in 2023. There is also an analytical element to the Phillies succe s in both keeping pitchers on the mound and in helping them achieve new levels of succe s, and this is the department of a sistant GM Ani Kilambi. recently profiled the 29-year-old Kilambi, who was hired just over two years ago out of the Rays front office to bolster and modernize the Phillies rather understaffed research and development team. [ Kilambi has ] done a fantastic job of providing resources to understand how we get the most out of our players , pitching coach said. It could be pitch usage, it could be biomechanics, it could be how they think. Its about giving us, as coaches, more tools to make a connection with a pitcher . Malik Fitts Jersey