Roster Moves….Eldemire and Duffy Released

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Clearing up part of the debate, the Phils have optioned relief pitchers Justin DeFratus and Jake Diekman to the minors.  Both should anchor the back end of the Lehigh Valley bullpen. In other roster moves, INF Josh Fields and RP Cesar Jiminez were re-assigned to minor league camp.  The battle for the last two spots in the bullpen has three pitchers currently attached to it (Valdes, Horst and Cook).

35 players remain in major league camp, with two weeks until opening day.

Over at minor league camp, 1B Chris Duffy and OF Gauntlett Eldemire were released by the Phils today. Duffy, 25, was the Phils 26th round pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Central FLorida.  A bit more surprising, but not unexpected was that the Phils gave up on ELdemire, their 6th round pick in the 2010 draft. Eldemire simply could not stay on the field, as the often injured outfielder hit .227 for Lakewood in just over 200 AB’s in 2010. The speedy OF did have 18 stolen bases was a one dimensional player, whose dimension was taken away by injury.

Finally, relief pitcher Mike Cisco was threw for both Reading and Lehigh Valley over the past two years was traded to Angels for nothing. Cisco, who is soon to be 26, was the Phils 36th round pick in the 2008 draft and blocked by at least a half dozen relievers ahead of him in the Phils organization.

45 thoughts on “Roster Moves….Eldemire and Duffy Released”

  1. I guess with Chris Duffy gone, Jim Murphy can breath a little easier, with a chance to hang on another year, as Reading’s 1st baseman. Sorry to see Gauntlett Eldemire gone, but the Phillies are over-run in CF. There wasn’t any space at Clearwater, if they intend on seeing what they have in Kyrell Hudson.

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  2. Eldemire’s release not at all surprising. He never did anything at all in the Phillies system and their was no place for him. An OPS below .700 at age 23 at Lakewood and only being able to get 200 AB was the totality of his professional career. College draftees can’t afford to lose that much time. If he had put up good numbers in his less than half a season, the Phillies may have stuck with him. I don’t think Kyrell Hudson is all that much either, but I’d give the job to him over Eldemire, also. More surprising to me was dropping Kennelly.

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  4. I think Stutes is still in consideration for one of the remaing bullpen spots, too. I think he and Valdes will be the winners, with Horst being one of the first call ups. I know there were stories about using Cook as a long man, but I think the team is better off keeping him stretched out in AAA.

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  5. No surprise on Eldemire or Duffy. With Eldemire you need room for Tocci, Hudson, Collier, and Altherr to play CF and Eldemire is developmentally behidn to begin with. As for Duffy you want room for Serritella and Charles to play first and they are both better prospects.

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    1. The Phillies are getting an early start on clearing up the decisions for who to protect in the rule 5 draft at the end of the year. Purging themselves of the 2010 college draftees. Claypool, Eldemire and Duffy down. Knigge and Garner better stay on their games.

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    2. Yes, they need to give the other CFs a chance to play. Thus far, Hudson has been epically bad, but he is young enough to improve. He seems like another Hewitt type who is athletic but just cannot make adequate contact.

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  6. Good news on Delmon’s recovery per philly.com:
    Delmon Young took batting practice before Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day tilt with the Baltimore Orioles. It’s beomce a regular activity for the veteran outfielder since returning from getting his surgically-repaired right ankle checked out by a doctor in California nearly two weeks ago. So what’s new with Young’s rehab? In addition to hitting on the field with his teammates, Young ran for the second time in as many days and the third time since Thursday. Initially, he was cleared to run on a treadmill, but he progressed to running on flat ground within the last week. “Right now everything is going good,” Young said Sunday. “Hitting feels fine, throwing feels fine. I’m just running, trying to build up the strength in my foot and my legs, and the stamina in general.” Young said he will continue to progress on a day-to-day basis, depending on how he feels. There is so timetable for when he will actually get onto the field an in a game in Clearwater, and it may be after the Phillies leave town a week from Thursday.

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    1. Its nice that he’s feeling better, but I think I’d rather have Delmon on the DL for as long as possible.

      Don’t give Charlie any ideas.

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  9. I really liked Duffy, Eldemire, and Cisco. Kennelly was a fun development project.
    Overall, these guys were all tremendous long shots, so no real losses.
    Duffy I loved as late draft pick, being a player of the year candidate in college. He had to have some talent to earn that distinction so I thought he was a great risk choice. He did hit well briefly but was always too old. With Charles acquisition he was as good as gone.
    Eldemire was a possible athlete with some untapped potential. If he is still injured then no reason to hand on to him again, but with a high walk rate, good speed, and power potential he might hvae been worth another look, his poor skill being batting average. I’d guess that Hudson has another year to progress but he looks like just as much of a long shot as Eldemire.
    Cisco has pitched well enough to possibly get consideration for a long man role. Realistically his ceiling is probably Cloyd which does not bode well. I suppose it is better to hang on to the retreads like Cook and Lopez or give other higher velocity guys to get innings.
    Kennelly would have been neat to follow, I suppose the young Latin guys will get more evaluation time than he would. I just like that he can play nearly every position,

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    1. I liked Kennelly too. After 09 it seemed like he might have a shot at a utility-man career, since he hit well in Clearwater and decently in Reading, but I guess the Phils already had him marked as an org guy because they send him back to Clearwater the next season.

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      1. I was hoping to see Kennelly play every position in one game. He was a catcher in the beginning and played 1st, 3rd and the corner OF spots. Then he starts to pitch. CF, 2nd and SS for an inning wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch. 9 innings and 9 positions but I’m never going to see it. A tear has come to my right eye. Wait… the tear might be because I’m chopping an onion.

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  10. Who could forget Eldemire’s first 10-15 games last season at Lakewood. Looked like he was well on his way to 150 hits and 50 SBs.

    Wonder if Kennelly stays in baseball as an org catcher

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    1. He’s Australian, I wonder if he might have better opportunities playing at home. With his professional experience I’m sure he’d thrive in that league, based on the quality of play I’ve seen watching late night on MLB Network.

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    1. I say not very possible. I think he’s just working with the Clearwater guys so some of the younger guys get some time. Quinn will most likely open with Lakewood.

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    2. Sorry I didn’t notice he was working out with Reading, which is impressive, but I still think he starts with Lakewood.

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    3. Yeah, that’s nice to see Roman Quinn playing with the Reading group everyday, and getting on base multiple times each game. Maybe they saw enough in Instructional league, and see enough this spring, to jump him to Clearwater. Not impossible. That’s what happened with Asche last year.
      I also noticed that Edgar Duran has been getting a lot of ABs with the Lehigh group. So maybe Duran starts at Reading and Quinn starts at Clearwater. Bad news for Hanzawa. I haven’t seen his name. Good news for Tyler Greene, if Quinn gets jumped. Gives him an opportunity for redemption.

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  12. Someone inform Freddy Galvis…..in America, St Patty’s day happens one day every week of the year…three years in a row he has homered on St Patrick’s day.

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  13. From the blueclaws blog… Ethan Marting with 5 shutout innings on Friday and Adam Morgan with 5 shutout innings yesterday.

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    1. Also, JDT with 4 Ks in two innings, Quinn 2-4 with a double and a mention that Serritella may be skipped to Clearwater (which I think many of us predicted, but I hadn’t seen it in print until now).

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      1. Here are some odd and partially disjointed thoughts for the day.

        Biddle with another great outing (I think they are finally telling him it’s okay to let it fly with the fastball – that or one of his breaking pitches has gone to another level).

        I think Quinn could have a 70 hit tool. If you look at his platoon splits last year you realize that he just flast out destroyed left-handed pitching as a righty (his natural side) and he more than held his own in his first year as a switch hitter batting lefty. Seriously, imagine skippinig rookie ball altogether and hitting left-handed in professional competition for the first time at short season ball. That has to be staggeringly difficult, yet he did it and was not half bad.

        As for our more experienced players.

        The one thing that this year’s Phillies could use almost more than anything else is a young pitcher to step up, impress and hit the majors mid-season in stride, much as Madison Bumgarner did a few years ago or as Worley did in 2011. That could make a huge difference this year. Other than that, for all of our complaining (much of it justified), I think the team looks pretty good. Not a world beater yet, but a legitimate playoff contender.

        Freddy Galvis is amazing. Yes, he definitely has limitations. The plate discipline needs to improve and he seems to struggle with power pitchers, but the fielding and the burgeoning power are impressive. It is looking like he would hit somewhere between 8-15 homers in a full season with tons of doubles. As for the fielding, honestly, I have been watching baseball for over 40 years now and I have never had the pleasure of watching an infielder as spectacular as Galvis on one of the teams I pulled for. Never. Galvis does original things on the fly that just amaze. This weekend alone, he made a spectacular glove flip to Utley to start a double play – and it was so smooth. Yesterday, he did this thing where he slid to the ball at shortstop so he could get more on his throw – he did not make the throw on time but it did not take away from the execution. There are not many fielders you would truly pay to see. Galvis, however, is one of them. So good and so entertaining.

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        1. I was there for that glove-flip double play game. I don’t know how it was covered on TV, but my dad and I were amazed by how un-amazing he made it look–he made a highlight reel type play look like a routine play, which is really something.

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        2. Thats great news about Quinn. I don’t see any scenario where he doesn’t start the season at LKW tho.

          Not that he couldn’t get an in season promotion by June if he is tearing it up. It would be nice to see him in REA by 2014 holding his own.

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        3. I would be hesitant to say that the hit tools is that good on Quinn. That being said having his type of speed will make him play as if it was a higher tool because he will be able to get hits on more balls in play than the average player (hit tool here being the ability to make consistent good contact)

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          1. This is especially true at the lower levels in the minors where opposing defensiive players won’t be a good as what he will see as he advances.

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  14. Ok so where does Watson break camp? I saw him pitch yesterday, looked real good.
    3 inn.. 9 batters… 0 runs… 0 hits… 1 bb and picked the guy off… 4 K’s…
    Guys were swinging and missing on the fb and ch… looked like he hasn’t thrown his CB much

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    1. Did you get to see his curveball? On video it looks like one hell of a pitch. Also, how did the changeup look?

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      1. Change up looked good… had some swings and misses…
        CB will be there it just didn’t look as nice as other videos I’ve seen…
        What video are you speaking of? I would like to check it out

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          1. Bleacher Report has some legit content now and signed guys like Will Carroll, its not just user-generated slideshow crap anymore.

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    2. For me Lakewood seems like the right fit at about 100-115 IP and if he does well and feels strong maybe a few starts in CLW. I’d manage his IP closely for the first few seasons.

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  15. I agree on galvis, great glove, really he reminds me of a younger rollins, the kid has great range, the thing about how good he does, is how much will he hit, I personally cant judge this kid, sometimes he looks like he has a great swing and other he looks bad to me, so imo the jury on his hitting is still out, but worst case is he is a late inning defensive replacement at either second third or short, not bad. will save us some games with his glove, i really believe that, did anyone see the velocity on biddle his last start?? and the velocity on watson, like to know how hard they were throwing.

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  17. Hey all, wondering if anyone thinks the Cisco for nothing deal means anything about Inciarte? Could this be a situation where they don’t reclaim him if the Phils don’t keep him on the roster?

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