Salt in a wound. The Phillies had infielder/outfielder Brandon Moss under their control back in 2011 In 2012, 2013, and into 2014 Moss has shown tremendous power for the Oakland Athletics. In these two and one-third seasons, Moss has amassed 66 home runs, easily more than any Phillies player has had during that Span. A piece on Fox Sports from Ken Rosenthal profiled Moss and his travels.
Moss said that the Phillies made it clear where he stood:
Philly had kind of showed me what they thought of me when they were looking for a left-handed bench bat late in the year,” Moss recalls. “I had been having a pretty good year at Triple A for them. And they went outside the organization and got another guy. Things like that are when you see what teams think of you. You see where you stand. I read the writing on the wall.
The Phillies decided that John Bowker was a better option than in-house Moss. Bowker went hitless in his Phillies career, and was unable to land a major league position ever again.
In fairness to the Phillies, Moss did have a number of chances before ending up on the Phillies. Moss came up with the Boston Red Sox, where he spent parts of 2007 and 2008. Moss went to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the famed three-way trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jason Bay to the Boston Red Sox. Moss started for the Pirates for the rest of 2008 and all of 2009 and failed to impress.
In 2010, Moss was a part-time player, and eventually was let go, signing with the Phillies as a minor league free agent prior to 2011. Moss did get six at bats with the major league Phillies, but failed to get a hit.
The ordeal is a point of caution. Reflecting on the Rosenthal piece, Mike Wisniewski of CSN Philly worries that the Phillies could make the same mistake with Darin Ruf:
Too bad they don't have anyone resembling Brandon Moss around… except they do. And he's wasting away – or at least he was – in the minor leagues.
Darin Ruf, a 27-year-old former 20th round pick out of Creighton, offers a skill set similar to Moss'. He's a first baseman/corner outfielder whose glove isn't his strong suit. But he gets on base. And he has extra-base power.
Yet he can't find a place with the Phillies — and this club isn't anything close to the 2011 version.
Wisniewski has a great point: the Phillies continue to keep Ruf from getting an opportunity. With Ruf's injury at Lehigh Valley, it will be even longer before he gets a chance. The Phillies had better hope that he is not another Moss.
