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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
Well, Chad Billingsley is a Phillies pitcher now, not the guy throwing against them in the NLCS. If you're not excited by the Billingsley era, I don't know what will excite you? How does this change the roster? Well, here's my updated look at it:
- Starting Rotation- Hamels and Lee are absolute locks, Harang and Billingsley would appear to have the upper hands coming in. David Buchanan would be my choice for the fifth slot over Jerome Williams, but that would appear to be the battle. Adam Morgan, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Joely Rodriguez, and if healthy, Jon Pettibone all appear to be on the outside looking in.
- Bullpen- Papelbon is still in limbo, leaving a spot in limbo. Jimenez is DFA'ed now, leaving that spot open. I still consider Giles, Diekman, and De Fratus all locks. I still would say Mario Hollands has an edge coming in. I'd guess Jerome Williams does too, as he has an MLB guaranteed deal, and could be a long-man or starter. Elvis Araujo, Ethan Martin, Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, and Andy Oliver appear to be front-runners, though no one can tell where Phillippe Aumont is with the club. Moving Papelbon gets them a needed second slot to play with. I think Gonzalez starts the season starting in AAA, and Martin is optioned back too. I'm giving Oliver the early edge for one spot, Araujo seems like a possible fit for the other.
- Line-Up- Ruiz, Howard, Utley, Galvis, Asche, Sizemore, Revere, and Brown would be the front-runners right now. I'm not counting out Franco making the squad, but I think the Phillies want the extra year of club control bad, so he starts in Lehigh Valley. Herrera and Ruf could both be fits too pretty regularly.
- Bench- I'm betting on Ruf, Herrera, and Cesar Hernandez as the solid spots. I'm betting on Koyie Hill to edge out Cameron Rupp for the back-up catching spot as well, unless the Phillies end up really hard up for the 40 man roster spot. That leaves one spot, likely in the outfield, up for grabs. Jordan Danks and Jeff Francoeur would seem like the obvious favorites right now. I'll give the edge to Francoeur.
