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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
Today is September 1st, and MLB teams can now expand their 25 man rosters to include anyone on their 40 man rosters at this time. With the Lehigh Vally IronPigs being eliminated tonight, there is really no reason why the Phillies will not be able to call up anyone they want, as there is no more meaningful ball to be played in the high minors, or any ball at all after Monday.
With that said, the Phillies roster is a ridiculous mess of players on the 60 day DL, restricted list, 15 day DL, or just not being very good players. There are 47 players, accounting for 39 current spots (60 day DL and restricted list players don't count), currently speaking. In case you were wondering who is on the current 25 man roster, especially after the McDonald and Young trades:
- Line-Up: Bernadina-CF, Rollins-SS, Utley-2B, Brown-LF, Ruf-1B, Asche-3B, Mayberry-RF, Ruiz-C (not necessarily in order)
- Rotation: Hamels, Lee, Halladay, Kendrick, Martin
- Bench: Kratz, Frandsen, Orr
- Bullpen: Papelbon, Diekman, De Fratus, Rosenberg, Jimenez, Miner, Ramirez
- DL: Pettibone*, Adams*, Horst*, Lannan*, Stutes*, Howard*, Revere, Wells
Yes, that's only 23 guys, as we quite clearly don't know yet who replaces Young and McDonald. Smart money says that Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, and Michael Martinez (ugh) all return within the next few days to join the team. What is much less clear is what happens to Tyson Gillies, Zach Collier, and Sebastian Valle, all of whom are on the 40 man, but really didn't have great years. Gillies probably has the best chance of the three to get a call, as the only one to be in AAA this year, a year in which his numbers weren't good, as they attempted to remake his swing. I would guess there is a chance of Cameron Rupp getting the 40th spot, but he's slated to go to Arizona already, so the Phillies have a plan for him.
Then there is the pitching. Tyler Cloyd, newly-signed Miguel Gonzalez, newly traded for Rob Rasmussen, and ineffective big leaguer Raul Valdes are all starters on the 40 man, but only really Cloyd should even be considered. We know what Valdes can do, Gonzalez hasn't pitched an inning anywhere yet, and Rasmussen pitched in AA ball this year. On the relief side, Luis Garcia, Phillippe Aumont, Mauricio Robles, and Joe Savery are all inactive and on the 40 man. Aumont was just terrible this year, even in AAA, Garcia wasn't effective in the bigs, and Robles was great in AA but not in AAA. Only Savery is honestly in need of anymore evaluation right now, and that's over his continual occupation of a 40 man slot. Right now he would be behind Diekman, Bastardo, and Horst going into next season as a lefty.
So who else should be considered for addition to the 40 man roster, and a call-up? I mentioned Rupp above, and I like his candidacy. I think he still falls behind teammate and battery mate Adam Morgan for the one open slot. Morgan's 2-7, 4.04 record and ERA are misleading, as he essentially had two seasons- the year he had up until he went down with shoulder problems, and the year he had after. His second season was much better, and warrants a look at the talented lefty. His post All-Star break ERA was 2.73. No one besides those two has a strong reason to be up in September on the IronPigs, but there is Maikel Franco in Reading. I would like to see him. Kelly Dugan had a great year, and Jesse Biddle is a great talent, but both are a bit green for a look.
So who are some DFA candidates to make room for Morgan, Rupp, or Franco? Raul Valdes, Luis Garcia, Joe Savery, Zach Collier, and Sebastian Valle all could be. My guess is that Rupp simply goes to Arizona, and Valdes and Garcia get DFA'ed in the coming days to make room for Morgan and Franco.
Looking ahead to the off-season, the Phillies will need to clear a few spaces to add prospects who could otherwise be Rule 5'ed away. We all know about the free agents (Halladay, Ruiz to name some), and the arbitration eligibles (Kendrick, Lannan, Mayberry, etc.), and journeymen (Jimenez, Miner, etc.), but it will be interesting to see how they prioritize them. It's not far fetched to think close to half of the 40 man could change, especially with some of the slop currently on it. With a probable 47th player being added soon to this group, the Phillies will have a lot of decisions to make in the winter on what they have, let alone what they want. For now though, it'll be fun to watch this greatly expanded roster play.
