Skip to main content

Phillies Winter Meetings Update

By
While several free agent and potential trade names have been floated around at this week's Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, with the Phillies organization attached to them, the moves that the Phils have actually made were of minimal impact at the minor league level. In an effort to clear space on their 40-man roster, the Phillies released pitchers Yohan Flande (pictured) and Jesus Sanchez.

Flande, a Dominican lefty hurler that will turn 25 years old prior to spring training, is currently pitching for the Toros in the Dominican Winter Baseball League. In 6 games (4 starts), Flande has posted a 1-1 record with a 4.91 ERA and a .303 batting average against for the Toros. In 27 starts for the Double A Reading Phillies this year, Flande went 10-8 with a 4.38 ERA.

The right-handed Sanchez performed well this season with the High A level Clearwater Threshers as a starting pitcher. In 23 games (22 starts), Sanchez, who turned 23 years old after the season, posted a 9-7 record with a 2.99 ERA. Sanchez was a key pitcher on the Lakewood BlueClaws team that won the South Atlantic League championship in 2009. He was also the last remaining player that the Phillies acquired in the trade that sent Bobby Abreu to the Yankees in 2006.

Flande and Sanchez were among players added to the Phillies' 40-man roster in November 2009 to protect them from last year's Rule 5 draft, the annual selection process aimed at preventing teams from stock piling too much talent in the minors and leaving players there to relatively waste away. Each pitcher is now available to any team that wants to claim them off waivers.

The Phillies' 40-man roster now sits at 38 total players.

According to David Hale, of The News Journal, the Phillies will attempt to reach new contractual agreements with Flande and Sanchez. Each pitcher would need to clear waiver before that happens.

What do these moves translate to? The Phillies likely have their sights set on some players, that they feel two 40-man roster spots could be better utilized on, in the Rule 5 draft this coming Thursday, December 9th. And with so many pitching prospects outshining Flande and Sanchez this season, the organization must not feel too concerned about potentially losing one or both of these individuals.

In other news from the organization, the Lakewood BlueClaws announced that their parent club, the Phillies, would be making a stop at the Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood, NJ on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011, as part of the club's Winter Tour. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will be on hand. Registration for the dinner event is $40 per person and proceeds will benefit BlueClaws charities. To sign up, click here, or contact Amy DeMichele at 732-901-7000 ext 172.

___________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Connect with PhoulBallz.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

By
LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...
3 comments
Read more

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

By
TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

By
At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...
4 comments
Read more