The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Will Toffey. Additionally, right-hander Bubby Rossman has been selected to the roster as a “substitute player”.
Toffey, 27, was a fourth round draft pick of the A’s in 2017. He went to the Mets at the deadline in 2018 as part of the trade that sent Jeurys Familia to Oakland. He was part of a second deal last year, going to the Giants as the return for the Mets acquiring Anthony Banda. In March of this year, he was traded yet again, going to the Phillies along with cash considerations in exchange for Luke Williams.
One year ago, FanGraphs listed him as the 28th prospect in the Mets’ system, complementing his hitting ability but noting his lack of power. They also state that he’s a solid defender with a strong arm. While he’s primarily been a third baseman in his career thus far, he’s branched out and has also seen some time at first base, second base and the outfield corners.
In 58 Triple-A games this year, he’s struck out in 30.2% of his plate appearances but also walked 14% of the time. He has three homers, nine steals and a slash line of .266/.385/.438, wRC+ of 125. As a left-handed hitter, he has the potential to platoon with some Philly infielders that hit from the right side, such as Alec Bohm, who has a subpar batting line of .273/.307/.385 this year for a 91 wRC+. Bohm has pretty drastic splits, with a 124 wRC+ against lefties for his career and 80 against righties. This year, the split is even wider, at 138 and 72. Toffey is naturally better against righties, with a .273/.404/.460 line against them this year, compared to .245/.333/.377 marks against southpaws.
Rossman, 30, was drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 but released in 2016. He bounced around to various Indy Ball teams for a few years before signing a minor league deal with the Phillies in November of last year. He’s been pitching in Double-A this season, throwing 40 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 43.3% ground ball rate. The Phillies have four players on the restricted list at the moment, unable to cross the border into Canada to play the Blue Jays due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Since Rossman has been designated a “substitute,” he will be eligible to be returned to the minors without being exposed to waivers.
Toffey will come through at crunch time.
I wonder if he’ll stick in the bigs.
Bubby? From AA? I’d assume he doesn’t play, but him?
Bubby Rossman probably pitches like a grandmother.
SWEET
Potentially sticky situation.
Toffey on the roster is hard to swallow
Who the hell are these guys
Toffy is not going to be platooning with Bohm at third. After today’s game, Toffy goes back down.
I found the platoon comment weird, especially after Bohm’s recent success at the plate, but I would add that Bohm may be injured for a chunk of time depending on how bad his finger is.
Like the candy ‘cept not spelt the same.
Odd that Toffey is a callup, not a substitute player like Rossman. Is there something to the Bohm injury? Toffey filling the gap until Comargo/Maton are cleared?
I think you nailed it. Bohm likely missing more time than we think.
VonPurpleHayes;
Yes, it’s all about that injury. Who knows how long Bohm will be out and subsequently affected.
But I’ve backed off of being a strong Bohm supporter. OK, he gets out of sorts playing 3B and hitting at times. To the Phillies coaching staff’s credit they got him straightened out during the season. However, during the past week I’ve not only seen him make boneheaded plays on D and ignore situational hitting opportunities; I’ve also seen him out of position at 3B which cost his team runs, and then getting hurt on the slide to 2nd.
The two teams I’ve primarily been watching the past 2-3 weeks are the Phillies and Orioles. The Orioles are extremely impressive not with their numbers, but how the individual players go about playing. The position players know where they need to be and what they need to do in critical situations on the field and at bat. And they know how to slide without injuring themselves without a defender making contact with them.
Bohm has been mentioned as a trade candidate all year. I felt Dombrowski wouldn’t do that because he needs some productive young players that are making a low / reasonable salaries to offset all the veteran salaries that’s put the Phillies into the Luxury Tax. But Bohm is not hitting .300 with a .360 OBP and .850 OPS. He’s a nice young hitter that will add power as he gets older. But he’s a poor fundamental player and has an extremely low Baseball IQ when between the white lines. If I can see this Dombrowski sure can. If he can find a coco GM like Preller to give him something of value because Bohm has years of control, I can see Bohm being moved at the deadline.
Bohm is a bust, and a small-minded one at that. Dombrowski can package him with Stott for a pack of Big League Chew and half a cheesesteak. On second thought, maybe a quarter of a cheesesteak – those things are good.
Bohm’s turned a bit of a corner in my mind. Getting better defensively and offensively.
I would be interested in Mullins!
Bohm feels like he’s headed for the IL, but you hit the nail on the head with Camargo/Maton. One will probably replace him, so it’s still curious.
Bubby Rossman doesn’t even sound like a real name. Sounds like a fake video game baseball player
I have Jon Dowd on line 1 for you and Wes Mailman on line 2.
Mets legend.