Posted: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 3:50 PM | 24 comments |
 

Bye, bye Bowker for Phillies
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The Phillies have released outfielder John Bowker. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The Phillies have released outfielder John Bowker to allow him to pursue an opportunity with a professional team in Japan, the team announced Tuesday.

In a combined 31 major league games between the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates last season, Bowker, 28, batted .133 with two RBI. He spent the majority of the 2011 season at triple-A Indianapolis in the Pirates minor league system, where he hit .306 with 15 home runs and 76 RBI in 106 games.


For his major league career, Bowker has hit .232 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI in 240 games between the San Francisco Giants (2008-10), Pirates (2010-11) and Phillies (2011). Bowker was originally a third round selection of the Giants in the June 2004 draft.


With the transaction, the Phillies now have 39 players on the 40-man roster.

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Posted by Inquirer Staff @ 3:50 PM  Permalink | 24 comments
24
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:06 PM, 01/10/2012
    Kerry Wood?
    — akaufman16
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:07 PM, 01/10/2012
    wow --what a devastating loss ...now if Phils can somehow "lose" such key players that they just signed like Willis, Schneider, Nix, etc. and replace them with legitimate major leaguers, and then go trade 4 of their top prospects in July for a major legure hitter at 3rd base ... oh why bother...
    — warbiscuit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:49 PM, 01/10/2012
    Another clueless bandwagon fan. You really have beef with Willis (peanuts non-guaranteed contract to be a LOOGY), Schneider (back up catcher), and Nix (utility player)? Also, trade 4 top prospect for a 3B is insane. First, no one gives up 4 top prospects for anyone, and if they do, it's for a pitcher. Second, 3B position is scarce across the board. Polly making $6.25 this year and $5.5 next year (doesn't include a $1M buyout) is a bargain for his value. He has injury issues for sure but it's not like the position can be readily upgraded. Get a clue tea cup.
    — DennyP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:20 PM, 01/10/2012
    The loss is the at the should have cut him a month ago, instead of the infielder that they cut and was snagged by the Nationals.
    — 76er
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:21 PM, 01/10/2012
    What in the he11 took so long?
    — twpman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:42 PM, 01/10/2012
    Some day we will all be looking at Bowker's plaque on the Wall of Fame. Thanks for the memories, John.
    — dasher
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:42 PM, 01/10/2012
    Shocking. Bowker better hope they throw some yen his way cause .133 isn't going to get you MLB $$$.
    — PhillySubsMac
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:50 PM, 01/10/2012
    Angel's Mark Trumbo may be available with Morales and Pujols at first...maybe he can play 3rd...has power for sure.
    — Romus
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:58 PM, 01/10/2012
    denny --since you're apparently sarcasm-challenged and baseball-ignorant, I'll spell it out: Phils could have signed a legitmate 3rd baseman like Aramis for less than they paid for a non-hitting shortstop, instead clueless rube wastes $50 mil. on a closer when he could have signed numerous just as good relievers much cheaper and then gets useless grbage like Schneider and Willis that cost nothing cause they're worth nothing..my mentioning "3 prospects for a 3rd baseman" is a sarcastic dig at the rube's history of trying to cover himself every july by depleting the farm system to get players that he should have gotten in the off-season... kapisch ?
    — warbiscuit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:01 PM, 01/10/2012
    oh dennyp that guy Polnco is useless --no power no speed and no hits after the month of may
    — warbiscuit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:11 PM, 01/10/2012
    76er, you can't even remember the guy's name but you know we should have kept him; thanks for the laugh!!!!!!!!
    — JBinPA
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:11 PM, 01/10/2012
    dennyp: quick q: exactly how many championships has the great rube won as g.m. in 3 yrs? when he got he job he had a defending champion and one of best farm systems in baseabll, now the Phisl have only one prospect ranked in the top 100 (ranked about 74th) and one of the oldest team in baseball --an expensive team that cant hit, with a pitiful bench and no offensive depth or balance
    — warbiscuit
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:12 PM, 01/10/2012
    Exactly right, DennyP.
    — schmenkman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:53 PM, 01/10/2012
    That's it, I'm done with this club.
    — Sam Crow
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:17 PM, 01/10/2012
    Last i recall, he was 0 for 12 or 13. Did he ever get a hit as a Phillie?
    — doc35


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Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.

This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.

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