Looking Back On A Solid Week

PHILS PHACTS:

Making Some Noise! – Nobody expected the Phillies to make much noise at this week's Winter Meetings. But then the Phils agreed to a potentially significant trade Wednesday night. The deal sent closer Ken Giles and infielder Jonathan Arauz to the Astros for five players: lefties Brett Oberholtzer and Mark Appel -- the first pick in the 2013 MLB Draft -- and right-handers Vincent Velasquez, Harold Arauz and Thomas Eshelman. Folks at the Winter Meetings like the package the Phillies received from Houston. Velasquez went 1-1 with a 4.37 ERA in 19 appearances (seven starts) with the Astros last season. He has the talent to be a No. 3 starter or a dominant late-inning reliever, like Giles. Appel, who ranked as the Astros' No. 2 prospect before the trade, went 10-3 with a 4.37 ERA in 25 starts spread across Double-A and Triple-A. He struck out 110 batters and walked 51 in 131 2/3 innings. Oberholtzer went 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA in eight starts. He is 11-20 with a 3.94 ERA in 45 appearances (42 starts) in his big league career. Oberholtzer projects into the Phils' rotation in 2016. No pitcher in the history of college baseball threw more strikes than Eshelman. He led NCAA Division I in walks per nine innings as a freshman (0.2), sophomore (0.6) and junior (0.5) at Cal State Fullerton, establishing new records for a single season and a career (0.4). Eshelman projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter. Giles essentially became a luxury to the rebuilding Phillies. They hope they swapped 65 innings a season from Giles for three pitchers who potentially could throw 200 innings a season, plus a future everyday left fielder in Fisher. Deals done: The only official deal at this point is a one-year, $3.9 million contract with right-hander David Hernandez, who signed Wednesday. He immediately becomes a candidate to close if the Giles trade is finalized. Hernandez had some success as a setup man in Arizona before Tommy John surgery forced him to miss 2014, plus the first two months of 2015. Rule 5: The Phillies selected outfielder Tyler Goeddel with the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft. He is the No. 19 prospect in Philadelphia's system, according to MLBPipeline.com. The Phils hope he plays like some of the other outfielders pro scouting director Mike Ondo has selected in the Rule 5 Draft: Shane Victorino, Ender Inciarte and Odubel Herrera. Goeddel has potential to grow offensively, and he played all three outfield positions last season, which should make him versatile in the Phillies' outfield. The Phils also selected left-hander Daniel Stumpf, who will compete for a bullpen job. He pitched in Kansas City's system last season. Goals accomplished: The Phillies continue to stockpile pitching and young talent with an eye on the future. Will the Phils compete in 2015? Probably not. But are they putting themselves in position to turn a corner in the future by adding as many young players as possible? Yes. It's a numbers game. Not every prospect is going to hit (see Domonic Brown). But the more prospects a team has in its system, the better chance there is that some of them will hit. And that should help the Phillies win again. Unfinished business: The Phillies can always use more pitching. They currently have Jeremy Hellickson, Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Oberholtzer, Velasquez, Adam Morgan, David Buchanan and Alec Asher as candidates for the rotation. But Phils general manager Matt Klentak has correctly pointed out that a team rarely gets through a season with just five or six starters. The more, the merrier. GM's bottom line: "We're trying to balance it all. That makes us no different from any team. We have a lot of balls in the air, most of which you're working on never comes to fruition. But every once in a while, something will." – Klentak.

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.