Results tagged ‘ Triple-A ’
The Phils have just announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Delmon Young to a one-year contract.
Just when you thought that the Phils were satisfied with their outfield arrangements, they decided to throw everyone a curve. Earlier this afternoon, the Phils have announced that they had signed free agent Delmon Young, formerly of the American League Champions Detroit Tigers, to a one-year contract worth $750,000, plus performance bonuses. Young, who is an outfielder, and was last year’s ALCS MVP, appeared in 151 games, batting .267 (153 for 574), hitting 27 doubles, 1 triple and 18 home runs, as he knocked in 74 RBIs, while crossing the plate 54 times. During a seven years career, which includes stints with the Rays and the Twins, Young have compiled a career batting average of .284 (955 for 3358), as he had played in a total of 880 games, during which he have hit 185 doubles, 10 triples and 89 home runs, as he had 482 RBIs, while he had scored 396 times. Along with his .284 career batting average, he has a career slugging percentage of .425 and a career OPS of .742.
Young will likely be patrolling one of the corner outfield spots, while Paul Revere will handle center field. If that is indeed the case, it will leave John Mayberry, Jr. and Dom Brown sharing a platoon at the other corner outfield spot, with Laynce Nix on the bench, while Darin Ruf will be playing in Triple-A Lehigh Valley for more seasoning.
Welcome to the team, Young. Hope you and your bat will help the team during the upcoming season.
The Phils have signed two more players to minor league deals, offering non-roster spring training invites to both.
Yesterday, the Phils sent out a press release announcing that they have signed two more players to minor league deals, offering spring training non-roster invitations to both players.
The players that the Phils have signed are infielder Hector Luna and outfielder Luis Montanez. Luna, who spent the 2011 season playing on the Red Sox Triple-A Pawtucket team, had played 311 games on the major league level between 2004-2010, playing for the Cardinals, Indians, Blue Jays and Marlins, compiling a .265 career batting average (194 hits in 732 at-bats). During his time in the majors, he had played at least one game at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions. Last year, for Pawtucket, he played in 113 games, batting .283, hitting 14 home runs and 58 RBIs. The other signed player, Montanez, spent part of the just finished 2011 season playing for Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs minor league system, appearing in 92 games, batting .321, hitting 7 home runs, and knocking in 69 RBIs. He had also appeared in 36 games with the Cubs, batting .222 (13 for 54). In his major league career, 2008-2011, in which he spent the first three seasons playing for the Orioles, he has a career batting average of .223 (68 for 305).
In the same press release, the Phils announced that they had lost minor league infielder Carlos Rivero to the Nationals via the waiver wire. Rivero was earlier taken off of the Phils 40-man roster to make room for the just resigned Jimmy Rollins.
My guess is that both signed players will likely end up playing for the Iron Pigs when the regular season starts.
The Phils have announced that they have invited eight minor leaguers to spring training.
Earlier today the Phils had announced that they have invited eight players in their minor league system to try out with the main team during spring training, 2012. Four of the eight players are pitchers, two are infielders, one is an outfielder and one is a catcher.
Among the four pitchers, two are lefties and two are righties. The four are: left-handers Pat Misch and Raul Valdes and right-handers Scott Elarton and Brian Sanches. Misch made six relief appearances for the Mets in 2011, but spent most of the season at Triple-A Buffalo, making 22 starts. In 2011, Valdes went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 appearances for both the Cardinals and the Yankees. Sanches, pitching for the Marlins, went 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA in 39 games. Elarton, because of injuries, last pitched professionally in 2010, and last pitched in the majors in 2008.
The two infielders are Pete Orr, who appeared in 49 games for the Phils in 2011, batting .219, and Kevin Frandsen, who played the entire year at Lehigh Valley, batting .309, with 5 home runs and 43 RBIs. The final two invitees are outfielder Scott Podsednik, who played in just 34 games, because of injuries, for the Triple-A teams of the Blue Jays and the Phils, batting .245, with six doubles and a triple for the Iron Pigs, and catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, who, at Double-A Reading, played in 109 games, batting .247, with 13 homers and 66 RBIs. For Gosewisch, this will be his fourth invitation to spring training.
I wish the eight the best of luck.
The Phils have just announced that they have placed Jose Contreras on the DL for a right forearm strain; called up Juan Perez from Lehigh Valley to replace him in the bullpen.
Today, the Phils have announced that they have placed reliever Jose Contreras onto the 15-day disabled list for a right forearm strain, retroactive to June 20. This will be the second time that Contreras has been placed on the DL, having originally been placed on the shelf by the team from April 25 to May 26 because of a right flexner pronator strain. This could help explain why he had not been doing so well pitching in relief after coming off the DL late last month.
The Phils will replace him with Juan Perez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where, in 28 appearances, he has an 0-3 record with a 3.52 ERA. He had struck out 41 batters in 30.2 innings of work, with a .184 batting average against left handers.
Whatever happen, this should help Contreras to return to what he was doing against opponents before his injury. Of course, we won’t really know that until his return.
J.C. Romero has been placed on the 15-day disabled list; Mike Zagurski will take his place on the roster.
The Phils have just announced that they will be placing J.C. Romero on the 15-day disabled list, one day after he is taken out of last night’s game in the top of the ninth, as he attempted to field a ground ball hit by the Brewers’ Carlos Gomez, as he strained his right calf. Before the injury, Romero had pitched four and two-thirds innings, with a 3.86 ERA, as he was appearing in his seventh game of the season. Talk about tough luck.
The Phils have called up left-hander Mike Zagurski from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his spot on the 25-man roster. So far this year with the Iron Pigs, Zugurski had appeared in three games, with a 1-0 record and an 0.00 ERA, as he had allowed just two hits and have struck out seven in three and one-third innings. Hopefully he’ll do well with the parent club while J.C. recovers from his injury.
Seems injuries have decided to make things interesting…
This past Saturday, during the Phils’ 4-3 lost to the Pirates, Dom Brown, during an at-bat against pitcher Paul Maholm, fractured the hook of the hamate bone on his right hand as he fouled off a pitch, before getting his only hit of spring training, a single. Brown has returned to Philadelphia to visit hand specialist Randall Culp, to see how bad it is, although the Phils expect that Brown will need surgery on his right hand, and will therefore be out for four to six weeks. This will mean that Dom Brown will more than likely start the year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, before being called back to the main club, while Ben Francisco, who has been hitting the cover off of the ball so far this spring (before going 0 for 3 in today’s game with the Yankees), will be the one who will be the starter in right field, although no one have yet to say that he is.
This could end up being a blessing in disguise, as it should allow Brown to get away from all of the hype around him as he is considered the team’s number one prospect, as well as being the number one candidate for the job in right field, although he have not had a good spring as he had gone 0 for 15 before getting the single.
Meanwhile, in spite of taking a week off to allow his right knee to heal after it was announced that he was suffering from patellar tendenitis, Chase Utley was given a cortisone shot to help it heal. This is not good news, as the leg was expected to heal on its own, after being given some rest, although Utley have taken batting practice as he waited for his knee to get better. Hopefully his knee will be okay by the time that the team head north near the end of the month and it will make Utley sit out a few games during the regular season when told to by Charlie Manuel.
Hail, hail..
…the team’s all here.
All of the position players have decided to come to Clearwater earlier than the official Saturday date when they are suppose to report. To me, that means that they are all eager to get started, which brings a big smile to my face.
The news that has come out of camp, so far, is that the Phils plan to have Wilson Valdez work out some in centerfield, so that they can use him there during the season, as well as at second, third and short. Sounds like a good idea to me, since they are obviously planning to optimize the use of their bench players so that they can insert them anywhere on the field in the late innings, if they aren’t using them as pinch hitters, or intend to give their starters a few days off to rest.
Raul Ibanez has come to camp in good shape, having worked out during the off-season, showing himself prepared to play a full season without injury, thereby helping the ballclub both with the bat, and in the field.
Dom Brown is prepared to get the right fielder job while admitting that he had played poorly in the Domnican Winter League, and that he has no excuse for that. In fact, he hopes that it’ll help motivate him in his fight for the right field position. He has also mentioned that while he was in Clearwater earlier this year, that batting coach Greg Gross has helped him to correct his swing, to get rid of the kinks that had developed while he was on the bench during the last month or so of the 2010 regular season, figuring it’ll help him out.
Lastly, Chase Utley, when asked if he would take the opportunity to speak with Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg, the Phils’ new manager for their Triple-A team (Lehigh Valley), said that he planned to pick his brains. In fact, the pair had already spoken with each other, and Sandberg has said that he is impressed with Utley’s work ethic. I hope that the pair’s talking will help Utley bounce back from what happened last season.
Domonic Brown and Jonathan Singleton are among MLB.com’s Top 50 Prospects.
Yesterday, MLB.com announced who they consider to be Major League Baseball’s top 50 prospects. Among the fifty were two players in the Phillies’ farm system: Dom Brown, who came in at number 4 and Jonathan Singleton, who came in at 30.
Dom Brown, who is expected to join the team during spring training, to serve as part of a platoon in right field with Ben Francisco, to replace the just departed Jayson Werth, spent part of 2010 playing the outfield for both Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He batted .327, with an on-base percentage of .391 and a .589 slugging percentage, in 389 at-bats, as he hit 22 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 20 HRs and 68 RBIs for the two farm teams, before joining the major league ballclub during the summer after Shane Victorino got hurt. With limited playing time, as he stay with the ballclub through the playoffs, he batted .210 with 3 2Bs, 2 HRs and 13 RBIs in 62 at-bats, showing at the same time both his potential and his rawness. The Phils sent him to the Dominican Winter League to give him the at-bats he did not get while riding the bench during the last two months of the regular season, but he was sent home after struggling at the plate. So, he will be out to prove himself during spring training, to prove that he deserves to be with the big league ballclub.
Jonathan Singleton, who landed at number 30, spent the year playing for Class-A Lakewood, playing first base, as he went .290/.393/.479, hitting 25 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 14 HRs and 77 RBIs. As he shows potential, Singleton is being converted into an outfielder, as the Phils last season signed Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125-million contracts, which will start in 2012, meaning that he likely will not be able to join the ballclub playing that position. If he is able to show that he can play the outfield, Singleton should have a much better chance getting into the big league, hopefully as a Phil.
While I was taking a short break…
It seems that several things had occurred as far as the Phils are concerned.
First, on December 2, the Phils tendered contracts to outfielder Ben Francisco and pitcher Kyle Kendrick to keep them from becoming free agents. Kyle Kendrick will likely be fighting with Vance Worley for the fifth starter’s spot during spring training, while Francisco will be involved in a platoon situation with Dom Brown, as…
on the following Sunday, December 5, it was announced that Jayson Werth had signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Washington Nationals. Although he was expected to leave, Jayson’s signing with another team within the NL East came as a complete surprise to everyone, including Phils manager Charlie Manuel, as everyone had expected him to sign with an AL team, like the Red Sox or the Tigers. Well, Jayson, congrats on the money, but be prepared for a lot of boos, after being given some respectful cheers the first time you come to town in a Nat uniform. (The Nats? I hope you know what you’re doing Jayson.) As for the Phils’ compensation in draft picks, they will get a player in the draft between the first and second rounds, and then a player from the second round, as the Nats’ first round pick did not fall among the first 15 players of the draft.
The next day, December 6, the Hall of Fame Expansion Era Committee announced that it had elected ex-Phil General Manager Pat Gillick (2005-2008) to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gillick, who was also the GM for the Blue Jays, who won World Series Championships in 1992-1993, to go along with the Phils’ 2008 World Series Championship, as well as being the GM for both the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners, in 27 years as a GM, had 11 teams enter the post-season.
The next day, December 7, it was announced that journalist Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News (also formerly on the Philadelphia Bulletin) will receive the J.G. Taylor Spink Award from the BBWAA, for 50 years of meritorious contributions to baseball writing. He will be given the award during the induction ceremonies at Cooperstown, NY, on July 25, 2011.
Then, on December 8, the Phils announced that they had signed former Cardinal relief pitcher Dennys Reyes to a one year deal for $1.1 million, with a $1.35 million option for 2012. Reyes, who has pitched in the major leagues for fourteen seasons out of the bullpen, will be joining his eleventh team when he joins the Phils, as he finished 2010 with a 3-1 record with an ERA of 3.55, as he pitched in 59 games, with a save, as he struck out 25 batters, while walking 21. The Phils will likely be using him as their left handed specialist out of the bullpen, to compliment Antonio Bastardo.
On the 9th, the Phils took three players in the Rule 5 Draft, with the first one, Michael Martinez, an infielder, coming from the Nats organization, via their Syracuse Triple-A affiliate. Phils’ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. jokingly commented that picking him up was the Phils way of getting back at the Nats for taking Jayson. (I just hope the last laugh ain’t on the Phils with this one.) The Phils would also pick up Chris Frey from the Rockies organization and Justin Friend from the A’s in the minor league part of the Rule 5 Draft. I guess it’ll be a while before we see if any of these guys pan out with the Phils.
Also during the week, the Phils brought Dom Brown back from the Dominican League, as they did not think that he was getting the seasoning that they thought he would need to be ready for spring training. Instead, they plan to do it during spring training itself, to get him ready for the regular season.
Lastly, the Phils had announced on Saturday that shortstop Jimmy Rollins had on Thursday undergone minor surgery on his left wrist. They also announced that he should be able to participate in spring training next year.
The Phils have signed Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg as their new manager at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Sandberg to manage Phils’ Triple-A club
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs tab Hall of Fame second baseman
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com
Hmm, first Juan, and now Ryne. So far so good, especially with
reports of them trying to sign up fan favorite Mickey Morandini as
well.
PHILADELPHIA — Nearly 29 years after the Phillies traded Ryne Sandberg to the Chicago Cubs, he is rejoining the organization.
The Phillies announced on Monday morning that they’ve hired Sandberg
as the manager for their Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron
Pigs. Sandberg managed the previous four seasons in the Cubs’ Minor
League system, including last season with Triple-A Iowa. He had been a
candidate to become the Cubs’ manager following Lou Piniella’s
midseason retirement, but Chicago retained Mike Quade instead.
Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman and Cubs icon, subsequently
informed the Cubs he would seek employment elsewhere.
The Phillies had an opening and landed Sandberg.
Dallas Green said last week that Sandberg would make a great manager.
Green has a storied history with Sandberg. Green was the Cubs’
general manager when he fleeced the Phillies in one of the worst trades
in franchise history. The Jan. 27, 1982, deal sent Larry Bowa and
Sandberg to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus. The Phillies felt they did not
have a position to play Sandberg, and because they felt compelled to
trade Bowa following a bitter contract dispute, Green astutely demanded
the Phillies include Sandberg in the trade.
Sandberg invited Green to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2005.
“I would think he would make a great fit for us,” Green said last
week. “We raised him. He’s been let down by Chicago a good bit. He’s a
little bit bitter about that. … When he didn’t get the job, I called
him and commiserated with him. I knew he was disappointed. I still
personally think he should be a big league guy if that’s what he really
wants to do.
“I love the guy. He’s got a great work ethic. I haven’t watched him, but I think he’s going to be a good teacher.”
Sandberg earned Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year honors this
past season, when he led the Iowa Cubs (82-62) to a tie for the best
record in the Northern Division.
Sandberg was a 10-time National League All-Star. He also won nine
Gold Glove Awards and seven Silver Slugger Awards during his 16-year
career. The Phillies drafted Sandberg in 1978, and he played 13 games
for the club in ’81 before being traded.
The Phillies said the remainder of their 2011 player development
staff will be announced at a later date, but Mickey Morandini is
expected to be named to the staff in some capacity.
H/T Phillies.com
Welcome back, Ryne. Hope you’ll do well managing over in Lehigh Valley.
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