Updated Roster Moves - Kelly, Blanco & Nava Find New Homes

2018 Chachi Departures #6

2018 Chachi Departures #7

2018 Chachi Departures #8

Three more members of the 2017 Phillies squad found new homes in recent weeks, and I wanted to update my offseason player tracker below before pitchers and catchers officially report to Clearwater on Wednesday.

Andres Blanco had been in the Phillies system since 2012.  A team leader in the clubhouse, Blanco played in 301 games for the Phils, appearing at every position except catcher, center field and right field.  He batted .257 and was one of the more reliable pinch-hitters over the past few seasons.  Appearing mainly in the team-issued sets, Blanco did receive Phillies baseball cards in a few Topps sets between 2015 and 2017.  Blanco signed a minor league deal with the Giants.

Ty Kelly became a quick Phillies Room favorite for his incredibly clutch hitting and for never failing to sign a pre-game autograph for my oldest son Doug.  In 69 games for the Phils, Kelly hit .193 and his Phillies cardboard legacy is limited to a card within the Topps Now set and the late season, team-issued photo card set.  Kelly is returning to the Mets as a non-roster invitee.

Finally, outfielder Daniel Nava signed a minor league deal with the Pirates.  Nava was limited to just 80 games with the Phillies last season due to lingering back issues.  His sole mainstream Phillies baseball card can be found within the 2017 Topps Heritage High Numbers set.

By my unofficial tally below, the only recent ex-Phillies still looking for new teams are Henderson Alvarez, Kevin Siegrist and Clay Buchholz.

2017 Phillies Team Issue
Update #15

Ty Kelly Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #39
2017 Chachi In Action #1
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6 and Signature Edition
2017 Chachi Archives #8
2018 Chachi Departures #6

Andres Blanco Complete Chachi Checklist
2014 Chachi #56
2015 Chachi #11
2016 Chachi #12
2016 Chachi Archives #2
2016 Chachi Photo Day #36
2017 Chachi #11
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19 (with Jerad Eickhoff)
2017 Chachi Photo Night #15
2018 Chachi Departures #7

Daniel Nava Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #14
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21
2017 Chachi Photo Night #18
2018 Chachi Departures #8

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, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the New York Mets, 1/22/18.
• Kevin Siegrist - lhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Andres Blanco - inf (11/2/17) - Elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the San Francisco Giants, 1/30/18.
• Clay Buchholz - rhp (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Hyun Soo Kim - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency, signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization, 12/18/17.
• Daniel Nava - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2/6/18.
• Jesen Therrien - rhp (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11/29/17.
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the San Diego Padres, 11/29/17.
• Colton Murray - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays, 12/14/17.
• Brock Stassi - 1b (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Minnesota Twins, 12/7/17.
• Cameron Perkins - of (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.
• Freddy Galvis - ss (12/15/17) - Traded to the San Diego Padres for Enyel De Los Santos.

Coming Back - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Pedro Florimon - inf-of (11/13/17) - Signed to a minor league contract.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (12/22/17) - Signed to a minor league contract.

New Additions - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (11/20/17) - Claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (12/15/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Colorado Rockies.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (12/15/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Tampa Bay Rays.
• Carlos Santana - 1b (12/20/17) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians.

Already Gone - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Phils Take Series; Photo Night Highlights! (Part Two)

2017 Chachi Photo Night #8

2017 Chachi Photo Night #32

Phillies 6, Brewers 3
Game 96 - Sunday Afternoon, July 22nd in Philadelphia
Record - 34-62, 5th place

One Sentence Summary:  Jerad Eickhoff pitched six solid inning and Nick Williams started the scoring with a two-run home run in the fourth as the Phillies defeated the Brewers, 6-3.

What It Means:  The Phillies have won back-to-back series for the first time since April.  The first place Astros roll into town to begin a three-game series on Monday night.

What Happened:  Along with allowing only two runs on three hits over six innings, Eickhoff also contributed two hits and scored a run.  Luis Garcia pitched a perfect ninth to record his first save of the season.  Howie Kendrick had a clutch two-run single in the fifth.

Featured Cards:  Here's the next gallery of extremely limited edition Chachi insert cards from Saturday's Photo Night.  Eickhoff and Williams highlight the post given their efforts in this win.

2017 Chachi Photo Night #12

2017 Chachi Photo Night #13

2017 Chachi Photo Night #14

2017 Chachi Photo Night #15

2017 Chachi Photo Night #16

2017 Chachi Photo Night #17

2017 Chachi Photo Night #18

2017 Chachi Photo Night #19

2017 Chachi Photo Night #20

2017 Chachi Photo Night #21

2017 Phillies Team Issue #25 Daniel Nava

Pirates 5, Phillies 2
Game 83 - Wednesday Night, July 5th in Philadelphia
Record - 28-55, 5th place, 21 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Overdue and Unnecessary Post-Vacation Catch-Up, Part 9

One Sentence Summary:  Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings and added a two-run single as the Phils fell easily to the Pirates, 5-2.

What It Means:  We traveled home on this day, ending what had been an amazing, fun and unforgettable trip to Walt Disney World and aboard the Disney Dream.  Already counting the days to next year's vacation . . .

What Happened:  Maikel Franco hit a two-run home run in the first inning (12) and then the offense took the rest of the day off.  Ben Lively was pulled after four innings and 84 pitches having allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits.  The unearned runs were due to Lively's own throwing error.

Featured Card:  Daniel Nava has been a pleasant surprise this season, and as one of the team's top hitters he's found himself in the lead-off spot in the batting order recently.  He had three hits in this game to raise his average to .313, and he's a leading candidate to be playing elsewhere for a contending team in the coming weeks.  Nava's sole Phillies baseball card to date can be found in the team-issued photo card set.

2017 Chachi #14 Daniel Nava

#25
Daniel James Nava
Outfield

Bats:  Switch  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  200
Born:  February 22, 1983, Redwood City, CA
Home:  Phoenix, AZ
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent, January 17, 2008
Teams:  Boston Red Sox 2010, 2012-2015; Tampa Bay Rays 2015; Los Angeles Angels 2016; Kansas City Royals 2016; Phillies 2017
Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Kansas City Royals, December 9, 2016

2010 Topps Update #US192

2017 Phillies Team Issue #25

1 Nava Baseball Card in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #25
First Phillies Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #25
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #25
Latest Card:  2017 Phillies Team Issue #25

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  2010 Topps Update #US192

Click to enlarge

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #14
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21

Card statistics through 5/13/17.

Highlights from the 2017 Phillies Phestival (Part 2) #StrikeOutALS

Here are the remaining 13 cards from the very limited edition Chachi set from Thursday's Phillies Phestival to benefit ALS reasearch.  Part 1 can be found here.

If you've never gone to this event before, try to make every effort to come out to it in 2018.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #11

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #12

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #13

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #16

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #17

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #18

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #19

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #21

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #22

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #14

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #15

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #20

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #23

2014 Topps Heritage #52 Daniel Nava

Phillies 6, Red Sox 5
Spring Training Game 17 - Sunday Afternoon, March 12th in Clearwater
Record - 8-7-2

One Sentence Summary:  In a game featuring the preview of the teams heading to the 2017 World Series, Tommy Joseph hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to score Dylan Cozens with the winning run.

What It Means:  I mean it's inevitable, right?

What Happened:  Daniel Nava had a four-hit day and Roman Quinn (1) hit a solo home run in the winning effort.  Aaron Nola allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings while striking out six.  He allowed a first inning, two-run home run to Pablo Sandoval.

Featured Cards:  Nava's big day came against his former team and improved his chances of earning one of the final bench spots available on the Phillies opening day roster.

2016 Topps Heritage #61

Camp Head Count:  62 + 1 - 4 = 59.  After this game, the Phillies announced they had acquired ambidextrous relief pitcher Pat Venditte from the Mariners for minor league outfielder Joey Curletta. Venditte is pitching for the Italian team in the World Baseball Classic, and he'll report to the Phillies as a non-roster invitee (their 23rd) after the WBC.  Last season in 15 games with the Blue Jays and Mariners, Venditte had a 5.73 ERA in 22 innings pitched.

Also yesterday, the Phillies announced their first roster cuts of the spring, reassigning infielders Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery, catcher Chace Numata and outfielder Andrew Pullin to minor league camp.

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)
5.  Bryan Holaday (c) - Tigers/Rangers/Red Sox - 2014 Topps Update #US117 (Tigers)
6.  Cesar Ramos (lhp) - Rangers/Tigers - 2015 Topps Update #US293 (Angels)
7.  Victor Arano (rhp) - Phillies - 2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA (Phillies)
8.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Orioles - 2011 Topps Chrome #199 (Mets)
9.  J.P. Crawford (inf) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman's Best Top Prospects #TP12 (Phillies)
10.  Taylor Featherston (inf) - Angels/Phillies - 2015 Topps Update #US148 (Angels)
11.  Dalier Hinojosa (rhp) - Phillies - 2015 Immaculate Collection #151 (Red Sox)
12.  Rhys Hoskins (1b) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD186 (Phillies)
13.  Scott Kingery (inf) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD128 (Phillies)
14.  Michael Mariot (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
15.  Logan Moore (c) - Phillies - 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome Prospects #BDPP44 (Phillies)
16.  Colton Murray (rhp) - Phillies - 2016 Topps #488 (Phillies)
17.  Chace Numata (c) - Phillies - N/A
18.  Cam Perkins (of) - Phillies - 2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP86 (Phillies)
19.  Andrew Pullin (of) - Phillies - 2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks #BDPP59 (Phillies)
20.  Brock Stassi (1b) - Phillies - N/A
21.  Ryan Hanigan (c) - Red Sox - 2016 Topps Heritage #694 (Red Sox)
22.  Chris Coghlan (of) - Cubs/Athletics/Cubs - 2016 Topps Update #US274 (Cubs)
23.  Pat Venditte (r/lhp) - Blue Jays/Mariners - 2016 Topps Now #408 (Mariners)

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!