The Phillies announced their 40-man roster moves Monday, and some were … wow …
- Seranthony Dominguez (SP)
- Franklyn Kilome (SP)
- Ranger Suarez (SP)
- Jose Taveras (SP)
Relatively obvious choices. No Carlos Tocci, however, so maybe the Phils are betting that a team won’t want to stash him as a fifth outfielder. Same for Andrew Pullin.
That means two spots had to open up. And boy did they. DFA’d and waived are:
- Mark Appel (SP)
- Alberto Tirado (SP)
Tirado was more likely, as the once heralded prospect continued to show poor command. The other? Well, anytime you sort of give up on a No. 1 pick, that’s a big deal.
Appel wasn’t the Phils’ No. 1 pick, but he was part of the trade that sent Ken Giles to Houston. And he didn’t pitch well in 2017, going 5-4 with a 5.27 ERA (60 K, 53 BB) for Lehigh Valley. He and Tirado will be out in the abyss for 10 days, during which the Phils can choose to put him on waivers (possibly getting him back), or trade or release him.
Tirado is more likely to find his way back into the organization. Either way, wow.
Meanwhile, the Phils also claimed infielder Engelb Vielma from San Francisco. The really good fielding shortstop who hasn’t hit very well at all (.206/.233/.260 in triple-A) has yet to reach the majors and adds to a logjam in the middle infield, which includes Jesmuel Valentin, Eliezer Ramirez and others. At some point this logjam will cease (and surely one of if not more of these guys will be out of the organization sooner than later), but weird that Matt Klentak puts a premium on good-glove, meh-bat middle infield types.
Meanwhile to make room for Vielma the Phils outrighted Elniery Garcia from the 40-man. He got hurt early in 2017 but finished to put up a 1.75 ERA with 10 strikeouts and 17 walks for Reading. He was and still is considered a decent prospect, but it seems he’s moved down in the depth chart.
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