All posts by gregg

Matt Anderson Released

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The Phils released former #1 draft pick Matt Anderson who was attempting a comeback and had been preliminarily assigned to Lehigh Valley.  Anderson last pitched in 2008, and although still throwing very hard, had little to no command and was hit around hard in Spring Training.  This leaves the current Lehigh Valley staff at:

Starters: Vance Worley, Nate Bump, Drew Naylor, Ryan Feirabend, Eddie Bonine, Brian Bass

Relievers: Scott Mathieson, Mike Stutes, Michael Schwimer, Mike Zagurski, Jason Grilli, Drew Carpenter, Dan Meyer and Juan Perez.

Two pitchers from this group will need to be either let go or placed on the DL with presumably turf toe, an injury that seems to go around the Lehigh Valley locker room when roster space is needed.

Clearwater and Lakewood Rosters

4. Lakewood, 5. Clearwater

Clearwater: Catchers: Sebastain Valle, Kyle Lafrenz, Joel Naughton

Infield: Joe Savery, Cesar Hernandez, Troy Hanzawa, Travis Mattair, Darin Ruf, Alan Schoenberger

Outfield: Leandro Castro, Jiwan James, Jonathan Singleton, D’Arby Myers, Brian Gump

SP: Jarar Cosart, Brody Colvin, Trevor May, Jon Pettibone,Julio Rodriguez

RP: Tyler Cloyd, Jordan Ellis, Joe Esposito, Justin Friend, Derrick Loop, Ebelin Lugo, Jordan Whatcott

Lakewood:

Catcher: Cameron Rupp and Torre Langley

Infield: James Murphy, Jeremy Barnes, Edgar Duran, Geancarlo Mendez, Carlos Perdomo, Stephen Batts

Outfield: Aaron Altherr, Miguel ALvarez, Zach Collier, Anthony Hewitt, Domingo Santana

SP: Jesse Biddle, David Buchanan, Colby Shreve, Eric Pettis, Mario Hollands

RP: Jake Borup, Garrett Claypool, CHase Johnson, Tyler Knigge, Ervis Manzanillo, Bryan Morgado, Juan Sosa

Lehigh Valley and Reading Current Rosters

6. Reading, 7. Lehigh Valley

Rosters were posted this morning in CLearwater and this is where we are currently at:

Lehigh Valley: Catchers: Erik Kratz and Dane Sardinha

Infield: Tagg Bozied, Josh Barfield, Jeff Larish, Kevin Frandsen, Robby Hudson

Outfield: Matt Miller, Rich Thompson, Brandon Moss, Delwyn Young, Cory Sullivan

Starters: Nate Bump, Drew Naylor, Vance Worley, Ryan Feirabend, Brian Bass, Eddie Bonine

Relievers: Matt Anderson, Drew Carpenter, Jason Grilli, Scott Mathieson, Michael Schwimer, Mike STutes, Dan Meyer, Mike Zagurski, Juan Perez.

Lehigh Valley will need to cut three players from this list by opening day, next Thursday April 7th. Continue reading Lehigh Valley and Reading Current Rosters →

News and Notes 29 March 2011

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The Phils opened up a spot on their 40 man roster today by outrighting 1B Matt Rizzotti to the minors.  He first had to clear waivers, which he successfully did.

A number of cuts were made yesterday throughout the minor league system as the Phillies try to finalize minor league rosters as the season approaches next week.  Among those cut were pitchers: Brad Blanks, Justin Beal, Mike Bolsenbroeck, Heitor Correa, Matt Hutchison and Eric Massingham, catcher Marco Davillo, infielders Matt McConnell and Adam Buschini, along with outfielder Drew Rundle.

The most notable of the cuts were Buschini, a high 2009 draft pick, Correa (who had a good deal of success in 2009 in Lakewood), and Massingham (who had a fairly prominent role as a relief pitcher on the 2010 Lakewood championship team).

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.

Three More Reassigned to Minor League Camp

Spring Training 2011

The Phils have reassigned catchers Dane Sardinha and Tuffy Gosewisch, along with Josh Barfield to their Minor League Camp on Sunday.  This leaves Luis Castillo, Michael Martinez, Delwyn Young, and Pete Orr competing for two open roster spots as the Spring Training schedule enters it final days.  Barfield, 28, impressed with his bat in Spring Training, but it appears the Phils were looking for a more dependable glove at 2B.  Barfield should open as the Lehigh Valley 2B, however, he does have an out clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the organization if he is not on a major league roster by June 1. Continue reading Three More Reassigned to Minor League Camp →

Mathieson, Zagurski Optioned

Other Stuff

The Phillies bullpen picture became a bit clearer this morning as RHP Scott Mathieson and LHP Mike Zagurski were both optioned to Minor League Camp.  Both should start the season in AAA Lehigh Valley.  Mathieson, 27, came into camp with a legitimate shot to make the team but performed inconsistently during his Spring outings. The inconsistency and some recent command problems most likely led to the trip back to the minors.  Mathieson pitched well in Lehigh Valley last season as the teams primary closer going 3-6 with a 2.80 ERA in 54 outings, accruing 26 saves and striking out 83 in his 64.1 innings.  Continue reading Mathieson, Zagurski Optioned →

Around the Horn

Spring Training 2011

Time for a fresh post to throw around what has been going on in Clearwater this week.  The latest injury to Brad Lidge will clearly have an impact on how the roster is constructed next Friday.  While Madson and Contereras will be sliding into the closer role, who does this open the door for?  The givens in the bullpen are now Madson, Contreras, Kendrick, Romero and Baez with presumably two positions now open for the Bastardo, Herndon, Mathieson, Zagurski group? Feel free to discuss if the names come from that group or if the Phils dip into the Carpenter Complex to the group who have been very impressive this Spring including Mike Stutes, Michael Schwimer or Jason Grilli. Continue reading Around the Horn →

Workout Groups

Spring Training 2011

While I wasn’t able to get a hard copy of this most recent workout groups, I was able to get an up to date list as of today.  It goes as follows:

Group 1 AAA

Catchers: Joel Naughton, John Suomi, Sebastian Valle

Infielders: Tagg Bozied, Harold Garcia, Troy Hanzawa, Tim Kennelly, Jeff Larish, Carlos Rivero, Matt Rizzotti.

Outfielders: Chris Frey, Matt Miller, Brandon Moss, Jeremy Slayden, Mike SPidale, Cory Sullivan, Rich Thompson

Pitchers: Matt Anderson, Phillipe Aumont, Brian Bass, Eddie Bonine, Nate Bump, Andrew Carpenter, Justin DeFratus, Ryan Edell, Ryan Feirabend, Brian Gordon, Jason Grilli, Dan Meyer, Drew Naylor, Juan Perez, Michael Schwimer, Mike Stutes, Vance Worley Continue reading Workout Groups →

Dunedin Bound, Cloyd Impresses

Spring Training 2011

The AA and AAA teams both played in Dunedin today with the AAA team taking a tough loss 3-2 when Matt Anderson gave up a run in the bottom of the 8th.  Jason Grilli and Mike Stutes both continued pitching well this Spring, throwing two scoreless innings apiece. On the offensive ledger, CF Chris Frey and DH Tagg Bozied had two hits apiece, both of Bozied’s hit being doubles.

At the AA field, Tyler Cloyd opened some eyes as he started, throwing three scoreless, hitless innings, while striking out 5, dominating the Blue Jays AA team.  Cloyd, 23, the Phils 18th round pick in the 2008 draft struggled last season with an adjustment to the bullpen, pitching there at length for the first time in his career.  It seems as if the Phils brass may be trying to stretch CLoyd out as a starter, where he has seen success, first in college and then in 2009 in 26 starts between Lakewood and Clearwater.  The Reading rotation is starting to come into focus with the two “givens” being JC Ramirez and Austin Hyatt.  I haven’t heard much about Mike Cisco down in Clearwater, but I would assume that he projects as starter #3 in Reading.  The leading candidates for the last two spots in the Reading rotation are Josh Zeid and Tyler Cloyd, both of whom has extended scoreless outings over the last two days.