Phillies acquire RHP Morton, full Giles trade details announced

As 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

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early. When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more. Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one. That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

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...

Is it time to be concerned about Mickey Moniak?

Mickey Moniak with Lakewood in 2017 Almost daily I am engaged via Twitter or email or text messages or in person about Phillies prospects. It comes with the gig. The player that scores the most inquiries is, as should be expected, 2016 top overall draft selection Mickey Moniak . Questions from fans that don't want to seem overly judgmental will ask, “Should we be concerned?” Others, living up to the more stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan reputation, will assert the notion, “He’s a bust! Somebody didn't do his job right!” For the most part I have responded in defense of Moniak and others, letting people know that the youngster’s skills are real and his coaches stand by them. I’d caution fans that he was young, still a teenager, among the five youngest position players in the Class A Advanced Florida State League (per his team the Clearwater Threshers, as of the end of April), and he just needed time to catch up to the older, more mature pitching at that level....

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog