Cloyd to Indians, Valdes to Astros

2014 Chachi Transactions #2

And so it begins.  The Phillies trimmed their first two players from the disappointing 2013 roster when pitchers Tyler Cloyd and Raul Valdes were claimed off waivers yesterday.  Cloyd joins the Indians while Valdes joins the Astros.

Cloyd arrived in Philadelphia last season after a very successful campaign with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  He went 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA in six starts last season, but struggled mightily in his follow-up act this season with the Phils.  In 13 games (11 starts) this year, Cloyd went 2-7 with a 6.56 ERA.  Cloyd made his Phillies baseball card debut in 2013 with cards in the Bowman, Pinnacle, Topps and Topps Heritage sets.

Raul Valdes also played two seasons with the Phils, appearing in 44 games including two emergency starts.  The lefty leaves Philly having gone 4-3 with a 5.32 in 66 innings.  Surprisingly enough, he only walked 13 in those 66 innings to 72 strikeouts.  Valdes' only two Phillies cards can be found in their team issued postcard sets.

2014 Chachi Transactions #1

The departure of these two now ex-Phillies gave me an early start on the 2014 Chachi Transactions insert set.  (Found only in rack packs of 2014 Chachi cards sold at Target.)  Unlike last year's Chachi Transactions set, I'm not utilizing the O-Pee-Chee-ish "now with" legend on the front of each card.  Rather, I'm just going to change the team name and color of the card to match up with how the original 1988 Topps cards looked.  I'll need to get creative if any Phillies join the Marlins, Rockies, Rays or Diamondbacks this offseason.

Moving On

Raul Valdes (10/2/13) - Claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros.

Tyler Cloyd (10/2/13) - Claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians.

2013 Chachi #19 Raul Valdes

#46

Raul Valdes

Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 5'11"  Weight: 190

Born: November 27, 1977, Havana, Cuba

Home: San Francisco de Macoris, DR

Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, March 31, 2004

Teams: New York Mets 2010, St. Louis Cardinals 2011, New York Yankees 2011, Phillies 2012-

Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees, October 25, 2011

Contract Status: Signed through the 2013 season

2012 Chachi #35 Raul Valdes

#46

Raul Valdes

Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 5'11"  Weight: 190

Born: November 27, 1977, La Habana, Cuba

Home: San Francisco de Macoris, DR

Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, March 31, 2004

Teams: New York Mets 2010, St. Louis Cardinals 2011, New York Yankees 2011, Phillies 2012

Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees, October 25, 2011

Contract Status: Signed through the 2012 season

2012 Phillies - The Missing Links (So Far)

2012 Topps #658, 2012 Topps Giants #SF7, 2012 Topps #154 and #465

With the half-way point of the 2012 season quickly approaching, and with almost a dozen different Topps offerings on the market, I wanted to take a look at which 2012 Phillies players have yet to appear on any Phillies baseball cards.  Given the recent trend of Topps not including the fringe guys (back-up catchers, bench players, middle relievers) in their sets, the hope of adding a Phillies baseball card of one of these guys to my collection diminishes with each passing month.  If and when the Phillies issue a second edition of the postcard-sized set available at the ballpark, some of these guys just might get the Phillies cardboard appreciation they deserve.

As of this writing, 35 different players have suited up for the 2012 Phillies.  (Game data below through June 17th.)

3 or More Cards
23 Players

Brian Sanches hasn't had a Phillies card since 2007, from his first stint with the club, but his Phillies cards from 2006 and 2007 earn him entrance into the "3 or More" club above.

2 Cards
Juan Pierre (58 games in 2012) - 2012 Phillies Team Issue #10 and 2012 Topps #658
Michael Schwimer (12 games in 2011 and 12 games in 2012) - 2012 Phillies Team Issue #44 and 2012 Topps #465

1 Card
Pete Orr (46 games in 2011 and 23 games in 2012) - 2011 Phillies Team Issue 2 #5
Ty Wigginton (61 games in 2012) - 2012 Phillies Team Issue #24
Chad Qualls (29 games in 2012) - 2012 Phillies Team Issue #50

Laynce Nix (22 games in 2012) - 2012 Phillies Team Issue #19

These four players are still waiting for their first standard size Phillies card.  I'm actually a little surprised that Wigginton didn't make it into Topps Series 2.  (I would have swapped out the card of Jose Contreras for a Wigginton card.)

2012 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #26, #15, #14 and #21

0 Cards
Mike Fontenot (25 games in 2012)
Hector Luna (16 games in 2012)
Erik Kratz (2 games in 2011 and 5 games in 2012)
Jake Diekman (13 games in 2012)
Raul Valdes (11 games in 2012)
B.J. Rosenberg (2 games in 2012)

I would think that pitching prospects Diekman and Rosenberg will eventually find themselves with Phillies cards.  And if Fontenot's playing time dramatically increases with the injury to Freddy Galvis, he could be a good candidate for the Topps Update series.  But honestly, the only hope for the other three guys (Luna, Kratz and Valdes) is inclusion within the aforementioned second edition of the Phillies Team Issue set.