Just figured I’d throw this up now. The Phillies finally did the right thing putting Jimmy Rollins on the DL. Brad Harman gets the call, and I can only imagine that is because Jason Donald still isn’t 100% after being hit on the hand a week ago. Harman has come a long way after a really disappointing 2006 to making his big league debut less than 2 years later. Heres hoping for all the best for Brad.

In case you didn’t see it in the comments section of a previous post, Tyler Mach and Jarrod Freeman have both retired, based on the info thats been uncovered. I guess maybe it somewhat justifies my harsh criticism of the Mach pick at the time. Most college seniors aren’t elite prospects, but most stick around for at least a full season. Its really a shame to waste a 4th round pick on a guy who is only going to play 2 months of pro ball. Freeman is more surprising, as he did seem to have a few legit tools, though he was probably going to take time to develop. But, its just a reminder that pro ball, especially for guys who are facing a major uphill climb, isn’t for everyone. Which makes a guy like Chris Coste all that more amazing.

I’ve gotten a rash of e-mails in the last two days asking about the two new prospects the Phillies signed, infielder Jakub Sladek from the Czech Republic and pitcher Todd Van Steensel out of Australia. I wish I had more information on these guys, but finding info on foreign prospects, especially foreign prospects from Australia and Eastern Europe is not the easiest task. I’ll try and find out what I can, but it’s doubtful we’ll know much of anything about these guys until they come stateside. The Phillies have been harvesting the prospect waters in Australia for a while, and it looks like Brad Harman and Drew Naylor might have been nice finds, so we’ll see what happens here. Thanks to those who posted the link here and who e-mailed, you guys are very quick on the draw.

The Phillies signed Pedro Feliz to a 2 year deal yesterday. As many know, Feliz is a terrible hitter, struggling to post an OB% above .300 and making outs like it’s his job (918 over the last 2 seasons), but he’s also an incredibly good defensive 3B…..one of the very best in baseball. Before the contract was agreed, the Phillies 40 man roster was maxed at 40. When Feliz is added, one guy will have to be removed. There are a few obvious candidates, TJ Bohn and John Ennis leading the list, but this could also signal a Wes Helms trade. Helms had a nightmare of a season last year, both with the bat and the glove, but he’s still signed relatively cheap and only for one year, so you might be able to find a taker. Don’t expect much of a prospect in return, but an interesting hitter would be nice. What this does do is pretty much set the position player side of the 25 man roster, sans a major injury. Non-roster invitees like Golson, Brennan King, Brandon Watson, and Pete LaForest are all likely ticketed for triple A Allentown. The interesting battles will be on the pitching side. With one rotation spot and two or three bullpen spots likely on the line, depending on the health of Adam Eaton and Tom Gordon.

In other news, I’ve added a video of Carlos Carrasco on his profile page, and I also did a page writeup for Julian Sampson as well, complete with a scouting report and his draft video. To date, I’ve completed profile pages for Carrasco, Sampson, Cardenas, Brown, Carpenter, Drabek, and Outman. More to come in the next few days/weeks.

EDIT: > Feliz was a Type B free agent. San Francisco gets a compensation round pick for him, but we don’t lose a pick.

In case you haven’t checked the box scores yet, Zagurski made his AA debut today, pitching 2 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 2. Mike appears to be on the fast track at this point, and with a solid 3 months under his belt, could even get a look in September when the rosters expand.

With Tom Gordon looking 60 instead of 40, he’s been moved to the 15 day DL and the Phillies have called up Yoel Hernandez, a minor league veteran reliever. Let’s take a look at Hernandez and see if he can provide any value to the big league club.

Continue reading Yoel Hernandez gets the call →

Pat Gillick has to be getting desperate now. It seems every day, we see a new waiver claim. I guess on one hand, it’s positive, because he’s still trying to fix our shaky bullpen, but on the other hand, how likely is it that a guy plucked off waivers is going to save our fledging pen? Well, JD Durbin is the latest name to enter the mix, as the Phillies claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox. Durbin, who’d been in the Minnesota system his entire 6 year career prior to 2007, has had some success, notably in 2006 at AAA Rochester, where he posted a 2.33 ERA in 16 starts. He has solid K numbers, as seen in his career 8.18 K/9 rate in the minors, but of course, there’s always a catch, that comes in the walk rate, which has been downright ugly since 2004, as he’s walked 145 guys in 300 innings….not a good ratio. Durbin used to touch 100 MPH with his fastball, but clearly he didn’t always know where it was going. He was ranked the Twins 10th best prospect in the 2007 Baseball America handbook, with his velocity (still mid 90’s) and his power curveball as assets. Over the last three seasons, he’s missed time, largely due to a partially torn labrum in 2004, but he appears to be healthy. If the Phillies are planning to use him in relief exclusively, I guess it can’t hurt. But who goes? As far as I can tell, no one in the current bullpen has options remaining. Do they try to pass Condrey through waivers? Is a trade in the works? We’ll see.

In continuing the Phillies tradition of always acquiring the less talented brother in a baseball family, the Phillies added Michael Garciaparra off waivers from Seattle. Garciaparra has been placed on the Reading roster, and will likely be the team’s everyday second baseman. Originally a supplemental 1st round pick in 2001, Michael has never developed any kind of power, but has a good batting eye (31 BB to 47 K last year) and makes contact, as he hit .331 in 593 AB at A+/AA/AAA from 2005 to 2006. The problem is, he only had 39 XBH over that span, so he possesses no real power to speak of. However, if he plays well this year, he could be a nice option to back up the middle of the infield next year. A nice move that costs relatively little and has no real downside.