Update: Thanks to reader BC for providing the latest from Scott Lauber. Blackley was not taken back by the Giants, and thus, is now Phillies property. This is a positive development.

Rotoworld sums up the situation as it stands

Rule-5 pick Travis Blackley was released by the Phillies.
The Philadelphia Daily News reports that he’s cleared waivers, and as a two-time Rule 5 pick, Blackley has two choices: accepting an assignment to the Triple-A affiliate of either the Phillies or the Giants (if they buy him back), or becoming a free agent. The Giants would have to pay the Phillies $25,000 to get Blackley righ

So there ya go. Hopefully he’d realize that he has a shot to pitch in the big leagues, possibly in a pennant chase, if he stays in Philly.

As you know by now, Andrew Carpenter turned in a gem of a performance yesterday, and everyone is raving. Scott Lauber with the recap

In their final Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field, the Phillies brought Carpenter over from the minor-league complex to relieve Brett Myers. He tossed four scoreless innings against the Yankees in an outing that featured several highlights. Take your pick:

– Sixth inning: He walked Bobby Abreu with one out, then got Alex Rodriguez to ground into a double play.

– Seventh inning: He struck out the side, including Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada.

– Ninth inning: After loading the bases with no outs, he struck out Nick Green, got Jose Molina to foul out to the catcher and caught Chris Woodward looking at strike three.

The last time a young Phillies pitcher looked so good against the Yankees in spring training, Cole Hamels was striking out Tony Clark, Derek Jeter and A-Rod in 2004. That wasn’t enough to get Hamels, then a Class A pitcher, a spot on the roster, and Carpenter’s performance today won’t win him a job, either. But Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee were effusive in their postgame praise of Carpenter, and if he gets off to a good start at Class AA Reading, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get called up to Philly.

Here’s the thing. Just like folks were getting excited over Carrasco’s great outings earlier, this has to be taken in context with Carpenter’s pro career and his scouting report. I ranked him #9 on my Top 30, and I think that still fits. He doesn’t have the raw stuff of Outman, Savery or Carrasco, but he does have the best control out of the group. He’s likely to be the first one of the group called up because he has the most polish, but he might still be behind JA Happ on the depth chart.

These performances are great to see in spring training, but they are just that, spring training performances. Carpenter wasn’t pitching for a roster spot, there was no pressure on him, and he pitched well. If he carries that over with him to Reading and pitches in the same fashion, he’ll be just fine.

Just a very brief update today, as there is still some quality interaction going on in yesterday’s Blackley post. Most of the prospect action from now until the end of ST will be in the minor league games, which again are fairly meaningless. I’ve again fallen behind, but my focus is going to be on more player profiles, and just doing some general touching up around here to try and get things set for the season. If a major development were to occur, I’ll share my thoughts, but we’re just going with open ended stuff from now until the start of the minor league season.

Today’s topic of the day; which Phillies pitching prospect will log the most innings at the major league level this season?

Hat tip to commenter “John” for this. According to Scott Lauber, Blackley’s locker has been cleared out, meaning he has been offered back to the Giants. If the Giants don’t take him back, I believe he can be re-assigned to minor league camp. So, it looks like he’s not making the team right now in either scenario. Lauber also mentions that Knotts and Darensbourg were also re-assigned, again not shocking news, leaving the Phillies with 11 pitchers.

The Phillies have only 11 healthy pitchers left in camp (starters Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton; relievers Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, Clay Condrey and J.D. Durbin). So, for now, J.D. Durbin appears to have a spot on the team, even though he has allowed eight homers in 15-1/3 innings and has a 12.33 ERA this spring. And unless the Phillies acquire a pitcher via trade or through waivers, something GM Pat Gillick has said is a possibility, it appears they will carry only 11 pitchers until Lidge is activated, probably April 5.

That would mean they’ll keep 14 position players. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, Eric Bruntlett, Greg Dobbs, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Geoff Jenkins, Jayson Werth, So Taguchi, Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste seem to have jobs locked up. So, the final spot would go to either Chris Snelling or Wes Helms. Snelling is out of minor-league options and would have to clear waivers to go to triple-A. If the Phillies can’t trade Helms, and it’s looking unlikely, he either has to stay on the roster or be released. The only other position player in camp is INF Ray Olmedo, and I’m betting he’ll wind up at triple-A Lehigh Valley.

If we’re able to trade Helms for an arm, that probably means curtains for either JD Durbin or Condrey, but based on The Real Deal’s spring performance, he’d likely be the one to go. After his trainwreck of a spring, he might pass through waivers. When Lidge is activated, that means Snelling will have to clear waivers, which is doubtful. Maybe he’ll be “injured”, and we can stash him on the DL.

I hate to keep harping on this, but we spent $100,000 this winter on 2 major league Rule 5 selections, and it now appears both are gone. In Holdzkom’s case, we didn’t get 25K back, because he was eligible for free agency. If the Giants take Blackley back, we will receive 25K in return, but will still be out $75,000 on Rule 5 picks. What are the odds that $75,000 could have been used to sign Brandon Workman last summer, or could be taken away from the draft allotment this summer? Lots of bad “small” moves eventually add up.

Jason Donald is the talk of the town after belting two home runs in the Phillies 15-7 win over Toronto. The home runs came off one time fireballing prospect Brandon League and journeyman John Parrish, not exactly Eckersley and Koufax, but still, a really good performance. Donald isn’t making the team out of spring training, but if he continues to rake, he’ll show the Phillies that he is more than just the utility player they are projecting him to be. It seems that he’s a lock to start at Reading alongside Brad Harman, in what should be an interesting double play combo.

Continue reading Jason Donald’s big day and other notes →