PHILS PHACTS:
Adding Depth To The Competition – The
Phillies on Wednesday announced they had signed five players to Minor League
contracts with non-roster invitations to Spring Training. They signed
infielders Emmanuel Burriss and Ryan Jackson and right-handers Frank Herrmann,
Chris Leroux and Reinier Roibal. Burriss, 30, spent last season in the
Nationals' system. He hit .279 with a .341 on-base percentage with Triple-A
Syracuse. Burriss played five games for Washington. He has played 282 big
league games, spending 2008-12 with the Giants. Burriss has a career .578 OPS
in 806 plate appearances. Jackson, 27, appeared in 22 games last season with
the Angels. He has 39 plate appearances in 42 games in parts of three seasons
with the Cardinals and Angels. Herrmann, 31, has appeared in 95 big league
games with the Indians, but none since 2012. He went 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA in 44
appearances last season with Triple-A Salt Lake and Indianapolis. Leroux, 31,
spent the majority of last season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Colorado
Springs. He posted a 3.90 ERA in 85 1/3 innings. Leroux has a 6.03 ERA in 65
career appearances with the Marlins, Pirates and Yankees. Roibal, 26, had a
1.64 ERA in 31 games with Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. He is 11-6
with a 2.62 ERA in his four-year Minor League career.
DR Updates – In the
future, the Phillies imagine a hulking corner outfielder in the middle of their
lineup, hitting home runs like Ryan Howard in his prime.
But Jhailyn Ortiz is a long way away from the Majors. The Phillies signed Ortiz
to a $4 million signing bonus in July. He is 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and strong.
But Ortiz also is just 16, which means he is several years away from reaching
Philadelphia. Phils player development director Joe Jordan recently visited the
Dominican Republic and got another look at Ortiz, who MLB.com ranked as the eighth-best prospect in this
year's international free-agent class. "I believe we saw a lot of what our
scouts saw and liked," Jordan said. "He had a really good week. I
really believe that the kid has a chance to be a good hitter. He's 16 years
old, but he did some things that I thought were a little advanced. He had a
good two-strike approach. He really hit some balls hard. "Balls just come
off his bat differently than almost all of the kids down there. It was a very
impressive week, but we've got a lot of work to do." Of course, handing a
$4 million signing bonus to a 16-year-old kid is a considerable risk. But
former Phillies president and general manager Pat Gillick frequently said teams
cannot be afraid to take such risks. Can't win big without occasionally betting
big. "We just need some time with him," Jordan said about Ortiz.
"He can really throw. He's got an above-average arm. He's going to have
accuracy. He's athletic for his size. Over the next couple years, we're going
to reshape him a little bit, reshape his body. He's just a young kid that we've
got to firm up, but he is athletic for his size. I saw a lot of good
things." Alfaro ready to go: Catcher Jorge Alfaro is
scheduled to leave Clearwater, Fla., this week and head home to Colombia for a
few days before heading to Venezuela to play winter ball. The Phillies acquired
Alfaro, 22, in July in the Cole
Hamels trade. He is considered the Phils' No. 4 prospect and the No. 59 prospect in baseball,
according to MLBPipeline.com. Alfaro spent most of the season recovering from
surgery on his left ankle, but he is ready to play. "He looks good,"
Jordan said. "He is ready to go. We need to get him on the field. He needs
to play for a while and knock off some rust. Physically, he has everything
you're looking for, but we need to see him play."
THE BEGINNING:
The
Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL
East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and
bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in
franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.
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