The Phillies Room: Lantigua

Showing posts with label Lantigua. Show all posts

Saturday, February 21, 2026

2025 Chachi #57 Rafael Lantigua

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'8" Weight: 177
Opening Day 2025 Age: 26

Born: April 28, 1998, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Acquired: Signed as a free agent with the Phillies, December 28, 2024

Departed: Granted free agency, November 6, 2025

2025 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #8

The final card I need to post from the 2025 Chachi set is also the most bittersweet. Rafael Lantigua has played nine seasons in the minor league organizations of the Blue Jays and Phillies, and in 125 games with the IronPigs this past year he batted .230 with seven home runs and 56 RBIs. Lantigua had his contract purchased by the Phillies on September 16th, flying to Los Angeles to meet the team for the Dodgers' series, when Edmundo Sosa landed on the injured list with a mild right groin strain. Wearing #19, he sat on the bench through two late night games, and didn't appear in either game. On September 19th, before the start of a series against the Diamondbacks, Lantigua was optioned back down when Alec Bohm was activated. He'll not ever appear on any official Phillies alumni lists, but because he was on the active roster for a pair of games, he at least earned a Chachi card. Lantigua signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays in the offseason and will join their camp as a non-roster invitee.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: N/A
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Favorite 2025 Card: 2025 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #8
Total Cards in My Phillies Collection: 2 as of 1/31/26, 2 added in 2025

TCDB Stats: 10 total as of 1/31/26, my 2 cards overall are ranked 2nd, 1st is wyattketch88 with 4

Complete Chachi Checklist

2025 Chachi #57

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

2025 Chachi #56 Phils Clinch N.L. East HL /
2025 Chachi #58 Edmundo Sosa HL

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Game 155 - Phils Fall Short in Desert

Philadelphia Phillies 3

Arizona Diamondbacks 4

2025 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs (Series 2) #10
Saturday Night, September 20th

Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ
92-63, 1st Place, 12 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary: Aaron Nola's shaky season continued and the Phillies couldn't figure out Diamondbacks' pitcher Zac Gallen in this 4-3 defeat.

What It Means: For the record, I told my wife, "They should take Nola out here," following the fifth inning and before he gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

What Happened: The Phillies took a quick 1-0 lead in the first when Harrison Bader drew a lead-off walk and Kyle Schwarber doubled him home. Bryce Harper's groud out moved Schwarber to third, and he came home on J.T. Realmuto's sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Nola immediately gave back a run in the bottom of the first and the Diamondbacks tied it up in the bottom of the third on a Ketel Marte single. The Phillies would take a 3-2 lead in the fourth on Alec Bohm's solo home run, his 10th of the season. That was to be all the scoring the offense could muster, and the two runs charged to Nola in the sixth would be the difference in this game. Gallen pitched seven strong innings, earning the win.

Featured Card: I've got nothing. I'll use this space to pay tribute to Rafael Lantigua, a big-leaguer with the Phillies for two games in the Dodgers series, called up to replace an injured Edmundo Sosa and then sent back down when Alec Bohm was activated. Lantigua has played nine seasons in the minor leagues and I sincerely hope he gets another shot to actually make his major league debut. For the record, he wore #19 for his two games with the club.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Monday, February 17, 2025

Spring Training 2025: Non-Roster Invitees

2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils
(3rd Edition) #29

2022 Topps Heritage #656

2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils
(3rd Edition) #11

2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils
(3rd Edition) #33

2024 Choice Buffalo Bisons #8

In years' past, news of Phillies' non-roster invitees trickled in over the weeks and months leading to the opening of spring training. This year, the Phillies gave us one big press release on January 14th announcing 23 non-roster invitees, and they's added three more names to the list since then.

Here's a look at the 26 non-roster invitees opening camp with the Phillies, their 2024 organizations and one of the more recently available baseball cards.

Josh Breaux (c) - Yankees / Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #29
Payton Henry (c) - Blue Jays - 2024 Choice Buffalo Bisons #5
Paul McIntosh (c) - Marlins - 2024 Choice Pensacola Blue Wahoos #17
Caleb Ricketts (c) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #11
Rodolfo Castro (inf) - Phillies - 2023 Topps Heritage #453
Otto Kemp (inf) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #33
Rafael Lantigua (inf) - Blue Jays - 2024 Choice Buffalo Bisons #8
Aidan Miller (inf) - Phillies - 2024 Topps Pro Debut #PD-31
Carson Taylor (inf) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #7
Justin Crawford (of) - Phillies - 2024 Topps Pro Debut #PD-124
Gabriel Rincones Jr. (of) - Phillies - 2024 Topps Pro Debut #PD-54
Matt Kroon (util) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #14
Nabil Crismatt (rhp) - Dodgers / Rangers / Padres - 2023 Topps World Baseball Classic #17
Jose Cuas (rhp) - Cubs / Blue Jays / Phillies - 2024 Topps Heritage #151
Joel Kuhnel (rhp) - Astros / Blue Jays / Brewers / Rays - 2020 Topps Update #U-281
Griff McGarry (rhp) - Phillies - 2024 Topps Pro Debut #PD-16
John McMillon (rhp) - Royals / Marlins - 2024 Topps #571
Nicholas Padilla (rhp) - White Sox - 2024 Choice Charlotte Knights #16
Andrew Painter (rhp) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #37
Austin Schulfer (rhp) - Twins / Tigers - 2023 Choice St. Paul Saints SGA
Guillo Zuniga (rhp) - Angels - 2023 Topps Now World Baseball Classic #WBC-22
Tristan Garnett (lhp) - Phillies - 2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #20
Nick Vespi (lhp) - Orioles - 2024 Choice Norfolk Tides #39
Koyo Aoyagi (rhp) - Hanshin Tigers - 2024 Topps NPB #78
Christian Arroyo (inf) - Brewers - 2023 Topps #352
Oscar Mercado (of) - Padres / Tigers - 2024 Choice El Paso Chihuahuas #17

Aoyagi signed a minor league deal with the Phillies on January 17th, and he's a veteran of nine seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. Aoyagi was a an All-Star in Japan in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

On Valentine's Day, the Phillies officially signed Christian Arroyo (inf) and Oscar Mercado (of) to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. Arroyo has spent seven seasons in the majors as a back-up infielder with the Giants, Rays, Indians and Red Sox. Mercado, who played in one game for the Phillies in 2022, was most recently in the majors with the Cardinals in 2023.