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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 10, 2018

Gabe Kapler

Las Vegas, Nevada

Q. Given the fan base, could a player like Machado provoke negative reactions with his showboating?
GABE KAPLER: I think Manny has done a tremendous job in his career of establishing a reputation of being one of the top young players in baseball. And I think he's in an incredible position to be able to choose from a wide variety of suitors at this point. And I think wherever he goes, somebody's going to get an incredible baseball player.

Q. Could the Philadelphia-Northeast type fan market react negatively to [inaudible]?
GABE KAPLER: I think the Philadelphia fan base is an incredibly passionate and devoted one, and they demand that their players play hard. They set an incredibly high bar and are disappointed when players don't meet that bar. Probably speak to players in general rather than to any one specific player. But it's certainly a high bar, and it should be a high bar.

Q. You've had time now to think about how the season ended and what have you. As you look back on the year, what happened in those last six weeks, is there anything that you thought concretely happened that maybe you could have done different or maybe --
GABE KAPLER: I think that preparation for a playoff push and preparation for success late in the season comes in the offseason. So one of the major adjustments that we've made thus far is we've asked our players, our staff and everybody that's part of the organization to start opening up space for that possibility in 2019.

So I think one of the things we did last year is we said if everybody takes a small step forward, we have a chance to be a postseason team. We have a chance to win a lot of baseball games. And I think one of the things that we didn't do is say this is actually going to happen and we need to prepare for it to happen.

And I think the way you prepare for it to happen is by building emotional armor, physical armor, in the offseason, and kind of the mental preparation that this is going to happen.

And I'm not sure that everybody was 100 percent prepared for that outcome. And when we're sitting in the middle of July and we are in first place, and we are a very good baseball team, I think it just -- I think we could have prepared for that moment a little bit better, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Q. Are there going to be more rules in the clubhouse this year? I think you mentioned in late October. Is that something that players, that they needed more structure, is that something that you saw that players could not police themselves as much?
GABE KAPLER: I trust -- I continue to trust in our players to police the clubhouse, to raise the bar for one another, and to support each other.

That doesn't mean that we won't have a few more boundaries in place to help guide that outcome. But certainly my expectation is that our players and the players that we add will be well-equipped to look out for one another and to challenge each other on a regular basis.

So just to take that a step further: Last year I stood in front of our group and said if everybody can take a small step forward, we'll win a lot of baseball games. And I think we did that successfully.

I think a lot of guys took these physical baseball steps forward, and there we were in the middle of the summer in a really advantageous position.

I think this year I'm going to ask our guys to look to the player standing to the left of them and look to the player standing to the right of them and help them take a step forward.

And I think by looking externally, looking out towards the player to the left and the right, rather than just me taking a step forward, we might get a stronger policing of the clubhouse.

And, by the way, I thought our clubhouse was in incredible shape for most of the season last year. There were times when it wasn't perfect. But I think that's true for any locker room environment.

Q. In the last two months or so since the season ended, how much have you evaluated your own performance, and is there anything in particular in your self-evaluation that stood out that you want to adjust or change or improve on next year?
GABE KAPLER: I think that's a perfectly fair and reasonable question. I've spent a good amount of time evaluating myself. And I continue to look for ways to improve.

I think one thing that I can do immediately that I think will really resonate well with our fans in Philadelphia is I can just -- as much as I illuminate some of the things we're doing very well, I can be a little more assertive in illuminating the things that we need to work on. And I'm committed to taking that step.

Q. Is that in terms of player to player or publicly in terms of asserting things that need improvement?
GABE KAPLER: I think it's player to player and I think it's publicly. Look, the one thing that I'm never going to do is specifically and aggressively call out one of our players just for the sake of calling them out.

My job is first and foremost to support our players and put them in the most advantageous position to succeed. I believe the best way to do that is by showing them support.

However, I do think that our fans demand that we hold them accountable. I think that I've shared and demonstrated to our fans that I do that behind closed doors. And I think that many of them would like to see me create that really high bar publicly. And I'm committed to doing that.

Q. Andy said he was going to talk to you about that. How did that dinner go and how was that received?
GABE KAPLER: The dinner was awesome, because I had an opportunity to share my feelings with Andy and vice versa. And Andy did say that he thinks that holding players, staff members and the entire organization to a very high bar publicly is something that he thinks will work well.

I agree with him. I think it's an easy adjustment for me to make and it doesn't have to be anything dramatic or forced. I think it's just a small adjustment. It's the turning up of the volume of just kind of raising the bar, holding the club and the organization to a high standard.

Q. Where will you bat Segura, and what does he do with the lineup?
GABE KAPLER: That's TBD where he hits in the lineup. I think he fits well in the 2 hole in the lineup. If we rolled the lineup out there today, it might have something like Segura in the 2 and Odubel in the 3, and potentially Rhys in the 4.

But there's so many variables there. I definitely don't want to lock myself or the Philadelphia Phillies into anything specific, but I think Segura would be good in the 2 hole.

Q. How much have they asked you at all to be part of the recruiting process and free agency process, and do you want to be a part of that?
GABE KAPLER: Nobody has to ask me to try to help get the best players in baseball to come play for us. I deeply care about our ability to draw free agents, and to the extent that I'm able to help, I want to be involved in that.

I have been able to develop some really good connections over the years and learn quite a bit about the personalities of Major League Baseball players. And so I'm able to find out ahead of time how they might fit into our clubhouse environment, along with that, and to answer your question directly, yes, I'm involved and I love being involved in that process.

Q. You said at the end of the season that you thought Bryce Harper was one of the best players in baseball if not the best baseball player. That feeling still strongly --
GABE KAPLER: Sure. I think -- in my opinion, Bryce Harper does a number of things well, but one of the things I found most fascinating about him last year was even through the times of his struggles, he still worked an incredible at-bat.

So it wasn't like rolling over to the second baseman on the first pitch when he was struggling, although that happened from time to time. But when he struggled he still put together a quality at-bat. He still worked the pitcher. He still made the opposition uncomfortable. And sometimes he'd end that at-bat with a walk, which I think there's a lot of value in that.

Now, when he's going good, he's one of the more difficult players to get out in the game. And I love the way he plays. I think there's so much to like about what Bryce Harper brings to the table.

His play on the field and then also what he brings to a clubhouse environment.

Q. Is Segura a product that's already impressed, but where you are against what the Braves, the Nationals and the Mets have already done, where do you think you stand if this was the team that you have to put on the field next year in your own division?
GABE KAPLER: I think the way that we get better -- the most likely way we get better is through our players developing. I think we saw that last year. There's a major leap from 2017 to 2018. A lot of baseball games won.

Most of that development was our players just taking a step forward rather than us adding pieces. Now, obviously I think you take a leap when two things happen: Number one, your young players develop. And number two, you add really good baseball players.

So, look, if our rotation, our young rotation, our young starters, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff and Zach Eflin, if these guys get a little bit better, they're already really good, our rotation looks incredibly strong. Leaving aside Aaron Nola and Jake Arrietta. And there's a lot of young players across the diamond if they get a little bit better, we win more baseball games. Instead of an 80-win team, we're looking at something north of that.

And that's independent of any acquisitions that we make.

Q. If you add another starting pitcher, what's the importance of, A, it being a left-hander, and, B, it being a veteran pitcher who can add some leadership to your rotation?
GABE KAPLER: I'm empathetic to both points of view here, but my personal take on the matter is I would prefer a very good starter to a left or a right-handed starter.

So obviously it makes our rotation more balanced if we have a left-handed starter in it. But I wouldn't take a left-handed starter who was inferior to a right-handed starter, just because he's left-handed.

Additionally, if there's a right-handed pitcher available, whether it be in the bullpen or in the rotation, who gets lefties out, don't think it matters if he's left-handed or right-handed. What matters is he gets lefties out.

Q. And the veteran leadership part?
GABE KAPLER: Veteran leadership I think is always huge, but it doesn't have to come in the form of a starting pitcher or a shortstop or a centerfielder. Sometimes it just comes in the form of a young player developing. I think Rhys Hoskins is absolutely ready to take a major step forward on the leadership front.

I think he knows it and I think everybody in the clubhouse knows it. So, again, you can add it from the outside, which is always advantageous. But you can also depend on it through your players developing that skill set.

And our players can develop from a leadership perspective as well.

Q. If you have a chance to look back on it, Rhys is probably going to go back to first base. How compromised was he or the team with him playing a position that he really didn't have a lot of time out and struggled at defensively at times?
GABE KAPLER: I think it wasn't the natural fit for Rhys. Rhys did everything we could possibly ask of him to be the best left fielder that he could possibly be.

And it wasn't an easy spot. And I do think there is a psychological toll. I'm not sure what that psychological toll is. Like it's somewhere on the spectrum. But certainly if you're stressing about one thing, perhaps you're not able to be the best hitter that you could be.

This is all very subjective and super speculative. Obviously I've had conversations with Rhys about it. But I think at first base he becomes -- he immediately becomes more comfortable. He immediately becomes more confident.

And if there's one thing that a hitter, if they could, bottle to be the best hitter they can possibly be is confidence.

So if Rhys Hoskins is a little more confident, he's already one of the best hitters in baseball, maybe he really turns into an elite offensive performer, and it opens up an opportunity for us to go out and get a really good player for the outfield, both defensively and an offensive contributor.

Q. Subjectively, how much did that same scenario impact Scott Kingery who was asked to play a position he hadn't really played, offensively how much did it impact him?
GABE KAPLER: How much, I'm not sure. But I can say it was a challenge for him. Scott Kingery is one of the toughest individuals I've ever been around. So much so that when I called Scott and said, hey, we just acquired this shortstop, like you're most likely going to move around the diamond again, he said, okay, I get it.

And that's a challenge for a young player who just finished his first full season in the Major Leagues.

So, look, I think Scott Kingery can handle anything. I don't think it's too tough for him. And I think last year was a major challenge. And in some ways I think that there were some moments where he struggled as a result.

At the same time, like I'm not worried about his ability to tackle this. I wasn't worried about his ability to tackle it last year.

And I believe he developed tremendously, both as a defender, I think he learned a lot about his offensive profile. He shared that -- I think he felt like he got in the habit of last year of trying to see more pitches and fit into the deep-count lineup that we had, when the way to do that for him, and I think he knows this, is to be aggressive early in the count.

So to look for a fastball to attack, get after that fastball, and then understand that he might foul it back and still work a deep count. Or he might put it in the gap.

And I think that's an adjustment he's already prepared to make. I know that because he shared it.

Q. Do you think you're better -- I know things are going to change most likely, but right now as you stand, you could play him or Franco at third base, are you a better team with one or the other at third base, obviously Maikel is not going to roam around the infield the way he could, or outfield?
GABE KAPLER: I think Scott would be a very, very good third baseman. I think he proved to all of us that he had his bumps and bruises, but it turned out at the end that he was adequate at shortstop for us.

Look, we have some people who think he was very good and others who think he did a really good job. I happened to come out on the side of I thought it was a good shortstop by the end of the season.

I think we would see the same thing at third base as it relates to Maikel Franco, if Maikel is performing the way we all know he can, and he comes into camp in tremendous physical condition, he has a chance to really impact our baseball team, too.

We know that when Maikel Franco is at his best, he's a good defender. He hits the ball out of the ballpark. He can be streaky hot and carry a team for a week, ten days, two weeks at a time. And we're optimizing for those sort of outcomes.

Q. There's been some talk, in fact Jason reported, maybe at the highest levels of banning the shift, limiting the shift?
GABE KAPLER: I read Jason's thoughts on that.

Q. Did you give him the smiley face at the bottom?
GABE KAPLER: I didn't like weigh in with a thumbs up or a thumbs down, but, Jason, you should know I enjoyed that piece.

Q. What are your thoughts on that? And you guys experimented in the spring with outfield shifting as well, where do you think him possibly limiting it and where do you think it's going?
GABE KAPLER: Let me say this, I have no idea where it's going, but I certainly agree with some of Jason's points, which is players would -- probably a lot of players would probably appreciate it, especially the hitters who continue to hit into those shifts.

You know, Jason made a point about launch angle and strikeouts. So if you're trying to beat the shift, the way to beat the shift is through putting the ball in the air and hitting the ball over the shift. And that's led to an increase in strikeouts. I'm not sure I believe that's true.

I do believe that players would prefer not to have to deal with it. From a pitcher's perspective I think a lot of pitchers would prefer they not have to deal with it.

From a leadership perspective, a manager's perspective, a coach's perspective, the more ability that you have to be creative, I think the more opportunity you have to get a competitive advantage, if you work really, really hard.

So some managers might say -- I don't have my thoughts fully baked on this yet, Mark, but some managers might say I might not have a competitive advantage.

Now, we oftentimes had a hard time with the shift last year. This is not an easy answer. It's pretty nuanced, actually.

Q. Someone who put so much intellectual thought into the game, you might not want to be constrained from your options if you felt it could help your team win a game?
GABE KAPLER: I think we work within the construct of the rules. And we look for competitive advantages within the construct of the rules. So if the rules changed and you had to have two guys on the right side of second base and two guys on the left side of second base, you would just start to get creative.

Again, like I hate to beat a dead horse here but Jason illuminated well in the article, maybe you play your shortstop an inch away from second base and you have him moving in a specific direction with the pitch.

I'm not sure, Mark. But I think there's a lot of ways to maintain creativity even if the rule changes a little bit.

Q. You said you struggled with a lot. What do your internal numbers say at the end of the season whether it was good or bad for you guys?
GABE KAPLER: I would say we had a month or so where we really wrestled with it. And it wasn't the best we can do.

Q. Are you talking about playing it or hitting into it?
GABE KAPLER: Just general positioning. Like we've done a lot of homework on it. And we have to get better at it. And I think that's -- not to get too deeply into where we fall on the spectrum, I will say that we have a lot of work to do.

We take it very seriously. We think about it nonstop. We've already adjusted our models, and our R&D team is doing their best to give us some information. We hired a new outfield base running coach. I'm sure you know we hired Paco Figueroa to do that job for us.

In part we wanted to free up Jose David Flores, our infield coach, to really focus all his attention with our R&D team to position our infield defenders. And we wanted a heavy focus on base running because we feel there are competitive advantages to be had if we focus on the tiniest details of our base running angles jumps, reads understanding the times of pitchers, et cetera.

Q. You met with Odubel recently?
GABE KAPLER: I did.

Q. Are you confident that he's going to come into camp in shape, and do you think the fact that he did not come into camp in shape last year contributed -- he got off to a great start, obviously. Obviously you can't say it messed him up, but something happened to him the last four, four and a half months of the season. First question is: Do you think he'll come into camp in shape? What's your evidence of that?
GABE KAPLER: Well, he was certainly inspired when I spent time with him. He was certainly committed when I spent time with him. Had an opportunity to bump into his agent literally on the way over here.

He and I talked a little bit, confirmed that the motivation is still there. We're going to demand that of Odubel. It's not going to be -- like one adjustment that I'm just absolutely prepared to make is, he has to come into camp in the best condition of his career.

Q. Do you need to stay on top of him? I think might have talked to him midseason, he said I didn't [inaudible] on me last year, now I'm more free to be myself; maybe that's not good for him?
GABE KAPLER: Yeah, I think there's -- I always believed that bringing the best out of a player is not one or the other. It's not leave him alone and it's not stay on top of him. It's trial and error until you find the sweet spot.

And I think that's still a work in progress. Like how do we motivate an especially talented, gifted individual that for six weeks was one of the best players in six weeks, how do we get that outcome for the entirety of a season.

Because then you have an elite-level baseball player. So I take responsibility for him coming into camp in better shape this year than he did last year. I've demanded it of him.

He knows that I will accept nothing less. He has suggested that he will accept nothing less. And I think we have a large group of people who are consistently reaching out to him.

Not to stay on top of him, per se, but to demonstrate that there's nothing more important to us than him coming to camp ready to really dominate.

Q. People make differences in judgments about stats in and of themselves, everyone has a judgment on a stat, how long do you think it takes to figure out that a guy's a winning player?
GABE KAPLER: I think there are players who are winning players in one year and not winning players in other years. So I don't think somebody is a winning player or not a winning player. I think the direct answer to your question is I think that there's variability from year to year.

Look, you have some guys who are winning players every single year, and those guys usually find their way into All-Star games every year and also sometimes into the Hall of Fame.

Q. I'm going more about little things, things that might not show up on that piece of paper that everybody sees, the balance of finding winning players has got to be important as well?
GABE KAPLER: Sure. We want winning attitudes. We want selfless attitudes. We want guys who put the Philadelphia Phillies first, and we are always uber focused on that.

My intention is to shift the focus for our players from themselves in 2018, which -- and I also think they demonstrate great teammate behavior in '18. I think we can take a step forward in that regard, where we're looking outside of ourselves to the man standing to the left of us, to the player standing to the right of us, and we demand a high level of teammate behavior, diligence, character, drive, determination, all of those adjectives that add up to the winning player that you're suggesting.

Q. I know you've had a tough offseason with the fires and losing your home. Any updates on how you're dealing with all of that?
GABE KAPLER: So I've tried to share this to the best of my ability. My family is in really good shape. Everybody's healthy.

We lost a physical thing that we can rebuild. I think that my family shares that sentiment.

Look, we're disappointed. We're human beings. You lose a home, and that's tough. But we used it and we continue to use it as an opportunity to shine light on people who don't have the resources that we have and who aren't able to rebuild as quickly as we are.

So just to boil that down: My family is in really good shape. I appreciate you asking. It's a great opportunity to shine light on people who don't have the resources that my family and I have.

Q. Japanese lefty, Kikuchi, would, you like to put him in your rotation?
GABE KAPLER: I haven't seen as much as I'd like to see, but certainly any especially talented individual independent of their country of origin would always make our baseball team better. Always make our baseball team better.

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