Philadelphia Phillies’ Spring Training To-Do List

Spring training is finally upon us. After a long offseason, baseball is back, and more specifically, Philadelphia Phillies baseball is back.

In some ways, the Phillies are stepping on new ground this spring. It’s their first spring training without Charlie Manuel in almost 10 years, and already manager Ryne Sandberg has turned up the heat in workouts. It’s a promising start for a manager who’s taking charge following one who didn’t always enforce such rigorous exercises at this point in spring training.

While there’s still plenty of time for Sandberg and the Phillies to make roster decisions, they still loom over the heads of the players until said decisions are made. Competitions will boil down to performance and expected performance during the season; and with certain wild cards like Cole Hamels’ shoulder injury giving more players a shot at making the Opening Day roster, the battles for roster spots should be that much more intense.

The Phillies’ to-do list isn’t extensive in 2014, since many of the team’s position players are set in stone. Pitching is always up in the air, as is the bench. Keeping this in mind, here is the Phillies’ spring training to-do list.

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Odds for Each Phillies Player on the Roster Bubble Making the Final 25-Man Cut

It’s been a big week for the Philadelphia Phillies. More specifically, it’s been a big last couple of days for the Phillies.

After news emerged on February 12 that homegrown ace and 2013 Opening Day starter Cole Hamels would not be ready for the opener in 2014, the Phillies’ rotation immediately lost depth. Behind Hamels and Cliff Lee, the rotation stood as a bit of an enigma, with the final two spots not even cemented as of yet.

Consequently, hours later, the Phillies and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. went out and signed right-handed starter A.J. Burnett to a one-year, $16 million contract with an option for 2015. And a day later, on February 13, minor league signee Chad Gaudin was released after allegedly failing his physical, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

With that all in mind, some of the Phillies’ spring training battles have changed. Now that the first four rotation spots are firmly in place, three starters will vie for the fifth starter’s job. A couple of other players also will have a stab at making the major league squad, although they may not be in the starting rotation.

Having said that, here are the odds each Phillies player on the bubble has of making the 25-man roster.

 

 

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Chances of Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 5 Nonroster Invitees Making 2014 Roster

Although far from flashy, many of Major League Baseball’s nonroster contracts with invites to spring training that are inked every offseason end up being rather significant. Oftentimes it is these players, or minor leaguers invited to spring training, who surprise the most and break camp with the big league roster.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, this designation has applied to Raul Valdes and Juan Pierre in recent years. Marlon Byrd was also in this position last spring with the New York Mets. All three of these players had major impacts on their MLB teams, whether positive or negative.

This offseason, the Phillies signed a few notable names to minor league deals and also will bring along some significant prospects to big league camp. Here’s a look at the Phillies’ top five (in no particular order) nonroster invitees and their odds of cracking the Opening Day roster.

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Scouting Reports, 2014 Projections for Phillies’ Pitchers and Catchers

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ offseason is mercifully coming to a close. After a winter that saw a few too many bad contracts signed, fans would like to see what this supposedly-revamped team is capable of doing.

With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training by February 12—just 13 days from now—some familiar and new faces will head down to Clearwater to show the team what they’ve got. Some of these players will make the team, while others will head to the minors for the start of the season or be cut from the organization altogether.

Keeping that in mind, here are scouting reports and 2014 projections for the Phillies’ pitchers and catchers.

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Biggest Winners and Losers from Philadelphia Phillies’ Offseason

With 19 days left until MLB pitchers and catchers have to report to spring training, the 2013-14 offseason is drawing to a close. Although some high-profile names such as Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz remain on the board, they will likely fall into place on new teams once Japanese superstar pitcher Masahiro Tanaka signs with an American team within the next few days.

While some teams still have some shopping to do, for all intents and purposes, the Philadelphia Phillies‘ offseason has concluded. The only outstanding move remaining is an arbitration settlement or hearing with outfielder Ben Revere, and the only moves to expect aside from that would be of the minor league variety.

As the offseason ends, one of the biggest topics that emerges is who won and who lost. Today, we’ll take a look at just who came out on top and who was left in the dust for the Phillies this winter. Without further ado, here are the biggest winners and losers of the Phillies’ offseason.

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Why Bronson Arroyo Would Be Bad Signing for Phillies’ 2014 Plans

Despite a relatively quiet offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have not necessarily filled all of their holes. Outfielder Marlon Byrd might be a bust, while starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez is an unknown in a shallow stadium like Citizens Bank Park.

Although the Phillies have not been connected to many rumors since early December, one rumor recently emerged that was rather interesting. According to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, the Phillies were still potentially interested in signing starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo as of January 12.

The only appeal to Arroyo for the Phillies is that he doesn’t have a draft pick attached to him and doesn’t get hurt. But at what price will that cost the Phillies, both on the books and on the mound?

While it’s indisputable that the Phillies need some sort of starting pitching help, it shouldn’t come in the form of Arroyo by any means. Here’s why.

 

All advanced statistics used courtesy of FanGraphs.

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Odds of Top Philadelphia Phillies Prospects Making 2014 Opening Day Roster

With spring training just around the corner as pitchers and catchers report by Feb. 13, baseball’s offseason talk moves from transactions and the Hall of Fame to the new season ahead.

Along with that transition comes the discussion of who will make teams’ rosters out of spring training, and while that sometimes can be almost set before a baseball is thrown, it’s rarely the case.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, that possibility is probably more true than false, although there are still some openings to be determined. The bullpen is still shaky, the rotation’s fourth member has yet to be officially named and third base remains a tossup.

While there are incumbents at each of those positions who could handle the starting duties, surprise runs of dominance in spring training could change each incumbent’s status.

On Jan. 8, Matt Gelb of Philly.com reported that Phillies top prospects Maikel Franco and Jesse Biddle would be invited to big league camp, which is generally a sign that those players will surface in the majors at some point in 2014. The only question is when that will happen during the season. If they play their cards right, like some of the Phillies’ other top prospects, they stand a better chance at defying the odds and cracking the Opening Day roster.

However, this slideshow only covers those prospects who have a legitimate shot at making the Phillies’ roster to start the season. Prospects at levels such as Single-A will not be considered. In addition, in includes those prospects who have yet to make their major league debuts, meaning that players such as Ethan Martin and Cesar Hernandez will be excluded.

Here are the Phillies’ top prospects’ odds of doing just that.

 

*All prospect rankings courtesy of Baseball America’s 2014 Top 10 Phillies Prospects list.

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Buying or Selling the Latest Philadelphia Phillies Rumors

Happy New Year to one and all, and with that comes the latest update of Philadelphia Phillies rumors over this 2013-14 offseason.

With just over a month until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, one might presume that the offseason is winding down for the majority of Major League Baseball. However, thanks in large part to Japanese-posted right-handed pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, the polar opposite is true.

At a time when the amount of high-profile free agents remaining usually would be countable on one hand, free agents—especially starting pitchers—still abound.

Even though free agency still has a long way to go, there aren’t too many rumors out there involving the Phillies. Over the last two weeks, the Phillies have really been connected to three players, and one of those names became known in the infancy of this new year.

The big question burning on the minds of Phillies fans is this: Is the current roster what general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and Co. plan on going with come Opening Day, or is another move—even a low-profile move at that—in store?

While that answer is never known for sure, we’ll do our best to clear up the situation. Here are the latest rumors around baseball involving the Phillies. We’ll either buy or sell on them, depending on the viability of them happening.

Let’s get to it.

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Projecting Philadelphia Phillies’ 2014 Batting Order

While the 2013-14 MLB offseason continues to trudge along, the Philadelphia Phillies seem to stand pat and watch as most of the major names on the free-agent market latch onto other teams. Why?

Well, for starters, the Phillies signed outfielder Marlon Byrd in early November to a two-year, $16 million contract. They then made news for the wrong reasons by re-signing catcher Carlos Ruiz to an astounding three-year, $26 million deal. After filling the team’s obvious offensive holes, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. proceeded to sign catcher Wil Nieves as the team’s backup backstop and trade for reliever Brad Lincoln from the Toronto Blue Jays.

But Amaro wasn’t done yet. His final major league move to date this offseason came at the close of the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, when he signed starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez to a one-year, $4.5 million deal. With most of their holes filled, the Phillies are practically set for next year in terms of fielding a roster. But will it be competitive?

That’s a conversation for another time. For now, let’s take a look at the Phillies’ projected batting order on Opening Day 2014, taking into account the potential for trades and other free-agent signings, should they apply.

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5 Available Players Still Within Reach of the Philadelphia Phillies

Even though baseball’s 2013 winter meetings may be nearing their conclusion, there’s still time for both players and teams to strike deals with one another. Many of the offseason’s top free agents, including Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann, are now off the table, but plenty of other options remain.

The starting pitching market is especially abundant for this time of year, and most of the blame goes to Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka is highly regarded by many as the top (potentially) available starter this offseason, but with new provisions soon to be enacted regarding Nippon Professional Baseball’s posting system, Tanaka‘s team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, may be hesitant to post their ace.

The new posting rules allow for maximum posting bids of $20 million, which is a far cry from the $51.7 million the Texas Rangers paid the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2011 to negotiate with ace Yu Darvish.

Consequently, Tanaka‘s posting status is up in the air, but whether or not he is posted, the starting pitching market should be taking shape sooner rather than later. Players and teams can only wait so long before standstill talks gain steam. That time lurks in the near future.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, this starting pitching bounty bodes well for them. Considering that the only locks for the rotation are Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, another veteran starting pitcher is needed behind the other two, especially if one of the “silly” rumors, according to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. (via the Philadelphia Daily News), regarding their trade availability actually materializes.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reported that the Phillies are seeking rotation and bullpen help, and while trades are possible, free agency is the likely route. With that in mind, here are five candidates still available on the open market within the Phillies’ reach—and resources.

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