The World Series is officially over and the Houston Astros are World Champions. A day later, the offseason has begun. The Phillies introduced their new manager and Thursday saw four Phillies file for free agency.
The names filing for free agency on Thursday were infielder Andres Blanco, outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, outfielder Daniel Nava, and pitcher Clay Buchholz.
Blanco joined the Phillies back in 2012 as a minor league free agent. After playing a season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and spending all of 2013 injured, Blanco put together a nice season at Triple-A and earned a call-up in 2014. Blanco has been with the Phillies since.
Now 33 years old and coming off of a season in which he batted just .192, Blanco may have trouble finding another opportunity for a guaranteed major league job. A very versatile player well-respected by Latin players in the clubhouse, Blanco has the makings of a coach. Perhaps the Phillies will give him an opportunity in their system.
Buchholz came to the Phillies in an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox. Essentially a salary dump, the Phillies took Buchholz's $11 million salary and gave fringe prospect Josh Tobias to the Red Sox. Buchholz made just two starts, exiting the second with a season-ending injury.
Buchholz was 0-1 with a 12.27 earned run average in his limited work.
Nava joined the Phillies as a minor league free agent in the offseason. After making the team out of Spring Training, Nava was very productive for the Phillies. That is, when he was healthy.
In all, Nava spent four separate stints on the disabled list. When he played, he was very helpful to a Phillies lineup that had many other injuries. Nava batted .301 in 183 at bats over 80 games.
The Phillies acquired Kim as part of the deal that sent pitcher Jeremy Hellickson to the Baltimore Orioles. Kim was mostly a salary dump for the Orioles, as he did not really figure into their plans. Kim did not figure into the plans of the Phillies, either, but thanks to repeated injuries to outfielders stayed with the Phillies the whole rest of the 2017 season.
Kim batted just .231 combined between the Orioles and Phillies in 2017. Kim was origionally a free agent from Korea who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Orioles prior to 2016. The deal forces free agency this offseason. Kim may choose to return to Korea where he had much success in 2018.
The Phillies also announced that they activated pitcher Jesen Therrien and infielder Pedro Florimon from the 60-day disabled list. Also on the 60-day disabled list and likely to be activated soon are pitchers Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and Zach Eflin.
Once all are active, the roster will stand at 37 players, unless the Phillies make other moves. The Phillies are expected to add several players ot the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft, held in December.
