Phillies waive infielder
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Phillies waive infielder
Daily News staff
The Phillies have waived infielder Carlos Rivero to clear a roster spot for shortstop Jimmy Rollins.
Rivero, 23, was claimed by the Washington Nationals. He hit .270 with 16 home runs and 71 RBI in 136 games with Double A Reading and Triple A Lehigh Valley last season. He played seven games in Triple A, hitting .185 with a homer and 5 RBI, the first time he has been in Triple A in a 6-year minor league career.
Rollins re-signed with the Phillies on Monday.
The team also announced that it had signed two more players to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training as non-roster players.
Here are the bios, courtesy of the team:
• Hector Luna, INF – Luna, 31, spent last season at triple-A Pawtucket in the Red Sox minor league system where he batted .283 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 113 games. For his major league career, he has hit .265 with 13 home runs and 86 RBI in 311 games between the Cardinals (2004-06), Indians (2006), Blue Jays (2007-08) and Marlins (2010). A native of Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic, Luna was originally signed by Cleveland as an amateur free agent in February of 1999.
• Luis Montañez, OF – Montañez spent the majority of the 2011 season with triple-A Iowa in the Chicago Cubs organization. With Iowa last year, the 30-year-old hit .321 with 22 doubles, 7 triples, 7 home runs and 69 RBI in 92 games. He also spent time with the Cubs in 2011, appearing in 36 games, including 12 starts in the outfield. For his major league career, Montañez has hit .223 with 5 home runs and 32 RBI over 129 games between the Orioles (2008-10) and Cubs (2011). The native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was originally a first-round selection (third overall) of the Cubs in the June 2000 draft.
- Phillies6pack,
Your point about the escalating win total and divisional leads is irrelevant.
There is no benefit on winning the division by 10 games vs. by 1 game, except that you can clinch sooner, and set your playoff rotation. However, as we saw this year, if you clinch too soon, complacency and rust set in, and all those 101 wins don't mean squat.
That being said, I think the fact that the Phillies stopped hitting is Manuel's fault, not Amaro's. Manuel was the one that let complacency, "comfort", and a lack of accountability set in all season long.
Whenever someone brought this up during the season, the kool-aid gang among fans, reporters, and radio people smugly responded with "they've got the best record in baseball", "they have the best starting pitching in baseball", and "don't worry about it, our pitching will offset any hitting slumps".
YA, SURE!
Amaro has provided this team with more than enough parts to succeed. Look around the league - would other managers have won with this collection of talent the Phillies had in 2011? I believe a skillful manager would have gotten the most from his players by making sure they didn't develop bad habits. It was Manuel's job to MANAGE correctly and not let this happen. He didn't. Amaro's job (which he seems to have done shortly after the season ended) is to let Charlie & Greg Gross that this lackadaisical approach won't be acceptable in 2012.
— jman - We should consider that this move doesn't matter that much maybe? A 23 year old with a pretty low OBP and not so great defense. He could turn it around buttttt......— TeamAwesome
- Did we keep Bowker? If the answer to that question is yes than the Tonner, like any lady he pleasures, is quite satisfied.— hunglikeaton
- No problem Dad....things can get a little crazy on here sometimes.....your dream was to play with Al Kaline, mine was to play with Steve carlton....mey him many years later in a Fantasy Camp....ewww, what a wierdo....can't believe I idolized him all those years....still have about 10 uni's with the #32 on the back.....only met Al Kaline once, in an elevator in a casino in AC at a big autograph show....he and Stan Musial were pretty cool.....and my then 8 yo had a real treat.....those guys were very special.— Mark1npt
- zp, I appreciate your fanaticism....I get that way about some topics on here too....but the fact remains, Amaro isn't the one on the field coughing up the 4 run leads or striking out......that's on the players. They are good players and they are put in the position to win, but they still gotta do it. It will beinteresting this year if they don't do it again...heads may finally roll......keep Sandberg on speed dial........— Mark1npt
- @Mark, appreciate it. 24 is nearly 14 and already a better player than many at that age - he lives the dream.
Kaline was true class. I expect to handle it that way from here on out.
Happy holidays.— 24sDad - Senor Rivero = Mucho Wood...Minimo Leather.
Adios and Feliz Navidad— NewMick314 - Rivero may develop into something, but right now he looks like a player who will be lucky to make it to the big leagues for a cup of coffee.— Dragon13
- Easy... Take a breath... Relax... Rivero is a career .258 hitter with 47 total HRs in six minor league seasons, primarily at AA and below... I think the Phils will survive...— topwonk
All:
How do you rate the 2012 Phillies? I say "A". That means (barring an unforeseen catastrophe) they will field a contender, which is all that can reasonably be expected. Some may grade them as "B" apparently meaning that they should have done more to improve their chances, but grades below "B" simply tells more about the poster than the club.
Graybeard
