I had put off reading Matt Imhof’s retirement letter.  When I finally read it today, I felt like sharing this remarkable young man’s statement.  If you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth a read.

“I won’t be defined by my worst day”

Continue reading Matt Imhof, “Embrace the Struggle” →

The Phillies 2017 Media Tour was in Williamsport tonight.  I have collected a series of quotes from the event as tweeted by Mitch Rupert.  Mitch is the Crosscutters’ beat writer for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.  You can follow Mitch on Twitter here.

Almost all the quotes are from Pete Mackanin and Steve Noworyta, Assistant Director, Player Development (under Joe Jordan). Continue reading Phillies 2017 Hot Stove Banquet – Williamsport, Tweets From Mitch Rupert →

The Phillies came to terms with free agent outfielder Michael Saunders today.  It has been reported that he agreed to a one-year contract at $9M with an $11M club option and $1M buyout for 2018.  The signing occurs in the wake of team president Andy MacPhail stating during an interview on the MLB Network last week that the Phillies were in search of a left-handed bat. Continue reading Phillies to Sign Free Agent Michael Saunders →

The Phillies have announced the following 16 players as non-roster invites to spring training this season – J.P. Crawford, Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery, Victor Arano, Logan Moore, Colton Murray, Chace Numata, Cameron Perkins, Brock Stassi, Andrew Pullin, Pedro Beato, Taylor Featherston, Dalier Hinojosa, Michael Mariot, Bryan Holaday, and Cesar Ramos.

They join recent the four FA signings who were extended an invitation to spring training when they signed – Sean Burnett, Pedro Florimon, Hector Gomez, Daniel Nava.

I’m not surprised by the inclusion of any the players listed above.  In addition to these guys, I expect to see several catchers not listed above in camp.  The pitching workload is too heavy for six catchers to handle.

Yesterday, the Phillies traded a minor league infielder to the Boston Red Sox for veteran RHP Clay Buchholz.  The Phillies will assume the final, $13.5M year of the pitcher’s contract.  To acquire Buchholz, the Phillies relquished former Florida third baseman, Josh Tobias.  To make room on their 40-man roster, they DFA-ed recent waiver claim 3B Richie Shaffer. Continue reading Phillies Acquire RHP Clay Buchholz →

The Rule 5 Draft was completed this morning, and none of the players fans worried over were selected.

During the major league portion of the draft, 16 teams selected 18 minor league players. The Phillies did not go unscathed during the process as LHP Hoby Milner was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 15th selection in the first round. Continue reading Phillies 2016 Rule 5 Results →

It’s official.  The Phillies have signed right-handed reliever, Joaquin Benoit to a one-year contract.  In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Phillies have designated RHP Michael Mariot for assignment.

The 39-year old Benoit signed for a reported to be $7.5 M for the one year.  Benoit joins recent waiver claim David Rollins and recent trade acquisition Pat Neshek as veteran options to the young Phillies’ bullpen. Continue reading Phillies Sign FA RHP Joaquin Benoit; DFA Mariot →

The Phillies claimed LHP David Roberts off waivers from the Texas Rangers.  To make room on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated OF Cody Asche for assignment. Continue reading Phillies Claim Pitcher; DFA Asche →

Okay, I don’t know how close baseball really came to a lockout as reported and discussed over the past 10 days. But assuming there was at least a remote possibility of a lockout, baseball dodged that bullet when owners and players agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement Wednesday evening.

Ken Rosenthal was the first to break the news with the simple and succinct Twitter announcement, “Source: CBA is done”.  The new agreement will be in place for 5 years, and runs through the 2021 season.  While an official announcement was being prepared, the following details were reported (these came mostly from Twitter and the MLB Network, and may change when the official announcement is released): Continue reading Baseball Avoids Work Stoppage →

With the 8:00 PM deadline approaching, the Phillies finalized their 40-Man Roster for the Rule 5 Draft.

The Phillies chose to protect 11 players from their minor league system, Continue reading Phillies Make 40-Man Roster Moves; November 18, 2016 →