Phillies MiLB Free Agents

Baseball America put out their comprehensive list of minor league free agents today.  The Phillies have a decent amount of players up for free agency.  For the most part players that reach minor league free agency have little in the way of ceiling left.  Occasionally some guys slip through with a ceiling of being a contributor … Read more

Rule 5 and 40 man Roster Preview

We are about a month out from the deadline for the Phillies to add players to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.  The promotions of Maikel Franco and Ken Giles during the season eliminated two of the most interesting names needing protection, but there are still plenty of decisions that need to be made.  Currently the Phillies roster is at 39 players, some will move on as free agents, others will be cut, and a small group might even get traded.

Roster Locks (21): David Buchanan, A.J. Burnett, Justin De Fratus, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Cole Hamels, Mario Hollands, Cliff Lee, Ethan Martin, Jonathan Pettibone, Carlos Ruiz, Cody Asche, Maikel Franco, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Aaron Altherr, Marlon Byrd, Kelly Dugan, Ben Revere, Domonic Brown

I think there is a good chance that any of Burnett, Hamels, Byrd, and Brown aren’t back next year.  This is more showing that if they are moved it will be a player outside of the org sliding right into that 40 man spot.  In other words they aren’t going to free up space.

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Fall/Winter League Assignments

We will be tracking the assignments of prospects to winter and fall assignments: All Winter/Fall League stats can be found here Winter League: Maikel Franco – Gigantes del Cibao (DWL) Carlos Tocci – Phillies Complex (Clearwater) Yoel Mecias – Phillies Complex (Clearwater) Jose Pujols – Phillies Complex (Clearwater) Aaron Altherr – Aguilas del Zulia (VWL) William Cuicas – Tigres … Read more

Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez and Building the 2015 Bench

There are few things to say positively about the 2014 Philadelphia Phillies season. We’re nearing the final stretch to the season and September promotions should bring about an ounce of excitement for the faithful fans that still decide to watch this team. One area of the ball club that has been abysmal this season along with the previous years has been the bench.

The collective group of John Mayberry, Tony Gwynn, Cesar Hernandez, Wil Nieves and Reid Brignac is a group of mostly below replacement level players that don’t provide value offensively or even defensively. Nieves is the lone exception and works well with the pitching staff.

Offensively, the Phillies rank 24th in major league baseball, with a .245 on base percentage this season when pinch-hitting. They have a collective .542 OPS, 19th in the league. Their bench options lack positional flexibility and they struggle to get on base. Regardless of how the manager plays the matchups beyond John Mayberry against left handed pitchers, there are no strong options that will yield a positive outcome.

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GCL Phillies Roster Released

Today at 12:00pm Eastern, the GCL season begins.  It marks the start of summer and of hope eternal.  So with not much time to spare, lets jump into the roster. Pitchers: Francibel Alejo, Lewis Alezones, Austin Davis, Jacques Degruy, Seranthony Dominguez, Jared Fisher, Scott Harris, Matt Hockenberry, Matt Imhof, Denton Keys, Franklin Kilmone, Brandon Leibrandt, … Read more

Phillies Call Up Aaron Altherr

I am sure everyone wishes that Aaron Altherr would make his major league debut under happier circumstances. Howver, with the passing of Tony Gwynn, tyhe Phillies have placed Tony Gwynn Jr. on the bereavment list. Altherr has the distinction of being the only healhthy coutfielder on the roste, Kelly Dugan and Zach Collier are still on the DL and Tyson Gillies was removed from the 40 man roster recently. The other two names were Leandro Castro and Cameron Perkins, neither his on the 40 man rster and neither cshould be a primary centerfielder.

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