Phillies Make a Curious Move

Happy Friday! The Phillies did something. It’s probably not what you were hoping for, but it’s something.

The Flyers definitely didn’t do what you were hoping for last night. And for better or worse, it looks like the Sixers are getting their new center city arena.

Let’s discuss.

In the email today:

• Section

• 🎁 Flyers Give Up Seven in Lopsided Loss to Kings

• ⚖️ Protesters Escorted From City Hall as 76 Place Bills Pass

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

On Thursday night, Todd Zolecki and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Phillies and free agent corner outfielder Max Kepler were working on a deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan later tweeted that the club and Kepler agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract, pending a physical.

Kepler hit .253/.302/.380 (.682 OPS) with eight home runs in 2024, when injuries limited him to 105 games for the Twins. He has played in Minnesota for his entire ten-year big league career.

Kepler wasn’t a name previously linked to the Phillies in rumors. Most fans hoped the Phillies were looking for a bigger offensive upgrade in the outfield. Kepler showed a flash of greatness in 2019, when he hit 36 home runs and posted an .855 OPS. But there’s enough of a history with Kepler to safely conclude that season was an outlier. His career numbers: .237/.318/.429 (.747 OPS) and an average of 24 home runs per 162 games.

The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, a Twins writer, notes that Kepler has a low strikeout rate but his “once-strong plate discipline has abandoned him.” The Phillies are probably betting that Kepler can return to form and help balance out a lineup full of free swingers.

Kepler’s a good defensive outfielder in right field, and at least serviceable in center. He’s expected to play left field with the Phils, and while the transition from one corner to another can be trickier than many believe, he’ll probably be fine there.

Offensively, however, the lefty hitter is a bit of an odd fit. Against right-handed pitchers, the Phillies could put both Kepler and Marsh in the lineup and feel pretty good. But against lefties, they’re probably looking at Rojas in center and Kepler/Marsh in left, which feels a lot like… well, Rojas in center and Marsh in left. That has led to some speculation that there’s another move coming.

The deal isn’t yet official as of this writing, so we don’t have the benefit of the Phillies’ front office’s thoughts behind the acquisition. But it feels like they explored both the free agent and trade markets, didn’t like the value propositions, and decided to take a gamble on an injured player returning to form. (Basically, straight out of their Jordan Romano/relief pitcher playbook.)

There’s still time for the Phillies to make much more substantial changes to their roster. Hopes on that front are fading, however.

It doesn’t feel all that long ago that we were here celebrating a couple of wins over Columbus and Detroit. It was just last week, actually.

What a difference a week makes. The Flyers have now lost three in a row, and they are going in the decidedly wrong direction.

The Flyers lost 7-3 last night at the Wells Fargo Center. You might argue that the empty-net goal at the 16:23 mark of the third period followed by an even strength Kings goal about a minute later made the game seem less competitive than it was. That’s fair.

But there’s no disputing the trend. The Flyers gave up four goals in Minnesota on Saturday. They shipped six more to the Red Wings in Detroit Wednesday night.

Tack on the seven the Kings scored, that’s 17 goals in three games. The 1986-1987 Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t have survived that sort of defensive frailty.

Tyson Foerster was the Flyers’ lone bright light on an otherwise dark night, with two goals and an assist. Matvei Michkov was a -4 on the night and did not register a point for the fourth consecutive game.

Netminder Aleksei Kolosov didn’t get much help from his defense for much of the night. He didn’t help his own cause with this, either.

The Flyers are back on home ice against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. It’s anyone’s guess whether Kolosov or Samuel Ersson will get the start in goal.

Whichever goaltender gets the assignment needs to shut the door, and fast.

The 76ers are having a pretty terrible year on the court. Off the court, though, the Sixers are winning bigly.

The team’s plans for 76 Place cleared another hurdle in City Hall yesterday.

• Proposal Advancement: The controversial "76 Place" Center City arena plan progressed after a 12-4 committee vote last week and subsequent approval of 10 related bills by a 12-5 margin.

• Chinatown Overlay District: Bill No. 241062-A, establishing the Philadelphia Chinatown Overlay District, passed with a 14-3 vote.

• Voting Threshold: At least nine City Council votes were required for bill passage; all necessary votes were secured.

• Protests and Public Concerns: Protesters, primarily concerned about the arena's potential impact on Chinatown, gathered at City Hall, though their objections did not sway the decision.

• Public Commentary: Over 30 minutes were dedicated to one-minute statements from supporters and critics before the vote.

• Community Benefits Agreement (CBA): The Sixers increased the CBA from $50 million to $60 million to address community concerns, though critics argued for a larger increase.

• Private Investment: The Sixers are committed to providing $1.55 billion in private to revitalize the Market East area, with no public funding requested.

Was everyone thrilled by this development? Well, this is still Philadelphia after all.

We suppose it was unrealistic to expect the chants to sound like this:

That would’ve been lit.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On Decmber 20, 1992, the Eagles beat Washington to secure a playoff spot.

📊 Poll

Results from Thursday:

Confidence is at an all-time high, apparently.

🔗 Links

• 💉 Sammy Sosa issued a sort of apology that no one outside of Chicago cares about.

• 🛫 The Jets passed on Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating was too low.

• 🇩🇪 Well, the Phillies finally signed a free agent, one who cost $755M less than Juan Soto.

• ⚽️ For the handfuls of supporters still paying attention, here’s the Union’s schedule release announcement.

• 🦁 The Lions still hope David Montgomery might make a playoff appearance.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Friday, December 20, 2024

• Sixers vs. Hornets, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Saturday, December 21, 2024

• Flyers vs. Blue Jackets, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

• Sixers at Cavaliers, 8:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia+)

Sunday, December 22, 2024

• Eagles at Commanders, 1:00 p.m. (FOX)

Thanks for reading. See you Monday.

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