The Phillies have signed OF Willy Taveras, as assigned him to Triple A Lehigh Valley, filling in the hole created by the departure of DeWayne Wise.  Taveras was most recently in the Nationals organization and hit .200 for the Nationals in 37 plate appearances this year. Taveras, still just 28, is a .274 major league hitter in over 2400 at bats.  Additionally, he has stolen over 20 bases five times at the major league level. 

On the injury front, reliever Brian Rosenberg, who has struggled with injuries all year was placed back on the DL with a Right Lat Strain by Reading.   Taking Rosenberg’s spot on the Reading roster is Pitcher Ty Taubenheim.

Pitcher Nelson Figueroa, has accepted his assignment to Triple A and will be shortly reporting to Lehigh Valley.  This will leave the ‘Pigs with a roster decision to make on their pitching staff.

Jayson Stark was on 97.5 yesterday and at the end of his interview, he started to talk about Jon Singleton. And lets just say he had lots of good things to say about him. You know how Stark can get when talking about the Phillies, so maybe take it with a pinch of salt, but its pretty impressive that Singleton is already on the national radar. Check out the audio here. Hat tip to “Mark” for passing this one along.

A bit of breaking news that may spur some conversation.  Lehigh Valley OF DeWayne Wise has opted out of his contract, making him a free agent, and creating an opening in the Lehigh Valley outfield.  With a team desperate for offense and the possibility of a John Mayberry call up coming for road interleague games, could it be time for Domonic Brown in Lehigh Valley?  Brown has been very consistent at the plate during the course of his two partial seasons in Reading, however his defense still needs work.  That work can just as easily be accomplished in Lehigh Valley in my opinion. (ok, maybe I am desperate for something or someone of interest to watch at Coca Cola Park).

Giant economy report–3 weeks at once.

Reading was 10-10 over the last three weeks (now 7 games under .500 and 9.5 games out of first place), with a lack of offense being the culprit in most of the losses. A lingering hamstring injury to Tyson Gillies and a cool-ish Domonic Brown didn’t help.  Promoting Matt Rizzottti from Clearwater seems to have given a bit of a spark to the offense, although Rizzotti hadn’t many men on base for him with Brown slumping and Quentin Berry having not returned to his usual form after nursing an injury during April.

Continue reading Reading Report 5/10-5/31 →

The Phillies activated Brad Lidge prior to starting their series today against the Braves.  To make room on the roster, Nelson Figueroa, 36, was designated for assignment.  As opposed to the last time Lidge was activated when Antonio Bastardo got sent down, Bastardo seems to have solidified his roster spot at least for the time being.  The next set of decisions, assuming everyone stays healthy (big assumption) will come with the activation of JA Happ and/or Ryan Madson over the next month or two.