Phils Sign Kevin Frandsen

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The Phillies have signed 28 year old Infielder Kevin Frandsen to a Minor League contract and have said that he will start the season in AAA Lehigh Valley. Frandsen has major league experience at third, shortstop, first base and both corner outfield positions. Frandsen was originally a 12th round draft pick of the Giants in the 2004 draft, and most recently played for the Angels where he hit .250/.294/.319 in 173 plate appearances last season.

In Frandsen’s last full minor league season in 2009, he played every infield position and hit .295/.352/.438 with 13 HR and 55 RBI in 427 AB’s with AAA Fresno.

56 thoughts on “Phils Sign Kevin Frandsen”

  1. I’ve heard Bocock is hurt, so this is a sensible move. Frandsen had an excellent defensive reputation coming up, but that was several years ago and I don’t know what his abilities are at this point.

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  2. Probably the AAA SS while Bocock recovers. 820 minor league OPS–makes good contact and draws a few walks. However, has no power to speak of, and for a guy who has decent speed, he rarely steals bases, and is only 60% effective when he does. I don’t know anything about his glove, but internet discussion says he plays more than adequate defense at 2b, 3b, and corner OF spots. His SS defense is probably below average. He was viewed as an up and coming IF prospect right up until he lost the 2008 season to a ruptured achilles.

    Interesting article from last year:

    http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-09/sports/18381915_1_nate-schierholtz-giants-bruce-bochy

    Also might play 3B for LV if Larish can’t handle the glove requirements.

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  4. Insurance for SS, 2b, 3b, and OF is a good thing. We all know how injuries can affect the drive to the playoffs. Having guys like him available is a good other backup.

    Good sign.

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  5. I actually see a little bit more upside potential out of Frandsen than a lot of the other AAAA guys the Phillies have signed recently, and it’s only a minor league deal that could pay off. Honestly I rather like this move, and i’d be interested to see how he does this year.

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  6. As per Phoulballz.com:

    According to a source within the Phillies organization, the following players were notified of their release on Monday in Clearwater: Justin Beal, Bradley Blanks, Matt McConnell, Adam Buschini, Drew Rundle, Heitor Correa, Matt Hutchison, Marco Davaillo, Mike Bolsenbroek and Eric Massingham.

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    1. Massingham is another one. Thought he had a good yr at Lakewood. He was 5-2 3.43 ERA and 3svs. Correia struggled mightly last yr and the one game I saw his name in this Spring he got lit up. Hutchison is a shock. He pitched well at GCL going 4-0 before a couple bad appearences at Clearwater last yr

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    2. Wow, I’m shocked by Buschini. A 4th rounder in 2009 is given only a year and a half to prove himself? I understand he did not perform well, but still that seems awfully fast. I supposed that’s the life of a minor leaguer.

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      1. Part of it for Buschini is that he should never have been drafted that high. As I recall he was a considerable overdraft (compared to scouting reports) that would sign for slot. Kind of an anti-tools guy as well, which is counter to our organizational philosophy of looking for a plus tool or two in our mid-top 10 selections.

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  7. Adam Buschini and Heitor Correa are the names that jump out for me. I thought Buschini would get another year as a middle infield higher round college bat. Dearth of infield potential would have earned him another chance. I guess the positive side is that the Phillies think they have better candidates (Mattair). Correa seems to have max’d out, though I would not be suprised if some other team grabs him.

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    1. Well, you could have Orr at 3B, Frandsen at SS, Barfield at 2B, Rizz at 1B and Larish DH in LHV. I’ve still got Bozied on LHV, but who knows? If Orr’s glove is better, then Orr at SS and Frandsen at 3B. However, I’ve still got Larish 3B and Orr SS to open, on my card.

      Bocock will be in Florida for at least a few more weeks while his wrist heals (per Schuler article this AM). He’ll be hanging out with Schlitter and Brownie.

      I think Martinez sticks, but if he gets returned (Washington would surely take him, right?) then Orr might make the Phillies as insurance at 2B/3B.

      At this point, Frandsen is LHV insurance, not Phillies insurance. Not yet, anyway. We’ll see.

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      1. Frandsen is the same age as Martinez and has ml experiance do you think kf is mm replacement? With bozied and the slew of outfielders/ dh types I can’t see the phils keeping all the util guys. Does Orr have an out in his contract if he doesn’t make the team?

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  9. Some people should remember the position Frandsen has played the most is 2B.

    Going by the Conventional Wisdom that Valdez starts at 2B, Martinez is kept as IF and Luis Castillo also , in MLB. Then Orr and Delwyn Young arrive at LVIP, Then LVIP wise the IF other than IB may be P. Orr 2B, Frandsen SS, and Josh Barfield 3B, then I got Larish backs up at 3B as IF back up and if they need to replace IF then Larish mans 3rd- Barfield slides to 2B and Orr goes to short. That leaves 1B for Rizzotti, backed by Tagg Bozied, and Bozied can also go to 3rd as a reserve option. They could also use Larish at 1B, and the guys I have for there is Rizzotti, Larish, Bozied- so one or 2 of them could be shorted on playing time. Or maybe they ship one or two to AA, where I have Joe Savery, Darin Ruf, and James Murphy. So something might give on that position. I do not think they should push any of these guys down to Clearwater.

    In that IF scenario, Delwyn Young goes to start in LF(also reserve at 2B 3B so ) and in CF- Cory Sullivan RF- Brandon Moss- and Chris Frey as back up. I had Rich Thompson, Matt Miller, and Jeremy Slayden as possibilities there, and think Spidale was on chart also, so those guys may go down or out.d

    Other people seem to think Martinez is returned, and I think Orr might be a better fit than Castillo, if they can be so bold. In that case LVIP gets neither Orr nor Delwyn Young, so that might be: LVIP- Larish 3B, Frandsen SS, and Barfield 2B, with Rizzotti and Bozied at 1B(and the IF reserve (and maybe I bring up Cartwright as another reserve) OF- Sullivan-Frey- Moss- with Miller in reserve.

    Of course, might only be half right or in wait for further moves which might change the whole thing.

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  10. As far as the cuts from PhoulBalz, of interest is the Buschini release and Drew Rundle. I had both as candidates for Clearwater. and on my original list , still have Barnes at 3B, Alan Scheonberger at SS, and Carlos Perdomo at 2B, backed by Mintken IF. Maybe they mess with that a little, and they could Slide Steven Batts ( who projected as 1B) to 2B or 3B. If not that, then what some on here have suggested Mattair to 3B here, and Cesar Hernandez to 2B may come to be.

    That might make for surprises at Lakewood, however, as all projected there would be Carlos Alonzo, Edgar Duran, and Cale Owen (who was thought as back-up). Maybe they can plug G. Mendez at 2B for positional questions there, but what projected at WPT is S. Malcolm, M. Payton, N. Rios, and M. Franco. And at XST you got Y. Morales, J. Castillo, G. Gonzalez, and C. Valenzuela.
    So if the assignment of Mattair and C. Hernandez goes down, Lakewood IF may have some people advancing quickly.. Some wild cards in this may be Christopher Duffy, and James Klocke as 3B candidates.
    Be interesting to see.

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    1. I think Barnes will be at 2B at Clearwater with Mattair at 3B. Not sure who Lakewood 3B will be, maybe Franko gets bumped like Santana was attempted last year.
      Though, I am still clinging on to the hope that either Altherr or Dugan would be Lakewood 3B. I wonder if either has the power to play corner OF, in which case they need to stick in CF to advance.
      Mendez might get some INF time at Lakewood, especially if Phils are planning to move C.Hernandez up quickly if he plays well.

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  11. For 2B at Lakewood, everyone continually forgets Carlos Perdomo, who played with CLW for a while last year, and also played decently at GCL. He was also in two AAA spring games. I suspect it’s because he has a great glove at 2B, not because he’s a polished hitter, so they move him up figuring there will be little disruption defensively. I’d guess they’re hoping he develops as a hitter, and they might put him at Lakewood if CHernandez goes to CLW.

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    1. Agree on Perdomo especially on defense as stats and the few reports indicate he is pretty good. He is not a bad choice for whereever Cesar Hernandez is not. Hernandez is the priority placement-wise however. He should go to CLW if the team thinks it is the proper level for him. I am skeptical of that and think Lakewood would be a safer choice for him, at least for a half season.

      Perdomo to Clearwater last year looked like it was just designed to fill a roster spot with a fringe prospect. He did OK up there given his experience, but I think him being there at all before he earned it indicates they don’t think that highly of him.

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    1. Yeah…I’m still trying to get over the tattoo of Hewitt that I got shortly after the 2008 draft.

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  13. I expect Barnes and Mattair to be playing at C Water (with Hanzawa) with Caesar playing at L Wood with Duran. As far as LHV, I’m expecting Orr, Frandsen and Barfield in the infield with Bozied and Rizz as the DH. Larish can’t field even a little bit and they prefer Rizz to DH over him. I think he’ll be cut. I think Rivera will be sent down to play 3B at Reading to leave Overbeck at 1B with savery as the DH. I also think frandsen was signed as another backup infielder and I don’t think the Phils will keep MM although they will probably try to trade for him. I think they’ll keep Young as a pinch hitter and start the year with Castillo at 2B. I just can’t see them keeping Valdez and MM on the bench together, it would just be too weak. Young has some pop and can switch hit and Castillo is a veteran and we all know that Charlie loves his vets.

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    1. Has Overbeck been exclusively playing 1B this Spring? No chance of him getting a shot at 3B again?

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      1. Overbeck is in a tough place. He was pretty brutally bad defensively at 3B last season but doesn’t have enough bat for 1B, and he’s got Howard ahead of him and possibly Singleton behind him. Moving him to 1B sort of puts the indelible ‘organizational player’ stamp on his forehead.

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        1. Well stated. Let’s hope he hits enough to make himself worthy of a trading piece. Otherwise, the most he’ll be is another 4A guy…… The good news is that he hit very well in ST and does have real power.

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  14. Reading- Overbeck- looks like that is where the logjam is. I finally dropped down Rivero to AA, and seems to project to 3B, as H. Garcia 2B, and Galvis SS looks probable. Now if you slide Overbeck to 1B, also have J. Savery, D. Ruf,, and James Murphy there. Now to move Savery to LF, tough because the Clearwater OF seems full so nobody should go down. So, if you move Savery to LF, now assume Gillies to DL, so, then, you move Derrick Mitchell to CF, and I’d put Kennelly in RF, and that leaves D’Arby Myers, S. Susdorf, S. Boucher unknown by this. Doing that , you leave Ruf at 1B, and Murphy and Overbeck questionable. Moving Kennelly to RF, that leaves 3 Catchers , Gosewisch, Langley, Naughton, I say keep all 3, so that’s 2 guys for bench, Middle Infield backups have as A. Cartwright, and Fidel Hernandez, and for OF reserves , you have Myers and/or Susdorf, so that’s 5 or 6 for bench, and that’s about all you can handle, so maybe Overbeck and Murphy get bounced.

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    1. Overbeck is hitting too well and will start at 1B with Savery as the DH. I can see Huf staying there as a back up or he might get sent back to C Water. Murphy is the odd man out. D’Arby has actually played at C Water level all spring. I think they might move him up to Reading becaue of Gillies injury. Mitchell is a corner guy not CF. I’m not sure where Kennelly fits in. He might move all over in a super sub role. They’ll only keep 2 catchers though. Langley will probably back up Valle at C Water. Fun stuff!

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      1. I think Savery is head and shoulder above Overbeck as a prospect and will get first dibs on 1B, playing there maybe 2/3 of the time. They both have had good springs, but Savery could still have ceiling and they need to see if that’s the case, both offensively and defensively. They know what Overbeck can do, and that is not much, just a dime a dozen minor league inconsistent power hitter who can’t field. Seems Savery also has more athletic ability and could turn into a solid 1B-man. IMO, Overbeck will get some ABs at 1B, but he will do a lot of the DHing.

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        1. Interesting perception. The odds against Savery making it as a hitter at his advanced age are pretty great. I can tell you that Savery hasn’t played much in the field yet but that certainly could change soon. Before you totally write off Overbeck, realize how good a year he had last season. If he comes back this year and hits 20+ homers, he’ll have value plus he looks pretty decent at 1B defensively. I’m pulling for Savery and he looked good when I saw him last week but he really has a small margin for error at this point.

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      2. Mitchell is a corner guy not CF so put him on the corners, Myers is a CF who can and has played the corners. Gillies has missed a lot of the season so he should be in C Water.

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  15. I see it as a good move. The guy has decent major league numbers and sometimes if these guys get a second chance you catch lightning in a bottle. If guys like Castillo and Martinez break with the club and mess the bed you have options.

    Nice low risk move Ruben.

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  16. Perhaps relatedly (and surprisingly), I just read this on mlbtraderumors.com:

    •The Phillies removed Matt Rizzotti from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to the minor leagues

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    1. After Rizz came to camp ripped last year, he showed up with a jelly roll hanging over his belt and showing through his uni this spring. I just spent a few days watching the blubber bounce at the camp. Looked like a walrus. End of story on him. Never ceases to amaze me.

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      1. Uh, wouldn’t it make more sense to judge the dude on his performance rather than his appearance? Call me crazy….

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      2. If you followed last year, you would realize that his “appearance” corresponded precisely to a HUGE uptick in performance. It was well publicized that he used a personal trainer to get in the best condition and strength of his career. Then he had by far his best year, a killer year. Now he is poorly conditioned and he is cut from the 40 man. If you can’t see correlation there . . .

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  18. Rizzotti cleared waivers? I guess 30 mlb teams don’t believe he has the ceiling of Joey Votto or Adam Dunn. Who woulda thought.

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  19. The report I read on mlbtraderumors.com only stated he was removed from the 40-man roster and was outrighted to the minors. It did not reference anything about passing through waivers.

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    1. A player can be removed from the 40 man roster at any time, but removing a player from the 40 man roster results in the player having to pass through waivers.
      That is how we got Rivero. Cleveland thought they could sneak him off their 40 man, without anyone claiming him.
      Nobody put in a claim for the great Rizzotti?

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  20. From rotoworld.com:

    Phillies outrighted 1B Matt Rizzotti to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
    The Phillies did a little housecleaning and cleared a spot off their 40-man roster. Rizzotti, 25, batted .343/.430/.555 with 17 homers and 76 RBI between High-A Clearwater, Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season. He’s blocked by Ryan Howard at first base, but he could end up being a useful left-handed bat if he stays with the organization.

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  21. Let the Rizz bashing begin. That’s what many people have been waiting for. I thought he had a solid sason last year. Playing is what it’s about, isn’t it?

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  23. No interest in bashing Rizzotti but the fact that he could be removed from the 40-man roster and clear waivers without a sniff from another team kinda puts some realistic expectations on the guy’s status as a prospect.

    Hopefully it also kills the conspiracy theories about the Phillies trying to hold him back or at least now the Phillies can turn their full attention on holding Mathieson back..

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    1. Particularly since all a claiming team needed would be a spot on the 40-man roster. They could’ve just optioned him afterwards.

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      1. The most interesting thing to me is they chose to expose Rizzotti to waivers to clearance space for Castillo. That implies they value Bocock, Rivero and Naylor more than Rizzotti. I like Naylor better than Rizzotti, but it is shocking, that they would expose him over Rivero and Bocock.

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  24. Can’t teams pull back players claimed on waivers? I hope Riz has a solid season. If he can maintain the average with more power at AAA then I’ll get excited.

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  25. The Pirates, Mariners, and Diamondbacks wouldn’t take him for free, yet many here think he is a top 15 prospect and valuable trade piece. The next Joey Votto.

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  26. The Yankee’s minor league fields were reportedly unplayable so we got to see Lehigh Valley playing Reading and Clearwater playing Lakewood at the Complex. The rosters are starting to take shape for the start of the season.

    Below were today’s starting position lineups and reserves to the best I can recall. Not all the reserves present played in the A level game. And not everyone who might have been in uniform is listed. Only those players I recall seeing.

    AAA, Naughton c, Larrish 1b, Barfield 2b, Hanzawa ss, Rivero 3b, Spidale lf, Thompson cf, Moss rf and Meyer p, Grilli p, Mathieson p, Aumont p. Extras Rizzotti, Bozied, Miller, Frey, Sullivan, Suomi.

    AA, Gosewisch c, Overbeck 1b, Garcia 2b, Galvis ss, Kennelly 3b, Susdorf lf, Mitchell cf, Dabbs rf, Hyatt p. Chapman p, Garcia E p, Diekman p. Extras Fidel Hernandez, Ruf, Mattair, Mintkin, Slayden, Langley. Sitting in the stands in workout jersey and shorts Gillies.

    A+, LaFrenz c, Murphy 1b, C. Herandez 2b, Duran ss, Batts 3b, Singleton lf, James cf, Castro rf , Pettibone p, Claypool p, Whatcott p . Extras Savery dh, Gump, Schoenberger, Barnes, Rice. Valle.

    A-, Rupp c, Cusick 1b, Payton 2b, Perdomo ss, Franco 3b, Dugan lf, Altherr cf, Santana rf, Holland p, Knigge p, Morgado p, Extras/dh Collier, Mendez, Hewitt, Hudson, Alvarez, Diaz.

    The extended spring training schedule was released today. The Phils open with the Yankees at the Complex on April 11. The season extends to May 25th with games against the Yankees, Pirates, and Blue Jays.

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    1. So does Savery start at Reading or Clearwater this year? I’ve seen a lot recently of Overbeck and Ruf playing 1b at Reading.

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  29. There are a lot of changes coming when rosters are announced. Players have told me there is a lot of confusion, and many players are being sent to lower levels then they thought… Barnes back at Lakewood, others being cut by friday…too many infuriates not enough room or playing time for them

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