Sunday, November 20, 2016

Phillies Overhaul 40-Man Roster

2016 Choice Lakewood
BlueClaws #1
2016 Topps Heritage
Minor League #64
2016 Choice Reading Fightin
Phils Playoff #23
2016 Grandstand Clearwater
Threshers #9
On Friday afternoon, in the biggest 40-man roster overhaul in recent memory, the Phillies dropped three players and added 11 in preparation for the upcoming Rule 5 draft.  Over the past seven offseasons, the most prospects added to the 40-man roster in November prior to this was five.  Here's a look at the 11 players added, their 2016 clubs, and a few brief notes.
  • Drew Anderson (rhp) - Lakewood/Clearwater - Struck out 78 in 70 innings and pitched the first four innings of a combined Threshers no-hitter in July.
  • Mark Appel (rhp) - Lehigh Valley - Acquired from the Astros in the Ken Giles trade and missed most of the season with a shoulder injury.
  • Dylan Cozens (of) - Reading - Co-winner (with Rhys Hoskins) of the 2016 Paul Owens Award for the best Phillies position player in their minor leagues.
  • Elniery Garcia (lhp) - Clearwater - 12-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 20 games.
2016 Topps Heritage
Minor League #183
2016 Choice Reading Fightin
Phils Top Prospects #14
2016 Topps Heritage
Minor League #13
2016 Grandstand Reading
Fightin Phils #23
  • Andrew Knapp (c) - Lehigh Valley - Hit .266 with 8 home runs and 46 RBIs in 107 games.
  • Ben Lively (rhp) - Reading/Lehigh Valley - Winner of the 2016 Paul Owens Award for the best Phillies pitcher in the minors.
  • Ricardo Pinto (rhp) - Reading - Represented the Phillies on the World Team in the 2016 Futures Game.
  • Nick Pivetta (rhp) - Reading/Lehigh Valley - Acquired from the Nationals for Jonathan Papelbon, went a combined 12-8 with a 3.27 ERA in 27 starts.
  • Alberto Tirado (rhp) - Lakewood/Clearwater - Acquired from the Blue Jays (with Jimmy Cordero) for Ben Revere.
  • Jesmuel Valentin (inf) - Reading/Lehigh Valley - Hit .269 in 125 games.
  • Nick Williams (of) - Lehigh Valley - One of the top prospects in the organization, hit .258 with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs for the IronPigs.
2016 Choice Lakewood
BlueClaws #24
2016 Choice Reading Fightin
Phils Playoff #21
2016 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #2
To create some room for all the additions, the Phillies designated David Buchanan and Cordero for assignment and announced that Elvis Araujo was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins.

2016 Chachi Departures #5
Elvis Araujo Chachi Checklist

Memory Lane
2009 Additions - Quintin BerryYohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus*
2011 Additions - Phillippe AumontJake DiekmanTyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach CollierEthan MartinTrevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron AltherrKelly DuganTommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse BiddleAdam Morgan and Nefi Ogando
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects

*Somehow I skipped 2010 and didn't do a post.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Hellickson Returns, Morton Signs with Astros

2017 Chachi Departures #4
2017 Chachi Departures #1
This past week saw a few additional roster moves, the biggest of which was the announcement that starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson had accepted a qualifying offer from the Phillies.  Hellickson returns to the club on a one-year contract worth $17.2 million and the Phillies won't receive an additional draft pick in the 2017 amateur player draft.

Hellickson's return provides some clarity for the front-end of the 2017 starting pitching rotation with Jared Eickhoff, Aaron Nola and Vince Velasquez expected to round out the top four.  It gets murky from there as Jake Thompson, Adam Morgan and Alec Asher (among others) will all be vying for the fifth starter's spot.

Charlie Morton, who entered the 2016 season as the club's #3 starter, recently signed a two-year deal with the Astros.  Morton made only four starts for the Phillies before a brutal hamstring injury ended his season prematurely.  His sole mainstream Phillies cards can be found within the Topps Phillies retail team set and the 2016 Topps Heritage set.  Morton also appeared in the early season, first edition Phillies photo card set.

Finally, reliever Patrick Schuster (6 games, 2 innings pitched, 45.00 ERA) signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers.  He'll enter the ranks of former Phillies players with no official Phillies baseball card.

Charlie Morton Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi New Additions #9
2016 Chachi #16
2017 Chachi Departures #4

Patrick Schuster Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi #60
2016 Chachi Fan Appreciation Day #6
2017 Chachi Departures #1

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 and elected free agency.
  • 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.
  • Andres Blanco - inf (11/3/16) - Elected free agency.
  • Peter Bourjos - of (11/3/16) - Elected free agency.
  • A.J. Ellis - c (11/3/16) - Elected free agency.
  • 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.
Coming Back
  • Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/3/16) - Elected free agency, accepted team's qualifying offer, 11/14/16.
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.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Phillies Acquire Kendrick from Dodgers for Ruf, Sweeney

2017 Chachi New Additions #2
2017 Chachi Departures #2
2017 Chachi Departures #3

On Friday afternoon, the Phillies seemingly found their coveted "professional hitter," acquiring Howie Kendrick from the Dodgers for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney.  Kendrick is expected to be the team's everyday left fielder in 2017.  An 11-year veteran, Kendrick has played the majority of his career at second base and only 120 of his 1,112 games have been in left.  But the Phillies wanted his bat and they're hopeful he can add some punch to what was a mostly punchless offense in 2016.

In 146 games for the Dodgers last season, Kendrick hit .255 with 8 home runs and 40 RBIs.  An All-Star in 2011 with the Angels, Kendrick is a career .289 hitter.  His most recent mainstream baseball cards can be found within the 2016 Topps Update, Topps Allen & Ginter, Topps Gypsy Queen and Topps Heritage sets.

The Phils bid farewell to Ruf, part of the Phillies system since 2009.  Blocked at first base by Ryan Howard for most of his Phillies career, he's ironically departing the organization the same year as Howard.  Between 2012 and 2016, Ruf appeared in 286 games, hitting .240 with 35 home runs and 96 RBIs.

Sweeney was originally acquired from the Dodgers in the August 2015 Chase Utley deal.  He spent all of 2016 with the IronPigs, and he appeared in 37 games for the 2015 Phillies, hitting .176.  Here's a complete listing of Ruf's and Sweeney's Chachi cards:

Darin Ruf Chachi Checklist
2012 Chachi #57
2013 Chachi #48
2014 Chachi #43
2015 Chachi #13
2016 Chachi #11
2017 Chachi Departures #2

Darnell Sweeney Chachi Checklist
2015 Chachi #59
2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #3
2016 Chachi Almost #24
2017 Chachi Departures #3

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Here's the First @PatNeshek (Unofficial) Phillies Card!

2017 Chachi New Additions #1
I get inordinately excited whenever the Phillies make offseason player moves, and the first acquisition of the 2016-2017 offseason was announced yesterday.  The Phillies acquired reliever, and fellow baseball card collector, Pat Neshek from the Houston Astros for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

An All-Star in 2014, Neshek has pitched for 10 seasons with the Twins, Padres, Athletics, Cardinals and Astros.  His most recent mainstream baseball cards can be found within the 2016 Topps flagship and 2016 Topps Heritage sets.  Neshek will have to find a new number for 2017, as the #37 he wore with the Astros is currently occupied by Odubel Herrera.

He's the first card in the 2017 Chachi New Additions set, and I've added him to the Phillies Virtual Wall, which now stands at 32 players.  Presented below is an updated listing of those players who have either joined or left the organization.

Moving On - 2016-2017 Offseason
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.