Andrew Knapp and Alec Asher conference on the mound (Brandon Apter/Sports Talk Philly)
The Phillies had a completely full 40-man roster heading into the final week of Grapefruit League action. Much of our discussion in recent days included how the Phillies might manage their roster. The Phillies found a way to create an opening: a trade. The Phillies announced that they have traded pitcher Alec Asher to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later.
Asher was caught in between the Phillies Major League roster and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley roster. WIth Mark Appel, Ben Lively, Nick Pivetta, Jake Thompson, and Zach Eflin all Triple-A worthy and plenty of starters to choose from at Double-A Reading, someone would lose out.
Just because there was no player named does not mean there will be no value back in return. Often in these situations teams will agree to choose from a particular list of players, giving the team acquiring a prospect time to decide.
The Phillies probably will receive a player who has yet to become part of the Orioles 40-man roster. This would give the Phillies immediate roster flexibility and put off some of the assets for another year. The Phillies now have a roster spot for Daniel Nava, Brock Stassi, or a relief pitcher.
Asher was one of four pitchers and six players total the Phillies acquired in trade from the Texas Rangers for lefties Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman. Asher made seven starts for the Phillies in 2015 after the trade, and another seven in 2016 after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. In those 12 appearances, Asher was 2-7 with a 5.88 earned run average.
