By Jeff Todd | at
The Phillies have selected the contract of infielder Phil Gosselin. He’ll join the team’s active roster.
Gosselin, 31, has never shown much with the bat at the major league level. But this’ll be the eighth-straight season in which he found his way to the bigs, thanks largely to his respected and versatile glovework.
By Steve Adams | at
The Phillies set their Opening Day roster this morning, announcing within their press release that righty Robert Stock was designated for assignment. The club has selected the contracts of veteran infielder Neil Walker and right-handers Trevor Kelley and Ramon Rosso. The Phils also reinstated Scott Kingery, Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter and lefty Austin Davis from the injured list. The Phils’ initial roster only includes 29 players, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes, but it seems they could yet add veteran infielder Phil Gosselin to the mix. They’ll first need to make another 40-man move to clear space on the roster, however, which is likely the reason he has not yet been included.
Stock, 30, averages nearly 98 mph on his heater and posted a 4.11 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 50 1/3 innings with the Padres between 2018-19. That’s a solid-enough resume, but he’s still bounced from St. Louis, to Houston, to Pittsburgh, to Cincinnati, to San Diego and Philadelphia since being a 2009 second-round pick and has only these past two seasons of MLB work on his resume.
Injuries have played their role, but Stock also has struggled to locate the ball throughout his time in the minor leagues (career 5.5 BB/9). He has a pair of minor league options remaining and was claimed by the Phils the last time he hit waivers, so perhaps another club will speculate on his powerful right arm.
It was already known that the veteran Walker would make the club’s Opening Day roster. The former Pirates stalwart has long been a steady producer and has recently added more positions to his repertoire, appearing at third base, first base and in the outfield corners. The switch-hitter batted .261/.344/.395 in 381 plate appearances with the Marlins last year and won a spot on the Phillies over veterans Logan Forsythe and Josh Harrison, among others.
Rosso, 24, has a strong minor league track record as a starter but seems likelier to operate out of the bullpen early in the season. It’ll be his MLB debut whenever he gets into a game. Kelley appeared in the big leagues with th Red Sox last year and was a waiver claim by the Phils, who later outrighted him off the 40-man but kept him in the organization. He pitched his way back into the mix this summer and will get his first MLB look with the Phils in the near future.
By Steve Adams | at
The Phillies have agreed to re-sign veteran infielder Phil Gosselin to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. He’s represented by Meister Sports Management.
Gosselin, 31, appeared in 44 games with the Phillies in 2019 and spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A club, where he hit .314/.405/.497 in 353 trips to the dish. He was limited to a pinch-hitting and defensive replacement role in the big leagues and went 17-for-65 with three doubles (.262/.294/.308 on the whole).
Gosselin has played primarily second base in the Majors but has experience at all four infield spots and in the outfield corners as well. He’s a veteran of 320 games spanning parts of seven Major League seasons and has batted .263/.312/.355 in 647 big league plate appearances. He’s unlikely to play a major role with the Phillies next year but provides some versatile depth to stash in Triple-A or perhaps to bring north from Clearwater as the team’s 26th man on next year’s expanded regular-season rosters. He’ll join fellow veteran Josh Harrison in competing for a spot in an infield that recently subtracted both Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez (non-tenders) but added Didi Gregorius on a one-year free-agent deal.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Phillies have announced a wide slate of roster moves today, setting the team up for another fascinating offseason. In particular, the club has shorn a big chunk of its 2019 pitching staff from the roster in one fell swoop.
Philadelphia declined club options over righty Jared Hughes, righty Pat Neshek, and lefty Jason Vargas. Also heading to the open market are five players were outrighted: infielder Phil Gosselin and righties Jerad Eickhoff, Mike Morin, Blake Parker, and Edubray Ramos.
That’s a big chunk of innings going onto the open market despite ongoing control rights. To be exact, the Phils are kicking 219 2/3 of their frames from 2019 back into free agency. It’s hard to argue with any of the decisions.
Hughes was solid as a late-season gap-filler, but didn’t rate at a $3MM price tag for 2020. He’ll get a $250K buyout on the way out. Neshek takes $750K with him instead of pitching for $7MM. That’s no surprise after he was limited to 18 frames due to injury. Vargas is due a $2MM buyout instead of a $8MM salary; the Phils evidently feel they can do better in the rotation on the open market this winter.
The biggest departure is that of Eickhoff. The once-promising starter projected to earn only $1.5MM, with one more season of control thereafter, but the Phils decided to cut bait after watching him struggle to a 5.71 ERA over 58 1/3 innings. Eickhoff had a few encouraging outings upon his return from a long injury layoff, but struggled thereafter and was again sidelined with arm woes.
The other three were also eligible for arbitration. Morin, who has a $1.2MM projected arb salary, struggled to get strikeouts during his stint with the club. Parker surprisingly turned in 11.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 25 frames but also gave up a host of homers and earned runs. Perhaps he’d have been worth a lower-cost keeper price but the Phils weren’t biting at a projected $4.7MM. The 26-year-old Ramos entered the year as a key piece but struggled with injuries and showed a velocity decline when he was available. He projected to earn only $800K, but the team may not have been convinced of his ability to return to full health.
Meanwhile, a host of players were added back to the 40-man roster. Among the players activated from the 60-day injured list is starter Jake Arrieta, who has exercised his player option and will remain with the organization. On the heels of a messy, injury-marred campaign, that comes as no surprise. Additionally, outfielder Odubel Herrera was reinstated from the restricted list after the conclusion of his suspension for a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy. His future with the organization remains unclear following this procedural move.
By George Miller | at
5:26PM: In other roster moves, the Phillies activated Jay Bruce from the 10-day injured list and called up left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A. The club also selected the contracts of infielder Phil Gosselin, righty Nick Vincent, and catcher Deivy Grullon from Triple-A. This will mark the 23-year-old Grullon’s first taste of MLB action, after a seven-year stint in Philadelphia’s minor league system that includes an impressive .283/.354/.496 slash line over 457 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
3:38PM: The Phillies have designated right-handed pitcher Drew Anderson for assignment, according to an official team announcement. He’ll be dropped from the team’s 40-man roster, along with Adam Morgan and Jerad Eickhoff, who were transferred to the 60-day injured list.
The 25-year-old Anderson has only managed to get into two games for the Phillies this year, tossing six innings in his third big-league season. It hasn’t been a promising showing for Anderson, who surrendered five runs in those six innings, walking as many batters as he struck out. Unfortunately, those numbers represented a continuation of his struggles in his first two trials in Philadelphia. For his career, Anderson is sporting an unsightly 7.71 ERA over 21 innings of work.
What’s more, the minor-league numbers for Anderson haven’t been much more encouraging. While he’s excelled at Double-A, it seems that Triple-A has represented a significant barrier; across three seasons at the level, Anderson owns a 4.34 ERA while striking out only 7.4 batters per nine innings. If he clears waivers, he could accept an outright assignment and remain within the Philly organization — if he isn’t released. Otherwise, another team could take a chance on him and hope to turn him into a viable reliever.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Phillies have outrighted infielder Phil Gosselin after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. He has been assigned to Triple-A, but still has the right to reject the assignment.
While the 30-year-old Gosselin brings a solid and versatile glove, he has never really come around fully with the bat. He’s slashing .262/.310/.356 in 629 career plate appearances in the majors. Gosselin is a .291 hitter in over a thousand trips to the dish at Triple-A, but only carries a .338 OBP and .399 slug at the highest level of the minors.
By Jeff Todd | at
The Phillies announced today that they have selected the contract of recently acquired infielder Brad Miller. In a corresponding move, Phil Gosselin was designated for assignment.
Just added in a low-cost trade, the 29-year-old Miller will take his next crack at the majors as a Philadelphia reserve. The versatile performer has experience all over the field, though he hasn’t always graded well with the glove. He’ll help to balance an otherwise all-righty infield mix while also bringing much more potential pop than the man he’ll replace.
Miller produced at a just-below-league-average rate (.250/.325/.417) in forty plate appearances to open the year with the Indians. He was bumped from the roster when the Cleveland organization got back to full health and landed with the Yankees’ top affiliate. In 163 plate appearances at Triple-A, Miller carries a .294/.399/.596 batting line with ten long balls.
It’s best to temper expectations, but Miller could certainly be a useful part of the roster. He has typically produced at around a league-average rate in the big leagues, occasionally showing more power or more on-base ability but rarely putting it all together. The Phillies can hope to squeeze out some added value by utilizing Miller almost exclusively against right-handed pitching; he has a career 108-71 wRC+ spread.
Gosselin, 30, has only a .245/.260/.306 slash in fifty plate appearances this year and has never rarely done much damage at the plate in 629 career trips to the MLB dish. The former fifth-round pick does keep receiving opportunities, so teams obviously trust his glove and feel he provides competitive at-bats. Having previously been outrighted, Gosselin will have the right to elect free agency if he isn’t traded or claimed.
By Jeff Todd | at
10:07am: Reliever Tommy Hunter was pushed to the 60-day injured list, opening the needed 40-man spot. He will not be eligible to return to the majors until the end of May.
9:36am: The club has announced the move and selected the contract of infielder Phil Gosselin. He’ll take the open active roster spot but will also need a 40-man slot, meaning that another transaction is still coming.
9:19am: The Phillies have made an early-season change in their rotation by optioning down struggling righty Nick Pivetta, Matt Gelb of The Athletic is among those to cover via Twitter. He’ll be replaced in the starting five by just-recalled righty Jerad Eickhoff, with a corresponding roster move as yet unknown.
This is a notable move for a variety of reasons. Among other things, the team’s control rights are implicated. Pivetta entered the season with 1.129 years of service and now sits at 1.149. He’ll need to be on the active roster for at least 23 more days this season to pass into a new service class. The demotion all but ends any possibility that he’d be a Super Two player this fall.
Service time considerations surely didn’t drive this decision. The Phils are locked in an intense divisional battle and need every bit of quality they can muster on the MLB roster. Pivetta just hasn’t had it; through four starts and 18 1/3 innings, he has coughed up 17 earned runs on 31 hits with a 16:8 K/BB ratio. His swinging-strike rate has dropped from 12.0% last year down to 8.5% in 2019.
It makes sense to allow Pivetta some time to work things out; likewise, it’s understandable that the club wishes to give Eickhoff an early run in the rotation. He has already shown the ability to be a high-quality MLB hurler, with a 3.87 ERA through 385 2/3 innings. Injuries intervened, but the hope now is that he’s ready to return to his previously established ceiling.
Eickhoff, now 28, certainly had a promising season debut yesterday against the Mets. His velocity was back at its customary 91 mph level. Eickhoff threw four scoreless frames in relief, striking out six while allowing just three baserunners. That stood in contrast to Pivetta’s own, messier effort over the first five innings of a contest that turned out to be a rotation face-off.
This switch is notable, but doesn’t come with particularly high stakes for the team. Pivetta can always be brought back up; he’d be a fascinating multi-inning relief candidate if there’s no need or desire to return him to a starting role later this year. If neither pitcher is up to the task, there are alternatives. Enyel De Los Santos, Ranger Suarez, and Drew Anderson all have 40-man spots, prior MLB experience, and rotation jobs at Triple-A. The summer trade market should offer some opportunities. And there’s always a possibility that the Phils will come back around to still-unsigned veteran Dallas Keuchel, who was a reported target at times over the offseason.
By Connor Byrne | at
The latest on several teams’ rosters…
By Steve Adams | at
The Phillies have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Phil Gosselin, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Presumably, he’ll head to Spring Training on a non-roster invitation and compete for a bench spot with his new organization.
Gosselin, 30, made 28 plate appearances with the Reds in 2018 and another 50 between the Pirates and Rangers the year prior. His most significant big league action came with the Braves and D-backs from 2014-16, taking a combined 494 plate appearances in that time. In all, he’s a career .263/.314/.361 hitter with seven home runs 27 doubles and and a pair of triples in 579 Major League plate appearances.
The bulk of Gosselin’s time in the Majors has come as a second baseman (550 innings), though he also has experience at third base (189 innings), shortstop (55 innings), first base 46 innings and in the corner outfield (41 innings). The Phillies already have a crowded infield with Rhys Hoskins, Cesar Hernandez, Jean Segura, Maikel Franco and Scott Kingery all currently penciled onto the 25-man roster. Of course, there’s been no shortage of trade rumblings surrounding Franco, and Hernandez, too, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to move at times. At the very least, it seems safe to expect that the infield mix will change between now and March, when Gosselin will be vying for a job.
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