On a weekend where John Lannan and Raul Valdes were firing and Dom Brown was slugging, the Phillies roster really wasn't changed much. I think the main questions that are out there still exist, and none of the main spots in question are settled.
Here's the good news- De Fratus, Stutes, and Valdes are all firing right now. The bad news? There is no bad news in that. Here's the latest roster projection I have:
- Rotation: Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Kendrick, Lannan.
- Line-Up: Rollins-SS, Revere-CF, Utley-2B, Howard-1B, Young-3B, Brown-LF, Nix/Mayberry-RF, Kratz-C. In the running: Ruf- RF/LF.
- Bullpen: Papelbon, Adams, Aumont, Durbin, Bastardo, Valdes, Horst. In the running: Stutes, De Fratus, Diekman, Cook.
- Bench: Nix/Mayberry, Frandsen, Inciarte, Galvis, Quintero. In the running: Ruf, Betancourt, Mitchell.
- Restricted: Ruiz.
- DL: D. Young.
- Last 5 off: Ruf, Cook, De Fratus, Stutes, Diekman.
- 40 Man, Inactive: Ruf, Gillies, Hernandez, Collier, Valle, Pettibone, Cloyd, Martin, Stutes, De Fratus, Diekman, Rosenberg, Savery, Robles.
I would like to see Mitchell at least get a 40 man spot for his hot spring, but we'll see what happens there. As of now, no one's been DFA'ed this spring. Quintero will get added for Ruiz's suspension, then he'll go, but the Phillies would still be at 40. Hopefully we'll see some movement that opens up one or two slots for Mitchell and Cook, though I think Mitchell would accept a AAA slot. Phuture Phillies did a pretty good roster projection last night too, if you want another read.
Which takes us to AAA. Who makes the AAA squad? Here's my guess:
- Rotation: Cloyd, Pettibone, Martin, Lopez, Cochran. In the running: Cook, Bass.
- Line-Up: Gillies-CF, Hernandez-2B, Mitchell-RF, Ruf-LF, Joseph-C, Fields-1B/3B, Overbeck-DH/1B, Orr-3B, Blanco-SS. Others in the running: Martinez, Valle, Betancourt, Asche.
- Bullpen: De Fratus, Stutes, Diekman, Rosenberg, Robles, Savery, Jimenez. Others in the running: Friend, Ramirez, Miner.
- Bench: Martinez, D. Mitchell, Lerud, Hanzawa. In the running: Susdorf, Suomi.
And of course, AA:
- Rotation: Morgan, Rodriguez, Hyatt, Biddle, Buchanan. In the running: Wright, Colvin, Hollands.
- Line-Up: Collier-CF, James-RF, Asche-3B, Murphy-1B, Castro-LF, Valle-C, Hewitt-DH, Murphy-2B, Duran-SS
- Bullpen: Friend, Simon, Cisco, Ramirez, Hollands, Lafferty, Shreve.
- Bench: Susdorf, Abreu, Suomi, Tolbert.
I think the only real drama here is whether or not Cook and Betancourt are around in a week. My guess on Betancourt is no, since teams need SS help. Cook may get a 40 man spot I believe, which would shake things up minorly. The big decisions in the upper levels are the catchers, and where Asche plays, otherwise I think things are kind of just going to play out as is. I'm not secure in my Hewitt pick here either.
