Friday, December 9, 2016

Four Players Depart the Phillies Organization

2017 Chachi Almost #1
 
2017 Chachi Almost #2
 
2017 Chachi Departures #7
 
2016 Choice Reading Fightin
Phils Holiday #20
A few recent Phillies-related moves give me an excuse to feature a few new baseball cards.

Both Matt Harrison and Jimmy Cordero recently departed the organization without ever having played a game for the Phillies.  Harrison (who came over in a salary maneuvering move in the Cole Hamels deal with the Rangers) was released from the 40-man roster last month to free up some much-needed room.  Harrison will earn $15 million in 2017 in the final year of his contract and the Phils will recoup some of this via insurance relief.

Cordero was also the victim of the roster squeeze, getting dealt to the Nationals for a player to be named later.  He was originally acquired as part of the Ben Revere trade with the Blue Jays in 2015.

Catcher A.J. Ellis signed a one-year deal with the Marlins, meaning Andrew Knapp will most likely enter the 2017 season as the back-up catcher for the Phillies.  Ellis came over from the Dodgers in August for Carlos Ruiz.

A.J. Ellis Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #59
2017 Chachi Departures #7

Finally, the Phillies lost minor league pitcher Hoby Milner to the Indians in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday morning. Milner has been with the organization since 2012 and he split last season between Double-A and Triple-A.  His likely final Phillies-related baseball card was released a few weeks ago in the Reading Fightin Phils Holiday set.  For the second year in a row, the minor league team has released a holiday-themed set complete with some players in their Christmas in July uniforms and "snow" falling on the fronts of the cards.

1 comment:

Jim from Downingtown said...

Hmm... I wonder why the insurance company would pay up if it was the Phillies' choice to release him?