By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
If you thought catcher A.J. Ellis was maybe just a throw-in placeholder to the Carlos Ruiz trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, you were on the same wavelength with Ellis himself.
But according to Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball, the Phillies certainly didn't view Ellis as just a body, and they may even attempt to retain him after the 2016 season:
A.J. Ellis still was shocked about his trade to the Phillies even a week later, and he didn’t know whether the Phillies really wanted him, or whether they were just making him feel better by saying so. But the reality is that some Phillies people love having such a knowledgeable veteran catcher with all their young pitchers. And they may try to bring him back to continue in that endeavor.
This isn't the first indication that the Phillies may shake up their catcher position this off-season. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted earlier this month that the Phillies were "guaranteed" to enter 2017 with some sort of "veteran" catcher on their roster, noting that the Phillies weren't especially high on the idea of pairing Cameron Rupp with Jorge Alfaro and/or Andrew Knapp.
Though an option like Alex Avila, who could also provide some left-handed at-bats at first base, may make more sense, the idea of retaining Ellis shouldn't be discounted. Ellis, as evidenced by Clayton Kershaw crying when he was traded, is a strong veteran presence in a clubhouse, something that may be especially appealing to the Phillies with Alfaro and Knapp. Ellis, 35, will become a free-agent after the season.
If Rupp is traded this off-season, the Phillies may feel the need to upgrade their backup considering Ellis hasn't hit over .240 since 2012. But if the keep Rupp, and have someone like Alfaro on the roster, it's possible they would re-sign Ellis, knowing both that he could tutor a young roster and that he's someone they could designate for assignment without much of an issue if they felt he had served his purpose.
