Phillies claim Carrera, designate Inciarte
After one game, the Phillies roster has undergone change. They claimed outfielder Ezequiel Carrera off waivers from Cleveland and designated outfielder Ender Inciarte for assignment Tuesday.
Phillies claim Carrera, designate Inciarte
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA — After one game, the Phillies roster has undergone change.
They claimed outfielder Ezequiel Carrera off waivers from Cleveland and designated outfielder Ender Inciarte for assignment Tuesday. The move is a shuffle of fifth outfielders. With a hole in right field and no particularly good answer for at least a month, Carrera could stand to gain playing time.
The 25-year-old Venezuelan led the majors with 11 stolen bases this spring. He has 116 games of major-league experience, all with the Indians, and a career .653 OPS. Of those 116 games, 88 were starts.
Carrera, a lefthanded hitter, was out of options and designated for assignment March 25 by Cleveland. Earlier in the spring, Indians manager Terry Francona said, "His speed impacts the game."
He can play all three outfield positions, with the majority of his time coming in center field. Carrera was originally signed by the New York Mets from Venezuela.
Charlie Manuel started John Mayberry Jr. in right field Monday. He said he has no problem platooning Mayberry and Laynce Nix until Delmon Young's return from ankle surgery. Young was scheduled to play the outfield for three innings in an extended spring training game Tuesday.
But Young's addition to the roster is not imminent and the team is not enamored of Mayberry nor Nix. In an ideal world, one of them swings a hot bat and earns the majority of at-bats. If not, Carrera enters the equation.
Inciarte, 22, did not appear in Monday's season opener. As a Rule 5 pick, the Phillies were required to keep him on the active roster for all of 2013. It was a challenge, considering he had never played a game above single A. The Phillies could have attempted to trade for his rights with Arizona.
If a team claims Inciarte off waivers, they must follow the same Rule 5 stipulations. If he clears waivers, the Diamondbacks recover his rights. The Phillies will receive $25,000 in exchange.
Carrera will be in uniform Wednesday, the Phillies said.
EXTRA BASES. Chase Utley became the 13th second baseman in history with 200 home runs. The others: Jeff Kent, Rogers Hornsby, Craig Biggio, Ryne Sandberg, Joe Morgan, Joe Gordon, Bret Boone, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Bobby Doerr, Dan Uggla and Roberto Alomar. ... Monday's game achieved the highest opening-day rating on PHL17 in the last 17 years. It averaged an 11.5 household rating and was the No. 1 program in the Philadelphia market. ... Mike Schmidt, George Brett and comedian Joe Piscopo will throw the ceremonial first pitches prior to Friday's home opener at Citizens Bank Park vs. Kansas City.
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is he better than mayberry or nix ? these guys should not start.bench players at best.go phillies.....— phillysportsnut- Put Fransden in Right. Dude can hit.— itstru
- This outfield is a disaster. Dom Brown is lost out there. Mayberry has no place in the NL. Watching Nix is like torture. Wait til it is clear how bad Revere is defensively. Good thing Araro didn't go after Beltran, Willingham, Kubel or Cuddyer, huh??— Copper34
- Hey Toolbiscuit do you get up every morning looking to make a complete dope of yourself? — DogBiscuitthedope
- I heard on Telemundo that Carrera has the highest batting average in the history of Tuesday day night doubleheaders played against sub-350 teams when the right handed starter is pulled before the 7th inning due to an injury and is replaced by a left handed reliever with less than 27 2/3 career innings in the Pacific Coast League. — rwolffd12
- Please let's try to put this is perspective.
1. Upton and Upton--they were both good high priced pick-ups for the Braves and I personnaly would have liked to have seen Justin on the Phillies. I think and have long felt that BJ was overrated. Both of them ave long swings that make them prone to strikeouts--but they made the Braves better--not invincible but better.
2. The Phillies made it pretty clear that they would be looking at the DFA list for additional OF help--I do not think this is a panic move. Even if Ruf lights up AAA and forces his way to the ML team--they will need to remove him in the late innings.
3. Even if Brown hits .350 with 25 HRs and if D. Young does the same, the team is going to need late inning subs to play defense.
4. Inciarte, while potentially a nice player, was in the right place at the wrong time. Three years ago--the team could have kept him on the roster for the entire season because they had 7 starters that played above average defense, while able to put the ball in play. As the team will be configured if/when D. Young joins the lineup both corners and 3rd Base are candidates for late innning defensive upgrades--Inciarte did not appear to be up to the task affensively.
5. Game one has been played--The one negative to watch closely is the situation with Durbin--you simply can not walk the lead-off batter in that situation--but it is one game not 50.— Smoothellc - If you pause your DVR for a few secs it will sync up with the AM radio broadcast!!— justacarpenter
- Mayberry and Nix have got to go.They stink.Don't blame Cholly.Blame Amaro.He is the one who goes after these kind of stiffs.— snowman100
- mayberry is kind of like wes chamberlain. they look like they should be good players, but they simply are not.
turns out the reds were smart not to trade us, or anyone else, heisey, as he's now a starter for the next 3 months in cincy.— jim715 - If the Phillies needed a third baseman back in the eighties, and had Amaro been the GM, he would have passed on Brett and Schmidt and signed the low risk, high reward Joe Piscopo.— dasher
- How do ya explain the Phils having the best record in the major leagues in 2010 and 2011, the only two times in 129 years? Rube deserves some of the credit. — ToniBaloney
- Prior to yesterday, Durbin was viewed as a good addition. One poor outing and it is Rube's fault. Get a clue, guys.— ToniBaloney
- If this guy hits, Mayberry will be back in Aunt Bea's kitchen by 4/15.
— NewMick314 - Good news, as it shows Amaro is deeply concerned about the outfield, as he should be. Nix and Mayberry are, simply, busts. Carrera is not the answer but is a marginal upgrade over Inciarte. When D. Young is ready, I hope we trade Mayberry for -- anything, a low-A prospect would be fine. Nix is untradeable at $1.25 million.
I am not a constant critic but it is unfathomable to me that we don't have 1 legit outfield prospect in AAA or AA. Every other organization seems to.
— therealeman - sounds good, @realeman, but what the heck was he waiting for? Could he have possibly believed he had assembled the best possible team for the scads of money he has paid out for this team?
He is an amateur!!!!!!!!!!!!— advantasux
