Skip to main content

Phils to Fill Void with Independent Leaguer

Combine Phillies minor leaguer Keoni DeRenne with Babe Ruth and what do you get? Keoni Ruth, of course!

The Phillies are expected to announce on Friday that they've signed Hawaii native Keoni Ruth and will assign him to Class A Lakewood to fill the void left when the organization traded All-star shortstop Jonathan Villar to Houston, along with two other players, for Roy Oswalt on Thursday.

Ruth, who plays multiple infield positions, was drafted in 2006 by the Padres and played as high as Triple A in their system. In 3 season of minor league ball with the Padres, Ruth posted a .277 batting average in 239 games.

DeRenne and Ruth are close friends, as the two are from the same state and train together in the off-season. The addition of Ruth could very well mark the first time that two Keoni's have played for the same professional team at the same time.

Keoni DeRenne told me, in an exclusive interview, that on Wednesday the director of Phillies minor league operations Steve Noworyta asked him about his pal Ruth, who was staying in shape back home in Hawaii, playing independent ball for Na Koa Ikaika. "Keoni is an outstanding guy, not only as a player, but as a person. You always want to have talented guys, but you also want a guy that's gonna be good for the team in the clubhouse," DeRenne said of Ruth. "I told Steve, I'd vouch for him for anything."

DeRenne, who played the 2009 season with the independent York Revolution can easily relate to Ruth's eagerness to join an affiliated club. "He's excited. I know he's hungry. Just like me before, he didn't know if he'd get another chance, so he's anxious to get here and play."

Ruth will be the second independent leaguer signed by the Phillies and sent directly to Lakewood this month, as 25-year-old righty pitcher Joe Esposito was playing for the Long Island Ducks prior to being picked up by the Phillies a couple weeks back.

__________________________________

The is a re-post. Initially the article was removed from the site, at the request of the BlueClaws, until the transaction was official.

Click here to see The Scorpion King's brother interview Keoni Ruth for Hawaii TV.

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.


BallHype: hype it up!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This Guy Speaks For All of You

This individual, interviewed by FOX 29 on Friday as the Phillies arrived back at Citizens Bank Park, said it best. When asked how he felt regarding the Phillies, he told Steve Keeley that he was, "Stoked, baby!" The unidentified phanatic then proclaimed, "We are talking about the Fightins here, the Fightins! Said!" Check out the media player below, as the transcribed version certainly does not do this phireball of phandom justice. The Phillies forced game 6 of the National League Championship Series with a 4-2 victory over the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday night. Game 6 will feature Roy Oswalt vs. Jonathan Sanchez in a return pitching match up from game 2. First pitch is scheduled for 7:57 pm EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Be sure to tune in on 97.3 ESPN's Weekend Sports Guide with Tyrone Johnson this afternoon around 1:15pm to hear me chatting about the Phillies! 97.3 is based in Atlantic City. You can listen live online HERE . _________
Post a Comment
Read more

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rol
1 comment
Read more

Phillies minor leaguer Burch to use health scare as fuel

Tyler Burch, image- MiLB.com I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to exclusive interviews plus early access to features and news such as this. A missed baseball season wasn't the only challenge facing righty pitcher Tyler Burch this summer.   With persistent symptoms that began prior to spring training it was ultimately discovered, after the 2020 season was shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, that the 22-year-old had developed an autoimmune disease.   As symptoms that included dry mouth and frequent trips to the bathroom worsened, Burch's situation left his doctor puzzled.  And even the physician that conducted his team physical examination at the outset of spring training jokingly referenced diabetes, but did not take the possibility seriously.    The physical impacts subsided somewhat during spring training, as being more active and adhering to the team diet helped alleviate what he was experiencing. Once the base
Post a Comment
Read more