The Phillies announced a series of transactions today. Two have 40-man roster implications. The club selected the contract of infielder Sean Rodriguez and designated reliever James Pazos to make way.
Joining Rodriguez on the active roster is righty Enyel De Los Santos. To create space, infielder Mitch Walding and righty Drew Anderson were optioned back to Triple-A.
Rodriguez turns 34 on Friday, so this makes for an early birthday gift. He’s in the starting lineup today at shortstop, representing his first MLB action since he was designated last August by the Pirates. Rodriguez has struggled at the plate in recent seasons but is off to a .267/.327/.622 start with the bat at Triple-A. He’ll help fill in while Jean Segura is sidelined.
As for Pazos, who’s closing in on his 28th birthday, it seems the Phillies have been quite underwhelmed since receiving him via trade over the winter. He was a quality relief piece in 2018 and has plenty of cheap control remaining, but had struggled badly in a Phillies uniform. Over 14 2/3 innings between Spring Training and the start of the Triple-A season, the southpaw has managed just six strikeouts against 11 walks.
That said, Pazos pitched to a strong 3.39 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 103 2/3 frames with Seattle in 2017-18. While he was dominant against either righties or lefties, he demonstrated an ability to limit damage against each; right-handed hitters managed a .248/.327/.393 line to left-handers’ collective .248/.326/.353. During that two-year run with Seattle, Pazos averaged just under 95 mph on his heater while posting a 10.9 percent swinging-strike rate and 32.6 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone. Given the number of teams in need of bullpen help throughout the league, there’s a solid chance he’ll generate interest from another team.
I’ve been seeing Rodriguez in person at Lehigh Valley, he’s been the best player by far so I figured it was only a matter of time before he got the call
I’ll be there next Tuesday and Thursday…but mostly to see the other team ;)
Wow ditching Pazos already.
Someone will take a flier on Pazos
I was hoping to see Jeff Bezos as a Phillie. Was he injured? His AAA stats were horrific (and yes autocorrect changed his name from what I originally typed)
Must be a Fire Phone
Would like to see Dipoto bring back Papa Paz.
hmm, cutting Pazos but not Alvarez or Walding? I just dont see it. S-Rod probably wont bat above the mendoza line, given his recent production, albiet injury marred.
I could be convinced that Rodriguez could maybe turn back the clock again and produce with the bat (I don’t think it will happen, but it could). However, I can’t be convinced that he can still play a decent shortstop. He can still play a few position well, but IMO that isn’t one of them.
While it’s unfortunate that the car accident robbed he was in seemed to derail what seemed to be a breakout for him the fact is that he has only had an OPS+ >100 in a single season. Even turning back the clock would likely net slightly below league average production. But on the bright side, we may get to see Rodriguez v. Gatorade Cooler round 2
*Robbed him of what
Hope they add an edit feature to the app at some point
Good luck Sean Rod. Class act. I hope he does well.
Pirates should take a chance on Pazos. They need a LHP relief pitcher who can act like a setup man.
That’s a pretty solid idea, but I have the feeling that a number of teams might think about giving Pazos a shot.
Toughest man alive. The combos he dropped on that water jug were very impressive.
Twins could really use a 2nd lefty behind Rogers, because it’s not like we can really depend on Mejia…
I don’t follow the Phillies much but have always liked McCutchen. Went to check his stats and isn’t it eerie how through 23 games his stats are almost identical to the 25 games with the yankees. Kind of weird like how Khris Davis can hit .247 for 4 years in a row, Michael Barrett hits 16 home runs 3 years in a row, and Anthony Rizzo can hit 32 HR and have 109 RBIs two years in a row.