Phils Acquire Buchholz from Red Sox

2017 Chachi New Additions #6

2016 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #25

In a somewhat surprising move, the Phillies yesterday acquired veteran right-handed pitcher Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for infield prospect Josh Tobias.  Buchholz is a two-time A.L. All-Star and has played 10 seasons in Boston.  In 2016, he appeared in 37 games (21 starts) putting together an 8-10 record and a 4.78 ERA.  Buchholz's salary is $13.5 million for this coming year, and he'll become a free agent following the season.

For the Red Sox, the dealing of Buchholz gives them some payroll flexibility and opens up a back of the rotation spot for a younger arm.  For the Phillies, this would seem to give the team a logjam of starting pitching with Buchholz expected to fall in somewhere between Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola or Jared Eickhoff.  Vince Velasquez would seem to have the best shot at the final rotation spot, with Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin, Alec Asher and Adam Morgan all expected to be in the mix as well. If the wheels come off the Phillies' season early, Buchholz could find himself dealt to a contender in July.

Buchholz appeared in the Topps flagship and Topps Heritage sets last year.  To make room for the new pitcher on the roster, Richie Shaffer, with the organization for less than a week, was designated for assignment.

I'd sad to see Tobias go.  We saw him play this summer at Lakewood, and he was one of the few players who took the time to sign a number of autographs for the younger fans - my two sons included.  I have two Tobias cards in my collection, both from minor league team sets.

* * *

2017 Chachi Departures #9

2017 Chachi Departures #10

In other news, it was reported yesterday that both David Buchanan and Phil Klein will be playing in Japan next season.  Buchanan signed with the Yakult Swallows while Klein signed with the Yokohama BayStars.

David Buchanan Chachi Checklist
2014 Chachi #44
2015 Chachi #16
2016 Chachi Almost #15
2017 Chachi Departures #9

Phil Klein Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #52
2016 Chachi Fan Appreciation Day #8
2017 Chachi Departures #10

Moving On - 2016-2017 Offseason

• Cedric Hunter - of (10/3/16) - Elected free agency.
• James Russell - lhp (10/3/16) - Elected free agency.
• Emmanuel Burriss - inf (10/7/16) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Washington Nationals, 12/13/16.
• Frank Herrmann - rhp (10/7/16) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Jimmy Paredes - of (10/7/16) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Patrick Schuster - lhp (10/7/16) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11/5/16.
• Ryan Howard - 1b (11/3/16) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Charlie Morton - rhp (11/3/16) - Team option declined, elected free agency and signed with the Houston Astros, 11/16/16.
• Peter Bourjos - of (11/3/16) - Elected free agency.
• A.J. Ellis - c (11/3/16) - Elected free agency and signed with the Miami Marlins, 12/12/16.
• David Hernandez - rhp (11/3/16) - Elected free agency.
• Darin Ruf - 1b-of and Darnell Sweeney - inf-of (11/11/16) - Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Howie Kendrick.
• Elvis Araujo - rhp (11/18/16) - Claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins.
• David Buchanan - rhp (11/23/16) - Released and signed with the Yakult Swallows (Japan), 12/20/16.
• Cody Asche - of (12/2/16) - Designated for assignment and non-tendered.
• Phil Klein - rhp (12/14/16) - Released and signed with the Yokohama BayStars (Japan), 12/20/16.

Coming Back

• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/3/16) - Elected free agency, accepted team's qualifying offer, 11/14/16.
• Andres Blanco - inf (12/14/16) - Resigned by the Phillies to a one-year contract.

New Additions - 2016-2017 Offseason

• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/16) - Acquired from the Houston Astros for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
• Howie Kendrick - lf (11/11/16) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney.
• Joaquin Benoit - rhp (12/6/16) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Clay Buchholz - rhp (12/20/16) - Acquired from the Boston Red Sox for Josh Tobias.

Already Gone - 2016-2017 Offseason

• David Rollins - lhp (12/2/16) - Claimed off waivers from the Texas Rangers.  Designated for assignment, 12/14/16.
• Richie Shaffer - 3b (12/14/16) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.  Designated for assignment, 12/20/16.

Farewell Ryan Howard, So Long 2016 Phillies, Bring on 2017! #ChachiNow

2016 Chachi #64

Phillies 5, Mets 2
Game 162 - Sunday Afternoon, October 2nd in Philadelphia
Record - 71-91, 4th place, 24 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies won their season finale and bid an emotional farewell to Ryan Howard, the last man standing from their glory years.

What It Means:  I attended 16 Phillies games this season and finished the year with an impressive 8-8 record.  I'll take that . . . but I'd like to have a personal winning record next season.

What Happened:  Jared Eickhoff finished off his impressive season with six innings of one-run ball against the Mets.  Colton Murray earned his first career win and Hector Neris closed out the game for his second save.  Maikel Franco had a four-hit game, Aaron Altherr reached base three times and Cesar Hernandez had two hits to pad his team leading .294 average.

2016 Chachi Fan Appreciation Day #1

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #2

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #3

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #4

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #5

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #6

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #7

2016 Chachi Fan  Appreciation Day #8

Featured Cards/Field Report:  As has become tradition, we wanted to be there for the final game and I was very happy to have Jenna and our youngest son Ben along with Doug and me this year.  We parked our car and as we were walking to the ballpark several hours before gametime, I noticed that Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn (I thought) was walking in front of us.  I sent Doug as an advanced scout to check him out and Doug confirmed my initial suspicion.  Quinn was kind enough to pose with our kids right there on the sidewalk and provide a few autographs.

Inside the ballpark, Doug and I stationed ourselves at the first base entrance, confident that Phillies players would once again appear to welcome fans to the final game.  Jenna and Ben opted for one last climb within the Phillies Phun Zone.  We were rewarded for our patience when Luis Garcia and Neris appeared and both signed Doug's photo cards.

We then made the mad dash around the ballpark, stopping at each entrance gate so that Doug could add to his autograph collection.  Strangely enough, the Phillies employees stationed with Jake Thompson and Patrick Schuster indicated that neither pitcher was signing autographs but they'd be happy to pose for pictures.  (Ben had caught up to us by the time we met Schuster.)

Doug also posed for photos and/or received autographs from Tyler Goeddel, Michael Mariot and Phil Klein.

We stood and cheered during the pregame and postgame ceremonies honoring Howard and during each of his four at-bats.  It was a very touching and classy presentation, which has become the 30-year norm for the Phillies organization.

It was sad saying goodbye to Howard and the era he represented.  It was tough leaving the ballpark knowing that a long, cold winter looms.  But I'm hopeful for the future and I'm excited for what comes next.

Howard's card in Ashburn Alley, one last time

Howard's first at-bat

Top of the 9th

The boys and me

Memory Lane - Game 162
This was the eighth season in a row that I've posted on the daily highs and lows of the Philadelphia Phillies, which far exceeds my consecutive year streak of maintaining an annual Phillies scrap book when I was younger.  I'm looking forward to this daily habit in 2017 and I sincerely appreciate everyone who stopped by to read and comment throughout the season.

October 4, 2009 - Catcher Paul Hoover singled in the winning run in the 10th in a 7-6 win over the Marlins.
October 3, 2010 - The Phillies lost 8-7 to the Braves in their final tune-up before facing the Reds in the N.L.D.S.
September 28, 2011 - The Phillies closed out the 2011 regular season with a 13-inning victory against the Braves, setting a franchise record with their 102nd regular season win.
October 3, 2012 - The Phillies closed out their 2012 season with a lethargic 5-1 loss to the N.L. East Champion Nationals.
September 29, 2013 - Zach Miner got the ball for the Phillies and lasted 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Braves.
September 28, 2014 - Cole Hamels pitched another fine game and suffered through another outing with minimal run support.
October 4, 2015 - Phillies avoid 100 losses and Ichiro makes his pitching debut in a 7-2 victory.
October 2, 2016 - Phillies bid an emotional farewell to franchise icon Ryan Howard.

Want to revisit every game of the 2016 season?  My handy game summary index can be found here.

2016 Chachi #52 Phil Klein

#43
Phil William Klein
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'7"  Weight:  255
Born:  April 30, 1989, Columbus, OH
Drafted:  Selected by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round of the June 2011 draft
Teams:  Texas Rangers 2014-2016; Phillies 2016
Acquired:  Claimed off waivers from the Texas Rangers, June 19, 2016

2015 Topps Update #US52

0 Klein Baseball Cards in My Collection per Zistle
First Card:  N/A
First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Latest Card:  N/A

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2015 Topps Update #US52

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #52

Card statistics through 8/6/16.

Franco's Walk-Off Single/Fielder's Choice Wins It

2015 Donruss Diamond Kings #199

2016 Topps Allen & Ginter #269

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #17

Phillies 5, Giants 4 (12)
Game 109 - Wednesday Night, August 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 50-59, 4th place, 14 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies mounted an improbable comeback against Johnny Cueto and the Giants, winning in the 12th inning on Maikel Franco's walk-off hit/fielder's choice.

What It Means:  There was a lot going on with this game.  On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that Aaron Nola would miss his scheduled start (and perhaps the remainder of the season) with right elbow issues.  Phil Klein was recalled from the IronPigs to make the emergency start.

What Happened:  Trailing 4-0 as a result of  five shaky innings from Klein, the Phillies battled back first with back-to-back home runs from Ryan Howard (15) and Cameron Rupp (12) in the seventh.  A two run single from Franco in the eighth tied it up and Franco eventually singled* to right to score Tommy Joseph with the winning run.

Led by Brett Oberholtzer, the bullpen was fantastic, holding the Giants scoreless through the final seven innings of the game.

*The official scorer changed his mind multiple times following this game, eventually ruling Franco's ball as a fielder's choice since Aaron Altherr, who was on first at the time, failed to touch second base during the post-game celebration.

Featured Cards:  Franco ended up being the star of this game, and this is his most recent mainstream baseball card from the recently released Allen & Ginter set.

I also wanted to show off a card for Klein, who could become this season's version of Adam Bernero. Klein's two readily available baseball cards (to date) can be found within the 2015 Topps Update set and within the 2015 Donruss Diamond Kings set.

Finally, Michael Mariot made his Phillies debut along with Klein (see below).  Mariot is that rare player with absolutely no mainstream baseball cards to his name.  To date, he's appeared only within Royals and now Phillies minor league team sets.

Transaction:  Nola's injury and a paternity list stay for Jeanmar Gomez led to a few roster moves before this game.  Nola was placed on the disabled list and Klein was recalled from Lehigh Valley for the emergency start.  Taking Gomez's spot on the roster was Mariot, who had pitched nicely in relief for the IronPigs this season.

Be sure to check out the 2016 Season Summary page with game results and links to game summary posts.