Phils Complete First Deal of Dombrowski/Fuld Era

2020 Chachi #56

2021 Chachi New Additions #4

2021 Chachi Departures #14

2021 Chachi Departures #13

2021 Chachi Departures #12

On December 22nd, the Phillies named Sam Fuld their new general manager, and the 39-year-old will attempt to deliver what former GM Matt Klentak could not - a postseason appearance.  Fuld has been with the organization since November 2017, and his title heading into the 2020 season had been "Director, Integrative Baseball Performance."  With president of baseball operations' Dave Dombrowski's oversight, Fuld will be tasked with hopefully re-signing free agent catcher J.T. Realmuto and rebuilding a bullpen that was historically bad in 2020.

Fuld played between 2007 and 2015 with the Cubs, Rays, Athletics and Twins and had a lifetime .227 average over 598 games.  His rookie card can be found in the 2008 Topps set, and oddly enough his former role with the Phillies resulted in two photo cards in both team-issued sets in 2019.  As part of the remade front office, Jorge Velandia was promoted to assistant general manager and Terry Ryan was given the title assistant to the general manager.  Ryan has been with the organization since 2016 and had previously served for 19 years as the general manager of the Twins.

* * *

Related to this news, the Dombrowski/Fuld tandem executed their first trade on Tuesday afternoon, acquiring reliever Jose Alvarado from the Rays.  It was a three-team deal with the Phillies sending pitcher Garrett Cleavinger to the Dodgers and the Rays receiving Dillon Paulson and a player to be named later from the Dodgers.  In four seasons with the Rays, Alvarado was 2-15 with a 3.46 ERA over 132 2/3 innings.  He has 161 career strikeouts to just 71 walks, and he's a hard-throwing lefty who could immediately fill a hole at the back end of the Phillies bullpen.  Shoulder problems limited him to only 9 appearances in 2020 for the A.L. Champions.

His first Topps flagship card can be found in the 2017 Topps Update set and most recently he was in the 2020 Topps Total set.

Cleavinger departs having appeared in just one game for the Phillies, back on September 17th.  He pitched 2/3 of an inning and surrendered a two-run home run to Robinson Cano in one of the many Phillies bullpen meltdown sessions from 2020.

And speaking of bullpen meltdown sessions, two other former Phillies relievers recently found new homes.  Trevor Kelley (4 games, 10.80 ERA) signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on December 14th and Reggie McClain (5 games, 5.06 ERA) was claimed by the Yankees on December 10th in the minor league portion of the annual rule 5 draft.

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Deolis Guerra - rhp (10/14/20) - Elected free agency.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (10/15/20) - Elected free agency.
• 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.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (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 Chicao 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.

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.

* * *

And finally, barring a major trade over the next few days, that's going to do it for another year of blogging at The Phillies Room.  I thought it fitting that the last card posted for 2020 should be a checklist.  Thanks for following along and I'll see you next year!

2020 Chachi #57

2020 Chachi #49 Garrett Cleavinger

#66
Garrett J. Cleavinger
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  220
Opening Day Age:  26
Born:  April 23, 1994, Lawrence, KS
How Obtained:  Acquired with Hyun Soo Kim and international amateur signing bonus pool space for Jeremy Hellickson and cash considerations, July 29, 2017
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2020

First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2017 Grandstand Reading Fighin Phils Update #30
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils Update #37

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

4 - Nola baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 9/10/20.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2020 Chachi New Additions #2

2020 Chachi #49

Cleavinger was added to the roster on September 8th for the double header against the Red Sox, but didn't see any game action.

2020 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2020 Season Summary Index / 2020 Chachi Set Checklist

Grapefruit Game 19 - 2019 Topps Pro Debut #53 Spencer Howard

Phillies 5, Twins 1
Spring Training Game 19 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 10th in Clearwater
Record - 13-5-1

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler looked great and the offense kept plugging along in this 5-1 win over the Twins.

What It Means:  Bryce Harper exited the game in the first after being hit in the foot on a pitch from Twins starting pitcher Sean Poppen.  Harper would later say he was just fine.

What Happened:  Wheeler went four innings, allowing a run on four hits while striking out six.  Top pitching prospect Spencer Howard made his spring debut and pitched a scoreless inning of relief.  Didi Gregorius had an RBI-single in the first, snapping his 0 for 22 streak.  J.T. Realmuto would later add a two-run home run and Logan Forsythe hit a home run to left that might still be in the air.

Featured Card:  Howard will most likely open the season in the rotation for the Triple-A IronPigs, but I have to think we'll see him pitching in Philly at some point in 2020.

Camp Head Count:  61 - 3 = 58.  LHP Garrett Cleavinger and RHP Mauricio Llovera were optioned to Lehigh Valley while 1B Darrick Hall was reassigned to minor league camp.

2020 Chachi New Additions #2

2020 Chachi New Additions #3

Four Pitching Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils Update #37

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #13

2019 Bowman Prospects #BP-37

2018 Grandstand Princeton Rays #29

A sure sign we're getting closer to Thanksgiving is the addition of prospects to the Phillies' 40-man roster.  On Wednesday evening, four prospects were added and here's a quick summary of their 2019 season and their baseball card appearances to date.  The 40-man roster currently has 39 players on it.

Garrett Cleavinger (lhp) - Acquired from the Orioles in the Jeremy Hellickson trade, Cleavinger spent all last season in Reading appearing in 34 games in relief.  In 51 2/3 innings, he struck out 83 while walking 34 and had a 3.66 ERA.  Cleavinger has appeared in four Reading Fightin Phils team sets since 2017.

Mauricio Llovera (rhp) - Llovera also spent all of 2019 with Reading, appearing in 14 games and making 12 starts.  He could be a potential bullpen arm for the Phillies in 2020, and his make-up has already been compared to Ranger Suarez's.  He's had several appearances in Phillies minor league team sets dating back to 2017.

JoJo Romero (lhp) - The franchise's #10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Romero made 24 starts for the Fightin Phils and Triple-A IronPigs in 2019, going 7-9 with a 5.82 ERA.  I've somehow already accumulated 17 different cards for Romero between minor league team sets and Bowman issues.

Cristopher Sanchez (lhp) - Sanchez was acquired from the Rays on Wednesday for minor league infielder Curtis Mead.  He appeared in 24 games across three minor league teams for the Rays in 2019, going 4-1 with a 2.26 ERA.  It looks as if Sanchez's baseball card appearances to date have been limited to Rays minor league team sets.

It's always interesting to look back on the prospects added to the 40-man roster each November, and the listing below shows that most of these players eventually made it to the Majors.

Memory Lane

2009 Additions - Quintin Berry, Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus
2011 Additions - Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Tyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach Collier, Ethan Martin, Trevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron Altherr, Kelly Dugan, Tommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Nefi Ogando
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects
2017 Additions - Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ranger Suarez, Jose Taveras, Engelb Vielma
2018 Additions - Arquimedes Gamboa, Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina
2019 Additions - Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera, JoJo Romero and Cristopher Sanchez

Hellickson Traded to Orioles for Kim and Cleavinger

2016 Topps Now #468

After what seemed like dozens of "final starts with the Phillies" between last season and this season, Jeremy Hellickson was finally dealt.  A short while after announcing the Howie Kendrick deal with the Nationals, the Phillies confirmed late on Friday night they had traded Hellickson (and cash) to the Orioles for outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, left-handed pitcher Garrett Cleavinger and future international bonus money.

In 52 starts with the Phillies over the past two seasons, Hellickson went 18-15 with a 4.09 ERA and was most likely the team's most reliable starting pitcher during this basement dwelling era.  He was the Phillies opening day starter in 2016 and 2017.  By my tally, he's appeared on 13 different Phillies baseball cards, the most recent of which being his Topps Gypsy Queen card.  Perhaps his best start with the Phillies came on September 17th of last season when he pitched a complete game shutout against the Marlins and earned a Topps Now card for his performance.  Hellickson joins an Orioles team that's currently below .500 (48-54) and 6 1/2 games behind in the Wild Card standings.

2016 Topps Heritage #721

2017 Choice Bowie Baysox

Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim will join the Phillies active roster, taking the place of the departed Howie Kendrick.  Kim was hitting .232 this season with the Orioles in 56 games.  In 95 games last season, he hit .302 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs.  His most readily available baseball cards can be found in 2016 Topps Heritage, 2016 Topps Update and the 2017 Topps Orioles team set.  He's also appeared on a few relic cards within 2017 Donruss and he has a number of baseball cards in Korean sets between 2009 and 2015.

Pitcher Garrett Cleavinger is 2-4 with a 6.28 ERA this season with the Double-A Bowie Baysox.  His baseball cards can be found within recent Orioles' minor league team sets as well as within the 2015 Panini Contenders set.

Jeremy Hellickson Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #2
2016 Chachi #9
2016 Chachi #68 ERA Leaders - with Jerad Eickhoff
2016 Chachi #69 Pitching Leaders - with Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez
2016 Chachi #70 Strikeout Leaders - with Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez
2016 Chachi Photo Day #27
2017 Chachi #9
2017 Chachi Archives #17

Departed During the 2017 Season

• Tyler Goeddel - of (4/5/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.
• Dalier Hinojosa - rhp (5/16/17) - Released.
• Mario Hollands - lhp (5/23/17) - Released.
• Taylor Featherston - inf (6/9/17) - Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.
• Joely Rodriguez - lhp (6/13/17) - Traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash.
• Jeanmar Gomez - rhp (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, 7/15/17.
• Michael Saunders - of (6/20/17) - Designated for assignment, released on 6/25/17 and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, 6/28/17.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (7/26/17) - Traded to the Colorado Rockies for Jose Gomez, Alejandro Requena and J.D. Hammer.
• Howie Kendrick - lf-2b (7/28/17) - Traded with cash to the Washington Nationals for McKenzie Mills and future considerations.
• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (7/28/17) - Traded with cash to the Baltimore Orioles for Hyun Soo Kim, Garrett Cleavinger and future considerations.

Arrived During the 2017 Season

• Ty Kelly - inf (4/22/17) - Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash.
• Casey Fien - rhp (5/9/17) - Purchased from the Seattle Mariners.
• Hyun Soo Kim - of (7/28/17) - Acquired with Garrett Cleavinger and future considerations from the Baltimore Orioles for Jeremy Hellickson and cash.