According to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phillies designated infielder Miguel Cairo for assignment to make room for tomorrow's starter, Andrew Carpenter. Cairo, 35, had two hits in 16 plate appearances for the Phils this year. They'd signed him to a minor league deal on February 15th.
Phillies Rumors
2010 Options: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies have just one 2010 option to worry about: third baseman Pedro Feliz has a $5MM club option with a $500K buyout. So far this year Feliz has raised his batting average, resulting in a .291/.364/.408 line in 118 plate appearances. The 34 year-old is known for his defense, though he's begun to slip according to UZR. Perhaps the Phillies will decide Jason Donald can match him in 2010, and save the $4MM difference.
Brett Myers represents the team's most notable impending free agent. In seven starts this year, Myers' numbers have all moved in the wrong direction. Back in March, the 28 year-old righty expressed a desire to stay in Philadelphia.
Odds & Ends: Oliver, Amaro, Scheppers
Links for Thursday…
- ESPN's Keith Law has the latest on the battle between Andy Oliver and the NCAA over whether players can have agents and still be eligible for the draft.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes writes about the ascension of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. Edes notes that the Phils still do not have a full-time statistical analyst.
- Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price landed a minor league consulting gig with the Phillies, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it's "believed though not confirmed" that Tanner Scheppers has granted the Pirates permission to draft him again if they choose. The Pirates did not sign him last year due to health concerns, but now he's looking like a top-ten pick.
- A couple of powerful prospects got the call: Nolan Reimold with the Orioles and Mat Gamel with the Brewers. For the Brewers, Brad Nelson now has to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. The Orioles and Brewers are risking Super Two status with these call-ups, but only if the players are not sent back down.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Ibanez, Indians
Links for Thursday…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post did a little research on pitchers drafted within the first ten picks. Meanwhile, Boswell's colleague Chico Harlan spotted Nationals' acting GM Mike Rizzo chatting with Scott Boras.
- The latest from Baseball America: Tanner Scheppers' stock is rising, Grant Green's is falling.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes about Raul Ibanez. In the article, it's revealed that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't buy into defensive stats outside of fielding percentage.
- ESPN's Tim Kurkjian looks at the early returns on free agent signings.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer learned that Mark Shapiro is initiating the calls to other GMs.
- Will Sommer of Mets Fans Forever chatted with ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
Rosenthal On Mets & Phillies
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with two NL East GMs about the state of their teams a month into the season. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. addressed his team's pitching:
- Amaro expects pitchers Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Chan Ho Park to improve. If not, Amaro says "we'll be open to other options."
- Rosenthal expects the Phillies to look internally for rotation help before making any deal. J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, Rodrigo Lopez or Kyle Kendrick could could be asked to start.
- Rosenthal adds that the Phillies' greatest need will be a reliever if Brad Lidge remains sidelined.
Mets GM Omar Minaya took stock of his team, which is now 9-12.
- Asked if the Mets are pursuing Pedro Martinez, Minaya said "not right now."
- Minaya suggested the Mets will dabble in any big name that surfaces on the trade market.
- Payroll could become an issue for the Mets, who have already committed $149MM to the team.
- Rosenthal writes that the Mets "look like they blew it" when they decided to sign Oliver Perez instead of offering Derek Lowe a fourth year.
- Minaya said Gary Sheffield and Alex Cora bring an "edge" to the team that Jose Reyes and David Wright lack.
Stark On Holliday, Relievers, Relocation
The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- Stark compared 2009 April attendance to 2008, excluding the New York teams given their new stadiums. He found virtually no change, overall. One anonymous agent complained that Bud Selig "overdramatized the potential financial losses so as to limit and to artificially control spending on free agency."
- The Royals may need a bat, but Stark says they're unwilling to discuss any of their best or most advanced prospects in trades.
- Stark talked to one exec about Billy Beane's Matt Holliday situation. If Holliday's power outage continues, could he become a July salary-dump candidate? If the A's keep him all year, will they risk offering him arbitration? And is Holliday headed toward a one-year "redeem yourself" deal on the free agent market?
- Stark says the Marlins would love to add a late-inning reliever via trade. He runs through possible relief trade candidates. In addition to the players I listed on Tuesday, Stark mentions Alan Embree, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, Tom Gordon, Eddie Guardado, and Ron Mahay. The Phillies are also in the market.
- Remember the Zack Greinke trade rumors of years past? Stark talked to one exec who says Royals GM Dayton Moore never wanted to trade him.
- If, down the road, the A's or Rays have to relocate, Stark says San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Mexico were the locations MLB was considering in reference to the Marlins.
Crasnick On Remaining Free Agents
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has a new article up looking at a bunch of free agents.
- Crasnick talked to one American League exec who views Pedro Martinez as "strictly a National League pitcher." Coupled with his price tag and long layoff, the market isn't big for Pedro.
- Ben Sheets is weeks away from a throwing program. He's probably a ten-start guy this year, but interest figures to be strong.
- Jim Edmonds hopes to sign by May. He'll need two to three weeks to get ready. Mark Grudzielanek also wants to play, and tells friends he only needs a week. He'll look for a contender, and the Royals will hope he signs before June so they get that supplemental draft pick. Jacque Jones is another guy who still hopes to play.
- Geoff Jenkins is taking grounders at first base to increase his versatility.
- Jay Payton suffered a shoulder injury lifting weights last month, but once he's healthy a few months from now he still wants to play.
- Nothing appears to be cooking for Frank Thomas and Luis Gonzalez, who could be forced to retire. Dave Roberts hasn't officially retired, but a comeback appears unlikely.
- Paul Byrd's plan remains unchanged: sign with a contender around July.
- Jon Lieber's agent says the pitcher has retired. 131 wins, including 20 in '01. Lieber finishes with a 4.27 ERA in 2,198 innings for the Pirates, Cubs, Yankees, and Phillies. He earned over $46MM, according to Baseball Reference.
Phillies Sign David Newhan
According to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phillies signed David Newhan as a player-coach for their Triple A club. Newhan was released by the Astros on March 29th given their desire for a bench player who could play shortstop. The 35 year-old hit .260/.297/.404 in 111 plate appearances last year for Houston.
Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies
Time to close out the Offseason In Review serieswith a look at the Phillies. Here's what we wrote about them on November 6th.
Additions: Raul Ibanez, Chan Ho Park, Jack Taschner, Miguel Cairo, Scott Eyre (re-signed), Jamie Moyer (re-signed), John Mayberry, Rodrigo Lopez, Gustavo Chacin, Pablo Ozuna, Gary Majewski, Dave Borkowski. Midseason: Joe Blanton
Subtractions: Pat Burrell, Geoff Jenkins, Adam Eaton, So Taguchi, Rudy Seanez, Tom Gordon
Extensions: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Greg Dobbs
I wrote in November that the Phillies "didn't win the World Series on a bunch of career years, so keeping this group intact is a reasonable strategy." That's pretty much what new GM Ruben Amaro Jr. did, locking up current players, jettisoning dead weight, and replacing Burrell with Ibanez. Let's take a closer look.
Last year the Phillies were third in the NL with 4.93 runs per game, though their .332 OBP ranked seventh. As a left-handed hitter and poor fielder, Ibanez seemed a questionable fit for the Phillies. They jumped on him in mid-December for full market price – $31.5MM. Burrell would later sign with the Rays for half the dollars. On the other hand, Ibanez is a solid bat and the Phillies project to score 4.98 runs per game according to CHONE projections and the Baseball Musings lineup analysis tool. Howard's OBP should bounce back, and Jenkins won't be eating up 322 plate appearances.
The Phillies' 2008 rotation ranked seventh in the NL with a 4.23 ERA in 966.2 innings. This time they'll have Blanton all year plus Chan Ho Park and possibly J.A. Happ filling the fifth starter role. Carlos Carrasco gives the Phillies additional depth. The front three of Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Moyer returns, with concerns already surfacing about Hamels' elbow. Obviously the Phils need another big year from Hamels, but otherwise I think they can weather regression from Moyer just by not trotting out Kyle Kendrick and Eaton for 49 starts again.
The vaunted Phillies bullpen posted a 3.22 ERA in 483 innings last year. The main change for '09: Eyre, Happ, and Taschner will soak up lefty innings in the first third of the year while J.C. Romero serves his suspension. Just with typical regression the '09 pen projects around 3.93, according to CHONE.
The Phillies had the best defense in baseball last year, according to The Fielding Bible II. The main differences in '09 – more Werth, no Jenkins, and the Burrell-Ibanez swap – shouldn't change much. The Phillies still have an awesome defensive infield and the fine work of Victorino in center.
In trying to match or exceed their 92 wins from last year, the Phillies deal with rotation uncertainty and regression in the bullpen. I have them around 90-91 wins, assuming 200+ innings from Hamels. You may recall I had the Braves at 90 and the Mets around 86. It should be a fierce battle for the NL East, and the Marlins can't be counted out.
Bottom line: The World Series champs didn't change much in the offseason. On paper the Phillies still look like the best team in the NL East, albeit with a very small margin for error.
Harry Kalas Passes Away
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, longtime Phillies broadcaster and Hall of Famer Harry Kalas has passed away at age 73. The organization was stunned to lose him.
