Archive: December, 2010
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Rule 5 draft has been a fruitful effort in years past for the Phillies. Of course, it yielded Shane Victorino in 2004. Last season, the Phillies took righthander David Herndon, who managed to stick in the bullpen for the entire season.
The Phillies were once again active in the Rule 5 draft Thursday, selecting utility man Michael Martinez from the Washington Nationals organization.
They also selected two players in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft -- outfielder Chris Frey and righthanded pitcher Justin Friend. They each cost $12,000, meaning the Phillies spent a total of $74,000 in the draft.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Late Wednesday night, as you might have read, the Phillies and lefthander Dennys Reyes reached an agreement on a contract, pending a physical.
Here are some details on the contract terms, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal has yet to be finalized:
Reyes will make $1.1 million in 2011. There is a mutual option for 2012 for $1.35 million. If Reyes appears in 70 games in 2011, he has the right to exercise the option. If the Phillies decline the option, Reyes receives a $150,000 buyout.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Phillies may have found their lefthanded reliever.
A source said the team is getting closer to reaching an agreement with lefthander Dennys Reyes. ESPN Deportes is reporting the contract would be one year with a team option for 2012.
The Phillies had a formal meeting with Oscar Suarez, the agent for Reyes, on Tuesday, but there was no offer made at the time. Talks have progressed today, though.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Good morning from Day 3 of the winter meetings, and no, the Phillies have yet to sign anyone.
Two baseball sources said the Phillies have told representatives of free-agent pitchers they could be willing to make some decisions before team officials leave Thursday at the conclusion of the meetings, but at this point, the Phillies are still evaluating their bullpen options.
So it goes.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- What qualifies as news in Phillies land these days is nothing earth-shattering, but there is this: They met with Oscar Suarez, the agent for lefthander Dennys Reyes during the day Tuesday but did not offer the pitcher a contract.
They also, according to a baseball source, had discussions with the agent for lefthander George Sherrill. Both Reyes and Sherrill would be cheaper alternatives to filling the lefthanded void in the bullpen. The Phillies remain interested in the top-tier lefties, like Pedro Feliciano and Brian Fuentes, but they could price themselves out of the Phillies' range.
The source said the Phillies have told agents they are in no rush to sign a pitcher. The team will continue to kick the tires on all of the bullpen options.
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Video: The Inquirer's Matt Gelb chats with CineSport's Noah Coslov about Domonic Brown's future, replacements for Jayson Werth, and names for the bullpen.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Lots of activity at the winter meetings; none so far for the Phillies. That could be the case for the duration of these meetings, Ruben Amaro Jr. said.
Of course, he may or may not be telling the truth. But here's what he said:
(Is Chad Durbin still in play?)
"We're keeping our minds open on all the possibilities. If we had our druthers, we'd probably lean more toward the left side if we could. But we haven't closed any doors on anybody."
"I think we do. I'd like to open it up to a competition, which would be good. I would like to get some young players onto our major-league club who could help us. We're going to create a situation where two or three spots may be up for grabs. I like that flexibility and competition."
"We're still trying to assess if a platoon situation would be as productive.While it doesn't sound on paper as ideal, a platoon of Ross Gload and Ben Francisco may very well produce enough offense for us to continue to be a championship-caliber club. We're still assessing if that's the route we want to take. The issue in that scenario is if we get the same type of defense, and that's a concern.
"It's one of those situations, you just don't know when a guy is going to be ready."
"That's the trick. Are any of these guys better than Francisco? There's no reason for us to go outside if we believe we have better internally."
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick has been elected to the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee this morning.
The 16-member "Expansion Era" committee elected only Gillick of a ballot of 12 candidates.
"I can't tell you what an honor this is," Gillick said.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
In the end, Jayson Werth took the money and the years. And a lot of each.
Werth signed a seven-year contract with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, worth a reported $126 million. It is a shocking twist of developments and a major coup for Werth and his agent, Scott Boras. The deal will accomplish exactly what Werth had wanted: His family is set for life.
And now, he will go to Washington as the face of the franchise and see the National League East rival Phillies 18 times a season.
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
After Domonic Brown sat on the bench for much of August and September, the Phillies sent their top prospect and possible starting rightfielder to the Dominican Republic this winter to make up for some lost playing time.
Nine games into his stint with Escogido, Brown is returning home.
The team's website said Saturday that Brown traveled back to the United States after hitting just .069 (2 for 29) in those nine games.
