First round of cuts

Spring Training 2011

The Phillies have made their first round of cuts, according to David Hale’s Philled In blog.

The optioned/re-assigned are:

Drew Carpenter, RHP
Michael Schwimer, RHP
Justin De Fratus, RHP
Joel Naughton, C
Drew Naylor, RHP
JC Ramirez, RHP
Harold Garcia, 2B
Cesar Hernandez, 2B
Matt Rizzotti, 1B
Carlos Rivero, INF

Mike Stutes remains in big league camp, which is an indication that he at least has an outside shot of making the team. Hale comments that Charlie Manuel was especially impressed with Schwimer and De Fratus and sees them contributing at some point in the near future.

26 thoughts on “First round of cuts”

  1. Why not send Brown down now since there is no way he will make the team? I assume that Kratz and Sardinha are next. Mathieson remains, and I hope he gets a spot just for the sake of his psyche. Martinez needs to get going or he will be offered back to the Nats. Barfield and Orr are going to get long looks given the injury to Utley. Barfield has the upper hand and I hope he beats out Valdez. I think Barfield could have greater ability to drive the ball than Valdez. He looks nimble at second. Of course, we need to make sure we are getting the good Barfield. I’m glad I got a chance to see Ramirez yesterday. I was impressed by his size, but it looks like his location of his secondary stuff needs work. He has a good live fastball, which helped him through his two good outings this spring, but as we saw from the bad outing, not having refined secondary pitches will catch up with you.

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    1. My impression is that Stutes is more of a finished product than De Fratus, who might really benefit from another year in AAA. Stutes, at this point, is what he is – and he’s certainly pitched well this spring.

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  3. Sending down Brown is tricky as it relates to his service time as well. If he is placed on the DL it might have to be the major league DL though he could be optioned to the minors when healthy.

    Clearly Brown will need to play some in the minors when he gets healthy. The Phillies may not want to option him however if they think he will be ready pretty quickly (as in May). If they think he needs more time than a 30-day injury assignment then they would use the option and probably let him play till July there which would conveniently delay his arbitration eligibility by a year.

    The priority with Brown is to get him healthy and then if he is playing well he should be promoted immediately regardless of service time issues.

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  4. Wish De Fratus could’ve had a few more outings with the big club before these cuts. Seems like he was starting to get a feel for his off speed pitches. Saw him throw a lot of them in his outings.

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  5. I think Brown getting sent down at this point would cause a grievence with the union. He’ll need to be placed on the major league DL. And since he’s hurt, it doesn’t really matter what camp he’s in.

    As far as Stutes, DeFratus has a higher ceiling but has yet to pitch in AAA. Stutes is closer to the majors.

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    1. Dubee is high on Stutes–he favorably commented on how confident a pitcher Stutes is. Dubee underscored that he likes guys like that.

      As to Barfield, Manuel was quoted in today’s paper as labeling his defense as “adequate.” That doesn’t mean he’ll get cut, but it’s somewhat of an ominous comment.

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  7. I read that Brian Bass, Eddie Bonine, Ryan Feierabend, Tagg Bozied, and Matt Miller
    were also sent down and Robb Quinlan was released.

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  8. Little off topic, but do you think the phillies could snag Matt Wieters from Baltimore?

    I know this isn’t a hedge fund, but given my job it just seems he’s a good opportunity to employ a buy low sell high theory…. What would he cost?

    Thoughts?

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      1. Haha, yeah i figured, but everyone has a price, and his has got to be the lowest it’s been since he was drafted.

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          1. The Orioles can afford to be patient. They have absolutely no reason to make a move right now. If Wieters isn’t worth much in a trade, why would they want to deal him.

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    2. It’s a shame that baseball isn’t more like a hedge fund: Ruben Amaro could use massive leverage to corner the world market on catchers, force every other team to have its pitchers throw straight to the backstop, and then gleefully exploit his competitive advantage for maximum profit as the entire system of organized baseball collapses.

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  10. Buck S. Loves Weiters, don’t see him going anywhere. The O’s do have a young catcher in the minors that’s good, but not a power hitter. That guy could probably be had, his name is Caleb Joseph.

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  11. Mayberry just hit his 4th HR of the spring. An interesting tidbit, BA for Galvis this spring, .222. Rollins, .206. I’m surprised Galvis wasn’t part of the 1st round of cuts. I’m sure he’ll be part of the next round though

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  12. So much for all of these “great” minor league relievers making the big league team out of Spring Training.

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    1. LOL. Right. Well at least Bastardo should break with the big club. Baez trying to bounce back is costing one of the kids a shot. I’m not necessarily a Baez fan, but I’m certainly rooting for him this year. He’ll need a phenomenal season for the Phils to even think about offering arbitration, but it would be great to get a 2nd rounder for him.

      In any event, the Pigs bullpen will prove the most interesting component of their makeup. Worley, Rizzotti, Brown, perhaps Bozied will be fun to track this year, but most of the excitement will reside in the pen. I still don’t understand the move with Carp. Even if the brass is projecting him as a middle reliever, which is likely his ceiling, he should still be stretched out as a starter IMO.

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