Signings

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The Phils continued filling their minor league needs with several signings over the last several days including:  OF Chris Duffy; INF Cody Ransom; and LHP Bill White.

Duffy, 29, is an interesting signing after the Phils had prospectively filled a need adding DeWayne Wise to an outfielder rich minor league system.  I assume the possbility exists that they are attempting to add a serviceable AAAA Outfielder in case they decide to move Brown/Taylor.  Duffy an 8th round pick by the Pirates in the 2001 draft, showed early promise, stealing 26 bases for the Pirates in 2006.  He is a career .261 major league hitter in over 700 major league at bats.  Last year, in very limited major league action he hit .125  in 19 games for Milwaukee.

Cody Ransom was the starting third baseman for the Yankees as Alex Rodriguez nursed his hip back to health last year and hit below .200 in 31 games.  Ransom, 33, was up and down between New York and Scranton following AROD’s return, however in 2008 Ransom hit .255 with 22 HR and 71 RBI playing both third and short for the AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees.

Lefty Reliever Bill White, was a 3rd round pick by Arizona in the 2000 draft out of Jacksonville State. The tall lefty saw major league action in both 2007 and 2008 with the Rangers, with a very lofty 9.45 ERA in 17 major league appearances.  White, 31, did not play last year, but was 4-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 50 appearances for AAA Oklahoma City in 2008, saving 6 games and averaging over a strikeout per inning.

20 thoughts on “Signings”

  4. I googled the name and came up with a solo dancer in some dance troupe I could neither recreate the spelling of or come close to pronouncing…

    Maybe that means his footwork is good?

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  5. From the little I can gather, I get the impression that White might have pitched hurt during his disastrous MLB stints. Obviously a scout liked something, and it’s a low risk flyer on a lefty.

    Cody Ransom I’ve seen plenty of from his stints in Scranton. He’s a low average hitting with strong secondary skills. He has pop and his defense is very good. He could well be the best utility infielder in the organization, given the opportunity.

    “We also signed Jorge Alfaro apparently. No idea who that is…”

    Found an article from a Colombian newspaper. Thanks to Google Translate.
    “Philadelphia Phillies chips for a million 300 thousand dollars a baseball player Jorge Mario Alfaro Buelvas Sincelejana of 16 years, becoming the most expensive transaction in a Colombian prospectus. Alfaro, who signed as a catcher, started as a gardener.

    The youth was Sucre Selection in all categories and was the best hitter. In the Dominican Republic, where six months ago, Alfaro became receiver, and the prospects tournament was recently chosen as the best hitter. ”

    Gardener refers to an infielder or outfielder I assume. So basically, the Phillies paid $1.3 million to sign a 16 year old Colombian catching prospect. At least if this report is accurate. Baseball America would probably have more details at some point.

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  6. I heard that the Colombian catcher story has since been retracted…we have not yet signed him. However, there is strong interest.

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  10. maybe they mean he has summer job as a gardener? i ean, i’ve done that. i hope we sign someone good like that though.

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  11. Hey, somebody has to keep the field at the Bank nice and playable. If he can swing the bat a little too, thats a bonus.

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  12. From Philly.com Forum

    Jorge Alfaro is a 16 year old Columbian kid that can hit and has only played catcher 1 year.

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  13. Jorge Arangure from ESPN is reporting that Alfaro worked out for the team but has not signed yet.

    I think this much money for a 16-year-old (one relatively unknown) is extremely risky. I would rather they spread it around to 3 or 4 prospects if I had a choice. Though if this is the way they choose to spend World Series profits I am at least happy it is going to players. We should have some cachet now to get the better International prospects.

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  14. ****I would rather they spread it around to 3 or 4 prospects if I had a choice. ****

    Sometimes you gotta go for the HR instead of 4 singles. Considering how much we likely made on a 2nd straight WS run, I think it won’t hurt to toss some money down into Latin America.

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  15. andyb – Minor League systems, and Major League teams, are built on elite prospects. How would you feel about the Phillies system if instead of Drabek, Taylor and Brown at the top of the pile we had 12 guys like Donald, Marson and Carrasco? It would still be a nice system, but no difference makers. There would be no players like Hamels, Utley or Howard that could carry a team through a season or a short series.

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  16. The problem is that 16-year-olds have such a variation in projection – i.e. they are risky because you do not know how they will physically develop. Even at 18 and with better medical records in the U.S. we have a pretty good idea of physical development. Latin American prospects also do not play against an established level of competition (traveling teams, all star tournaments, even a good high school league). Teams simply do not know as much and take risks when they spend $1 million plus for players (even before the age verification factor).

    On the other hand there are good players to be had for $300K like Domingo Santana. Also dont know Carrasco. He signed for $500K and had at least back end of the first round stuff. He has not put it together yet, but he was a premium prospect.

    When you mention elite prospects like Drabek, Taylor, and Brown, it is interesting that 2 of those 3 cost much much less than $1 million. My theory is that every year we should sign a bunch of these $100K-$500K prospects in the U.S. draft and internationally. Some will succeed (Brown). Some will not (Carlos Valenzuela). But if you sign 10 of them every year, you probably end up with 3 decent prospects. And internationally there is a good chance of ending up with an elite prospect because so much is unknown at age 16.

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  17. I’m on board with you, andy: while I’ll be happy however money for international signings is allocated, I’m a big fan of signing a bunch of mid-level guys. There are just too many unknowns to blow an entire budget on one player.

    To illustrate the point: the Mets are always hyperactive in Latin America, handing out 7 figure bonuses like they’re going out of style… yet their best prospect right now, Jenrry Mejia, signed for $16,500. You just never know.

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  18. ****Teams simply do not know as much and take risks when they spend $1 million plus for players (even before the age verification factor).****

    That’s not nearly the issue it was 5 years ago, let alone 10 years ago. USCIS (successor to INS) has drastically cut down on that type of fraud as a result of the post 9/11 crackdowns. Its by far the exception to the rule.

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  19. I know it isnt on topic, but Roy halladay has checked into a philadelphia hotel with his agent to discuss a potential contract extension. Apparently phils have moved along enough in the talks. MLBtradrumors has it all. Who would we send, Taylor, goose, happ?

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