Phillies Minor League Free Agents & Chachi Almost Cards

2017 Chachi Almost #18

2017 Chachi Almost #20

2017 Topps Update #US171

On Tuesday, Baseball America published a list of 572 new minor league free agents and the list included 16 players from the Phillies organization.  Players in red below saw time with the Phillies over the past few seasons.

RHP:  Michael Mariot, Colton Murray, Miguel Nunez, Jesen Therrien
LHP:  Cesar Ramos
RHP/LHP:  Pat Venditte
C:  Wilson Garcia, Chace Numata, Nick Rickles
1B:  Jake Fox, Brock Stassi
2B:  Angelo Mora
3B:  Harold Martinez
SS:  Hector Gomez
OF:  Christian Marrero, Herlis Rodriguez

Both Mariot and Murray spent time in the Phillies bullpen during the 2016 season, but neither got the call all season long in 2017.  Stassi provided a feel-good story coming out of spring training, as the 27-year-old rookie made the Phillies' opening day roster.  In 51 games, he hit .167 with a pair of home runs and he earned baseball cards in the Topps Heritage High Numbers and Topps Update sets for his efforts.

Moving On - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Henderson Alvarez - rhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ty Kelly - 2b-of (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Kevin Siegrist - lhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (10/13/17) - Elected free agency.
• Andres Blanco - inf (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Clay Buchholz - rhp (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Hyun Soo Kim - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Daniel Nava - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Pedro Florimon - inf-of (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Jesen Therrien - rhp (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.
• Colton Murray - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.
• Brock Stassi - 1b (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.

2017 Chachi Almost #16

2017 Chachi Almost #21

2017 Chachi Almost #24

I also wanted to clear out my draft folder of a bunch of Chachi Almost cards.  I make cards during spring training of every player on the 40-man roster as well as each non-roster invitee if a good photo becomes available.  These cards wait patiently all season to perhaps become official Chachi cards, but if the player doesn't get the call the cards join the Chachi Almost insert set.  Mark Appel, Dylan Cozens, Elniery Garcia, Scott Kingery, Logan Moore, Shane Pullin, Roman Quinn and Alberto Tirado should all be in the mix when the Phillies head to Clearwater in February.

Hector Gomez, Mariot, Murray, Chace Numata and Cesar Ramos will be moving on.

2017 Chachi Almost #13

2017 Chachi Almost #14

2017 Chachi Almost #15

2017 Chachi Almost #17

2017 Chachi Almost #19

2017 Chachi Almost #22

2017 Chachi Almost #23

2017 Chachi Almost #25

2012 Topps #534 Hector Gomez

Phillies 8, Tigers 5
Spring Training Game 10 - Sunday Afternoon, March 5th in Clearwater

Orioles 3, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 11 - Sunday Afternoon, March 5th in Sarasota
Record - 5-4-2

One Sentence Summary:  Split squad teams won against the Tigers in Clearwater and lost against the Orioles in Sarasota.

What It Means:  Spring training puttered along for the Phillies, as I actually enjoyed watching part of the Tigers game on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

What Happened:  In that Tigers game, Michael Saunders (1) and Rhys Hoskins (2) hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth.  Trailing 5-3 in the sixth, Freddy Galvis tied up the game with a two-run double.  Nick Williams delivered the winning RBI-single in the seventh, and Hector Gomez added a two-run double for some insurance.

In the Orioles game, Nick Pivetta threw three shutout innings, striking out three.  Cameron Rupp hit his first home run of the spring.

Featured Card:  Brock Stassi leads the team this spring with seven hits.  Tied for second with six hits a piece is the unlikely trio of Scott Kingery, Daniel Nava and Gomez.  I'd have to imagine that if Gomez and Nava don't make the team out of spring training, they'll both eventually get the call from the IronPigs at some point in 2017.  Gomez's first big league experience came in 2011 when he appeared in two games for the Rockies, earning this card in 2012 Topps.

Camp Head Count:  62

Non-Roster Invitees! NON-ROSTER INVITEES!!

2014 Topps #68

2014 Topps #568

2016 Topps Now #293

2015 Topps Update #US229

I get irrationally excited every offseason at the first announcement of the Phillies non-roster invitees to spring training.  First, let's take a look back at last year's non-roster invitee list, and I've put a ** next to each player who actually spent time with the Phillies in 2016.

Player (position) - 2015 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
**1.  James Russell (lhp) - Cubs - 2015 Topps #255 (Braves)
**2.  Emmanuel Burriss (inf) - Nationals - 2010 Topps Update #US-82 (Giants)
3.  Ryan Jackson (inf) - Royals/Angels - 2013 Panini Prizm #238 (Cardinals)
**4.  Frank Herrmann (rhp) - Angels/Pirates - 2010 Topps Update #US-89 (Indians)
5.  Chris Leroux (rhp) - Brewers/Phillies - 2013 Panini Select #205 (Pirates)
6.  Reinier Roibal (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
7.  J.P. Arencibia (c) - Orioles/Rays - 2014 Topps #627 (Rangers)
8.  Greg Burke (rhp) - Blue Jays - 2009 Bowman Chrome #103 (Padres)
9.  Ernesto Frieri (rhp) - Rays - 2014 Topps #240 (Angels)
10.  Gregory Infante (rhp) - Blue Jays - 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter #84 (White Sox)
11.  Angelys Nina (inf) - Rockies - 2012 Bowman Prospects #BP45 (Rockies)
**12.  Andrew Bailey (rhp) - Yankees - 2013 Topps Heritage #344 (Red Sox)
13.  Edward Mujica (rhp) - Red Sox/Athletics - 2015 Topps #131 (Red Sox)
**14.  Cedric Hunter (of) - Braves - 2011 Topps #554 (Padres)
15.  Mark Appel (rhp) - Astros - 2015 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues #219 (Astros)
16.  J.P. Crawford (ss) - Phillies - 2015 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues #208 (Phillies)
**17.  Zach Eflin (rhp) - Phillies - 2014 Topps Pro Debut #184 (Padres)
18.  Andrew Knapp (c) - Phillies - 2014 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues #146 (Phillies)
19.  Gabriel Lino (c) - Phillies - 2012 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP199 (Phillies)
20.  Logan Moore (c) - Phillies - 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome Prospects #BDPP44 (Phillies)
21.  Brock Stassi (1b) - Phillies - N/A
**22.  Jake Thompson (rhp) - Rangers/Phillies - 2015 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues #129 (Rangers)
23.  Nick Williams (of) - Rangers/Phillies - 2015 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues #175 (Rangers)
**24.  David Lough (of) - Orioles - 2015 Topps #290 (Orioles)
25.  Yoervis Medina (rhp) - Mariners/Cubs - 2014 Topps Update #US265 (Mariners)

8 of the 25 non-roster invitees from last year saw some playing time with the Phillies last season. None of these guys were difference-makers, but it bodes well for the incoming crop of non-roster invitees that they have a fairly solid chance of getting Major League playing time in 2017.

Here are the first four of what will probably be a few dozen non-roster invitees to Clearwater beginning in February.

Player (position) - 2016 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  Sean Burnett (lhp) - Nationals/Dodgers/Braves/Twins/Nationals - 2014 Topps #68 (Angels)
2.  Pedro Florimon (inf) - Pirates - 2014 Topps #568 (Twins)
3.  Hector Gomez (inf) - Korea - 2015 Topps Update #US229 (Brewers)
4.  Daniel Nava (of) - Angels/Royals - 2016 Topps Now #293 (Angels)

One step closer to spring training!