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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
