Phillies Invite 10 to Spring Training
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Phillies Invite 10 to Spring Training
Inquirer Staff
Phillies press release:
Ten players have been invited to Phillies spring training as non-roster invitees, Chuck LaMar, Phillies assistant general manager, player development & scouting announced today.
· Dave Borkowski, RHP … Borkowski, 31, split last season between the Houston Astros and triple-A Round Rock. In his 26 appearances with Houston , he was 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA, while with Round Rock he posted a 2-2 record with two saves and a 2.43 ERA in 27 games (1 start). Borkowski has appeared in 181 major league games, going 13-20 with a 5.87 ERA between Detroit (1999-2001), Baltimore (2004) and Houston (2006-08).
· Mike Cervenak, 3B/1B … Cervenak, 32, played for triple-A Lehigh Valley this past season where he finished fifth in the International League in batting average (.311) and tied for seventh in doubles (30). On the year, he hit 10 home runs, recorded 66 RBI and was named to the IL All-Star team. Cervenak also made his major league debut in 2008 with the Phillies, hitting .154 (2-13) in 10 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter.
· Ozzie Chavez, SS … Chavez, 25, combined to hit .232 (63-271) with four home runs, 33 RBI and 23 runs scored in 94 games between triple-A Nashville and double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee organization. For his career, Chavez is hitting .250 with 22 home runs and 297 RBI in 889 games. He is currently playing for Azucareros del Este in the Dominican Winter League.
· J.J. Furmaniak, INF/OF … Furmaniak, 29, who was originally selected by San Diego in the 22nd round of the 2000 draft, did not play last season. He has appeared in 29 career major league games between Pittsburgh (2005) and Oakland (2007) and is hitting .186 (8-43) with two RBI. For his minor league career he is hitting .270 with 84 home runs and 408 RBI in 889 games.
· Mike Koplove, RHP … Last season with triple-A Las Vegas, Koplove, a Philadelphia native, went 2-1 with nine saves and a 3.46 ERA in 41 games. Over his seven major league seasons, Koplove, 32, has posted a 15-7 record with a 3.82 ERA in 222 games for Arizona (2001-06) and Cleveland (2007).
· Justin Lehr, RHP … Lehr, 31, spent last season with triple-A Louisville, where he went 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 16 games (8 starts). He is currently pitching for Yaquis de Obregon in the Mexican Winter League. Lehr has pitched in 66 career major league games, posting a 4-3 record with a 5.31 ERA between Oakland (2004) and Milwaukee (2005-06).
· Blaine Neal, RHP … Neal, 30, finished tied for 2nd for the IL lead in saves (26) while pitching for triple-A Toledo in 2008. Overall, he went 1-0 with a 1.21 ERA in 38 appearances and began the season converting his first 17 save opportunities. The native of Marlton, N.J., has appeared in 133 major league games, all in relief, going 5-4 with a 5.08 ERA between Florida (2001-03), San Diego (2004), Boston (2005) and Colorado (2005).
· Terry Tiffee, 3B … Tiffee, 29, spent last season with triple-A Las Vegas, where he led the Pacific Coast League in batting average (.378), finished 3rd in doubles (39), 4th in on-base percentage (.416), 8th in hits (148) and 10th in slugging percentage (.561). Tiffee also appeared with the Dodgers in 2008 playing in six games, mostly as a pinch-hitter. He is currently playing for Venados de Mazatlan in the Mexican Winter League.
· Andy Tracy, 1B … Last season, Tracy, 35, played for Lehigh Valley , where he hit .288 with 22 home runs and 85 RBI in 124 games. He led all IL first basemen in fielding percentage (.997), finished 2nd in the league in doubles (34) and tied for fifth in RBI (85). Tracy also made four pinch-hit appearances (0-2, RBI) for the Phillies in 2008.
· Chris Walker, OF … Walker , 28, hit .257 with one home run and 27 RBI in 78 games for triple-A Salt Lake this past season. Originally selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2002 draft, Walker is hitting .270 with 16 home runs and 217 RBI in 685 career minor league games. He is currently playing for Naranjeros de Hermosillo in the Mexican Winter League.
The following players were signed as minor league free agents: right-handers Yorman Bazardo, Yoel Hernandez and Justin Pope, left-handers Jason Mackintosh and Joshua Shortslef, first baseman/outfielder Brian Stavisky and outfielders Casey Craig, Kevin Mahar, Wilkin Ruan, Mike Spidale and Rich Thompson.
Is there a realistic chance of any of these people making the team either on opening day or even during the season? With exception of Cervenak, none of them seem to fill any needs we may have— jeff gross- Jeff, often teams will invite non-roster invitees to better evaluate if/where they might land in the organization. ie: a player in big league camp might land in LV or Reading or Lakewood, based on how he handles big league competition. I agree that I don't see much competition for the guys on the 25-man roster. I remember a year between eras (late 90s) where they invited an obscene amount of non-roster guys. THEY were actual competition for the returning players. One veteran even quipped that the guys were exchanging passing routes (due to their uniform numbers in the 80s and above)— Sully
- This Tiffee guy sounds legit. We have a history of luck in non-roster guys, too (Victorino, Coste, etc.).— Philth
- These guys are your 2009 Lehigh Iron Pigs— lancastermike
- Sully: I am aware of why invites go out to non roster players. I just don't recognise most of the names and was currious if someone else does. Vic wasn't a non roster player, he was a rule 5 pick-up and had to be kept on teh roster or offered back (the Dodgers actually did't want him back if you can believe it). AS for Tiffy, could be interesting. Wonder where they play him as Donald is lined up to be starting 3B for Pigs— jeff gross
- Love seeing Cervenak and Tracy on the list. But 'ya gotta wonder....Seeing the average age of all these guys, is this their last hurrah? It would be kind of nice to see another "30 something year old rookie" book in the making.— Norma
- Filler, filler and more filler....for the minor league system....there's a reason why these guys are career minor leaguers...— Mark1npt
Comment removed.- Tiffee can play 1B, 3B, and some LF. Also, it's not a foregone conclusion that Donald will play 3B in LV. They said that he would get time at 3B and with the injury to Utley, he most likely will be staying at 2B for the time being. It is also important to note that he would have the most value to this team as a MI because MI's that can hit like him are hard to come by. He really does not have the power to be an everyday 3B in the majors at this point but it makes sense to give him work there because we don't have anyone as close to major league ready than him.— robm0202
- You need bodies for spring training and we just got them- can Tomas Perez be far behind? Koplove was actually a decent middle relief guy a few years back- maybe he can re-discover the magic (he certainly hasn't had "it" for the last few years).— KMG
- I don't really get this "not enmough power to be an everyday 3B." It is true that most teams expect their 3B to provide power, but it depends on what the needs of the team are. In 2007 the other starting IF players hit 101 HRs, and this year they "slipped" to 92. They have sufficient power. Where the are relatively weak in in BA and OBP. Assuming that Donald can hit as well as we hope he can, he should just what we need. Power would be a pleasant extra. And he did hit 14 HRs in 92 games at Reading, which shows that he's not useless in that department. That projects to about 18-24 HRs at the major league level (assuming, of course, that he can hit ML pitching for a respectable average). The world is filled with guys who could destroy minor league pitching but just couldn't cut it at the ML level. What worries me is his 18 errors in those 92 games, or 1 every 5 games. That's more than 30 per ML season. We can hope that, like Utley, he can turn himself from a defensive liability into a solid defensive player.— judas_priest
- Judas, his defense is why I don't seem him as a viable 3B option, I think they are just taking a chance and hoping he can play 3B. The power thing is something you would like to see at 3B, but not the only issue. To me it is a matter of we have no viable 3B prospects (Hewitt is way off and who knows if he will ever be any good) so they want to see how well he does. If you remember back though, they tried Howard out at LF and that never worked out, so who knows if Donald at 3B will work out. His value though is as a MI, I don't see him being a big part of the team's future only because I think he will be a big trade chip for us.— robm0202
- Playing shortstop and third base are very different. I think if Donald is move to 3B he will not be as bad defensively. Shortstop is the second toughest defensive position to play in the majors, right behind catching. Some may argue is the toughest. The shortstop has to be more involve in the game, turning the DP, being the cut off man, holding runners, covering second on a steal, etc. 3B is more about reflexes and instincts than anything else. And Donald already has that, we could assume, because he is playing SS. I don’t think he is going to have any problems making the transition. Regarding his power, he is still young and his power numbers are increasing as he keeps moving up and facing better talent, as his 14 HR last year at AA and the good # in the Fall league shows. Also, when you have Utley and Rollins capable of hitting 30 HRs each, and Chase can go all the way to 40, you don’t worry about your third baseman hitting for power. Teddy Pendleton, Ken Oberkfel and Enos Cabell, to name a few, had nice careers without much power. About the Tiffee guy, I wonder how come he is available after putting those numbers and with his versatility. Something is wrong here.— EL Zorro
- I just checked Tiffee on baseballreference.com. He is not a good defensive player. In 59 games with the Twins he had 9 errors playing 3B and 1B for a .953 FP. He was especially brutal at third (7 errors in 42 games, .932 FP). He didn’t hit either, .226 BA, .276 OBP and .350 SLG. I wonder if a AL team let him go, where he could DH, why is he in the NL? BTW, he was in the Dodgers system last year.— EL Zorro
- Does anyone know if Donald has the arm to play third? A SS arm has to be good, but often times ranging towards the middle makes the play a shorter throw. A weak/inaccurate arm at third is a problem. I played third for a stretch in little league, and there was no covering up the fact that I had a terrible, terrible, arm. Terrible.— B in DC
- these guys are your phill-ins while the big boys are playing in the world baseball classic. and the pitchers are defintely there for that reason so the big boys don't tire their arms out with the WBC— timm2
- It would sure be nice to read something different about these guys somewhere. Are they good fielders, good hitters, are we just planning on sticking them in AAA or are we thinking they may help sometime in teh season if there is an injury? Give us some depth Todd, please.— jeff gross
- I saw him in the Futures Game, where the Minor League All Stars from the US play the International stars, and he showed a good arm. And because he is a SS, he has a quick release, so even if he has an average or below average arm, that will help him.— EL Zorro
- Agree completely with jeff gross... maybe one of these guys, if that, will make the squad, so why even bother... We should be bringing in players who have actually done something in the league! How about a player like Shea Hillenbrand, two time All Star who could backup Ryan at first and play OF. Good all around player who I believe is a free agent... players like him are much better options than these no-namers. And they might be players who actually have an impact! I just dont get it.— chaseFAN
- FAN...Hillenbrand is nothing without steroids and a definite cancer in the clubhouse......why bother?— Mark1npt
- I wasn't saying that these guys shouldn't be brought to camp. I think it's great to see what, if anything, these guys have. I was just currious as to what and whom we should be watching. SInce I haven't heard of most of them I was hoping that Todd, or maybe one of you, had some inside info besides the bio the Philies released in their press release. You don't go signing free agents as non roster invitees to Spring Training. That's just wasting money— jeff gross
- Nothing to watch on these guys....they are for stocking our minor league teams with the promise of playing time and a "look" if by some miracle of God they outperform from what they've ever demonstrated before in their careers....does that clear it up for everybody?— Mark1npt
- was hoping that maybe there was a Coste or a Victorino there somewhere....— jeff gross
- Nothing without roids? Definitely wouldnt classify him as a user. Never was a big power guy anyway, but was a great glove and batted for high average. Just saying players like Hillenbrand are significantly better options than these no-names anyway... I just prefer proven players, thats all. Just an opinion.— chaseFAN
- I rather sign Ty Wigginton than Hillenbrand if he's still available. But what we really need is a right-handed hitting outfielder with some power (Juan Rivera?). Jeff, you can check any of these non-roster players at www.baseballreference.com.— EL Zorro
