Spring Training Game 17 - Sunday Night, March 11th in Sarasota
Record - 6-11
One Sentence Summary: The offense produced only four hits in this 4-0 loss to the Orioles.
What It Means: This game doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I tuned in to the radio broadcast nevertheless solely due to the buzz generated by the Jake Arrieta news. As reported via multiple outlets yesterday afternoon, the Phillies and Arrieta have agreed to a three-year contract pending a physical. There are reportedly a lot of moving pieces with the contract, and there could be an extension included that would keep him in red pinstripes through the 2022 season.
I have yet to process exactly what this means for the Phillies, but I do know that they just got a whole lot better. Arrieta was the 2015 N.L. Cy Young Award winner and he's won a World Series ring with the 2016 Cubs. It also has to put the Phillies in the discussion as a contending team in the N.L. East.
What Happened: In the game, Nick Pivetta gave up three runs in his 4 2/3 innings of work. Pedro Florimon had two of the four hits, including a double.
Featured Card: I dug out this card from my pile of 2018 Topps Heritage cards once the Arrieta news broke, and I'm happy to give it a home in my 2018 Phillies binder. Arrieta has been wearing #49 with the Cubs, and my assumption is that he'll need to trade something of value to its current owner (Ben Lively) in order to wear that number with the Phillies. Lively could also be the odd man out in the starting pitching rotation, as the Phillies could start the season with Aaron Nola, Arrieta, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Pivetta as their starting five.
Camp Head Count: 49 . . . A roster move will need to be made once Arrieta's signing becomes official.
2 comments:
Sad to see him officially go... take care of him, Phillie faithful!
Will do!
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