It was first reported that TJ Bohn and Josh Outman were cut from the Phillies spring roster, but three more names have surfaced: Carlos Carrasco, Greg Golson and Brandon Watson. They will join the Minor League workout teams and remain off the 40-man roster.
With these cuts, the roster battles are beginning to take shape. But before we get there, we should acknowledge the good springs from all of these guys. Carrasco, the Phils No. 1 prospect, was hit about against Tampa Bay, but rebounded nicely against the Braves yesterday. He has some good pitches and shows nice poise, though he mainly faced Minor League hitters. Golson had a breakout spring, hitting .429 with a home run. He remains an enigma, mainly because of his strikeout tendencies. A good 2008 will go a long way for him and the Phillies. And Watson hit .300 in limited action. He’ll go to AAA Lehigh Valley and be among the first outfielders brought up if needed.
Clearly, however, the roster is coming together. The battles are, simply put:
Bench Catcher: Chris Coste vs. Jason Jaramillo (Edge: Coste)
Bench Infield: Eric Bruntlett vs. Wes Helms vs. Ray Olmedo vs. Casey Smith (Edge: Bruntlett)
Bench Outfield: So Taguchi vs. Chris Snelling (Edge: Taguchi)
Fifth Starter: Adam Eaton vs. Chad Durbin vs. JD Durbin vs. Travis Blackley vs. Francisco Rosario (Edge: Eaton)
Long Reliever: Clay Condrey vs. Chad Durbin vs. JD Durbin vs. Travis Blackley vs. John Ennis vs. Gary Knotts (Edge: Condrey)
Right-handed Reliever: Francisco Rosario vs. Clay Condrey vs. Chad Durbin vs. Gary Knotts vs. John Ennis (Edge: Rosario)
Left-handed Reliever: Travis Blackley vs. Vic Darensbourg vs. Fabio Castro vs. Shane Youman (Edge: Blackley)
When the next round of cuts comes, I expect JD Durbin to be cut — and effectively released to waivers — along with Olmedo, Knotts, Youman and Jaramillo. It’s still completely foggy to sort through the races, though, but in the next week, much should be figured out.
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