Game 6 - Phils Can't Overcome Reds, Rain in Latest Loss

2020 Topps Chrome Update
Autographs #USA-NM

Reds 4, Phillies 1
Game 6 - Wednesday Night, April 3rd in Philadelphia
Record - 2-4, 3rd Place, 1 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Zack Wheeler pitched well, but once again a lack of offense and shaky defense sunk the Phils in this rainy 4-1 loss to the Reds.

What It Means:  Originally scheduled for 1:05 on Wednesday afternoon, this game was moved to 4:05 on account of the rain in the forecast, and then delayed almost four hours before the first pitch was thrown around 8pm.  The Phillies' offense looked as if they couldn't get it going after the lengthy wait to play.

What Happened:  From the Phillies standpoint, not a whole lot.  The Phillies pushed across a run when Kyle Schwarber lined a home run into the right field bleachers in the sixth inning.  Other than that, the offense had five singles and went 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position.  Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos went a combined 0 for 6, dropping their averages to .217 and .150 respectively.  Wheeler allowed three runs, but only one earned, while striking out 10.  Bryson Stott had a rare error in the third inning, leading to the two unearned runs.

Featured Card:  Reds' DH Nick Martini went 1 for 4 in this game, and he's coming back down to earth after hitting two opening day home runs.  Martini spent all of 2020 in the Phillies' system as part of the pandemic-era taxi squad hanging out in Lehigh Valley.  He never appeared in a game, but that didn't stop Topps from giving him a Phillies card in the 2020 Topps Chrome Update set.

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

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.

Outfield Shuffle: Herrera DFA'd; Martini Claimed

2020 Chachi New Additions #9

On Tuesday afternoon, the Phillies began the official process of moving on from the Odubel Herrera era by designating the outfielder for assignment.  He has two years remaining on his contract and he's owed $19.5 million by the Phillies, but there was little to no chance Herrera would return to the Phillies after serving an 85-game suspension for his arrest on domestic violence charges.  At one time one of the most popular players and a fan favorite, Herrera's off field problems ultimately led to his departure but he had been struggling on the field as well.  An All-Star in 2016, Herrera hit just .222 in 2019 and had been maddeningly inconsistent at the plate for the past few seasons.  The Phillies now have a week to trade, release or reassign him to minor league camp, so there's a possibility he's in Clearwater with the club in the spring.  But if that's the case he'd clearly be on the outside looking in.

Herrera's DFA was necessitated by the claiming of outfielder Nick Martini off waivers from the Reds.  The Reds had previously claimed him off waivers from the Padres in November, and the Padres had done the same in August from the Athletics.  In 32 games with the A's and Padres last season, Martini hit .226.  Martini's first baseball cards can be found in the 2011 Bowman Draft set and last season he appeared in a bunch of sets including Topps, Topps Heritage and Topps Big League.

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• 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).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• 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.
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released.
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• 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.
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• 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).

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Robert Stock - rhp (10/30/19) - Claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres.
• Cristopher Sanchez - lhp (11/20/19) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for Curtis Mead.
• 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.
• Nick Martini - of (1/14/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.