REALMUTO RETURNS

2020 Stadium Club #17

Sometimes Phillies news happens that's so big I completely overlook mentioning it on this blog.  Such is the case with the recent re-signing of All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto, officially announced this past Friday.  While I'm quick to post on seemingly random non-roster invitee announcements, I occasionally miss the bigger news as I assume everyone who has found their way here is already well aware of Realmuto's return.  Nevertheless, I'll make it official here!  Realmuto's five-year deal takes him through the 2025 season and will pay the fan favorite $115.5 million.  I'm suddenly excited for the 2021 season to begin.

I was also delaying this post in the hope that the Didi Gregorius signing would become official, but we're still waiting on all of the details to be settled there.

In ex-Phillies news, pitcher Cole Irvin was traded to the A's on January 30th to free up a 40-man roster spot, and outfielder Kyle Garlick and pitcher Victor Arano were both claimed off waivers by the Braves after being designated for assignment on January 18th.  Short-time Phillies reliever Deolis Guerra will join Irvin in Oakland as the right-hander was signed to a minor league contract on Tuesday.

2021 Chachi Depatures #16

2021 Chachi Departures #15

2021 Chachi Departures #17

2021 Chachi Departures #1

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Deolis Guerra - rhp (10/14/20) - Elected free agency, signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics (2/2/21).
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jake Arrieta - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jay Bruce - of (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Brandon Workman - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Heath Hembree - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Adam Morgan - lhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• David Phelps - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• David Robertson - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (12/10/20) - Selected by the Yankees in the minor league portion of the annual rule 5 draft.
• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/14/20) - Signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.
• Garrett Cleavinger - lhp (12/29/20) - Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Phillies receiving Jose Alvarado in exchange from the Tampa Bay Rays.
• Kyle Garlick - of (1/22/21) - Claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves.
• Victor Arano - rhp (1/22/21) - Claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves.
• Cole Irvin - lhp (1/30/21) - Traded to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations.

Coming Back - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Ronald Torreyes - inf (10/15/20) - Elected free agency, re-signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent (1/4/21).
• J.T. Realmuto - c (10/28/20) - Elected free agency, re-signed with the Phillies (1/29/21).

New Additions - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Johan Quezada - rhp (10/30/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
• Ian Hamilton - rhp (12/7/20) Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Kyle Holder - inf (12/10/20) - Selected from the Yankees in the annual rule 5 draft.
• Jose Alvarado - lhp (12/29/20) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays with the Dodgers receiving Garrett Cleavinger in exchange.
• Sam Coonrod - rhp (1/9/21) - Acquired from the San Francisco Giants for Carson Ragsdale.
• Archie Bradley - rhp (1/18/21) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cincinnati Reds.
• C.J. Chatham - inf (1/18/21) - Acquired from the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later.

Already Gone - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Kyle Holder - inf (1/30/21) - Traded to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations.

Look Away if You've Already Moved on from the 2020 Phillies

2020 Chachi Almost #13

2020 Chachi Almost #15

2020 Chachi Almost #20

2020 Chachi Almost #16

In an effort to put the 2020 Phillies season behind me as quickly as possible, I wanted to get this post out of the way.  Every year, I create my custom Chachi cards during the offseason and the early stages of spring training, which means I end up with several "Almost" cards of players who didn't get the call to the big club during the season.  Those cards are presented here.

Victor Arano, Seranthony Dominguez and David Robertson spent the season either injured, recovering from an injury or getting surgery to repair an injury.  Arano and Dominguez should return, while Robertson will not.  Despite the bullpen's woes, JD Hammer never got the call to join the team and Odubel Herrera remains exiled following his arrest for domestic violence last year.  Christian Bethancourt was a non-roster invitee to spring training and then disappeared, with no sign of any transaction (that I can find) to tell us where he ended up.  Finally, veterans Mikie Mahtook and Nick Martini were also non-roster invitees who later joined the taxi squad in Allentown as part of the team's 60-player pool.  Neither got the call to leave Lehigh Valley and travel to Philadelphia.

2020 Chachi Almost #18

2020 Chachi Almost #19

2020 Chachi Almost #14

2020 Chachi Almost #17

Also presented below is a final look at the team's 2019-2020 offseason moves and other player additions and deletions during the pandemic-shortened season.  For some reason, I failed to post my Departures cards of Fernando Salas and Mitch Walding when they originally left the team and solely for the sake of completeness, they're presented here.

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency, signed the San Francisco Giants (1/18/20).
• Fernando Salas - rhp (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Corey Dickerson - of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (1/7/20).
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals (2/12/20).
• Logan Morrison - 1b (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/9/20).
• Juan Nicasio - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers (1/22/20).
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (2/15/20).
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (1/16/20).
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (2/9/20).
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released, signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan) (11/2/19).
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency, signed with the Houston Astros (2/17/20).
• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jerad Eickhoff - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the San Diego Padres (12/27/19).
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/31/20).
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1/8/20).
• Mitch Walding - 3b (11/4/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays (2/2/20).
• Maikel Franco - 3b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Kansas City Royals (12/27/19).
• Cesar Hernandez - 2b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Cleveland Indians (12/29/19).

2020 Chachi Departures #2

2020 Chachi Departures #3

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/5/20).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/12/20).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/2/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
• Zack Wheeler - rhp (12/9/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (12/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (1/2/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Neil Walker - inf (1/22/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (1/31/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Deolis Guerra - rhp (2/5/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Kyle Garlick - of (2/15/20) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Gilbert.

Arrived During the 2020 Season

• David Hale (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the New York Yankees for Addison Russ (rhp).
• Brandon Workman (rhp) and Heath Hembree (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the Boston Red Sox with cash and a player to be named later for Nick Pivetta (rhp) and Connor Seabold (rhp).
• David Phelps (rhp) - 8/31/20, Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for three players to be named later.

Departed During the 2020 Season 

• Nick Williams (of) - 8/15/20, Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. 
• Edgar Garcia (rhp) - 8/18/20, Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
• Nick Pivetta (rhp) - 8/21/20, Traded to the Boston Red Sox with Connor Seabold (rhp) for Brandon Workman (rhp), Heath Hembree (rhp), a player to be named later and cash.
• Austin Davis (lhp) - 8/26/20, Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and  cash.
• Deivy Grullon (c) - 9/3/20, Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.
• Neil Walker (inf) - 9/15/20, Cleared waivers and elected free agency.

2019 Chachi #44 Yacksel Rios

#53
Yacksel Rios
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  204
Opening Day Age:  25
Born:  June 27, 1993, Caguas, PR
Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the June 2011 draft
Teams:  Phillies 2017-
Acquired:  Via draft
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2021, free agency eligible in 2025

2013 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26

2017 Chachi #55

2018 Topps Heritage #273

2018 Topps #551

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2013 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26
First Phillies Card:  2018 Topps Heritage #273 (with J.P. Crawford and Victor Arano)
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #53
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2018 Topps #551
Newest Card Added:  2019 Phillies Team Issue #53

2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #53

9 - Rios baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/30/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #55
2018 Chachi #29
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13 (with Odubel Herrera)
2019 Chachi #44

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

2019 Chachi #35 Austin Davis

#54
Austin Richard Davis
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  225
Opening Day Age:  26
Born:  February 3, 1993, Scottsdale, AZ
Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the June 2014 draft
Teams:  Phillies 2018-
Acquired:  Via draft
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2022, free agency eligible in 2025

2015 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #5

2018 Chachi #40

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2015 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #5
First Phillies Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 Update #54
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 Update #54
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
Newest Card Added:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 Update #54

2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 Update #54

7 - Davis baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/13/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2018 Chachi #40
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 (with Luis Garcia and Victor Arano)
2019 Chachi #35
2019 Chachi Photo Cards #54

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

2019 Chachi #30 Victor Arano

#64
Victor Teodoro Arano
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  February 7, 1995, Veracruz, Mexico
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, April 4, 2013
Teams:  Phillies 2017-
Acquired:  Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with Jesmuel Valentin for Roberto Hernandez, August 28, 2014
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2021, free agency eligible in 2024

2015 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #1

2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA

2017 Chachi #62

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2015 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #1
First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue #64
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2018 Topps #675
Newest Card Added:  2019 Phillies Team Issue #64

2018 Phillies Team Issue #64

19 - Arano baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/3/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #62
2018 Chachi #20
2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 (with Luis Garcia and Austin Davis)
2019 Chachi #30

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

Grapefruit Game 23 - 2019 Topps Heritage #168 Victor Arano

Astros 13, Phillies 5
Spring Training Game 23 - Saturday Afternoon, March 16th in Clearwater
Record - 11-9-3

One Sentence Summary:  Victor Arano and James Pazos were on the wrong end of a 9-run 5th inning from the Astros, and Houston cruised to a 13-5 victory.

What It Means:  Odubel Herrera made his spring debut, going 1 for 2 with a double as the team's DH.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 2 2/3 innings before giving way to the bullpen.  Arano didn't retire a batter, allowing 6 runs on 5 hits and a walk.  J.T. Realmuto hit his 3rd home run of the spring.

Featured Card:  Arano has had a rough spring, and his ERA is up to 51.00 after 5 appearances and 3 innings pitched.  This is his first solo Topps Heritage card, having appeared on a Rookie Stars card in the 2018 set with J.P. Crawford and Yacksel Rios.

Camp Head Count:  48.  For comparison purposes, on March 16th last season, the Phillies had 48 players on their active roster and were 8-13-1.

Highlights from the 2018 Phillies Phestival (Part 1) #StrikeOutALS

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #1

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #2

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #3

I still can't believe we had never attended this event until last year.  On Thursday afternoon, Jenna and our two sons attended the annual Phillies Phestival benefiting the ALS Association.  For those of you not familiar with this event, it's the Phillies' signature charity event featuring an afternoon of player autograph stations, a silent auction, mystery grab bags for sale featuring signed memorabilia and everything else Citizens Bank Park has to offer.  The Phillies raised over $725,000 during the afternoon, passing the $18 million mark in terms of money raised for the charity since 1984.

We have a close family friend currently battling ALS, and I've recently become more involved with the Association.  My employer was a table sponsor at the event, giving us the opportunity to arrive early and have our pictures taken with Cesar Hernandez and coach Jose David Flores.  As I did last year, I've made a set of special edition cards to commemorate our day, and I'll break the set into two separate posts.

Here are my best memories from the event:

• We hustled.  We learned from last year that you go as quickly as you can to each autograph station, saving the other fun stuff for last after the players stop signing.  There were 20 total autograph stations and we hit 14, breaking into groups of two about 45 minutes into the event.  Had we broken up earlier, we probably could have hit more but it was fun to stick together for the beginning.  For the record, we missed the tables of Nick Williams/Andrew Knapp, Scott Kingery/Dylan Cozens, Rhys Hoskins, Charlie Manuel, Gabe Kapler/coach Rob Thomson and Tommy Hunter/coach Rick Kranitz.  No offense to the last table mentioned, but my autograph-seeking son flat out opted to pass on their table.

•  As was the case last year, everyone was exceedingly pleasant.  I stood in line by myself for the 1993 Alumni table, adding autographs of Kevin Stocker, Tommy Greene, Larry Andersen, John Kruk, Larry Bowa and Mickey Morandini.  Somewhat predictably, that bunch spent the time I was in line cracking jokes and discussing their plans for the evening.

• Thanks to fellow collectors Steve F. and Rick for the texts with table updates and leads on potential new photo cards.  The only new photo cards seemingly available from the event is a new card of J.P. Crawford in the style of the 2017 team-issued update set and a new Phillies Alumni photo card for former manager Charlie Manuel.  I've updated the 2017 Phillies Team Issue Update post here, and I'll have a comprehensive post on the Alumni Cards out soon.

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #5

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #7

2018 Chachi Phillies Phestival #8

• Relatively new additions Austin Davis, Mitch Walding and Dylan Cozens had nothing available to sign.  My hope was that the Phillies would produce special photo cards for the trio but they were sitting at their stations with nothing but Sharpies in front of them.

• Our oldest son Doug was on a mission to get as many autographs as possible in the two-hour signing period and by his count, he came away with 35 different autographed cards!  Credit needs to go to our youngest son Ben who helped his older brother with his mission, at one point telling Victor Arano that his name was Doug so that Arano would personalize the autograph for his brother.  Ben does not show the same zeal for autograph collecting as his brother, but I was beyond proud of him for being helpful.

• Doug and I were the last two people in line to get Jake Arrieta's autograph.  He was actually unbuttoning his jersey as we walked in, getting ready to leave the room.  He saw Doug round the corner, put his jersey back on and posed for a picture with Doug.  Great memory.

• Our luck with the mystery grab bags wasn't great, but I'm fine with that as everything went towards a great cause.  We came away with autographed baseballs from Luis Garcia (x 2) and Adam Morgan and an autographed hat from Hector Neris, as well as 3 Mike Schmidt bobble heads and a mini Harry Kalas statue.

Phillies Phestival Memory Lane

2017 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Part 1 and Part 2

2018 Chachi #29 Yacksel Rios

#53
Yacksel Rios
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  204
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  June 27, 1993, Caguas, PR
Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 12th round of the June 2011 draft.
Teams:  Phillies 2017-
Acquired:  Via draft

2013 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26

2017 Chachi #55

2018 Topps Heritage #273

7 Rios Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2013 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #26
First Phillies Card:  2018 Topps Heritage #273 (with J.P. Crawford and Victor Arano)
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #53
Newest Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #53

2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #53

First Mention on The Phillies Room:  March 7, 2016 - The Phillies also added 13 more players to their roster, going so far as to add these players to their website's roster page along with numbers in the 80s and 90s.  Ken Roberts is the only player listed below to have previously played for the Phillies.  I guess these guys are non-non-roster players?  And how confusing is it that there are three different players walking around with #89?

#86 Nick Fanti - lhp
#88 Andrew Amaro - inf
#88 Andrew Pullin - of
#89 Yacksel Rios - rhp
#89 Joely Rodriguz - lhp
#89 Jesmuel Valentin - 2b
#90 Ken Roberts - lhp
#91 Brendon Hayden - inf
#92 Edgar Cabral - c
#92 Ryan O'Sullivan - rhp
#92 Tom Windle - lhp
#95 Tommy Joseph - 1b
#95 Ben Lively - rhp

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #55
2018 Chachi #29

Card statistics through 6/8/18.

2018 Chachi #20 Victor Arano

#64
Victor Teodoro Arano
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220
Opening Day Age:  23
Born:  February 7, 1995, Veracruz, Mexico
Signed:  Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent, April 4, 2013
Teams:  Phillies 2017-
Acquired:  Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers with Jesmuel Valentin for Roberto Hernandez, August 28, 2014

2015 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #1

2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA

2017 Chachi #62

12 Arano Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2015 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #1
First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue #64
Newest Card:  2018 Phillies Team Issue 2 #64

2018 Phillies Team Issue #64

First (Indirect) Mention on The Phillies Room:  August 8, 2014 - Transaction:  Early yesterday afternoon, the Phillies finally announced their first semi-major deal of the season, sending starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez to the Dodgers for two players to be named later or cash.  Hernandez is currently tied for the team lead in wins with six.  Unless he appears as a Phillie in the Topps Update set, Hernandez's sole Phillies card will be his oversized card in the team issued set.

First (Actual) Mention on The Phillies Room:  October 9, 2014 - Final Look at 2013-2014 Phillies Transactions . . .

Departed During the Season

Jayson Nix (5/12/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.  (Signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization.)

Ronny Cedeno (6/29/14) - Traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for catcher Raywilly Gomez.

Steve Susdorf (7/10/14) - Released by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Roberto Hernandez (8/7/14) - Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later or cash.  (Phillies would later receive Jesmuel Valentin and Victor Arano.)
John Mayberry, Jr. (8/31/14) - Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Gustavo Pierre

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #62
2018 Chachi #20

Card statistics through 5/28/18.