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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
The Phillies signed Reid Brignac to a minor league deal yesterday. If that isn't exciting you, it's okay, you're not alone. Brignac has big league experience and an excellent defensive glove, and is a big upgrade on Michael Martinez, assuming he's gone.
The Phillies will have 35 players on their 40 man roster when Carlos Ruiz signs his deal on Thursday. On the Phillies site, there is talk of them possibly being done with their opening day roster (ugh). Brignac will not be added to that 40 man roster at this time, but some people will be, very soon. The deadline to be on in order to not be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft in December is fast approaching. Tommy Joseph, seen above, will be added. Kelly Dugan, a former top pick, will be added. Aaron Altherr will most likely be added too. Rob Rasmussen (Michael Young trade to LA) and Seth Rosin (Hunter Pence trade to SF) also are borderline for spots. Maikel Franco, Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan, and Severino Gonzalez all lack roster spots at this time too. Candidates to be dropped include Tyson Gillies, Zach Collier, Sebastian Valle, Luis Garcia, Jeremy Horst, and Joe Savery. Remember also, the Phillies are still looking for a reliever and starting pitcher, so they'll need a spot or two.
My sense right now is that Joseph, Dugan, Altherr, Rasmussen, and Rosin all are kept, while Garcia and Valle go for now. That's just my guess. So that means I see the roster shaking out today like:
- Line-Up: Revere-CF, Rollins-SS, Utley-2B, Howard-1B, Byrd-RF, Brown-LF, Ruiz-C, Asche-3B
- Rotation: Lee, Hamels, free agent, Gonzalez, Kendrick
- Bench: Kratz, Ruf, Hernandez, Galvis, Mayberry
- Bullpen: Papelbon, free agent, Adams, Bastardo, Diekman, Rosenberg, De Fratus
