Skip to main content

Phillies Winter Meetings Update

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club.  There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League.  After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers.  In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez.  His size, consistent

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 rolle