Skip to main content

Phillies acquire RHP Morton, full Giles trade details announced

mortonAs a busy week continued for the 99-loss Phillies, news was released confirming another swap as the team sent minor league hurler David Whitehead to Pittsburgh for starting pitcher Charlie Morton.

The 32-year-old Morton is best known for his mechanics which resemble Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. In 158 career big league games, the righty sports a 34-70 record along with a 4.54 ERA.

Whitehead, a pitcher not particularly close to the Phillies' top 25 prospects, posted a 9-11 record with a 4.44 ERA and a .291 batting average against for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers last season.

The addition of Morton likely locks him into a rotation spot as the team's veteran, although he isn't a workhorse, having never thrown 30 or more starts in a season and making more than 26 starts in a year only one time.

Morton will join newly acquired pitcher Jeremy Hellickson as the only locks to be Phils starters. Rookies Aaron Nola (the Phils' 1st round pick from 2014 could also have a rotation spot clinched), Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Adam Morgan as well as some names from the Kenny Giles swap with Houston who will all work toward earning places in the starting rotation.


Firm details on that reported swap of Giles were announced on Saturday as well. The deal also sends 17-year-old shortstop Jonathan Arauz to the Astros. He is a solid-hitting youngster that is expendable to the Phils based on the organization's depth at the position.

The trade also now includes the top overall selection from the 2013 draft, Mark Appel coming to the Phillies as well as pitcher Harold Arauz. Others that were included in previous reports (Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer and Thomas Eshelman) are still on their way to the Phils.

Appel pitched in 25 combined games at Double-A and Triple-A last year. The 24-year-old tallied a 10-3 record with a 4.37 ERA and a 7.5 K/9 in 2015. He is thought by some to already be a bust, based on his production compared to his draft position, which was 1st overall in 2013.

Harold Arauz, 20, is a native of Panama that sported a 0-5 record with a 5.75 ERA and a 9.1 K/9 mark in 15 games, mainly as a starter, in the Class A short season New York-Penn League last season.

Giles originally signed with the Phillies after they made him their 7th round draft selection in 2011. He became the team's closer this summer following the trade of All-Star Jonathan Papelbon to Washingt

To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Phils designated reliever Dan Otero.

This article originally appeared on Phillies Nation.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

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. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...