2013 Chachi #14 Ender Inciarte

Today's Quiz:  What do Ender Inciarte and Tim Lahey have in common?  Answer to follow below . . .

The season isn't yet 24 hours old and the Phillies have made their first roster move.  Earlier today, the Phillies claimed outfielder Ezequiel Carrera off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  Carrera will join the team in Atlanta in time for tomorrow night's game and assume the fifth outfielder spot vacated by Inciarte, who was designated for assignment.  As a Rule 5 pick, Inciarte will return to the Diamondbacks if no other team claims him.  Any team that does claim him has to keep him on their active roster for the duration of the season.

2013 Phillies Team
Issue #43

In parts of two seasons with the Indians, Carrera has hit .255 in 116 games.  He's played all three outfield positions, although he has spent most of his time in center and left field.  Carrera has a card in this year's Topps Heritage release (#362) and I'll need to hold that card in reserve for when Carrera is deserving of star of the game status.  (He says optimistically.)

Today's Quiz Answer:  Both Inciarte and Lahey made the Phillies Opening Day rosters, only to be jettisoned prior to appearing in an actual game.  Lahey suited up for the team's first four games back in 2008, but never appeared in a game.  I wrote about Lahey back in this post.

Along with his unofficial Chachi card, Inciarte received an official Phillies card within the team-issued postcard set.  And it's worth noting that Carrera becomes the only player on the team's current roster without a Phillies baseball card.

Here's the back of Inciarte's Chachi card:

#43

Ender David Inciarte

Outfield

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 5'10"  Weight: 162

Born: October 29, 1990, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Home: Maracaibo, Venezuela

Signed: Signed as an amateur free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks, May 25, 2008

Teams: N/A

Acquired: Selected by the Phillies in Rule 5 draft, December 6, 2012

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

2013 Chachi Transactions #3 Ender Inciarte

The annual Rule 5 draft has always intrigued me.  Each team has the right to protect up to 40 players who meet certain eligibility requirements having to do with age and service time.  Qualifying players not protected can be purchased by other teams, in descending order of their prior year record.  Here's the catch - the selected player has to remain on the selecting team's active roster for the entire year or the selecting team has to offer the player back to his original team.

In the case of Shane Victorino, whom the Phillies selected in 2004, they decided they didn't have room for him on their 25-man roster coming out of Spring Training in 2005.  The Phils offered him back to the Dodgers and the Dodgers politely declined, making him Phillies property.  The rest, as they say, is history.

With the selection last week of outfielder Ender Inciarte from the Diamondbacks, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the Phillies recent history in the Rule 5 draft.  There's a good chance Inciarte, a speedy, above average defensive outfielder, could find himself on Charlie Manuel's 25-roster when the team leaves Clearwater in April.

Players Selected Since 2000

2013 Chachi
Transactions #1

2004 - Shane Victorino - of (Los Angeles Dodgers) - Helped Phillies win World Series title in 2008.
2006 - Adam Donachie - c (Kansas City Royals) - Traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Alfredo Simon.
2006 - Jim Ed Warden - rhp (Cleveland Indians) - Returned on March 28, 2007.
2006 - Ryan Budde - c (Los Angeles Angels) - Returned on April 23, 2007.
2007 - Travis Blackley - lhp (San Francisco Giants) - Spent 2008 season in Phillies organization and granted free agency following the season.
2007 - Lincoln Holdzkom - rhp (Boston Red Sox) - Returned to the Red Sox.
2008 - Robert Mosebach - rhp (Los Angeles Angels) - Returned on April 1, 2009
2009 - David Herndon - rhp (Los Angeles Angels) - Spent entire 2010 season on active Phillies roster.
2010 - Michael Martinez - inf (Washington Nationals) - Spent entire 2011 season on active Phillies roster.
2012 - Ender Inciarte - of (Arizona Diamondbacks)

Players Lost Since 2000
2001 - Miguel Asencio - rhp (Kansas City Royals) - Spent entire 2002 season on active Royals roster.
2002 - Travis Chapman - inf (Cleveland Indians) - Traded to Tigers but eventually returned to the Phillies.
2009 - Carlos Monasterios - rhp (New York Mets) - Sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers on day of the draft.
2011 - Lendy Castillo - rhp (Chicago Cubs) - Spent entire 2012 season with the Cubs, although he missed significant time with a groin injury.