According to Jeff Schuler of The Morning Call, Pitcher Nate Bump, 1B/OF Tagg Bozied and OF Rich Thompson have re-signed with the Phils organization for the 2011 season. Bump is expected to rejoin the rotation in Lehigh Valley in 2011 after a very good first half of 2010. Bump struggled with his health in the seasons second half, but should be 100% healthy entering 2011. Bump, 34, is a local guy from Towanda, PA who has 113 major league appearances to his credit in the Marlins organization. In 2010 Bump went 8-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 20 starts and was named to the International League All Star Team.
Rich Thompson, a personal favorite of mine because of how he plays, returns to the Lehigh Valley outfield for a 4th season after resigning this week. Last season Thompson hit .284/.339/.382 with 5 HR and 45 RBI’s in 476 AB’s. Thompson, 31, was very impressive on the base paths stealing 41 bases in 45 attempts.
Bozied, 31, returns after having a phenomenal 2010 at the plate in Reading, hitting .315/.402/.631 in 355 AB’s with 27 HR and 92 RBI’s.
Phuture Phillies 
It’s great that Bozied is back.
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Thank God we resigned Bozied…now we get to have 10,000 more comments about the Phillies calling him up as a pinch-hitter.
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nah, the “Riz” has taken over that roll until at least June…
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Plus they signed Jeff Larish who can 1b and 3b
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Is the deadline to put guys on the 40 man roster tonight at midnight or tomorrow night at midnite? I wonder who they will protect.
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Tomorrow night is the deadline.
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can someone please give me the short and quick about bozie? What’s the joking about the pinch hitting at MLB level? I’m an out of towner who doesn’t get a chance to see many phils ml games except for when the the R Phils visit my AA eastern league out of town team. Apparently he plays the game the right way?
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oh, ok gotcha. Yes i do read a lot about “riz” … Waiting for the day he hits .400 @ Philadelphia
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Jimmy,
It’s got nothing to do with Bozied who is actually a solid minor league professional. The reference is poking fun at the propensity of some posters on this blog to take the hottest hitter in the minors at any particular moment and want them promoted to the big club to take the spot of player X who is currently struggling. Last year it happened to be Bozied for a stretch of time.
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Bozied’s statistics in Reading were obviously going to be great. He was a AAA veteran playing in the Eastern League. Bozied at this point in his career has a .283/.356/.502 line in AAA in over 2,000 plate appearances. And he’s never had so much as a cup of coffee in the majors. I don’t think he’s an MLB starter waiting to happen. But he’s right handed, has a track record and can play all four corners. There are quite a few bench guys in the majors who aren’t as good.
Injuries set Bozied back more than anything. He ruptured a tendon in his knee during a home plate celebration in 2004, and that completely derailed his career.
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These are all reasonable minor league filler signings. Thompson has speed and defense. Bozied has right handed power. Bump can pitch in a swingman role. It would be a huge longshot if any got to the majors.
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