40-man roster politics
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40-man roster politics
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
The World Series begins tonight and we're talking about the 40-man roster in Philadelphia. Another slap of harsh reality in the face, but here's guessing Whitney nets better primetime ratings in this city than FOX does. (OK, let's not say things we can't take back.)
Regardless, the Phillies already started massaging their 40-man roster in preparation for the winter. Pete Orr and Brandon Moss were outrighted to triple-A Lehigh Valley to clear two spots. The roster stands at 38.
Five days after the final game of the World Series, that number will drop to 33 when the five free agents are removed. Then it'll go to 31 when Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge's options are declined. Even then, names like John Bowker, Scott Mathieson and Erik Kratz remain.
The point is, the Phillies have some flexibility with the 40-man roster, and they may need it.
Part of the fall period is for evaluating players on the fringe. A little over a month remains until the Phillies must set their roster prior to the Rule 5 draft. The current CBA states that players signed at age 19 or older must be protected after their fourth year in the organization. Players signed at 18 or younger have five years until that juncture.
Of course, an addition to the 40-man roster means an automatic invitation to big-league camp in spring training. So it's more than a label (and possibly more money).
The Phillies sent many of their more interesting decisions to the Arizona Fall League for further evaluation. We know the Rule 5 draft has generally been kind to the Phillies (Shane Victorino, David Herndon, Michael Martinez), but rarely have the Phillies lost a player of substance. (Remember Miguel Asencio?) That means, generally, they have been able to make the right call on who or who not to protect.
The biggest name to hit Arizona is Tyson Gillies, who is actually playing baseball -- and that matters more than any of his numbers. Figure the Phillies will protect Gillies, so long as he demonstrates health, because he was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade. Gillies started strong in his first round of extensive games in two years but is 0 for his last 6 with four strikeouts. He's hitting .227 in nine games with more walks (seven) than hits (five). Nonetheless, if Gillies can stay on the field this fall and avoid the hamstring and foot issues that befell him, it's a success.
Another name to watch in Arizona is Tyler Cloyd, a 6-foot-3 righthander. He was an 18th-round pick in 2008 and posted a 2.78 ERA at double-A Reading with a stellar 99:15 K:BB in 106 2/3 innings. He turns 25 in May and began the season at single-A Clearwater, pitching below his age. But he was moved to Reading in June, turned into a starting pitcher, and something clicked. He was shelled in his third AFL start, so he has a 6.00 ERA in nine innings.
Cody Overbeck stands to gain a lot, too. He's much in the mold of Matt Rizzotti, who went to Arizona and hit .333 last fall. That was enough to garner a 40-man roster spot and look-see in spring training. It didn't last long because the Phillies saw an overmatched Rizzotti against better pitching than he sees in the Eastern League.
Like Rizzotti, Overbeck doesn't have a position. The 25-year-old is at first base after the Phillies tried him at third and left field. However, unlike Rizzotti, Overbeck has shown an ability to hit for power beyond double A. Rizzotti hit .333 in the AFL last fall, but only two hits were for extra bases. Overbeck already has two in eight games. He slugged .416 in 68 games at triple A to finish the season. Given what the Phillies did with Rizzotti last winter -- plus the injury to Ryan Howard -- Overbeck could merit a spot for further evaluation come springtime.
The guys over at Phuture Phillies have a decent discussion going about other names. Phillippe Aumont is a lock for a 40-man spot. So is Sebastian Valle, the young catching prospect who needs at least two more years. (And yes, teams have been known to snag unprotected single-A catching prospects before.) Jiwan James has a lot of promise after only three years since becoming a full-time hitter, but it's raw. (He also runs a fantastic Twitter account.) Because of that, James could be on the bubble. The Phillies may decide his profile indicates no team will take a chance on him. Or, just to be safe, he can be added.
That's probably not enough to distract you from remembering that Game 1 was supposed to be in South Philadelphia tonight.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
VOTE: Phillies: Stay or Go?- Well, firepower will be coming up soon enough...Michael Taylor w/the A's, Travis D'Arnaud and Brian Gose with the Jays, Jon Singleton and Domingo Santana w/the Stros....
— bearsfriend - Halladay has had 2 amazing seasons,Drabek,Gose, D'Arnaud? time will surely tell. Taylor, we'll see, Singleton, Santana vs Pense? I still like the trades...an all star in the line up is much better than a bunch of minor leaguers who may/may not make it. — drhoffman
- I'm not arguing about the trades, they needed to be done as far as challenging when you're so close.....but that is alot of offense on the horizon for aging players here...That's also why there is such a dearth of firepower in our system. — bearsfriend
- Oh, Bobby, c'mon, man. I believe Matt was talking about THIS regime of Phillies thinkers and evaluators, not the people from the 1970s - unless John Quinn is still pulling the strings at CBP.— calm weather
- If the Phillies pay me I offer to go to Venezuela and watch Jesus Flores :D— fcolmenarez
- So in two weeks' time we've gone from settling for nothing but a World Series ring to "if Tyson Gillies can stay healthy and continue his hitting at a .227 average, it's a success."... Somebody help me load my gun and put it in my mouth.— Frank K
- Tyson Gillies is a bust - Phils already have a plethora of .227 hitters.
Phils need to find guys that can actually HIT - .300 batting average.
Enough of these inept .240 hitters that litter the Phils impotent lineup.— johnpaulcpa - Whitney has some mean curves.— NewMick314
- I agree Whitney has some mean curves, but she no fastball. She stays in the minors until she can command 3 pitches and can hit 90 on the JUGS gun.
— LJ14 - George Bell was a 1980 rule 5 pick, but he was coming of an injury and went to the Dominican to play in the winter. He played only 22 games that year at Reading and the Phillies gambled leaving him unprotected. But Gillick had good reports on him and sent a scout the DR and he was impressed and the rest is history. Sounds a little familiar with my Flores proposal, althuogh he'll be protected?— EL Zorro
- I'm sure you'll find a lot of volunteers, Frank...— JettMartinez
- No I have not seen Kratz play, bear. But he's kind of an enigma. He keeps putting pertty good offensive numbers for a catcher and he's not bad defensively either. But teams keep giving him the cold shoulder. Even the Pirates released him. The Phillies recalled Sardhina before him., It must be something that we don't know. He's also 31 on years old.— EL Zorro
- The Sardhina call up was so astonishing, but it was done because Charlie liked Dane from last year when he popped a few out...and he thought the established pitchers liked throwing to him.....Manuel could not even remeber Kratz hitting the longest homerun in the spring..Sardhina at that time was hitting a buck twenty, and Kratz was doing it both ways as at a AAA All-Star level...He's a poor man's John Buck (better defensively), and the AAA pitchers RAVED about the way he sets up to frame pitches...If Schneider didn't have the guaranteed money for 2011 (and the stat of wins while starting), Kratz would have gotten a shot...As an area guy (Lansdale), he can add a dimension...It's a real position of need, because as gritty as Ruiz is, Manuel definitely overused him...along with many others. — bearsfriend
Comment removed.- Intersting you say this...although Bowker has impressive stats in the minors, Brandon Moss really caught the short end of the stick with that transaction...He definitely deserved the "shot" of the 3 week tryout, but instead was used to win games and get Lehigh Valley as far as possible in the playoffs...I'm still wondering what issues LaMar and Amaro had (money for the system?...differences on player reports?) to cause that resignation at that time and in that fashion. — bearsfriend
