12:46pm: Right-hander Yoervis Medina, himself just designated, will go to the Phils in the deal, the team announced. Since he was already outrighted from Pittsburgh’s 40-man, he won’t require an immediate roster spot with the Phillies.
10:31am: Biddle is headed to the Pirates, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
10:20am: The Phillies have reached a deal to trade southpaw Jesse Biddle to an unidentified club, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link). The former top prospect had recently been designated for assignment.
Since he was in DFA limbo, Biddle was destined to land elsewhere unless he went unclaimed on waivers. Clearly, with a trade being reached, there was sufficient interest that a claim was inevitable anyway.
Once a consensus top-100 prospect league-wide, Biddle showed plenty of upside to go with some command issues while rising through the system. Still just 24, Biddle is set to miss the coming year after undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall.
But he had fallen off track even before the elbow issue cropped up. Since a promising 2013 at the Double-A level in which he posted a 3.64 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9, Biddle’s strikeout numbers have fallen even while he’s continued to issue too many free passes. Clearly, though, there’s still enough talent to bet on that multiple other organizations were willing to commit a 40-man spot to the lefty — at least for the time being.
Great, now that he’s not a Philly anymore he’ll end up being a star. Sigh.
It went all down hill for him after he got that concussion from being hit in the head with hail. Pittsburgh is a good landing spot for him though. If healthy I think he should still have a decent career.
I think this was necessary for Biddle so that he can move on …excellent “change of scenery” candidate.. I am sad that it didn’t work out but I will root for him to succeed in Pittsburgh (just not against the Phils). Hopefully we got something useful in return.
It was still a solid risk for the Phillies to expose Biddle to waivers since he will miss the upcoming season, and at least now they will get something for him in return. It’s also a good risk for the Pirates, since they like to try to rehabilitate struggling pitchers and usually need rotation candidates anyways.
Isnt it jesse bidle not biddle
No it’s definitely Biddle
So disappointed in this one :/ always wanted him to pan out from the day they drafted him, wish him the best of luck in his career. Which now that he’s in Pittsburgh I expect him to be a stud by the end of 2017 ._. Their pitching coach is a miracle worker.
Wish Jesse well. Best thing for him. Too much pressure being the 1st round pick for his hometown team. Nice kid with still a lot of potential if he rehabs from TJ surgery