Posted: Monday, May 24, 2010, 12:04 PM | 26 comments |
 

Schneider activated; Hoover DFA'ed
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As expected, backup catcher Brian Schneider (strained left Achilles) was activated from the 15-day disabled list Monday and will join the Phillies on their trip to New York beginning Tuesday.

To make room for Schneider, catcher Paul Hoover was designated for assignment. The Phillies' 40-man roster stands at 39 players.

Schneider, 33, played in three rehab games for triple-A Lehigh Valley over the weekend. He passed his final test Sunday, catching all nine innings. Before the injury, Schneider was hitting .167 (3 for 18) with no extra-base hits in seven games.

Hoover, 34, filled in admirably for Schneider (and at times, Carlos Ruiz). In six games, he hit .278 (5 for 18), scored six runs and drove in two.

Should the Phillies choose to place Hoover on waivers, which is expected, it's possible he may not make it through. The Washington Nationals placed catcher Ivan Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list Monday and are in need of a backup catcher. Former Phillie Chris Coste is in triple A with Washington but recently had season-ending Tommy John surgery.

Catcher is a thin position in the Phillies' system. Currently at triple A, Dane Sardinha and John Suomi are sharing the job. Sardinha has played in 31 major-league games over four seasons.
Posted by Matt Gelb @ 12:04 PM  Permalink | 26 comments
26
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:12 PM, 05/24/2010
    Come on back, Paul Bako
    — lancastermike
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:14 PM, 05/24/2010
    That has to be the end of Coste, right? If he comes back he'll be able to write another book.
    — B in DC
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:18 PM, 05/24/2010
    I saw Sal Fasano running through the Mushroom Kingdom in red overalls, collecting coins and shooting fireballs at bad guys.
    — bigjoeco
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:22 PM, 05/24/2010
    Dumb question - if Hoover is on the 40 man roster why don't they just leave him there and send him to the minors. I was under the impression that being "out of options" (presumably the reason that Hoover and Valdez were "designated for assignment") only applied if you were not on the 40 man roster, which Hoover was.
    — erformc1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:29 PM, 05/24/2010
    And when Pudge returns to the Nationals Hoover will be DFA'd again. Such is life for a career minor leaguer. Best of luck Paul.
    — Rick Wise Guy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:36 PM, 05/24/2010
    With another lefthanded batter back on the active roster, hopefully that takes us one step closer to the release or trade of Greg Dobbs.
    — psuflyers
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:44 PM, 05/24/2010
    Tommy John surgery for a catcher?
    — jpgulli
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:35 PM, 05/24/2010
    Hoover won't make it through. Catchers are hard to find.
    — Dan in Holmesburg
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:40 PM, 05/24/2010
    I don't get it. What's so special about Schneider that they kept him and let Hoover go? Look at the numbers...Guess it must be that new math they are teaching our kids.
    — PhillieJoe
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:45 PM, 05/24/2010
    Why couldn't we let Washington take Schneider through waivers, instead of Hoover. If this comes back to haunt us, I'm going to have a fit!
    — PhillieJoe
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:08 PM, 05/24/2010
    "Dumb question - if Hoover is on the 40 man roster why don't they just leave him there and send him to the minors. I was under the impression that being "out of options" (presumably the reason that Hoover and Valdez were "designated for assignment") only applied if you were not on the 40 man roster, which Hoover was." No, it's a good question. Hoover was added to the 40 man roster only because Schneider was on the DL. Guys on the DL don't count towards the 40 man roster. So now that Schneider is back, they are designating Hoover for assignment to get him off the 40 man roster but he's gotta clear waivers to do that. Most teams like to keep the 40 man roster under 40 in case someone gets hurt and they need to make a move, they don't want to have to expose a prospect to waivers. So that's why the Phillies don't want Hoover to be the 40th man on the 40 man roster. By the way, anyone who thinks that Hoover is a better catcher than Schneider hasn't watched the games or doesn't know anything about baseball. Boxscores don't tell anywhere near the whole story. There's a reason that Hoover is a 34 year old career minor leaguer. He's not good defensively, not good at handling pitchers and calling games and he's not much of a hitter. He got a few hits here and there in limited ABs which was nice but he wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball if you watched the games. Plus, he's a RH hitter so when would he play? Ruiz is a RH hitter so they like to have a LH hitting back-up to mix in there.
    — JimG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:11 PM, 05/24/2010
    Hoover wont make it and with the catchers that we gave up in recent years, this could hurt.
    — ESFjellin
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:23 PM, 05/24/2010
    Schneider is also on this team because of his knowledge of hitters - specifically in the NL East. There is no downgrade in terms of calling a game with Schneider in the game - certainly cannot say the same about Hoover.
    — lmwsport7


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About Matt Gelb and Bob Brookover












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.

Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
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