Check out all the published entries in our Offseason in Review series here.
The new Phillies front office continued the tear-down while adding a wide array of low-cost, low-risk assets in an offseason of continued change.
Major League Signings
- RP David Hernandez: One year, $3.9MM
Trades
- Acquired SP Vincent Velasquez, SP Brett Oberholtzer, SP Mark Appel, SP Thomas Eshelman, SP/RP Harold Arauz from Astros for RP Ken Giles, INF Jonathan Arauz
- Acquired SP Charlie Morton from Pirates for SP David Whitehead
- Acquired SP Jeremy Hellickson from Diamondbacks for SP Sam McWilliams
- Acquired RP Yoervis Medina from Pirates for SP Jesse Biddle
- Acquired 2B Taylor Featherston from Angels for cash/PTBNL
Claims
- Claimed OF Peter Bourjos off waivers from Cardinals
- Claimed RP Michael Mariot off waivers from Royals
- Claimed RP A.J. Achter off waivers from Twins; later claimed by Angels
- Claimed RP Dan Otero off waivers from Athletics; later traded to Indians for cash
- Claimed RP Bobby LaFromboise off waivers from Angels
- Claimed OF Tyler Goeddel from Rays in Rule 5 draft
- Claimed RP Daniel Stumpf from Royals in Rule 5 draft
Extensions
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- J.P. Arencibia, Andrew Bailey, Emmanuel Burriss, Ernesto Frieri, Frank Herrmann, Cedric Hunter, Edgar Ibarra, Ryan Jackson, Chris Leroux, David Lough, Edward Mujica, James Russell, Anthony Vasquez
Notable Losses
- Biddle, Chad Billingsley, Brian Bogusevic, Domonic Brown, Jordan Danks, Chase d’Arnaud, Justin De Fratus, Kelly Dugan, Jeff Francoeur, Giles, Aaron Harang, Erik Kratz, Cliff Lee (declined option), Adam Loewen, Nefi Ogando, Jonathan Pettibone, Jerome Williams
Needs Addressed
If you’ve ever wondered what a modern-day expansion draft would look like, the Phillies’ offseason provides a decent proxy. The organization turned over huge swaths of its 40-man roster, re-stuffing it (and the non-roster invite rolls) with a mix of placeholders, interesting youngsters, and bounceback veterans.
Former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had already sold off most of the team’s marketable veteran assets, leaving only Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz from the 2008 championship club. Truth be told, they’d probably be gone, too, but it’s not entirely clear that either warrants a guaranteed roster spot at this point — let alone anything close to the $35MM and $9MM they’re respectively owed.
Incoming president Andy MacPhail and hand-picked GM Matt Klentak did have one major trade piece to market, however: young closer Ken Giles and his five remaining years of control. He might well have been retained had he played any other position, but the new Phillies brass was probably wise to cash in the fireballing righty while his value was high. There aren’t any sure things in the return, but Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel have their share of upside, with late-inning relief potential if they can’t stick in the rotation. Harold Arauz represents a fun lottery ticket to track, while Brett Oberholtzer and, eventually, Thomas Eshelman could provide some cheap and solid innings.
Stocking future assets remains the unmistakable lodestar of the new front office, but there were near-term roster practicalities to be considered. And 25-man opportunities are their own kind of asset for rebuilding clubs, which can offer veterans a chance to receive playing time, rebuild value, pass on some lessons to the youngsters, and hopefully turn themselves into appealing summer trade pieces. The rotation, in particular, was ripe for would-be comeback tales, with several short-term veterans departing and the inimitable Cliff Lee cut loose, his $12.5MM buyout representing an easy decision given his elbow issues and questionable desire to pitch in 2016.
Convincing intriguing veterans to come to Philadelphia may not have been a fruitful task with the roster ripped down to the studs, so the Phils went after unwanted, mid-priced castaways. Charlie Morton and Jeremy Hellickson offer the promise of some stability and will help prevent the need to press younger arms for non-developmental reasons. At $9MM (including option buyout) and $7MM, respectively, they aren’t obvious values. And neither seems particularly likely to be worthy of a qualifying offer after the season. (Morton’s option turned into a mutual one with the deal, so he’ll likely decline it if he’s productive and healthy.) But the TV-rich Phillies have pared their payroll to levels not seen since 2003 even with those additions, neither pitcher required much in the way of player assets to acquire, and sturdy performances over the season’s first few months could turn the pair into trade chips.
Those two starter additions constituted the largest salary commitments of the winter, with the Phillies only making one major league signing. David Hernandez seemed penciled in as the team’s closer, and figures to have a chance at the role with a $3.9MM guarantee in hand, but he’s been taking it slow this camp given his history of arm injuries. He isn’t controllable past this season, so the bet is that his arm will stay healthy and that he’ll come close enough to his double-digit K/9 numbers of yore to anchor the pen and, perhaps, turn into prospects on or before August 1st.
Otherwise, the Phillies turned their spring home of Clearwater, Florida into a veritable island of misfit toys — while mixing a group of young but talented prospects — ultimately inviting 65 players to big league camp. The new front office plucked seven players from DFA limbo, whether by trade or claim, though it later lost two of those through the same process in the course of making yet more additions. It also added a host of minor-league free agents. We’ll walk through the more significant among them in tackling the team’s many areas of uncertainty.
Read on for more analysis …