The Phillies have made a variety of moves in the last few days to shape the ball club for the 2022 season and beyond.
40 Man Roster Additions
The Phillies made a couple of small moves regarding the 40-man roster this afternoon. They selected the contracts of infielder Luis Garcia, right-hander James MacArthur, and outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz. This means that all three players will be protected and this year’s Rule 5 draft. All three players have a chance to make the big league roster in the coming year or two and will have a chance to compete for a roster spot come Spring Training.
The Phillies also claimed left-handed pitcher Kent Emanuel off of waivers from the Houston Astros. Emanuel pitched in 10 games for the Astros in 2021 and had a 2.55 ERA in 17.2 innings. The lefty is 29 years old and will have a chance to compete for a bullpen spot in Spring Training.
Phillies – Yankees Deal
The Phillies have made various moves in the last few days to shape the ball club for the 2022 season and beyond.
Dave Dombrowski made a pair of trades on Friday afternoon. The first trade was between the Phillies and the New York Yankees. The Phillies acquired right-handed reliever, Nick Nelson, minor league catcher Donny Sands, minor league third basemen TJ Rumfield and left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez.
Nick Nelson pitched in a combined 40 games between Triple-A and the majors for the Yankees in 2021. In the bigs, Nelson posted an 8.79 ERA in 11 games. Nick Nelson fared a little better in AAA, wherein in 32 games, he pitched 52 innings with a 3.81 ERA and 62 strikeouts.
Donny Sands is a 25-year-old catcher who spent 2021 in both Double-A and Triple-A. Sands posted a .261/.326/.466/.793 slash line with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Donny has proven to be a solid header at all levels in the minor leagues and is looking for an opportunity with the big league club.
As for TJ Rumfield, the Phillies drafted him in the 12th round of the 2021 amateur draft. Rumfield only played 27 games in Clearwater, so time will tell whether or not he will pan out.
Joel Valdez was in his second minor league season this past year. Valdez had an 1.63 ERA in 15 starts. He pitched 55.1 innings and struck out 54 batters. Valdez had some nice stuff this past year with the Phillies Dominican summer league team.
Overall the Phillies potentially add a cheap and promising backup catcher and a reliever to help rebuild some depth in the bullpen. They send the Yankees two young prospects who will have plenty of time to grow.
Grade: B-
Phillies – Astros Deal
Almost an hour after finishing the deal with the Yankees, Dave Dombrowski made another deal with the Houston Astros.
The Phillies acquired catcher Garrett Stubbs for minor league outfielder Logan Cerny.
Stubbs has split time Between the majors and Triple-A the past few seasons. Garrett only had 34 plate appearances with the Astros but had 146 with the Skeeters. In the minors, Stubbs slashed .265/.418/.363/.781 with two home runs and 15 runs batted in. Garrett Stubbs seems more of a depth player in the long run.
As for what they gave up, Logan Cerny is an outfielder selected in the 10th round of the 2021 amateur draft. Like Rumfield, Cerny only played in a limited amount of games in the Phillies minor league system. Cerny will undoubtedly look to develop in the Astros minor leagues that have produced good talent over the years.
Overall it seems like Dombrowski just wanted another catcher for the farm club and was okay with parting with a guy that virtually has shown nothing so far in professional baseball.
Grade: D+
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
