Just a quick note that Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Catcher Paul Hoover will be getting the call up to the bigs tomorrow when rosters expand.  Hoover, 34, spent some time in Philly earlier this year with the injuries to Ruiz/Schneider.  He was hitting .247/.326/.345 in 255 AB’s with Lehigh Valley to go along with 2 HR and 21 RBI’s.  In his 18 at bats with the Phillies earlier this year, Hoover hit .278.  As you would expect, Hoover will see little, if any action, but gives the Phillies flexibility to use Ruiz/Schneider late in the game if needed.

More callups to come…

The Phillies have signed LHP Nate Robertson to a minor league contract and have assigned him to AAA Lehigh Valley.  Robertson, a veteran of nine major league season pitched for the Marlins this year, going 6-8 with a 5.47 ERA in 19 starts before being released by the Marlins.  Following his time with the Marlins, he was picked up by the Cardinals organization and was 2-1 with a 9.45 ERA in AAA Memphis before his release. 

Robertson is expected to make his debut Thursday when he starts for Lehigh Valley against Scranton.  Robertson was a 5th round pick of the Marlins in the 1999 draft and had his best major league season in 2006 when he went 13-13 with a 3.84 ERA in 32 starts while accruing 208.2 innings for the Tigers.

In what can be described as a mild surprise, it is Greg Dobbs and not Domonic Brown losing their spot on the Phils 25 man roster with the activation of Chase Utley.  The fact that Dobbs continues to hit under .190 with next to no success pinch-hitting makes this a decision that is very difficult to argue with.  Brown, hitting .229 with a homer and 11 RBI’s since his call up will continue being used in his role as a pinch hitter and will give the Ibanez/Victorino/Werth combination a break against certain right-handed starters.  Dobbs must clear waivers before deciding whether he will accept this late season assignment to AAA Lehigh Valley.

Infielder Cody Ransom has cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Lehigh Valley. Prior to his call up to the Phillies, Ransom was among the league leaders in HR and RBI in the International League and should help the stagnant Lehigh Valley offense. With Ransom, Mayberry, and the rehabbing Shane Victorino in the Lehigh Valley lineup there should be a new dynamic, at least for the next few days in Allentown. 

Making room for Ransom the ‘Pigs placed starting pitcher Nate Bump on the DL.  Bump, who was an International League All Star has struggled to return from Lyme’s disease, going 2 innings and giving up a run on 5 hits in his last start.

This has to be one of the most surprising moves we’ve ever made in the low minors.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&lid=127&sid=t449

He had a 1.89 ERA in 12 starts for GCL last year with a 1.05 WHIP

This year he “slipped” to a 1.36 ERA in 8 starts, and a 0.86 WHIP.  He moved his strikeouts from 6 per 9 IP up to almost 9.

At 22, he was about a year old for WMPT, maybe 2 years.  I suspect he must have stolen money from the bat boy, or set the snack stand on fire (kidding, of course).  I’m looking for more details.

Quick update as I am out in Chicago for the Phils series against the Cubs and experiencing Wrigley for the first time…First Reading OF Quintin Berry was picked up by the San Diego organization after being designated for assignment by the Phils, who needed a 40 man roster spot.

Reliever Chad Durbin was activated by the Phils, returning the bullpen to full strength for the first time all season.  Nelson Figueroa was the victim of this activation, as I am sure the Phils hope he clears waivers and accepts an assignment to Lehigh Valley to continue to give them the insurance he has provided thus far.  Also, reliever Antonio Bastardo was activated and optioned to AAA Lehigh Valleym giving the ‘Pigs some interesting roster decisions coming up as well.

A couple of quick Reading roster notes….Pitcher Josh Fogg was released today.  Fogg, 33,  did not pitch well in his 2 starts with Reading, going 0-2 with a ERA of 11.32   Additionally, catcher Kevin Nelson was placed on the temporary inactive list.  Taking his place as the backup catcher on the Reading roster is Torre Langley, who was called up from Lakewood.

One other note of potential Phillies minor league relevance is that Greg Dobbs has cleared waivers.  It is unclear at this time whether he will be accepting his assignment to Lehigh Valley.  I would expect he would, as if he refused assignment, he would become a free agent however lose his salary worth over $1,000,000 this year.

Lots of goings on today at CBP, with Jimmy Rollins activated, Carlos Ruiz placed on the DL, Greg Dobbs designated for assignment,  Mike Zagurski called up from Lehigh Valley, and Scott Mathieson clearing waivers paving his way back to Lehigh Valley.

Ruiz was placed on the DL with what is most likely a minor concussion retroactive to Saturday June 19, 2010.  He will be eligible to come off the DL on Saturday July 3rd.  Dane Sardinha currently is the backup catcher after his recall from Lehigh Valley on Saturday.

Since the designation of Scott Mathieson for assignment on Saturday, the Phils had been going with 11 pitchers, which changed today with the recall of LHP Mike Zagurski from AAA Lehigh Valley. Zagurski has been outstanding as of late, having not allowed an earned run since April 30th (19 appearances) and is leading the International League in K/9. After undergoing Tommy John surgery is ’08, and working his way back through the system last year, Zagurski has an impressive ERA of 2.35 and WHIP of 1.14. Mathieson did, in fact, clear waivers today and he was optioned back to Lehigh Valley.

The struggling Greg Dobbs was also designated for assignment after hitting just .152 this year and 1-25 in his pinch hitting specialty.  With his designation, the Phils have 10 days to trade, release, or waive Dobbs.

Reading reliever Mike Stutes, 23, was called up to AAA Lehigh Valley, taking the roster spot of Scott Mathieson who was called up to Philadelphia yesterday.  Stutes has been effective in the mid to late innings for Reading going 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA and 2 saves in 25 games. In his 35.2 innings of work he has walked 21 and struck out 37. Opponents are hitting just .217 against him (1.92 with RISP).  He will likely be placed in that same mid to late inning role in the Lehigh Valley bullpen.

STarter JC Ramirez was called up to Reading from Single A Clearwater.  Ramirez, 21, is 4-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 11 starts for the Threshers this year.  In his 64.2 innings he has given up 63 hits, walked 17 and struck out 55.  Ramirez has a WHIP of 1.23 and the opposition is hitting .259 against him.  Acquired in the Cliff Lee deal, Ramirez will immediately step into the Reading rotation.

Activated from the DL and assigned to CLearwater is starting pitcher Mike Cisco.  Cisco, 23, has been on the DL since the end of April.  I would imagine this to be a short-term stint in CLearwater, as he regains his arm strength. Cisco threw fairly well in his four Reading starts prior to going on the DL, and was 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA in those outings, with the opposition hitting just .220 against him.

The long awaited 2010 Phillies debut of Scott Mathieson is here as he was called up today when lefty Antonio Bastardo was placed on the DL with left elbow  “ulnar neuritis”.  Mathieson has been lights out in his position as the Lehigh Valley closer except for his most recent outing during which he gave up a game winning grand slam to Fernando Martinez. In his 25 outings, Mathieson  was 2-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 12 saves (5th in the IL). Opponents are hitting just .194 against him. Mathieson, coming off two Tommy John surgeries, throws very hard, with his fastball hitting 100 mph on the Lehigh Valley radar gun at times. In addition to the fastball, Mathieson has been throwing both his curveball and change in key situations.