MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2022

Rob Thomson

Philadelphia Phillies

Press Conference

ROB THOMSON: Rob Thomson.

Q. When you construct your lineup for next year just in your head, without naming names, how important will it be to have right-left balance? You did that a lot. Do you think that will still be a priority for you?

ROB THOMSON: I think so. Especially when Harp gets healthy again, and to make sure we're giving at least a little bit of space between him and Schwarber. Especially the teams that are heavy left-handed coming out of the bullpen.

Q. Adjacent to Matt's question, I know it's a long way away, have you given any thought to continuing to have Schwarber lead off?

ROB THOMSON: I have. It depends on who we have on the club. But he likes leading off. He was really good at it. But if we make some moves, we could change the lineup.

Q. You said you talked to Stott soon after the World Series ended. Without naming names again, if he were to move over to second base this season, how do you think he profiles there defensively?

ROB THOMSON: Really good. We saw glimpses of it last year when Segy was hurt. He was a plus defender at second base in my mind and really looked comfortable there, understands the position, understands backup responsibilities, all those little things. I think he'll be an outstanding second baseman. I really do.

Q. Rob, any concerns with the World Baseball Classic?

ROB THOMSON: Not really, as long as they don't get hurt. I kind of -- in a way, I kind of like it because it gets those guys geared up in Spring Training a little bit quicker. It gets them into a competitive atmosphere a little bit earlier, and in a lot of ways I think it helps guys.

Q. Have you heard anything related to pitchers going to the WBC? You have some position guys, but like --

ROB THOMSON: I have not, no. That's a little trickier for me than the position players, but it is what it is. You can't hold them back.

Q. What's the early plan for Wheeler and Nola? Have you worked with maybe --

ROB THOMSON: For me, pitchers need to pitch. Although you monitor it and it's constant conversation during Spring Training, I think you start them off just like you normally would because by the time you get to Opening Day, they still have to be Maxed out and ready to go.

As you saw last year, when we had a couple of guys, because of the shorter spring and some sickness, it taxed our bullpen early, and we had to make up innings for the starters that were backed up.

So I think it's important that we get those guys at least really close to where they normally are.

Q. So does that mean a normal off-season for those two guys in terms of when they would normally start throwing and ramping up?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, they'll start ramping up probably after Christmas. I think maybe the first couple of outings where they'd have actual starts in a Spring Training game, maybe that's on the backfield to take a little tension off. But my plan is for them to be ready to go full bore or close to it when the season starts.

Q. If Andrew Painter were to make the team out of Spring Training, have you given any thought to what an innings might look like for him given what he was able to do in the Minor Leagues?

ROB THOMSON: We've been kind of bouncing around numbers a little bit, and once we come to that number, we'll probably have to try and map it out as best we can. It's a little bit easier if he doesn't make the club and he starts the season at Triple-A, we can map it out a lot easier there. Then once he's ready to transition to the Big Leagues, if he is, then we'll just go from there.

Q. When you guys build a bullpen, it seems like Brogdon is going to be an important piece for you. What did you make of how he ended the season? It was an up-and-down year for him? It seems like he figured it out. Was it a confidence thing for him?

ROB THOMSON: I think so, and his fastball came back at the end a little bit. But relievers tend to go this way a lot just because they have a rough outing, and they lose a little confidence and they start thinking about it, and it takes a while to get back to the top.

When he ended the season last year, his performance in the World Series was really good, and I think we can build on that.

Q. Do you see him as someone who can take the next step to be a reliable setup man for the course of an entire season?

ROB THOMSON: No doubt. I really do.

Q. Of the (indiscernible) and Painter trio, is there any one of those who could make The Opening day roster out of Spring Training?

ROB THOMSON: I think your best bet is probably Painter. I think the other two guys are probably behind. Not that they're going to pitch in the Big Leagues at some point, possibly this year. But the guy we're looking at to possibly come on this roster out of spring is Painter.

Q. You've never seen him pitch and you don't know too, too much about him. Have you started to ask people about him?

ROB THOMSON: We don't even have to ask. They just tell you how good this guy is and the makeup and the intangibles and the athleticism, all that stuff. And I've been watching a little bit of tape, and it's real.

Now we have to be careful and make sure we don't rush him too soon, don't overwork him. It's a different level of tension and anxiety from Double-A to the Major Leagues -- Double-A to Spring Training in the Big Leagues and then regular season in the Big Leagues, completely different. So we'll see how it works.

Q. Is there anything you can do to ease that transition for him?

ROB THOMSON: Not really. I think we'll find out what it looks like in Spring Training, so that's the next level. And then if it looks good and he pitches well and he looks comfortable, then maybe there's a shot that he makes our club.

Q. What do you make of his command? It seems like, especially for a young guy, that's really an area of strength for him.

ROB THOMSON: It's good delivery, it's clean, it's consistent, and he tends to be able to throw the ball where he wants. It's really good.

Q. Given what you have internally with Painter and Falter and Sanchez, would you be good with one addition to the rotation, or do you feel like you need more than that? How do you sort of look at how the innings break out?

ROB THOMSON: I think if we get one, that would be enough. And if we don't get one, then I think we'll be covered anyway because you do have Falter, you do have Sanchez, you do have those three guys that are coming. But I think one would be probably enough.

Q. It's your first off-season as a manager. Are there things that are sort of on your to do list that you didn't get to during the season?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, being at home (laughter). We've been on the road quite a bit. Yeah, I like sitting in my chair and watching hockey games and things like that. I haven't been able to do that.

Q. Anything organizationally you'd like to implement as your regime is extended, I guess?

ROB THOMSON: No, I kind of like it. I like to travel, and I like talking to people and Zooming with potential -- or Zooming with free agents, potential Phillies. It's exciting. It's something I've never really done before, not on this level anyway. So it's been good.

Q. (Question regarding rule change)?

ROB THOMSON: A lot. Especially the pitch clock. Guys have to get the timing, 18 seconds or whatever it is.

So I think just talking to Caleb, one of the things we'll talk about or do is during bullpen sessions, have clocks on guys. They have these buzzer clocks in Clearwater. And during BP sessions, do the same thing.

Obviously they're not going to be penalized, but they get that inner clock, if you will, of how much time they have to get the ball back, reset their mind, reset their focus. Okay, here's my sign, now I go in --

Q. Do you think the --

ROB THOMSON: -- and deliver.

Q. -- relievers might be most affected by that? Some guys take a lot of time because they need the time between pitches.

ROB THOMSON: I think the guys that take the most time will be the most affected. Just common sense, I think. Some relievers, they work fast and some work slow.

Q. How much differently will managers have to navigate a game with something -- you've got these bigger bases now. You've got obviously the shift and how you play your defense. But how much does that change just your in game sort of how you think about how you want to manage a game?

ROB THOMSON: I think the pitch clock is going to not necessarily affect me, but I'm going to be worried about it constantly because I see the clock and I see where the pitcher's at and where the hitter's at. Got to get going.

But the shifting or the defensive positioning, people think that, okay, now you can't shift. So I think there's going to be more emphasis on where you put those two guys on each side, and that's going to be critical, I think.

So I think you really have to do a good job of looking at spray charts and things like that to make sure that rover, if you will, it's going to be either the shortstop or second baseman, is placed in the right spot on that side of the diamond.

Q. One of the things that other managers have said is the running game, both from an offensive base runner standpoint, but also from a pitching standpoint, will be a real focus of the managers in particular, sort of how you're maybe in Spring Training talking to your pitchers about strategies for controlling the running game. Is that on your mind at all?

ROB THOMSON: Absolutely, yeah. It's going to be -- that's another main focus in Spring Training, and I've already talked to Minor League managers that have been through this thing and what to look for, what to expect. So, yeah, there's going to be a lot of conversation about it.

Q. With these rule changes, how about the schedule?

ROB THOMSON: With?

Q. Going to different cities.

ROB THOMSON: I think it's the only way to do it, have a balanced schedule. Everybody's playing fairly, you know. Like a lot of times with interleague, one division would play a really weak division on the other side, and we're in the National League East, and we're beating each other up for 80 games and one team doesn't get in because somebody in the National League Central, for example, is playing the weakest of the American League division.

So I think it's fair and I think it's the right way to do it.

Q. As a guy who's coached and managed now two real meat grinder divisions, how much do those division games take out of you? And now having instead of half your schedule in division, like a quarter?

ROB THOMSON: It's a lot because, when I was with the Yankees, everybody in that division was beating each other up, and it's the same thing in the National League East right now. It takes a lot out of you.

I think having to play a few less division games will help, but also everybody plays the same amount of games against everybody else is going to help.

Q. Do you guys look for spots in the playoffs, and even at the end of the season to maybe protect Marsh against lefties, do you see him as your everyday guy, going into the season you expect a guy to take that step into that status?

ROB THOMSON: I think we'll probably have Vierling facing some of the tougher lefties for sure. I think as time goes on, Brandon Marsh is going to be able to hit both sides, left-handed pitching and right-handed pitching, I really do. He made so many strides with K. Long last year, stretched it out, made it simple. And he did have some at-bats against left-handed pitching and did really well. I don't see that as much of a problem moving forward.

Q. We talked to you a lot in October about how so many of your players had never been in the postseason. Can you give us a sense of how tiring it is to play that extra month of baseball and sort of how guys were feeling by the end?

ROB THOMSON: I think guys were tired, but Houston was tired too. They didn't play as many playoff games as we did, but everybody gets tired.

I think once you sit back for a couple weeks and reenergize, I think they'll be ready to go. There's some things I want to talk about in Spring Training, one being expectations, high expectations, and that's a good thing because that means you're probably pretty good and you've got to deal with that.

Also, something that I'm not really too concerned about because our players have now gotten a taste and they want it again, is the complacency side of it, making sure that people come in, and if you get off to a slow start, go, oh, we did this last year. Don't worry about it. We'll be all right. That doesn't always happen.

So we've got to make sure we're healthy and ready to go from day one.

Q. Have you watched any of the postseason games back?

ROB THOMSON: I had to do a thing today with I don't know who the film crew -- MLB Network -- about Game 1 because it was one of the top ten games. I said to Kevin I've got to watch the game again because I can't really remember every little detail. It was a great game after I watched it.

(Laughter.)

Q. What did you forget when you were watching it back? You're like holy (expletive), I can't believe that happened?

ROB THOMSON: There were some pitching moves that we made that I forgot about, like taking Nola out after 4 1/3 to get Alvarado through the Tucker -- Alvarez-Tucker pocket. There was the base hit that Castellanos got to get our first run during the comeback. The catch that Castellanos made in right field. How I forgot that, I don't know.

But all those games kind of run together, and once I went back and looked at it, I was like now I see why it was a good game.

Q. You took pride in keeping the lineup pretty consistent through the course of last season, especially the top of the lineup. Is that something you're going to try to do again this season?

ROB THOMSON: Absolutely. I just think players respond to it. They like it. They like the consistent part of it. They know where they're going to hit every day. Who's hitting in front of them, who's hitting behind them.

I tend to try not to outthink things. Just get something that you like and stay with it until it breaks, and then you've got to adjust.