1992 Fleer Update #U-109 |
The Phillies' off-season news so far has centered around whether or not the team would be willing to re-sign right fielder Jayson Werth. There have been a few minor league signings, reliever Jose Contreras was re-signed and Juan Samuel was named the team's new third base coach. Other than that, it's been fairly quiet so far. Barring some out of nowhere blockbuster trade, I expect the Phillies to continue to tinker with their roster, but I don't expect anything major.
As we now know, the signing was a bust and Bonilla never recaptured the success he had with the Pirates' teams of the late '80s and early '90s. This article recounts how Bonilla actually wore earplugs to the plate in late May 1992, in order to drown out the ubiquitous boo's that greeted him inside Shea Stadium. Bonilla was traded to the Orioles part-way through the 1995 season, and he bounced around with the Marlins, Dodgers, back to the Mets, Braves and Cardinals before calling it a career following the 2001 season.
In retrospect, not signing Bonilla was one of the best moves the Phillies made in the early '90s. With Bonilla officially a Met, the Phillies turned their attention to other free agents, eventually signing Mariano Duncan and re-signing Wild Thing. They freed up enough money to cobble together several role players without homes following the '92 season, and an unexpected trip to the play-offs resulted in 1993.
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