Grapefruit Game 28 - 2018 Topps Opening Day #152 Jake Arrieta

Tigers 6, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 28 - Thursday Afternoon, March 22nd in Clearwater
Record - 10-16-2

One Sentence Summary:  Jake Arrieta made his spring Phillies debut, lasting two innings in a 6-2 loss to the Tigers.

What It Means:  Arrieta admitted following his outing he may not be ready to go for the start of the season.  He struck out the first two batters he faced (convincingly) and then allowed a home run to Miguel Cabrera.

What Happened:  Arrieta's debut was the big story.  Pedro Florimon had an RBI single in the fourth and Adam Rosales hit a solo home run in the seventh.  Both are competing for one of the final roster spots.

2018 Chachi Almost #3

Featured Card:  I'll add any of Arrieta's 2018 baseball cards to my 2018 Phillies binder, even if they feature him with the Cubs as this Topps Opening Day card does.

Camp Head Count:  42 - 1 = 41.  Infielder Ryan Flaherty was released prior to the game, in spite of having a decent spring with the Phillies.  Flaherty had an out clause in his contract if he wasn't added to the 40-man roster by today and the Phillies seem to be leaning towards Florimon, Rosales or Jesmuel Valentin as their super utility bench players.  Flaherty hit .351 (13 for 37) and could end up heading back to the Orioles.  He earns the third spot on the Chachi Almost checklist for his brief time in Phillies pinstripes.

Flaherty Brings Camp Head Count to 61

2017 Topps #314

On Wednesday, the city of Philadelphia was busy planning for a long-anticipated parade in honor of the Super Bowl Champion Eagles.  Lost in what has rightfully been an all-Eagles, all the time Philadelphia sports news cycle was the Phillies signing of super utility player Ryan Flaherty to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.  Flaherty's signing brings the official camp head count up to 61.  He's expected to get a long look this spring as he auditions for what could be the final spot on the team's 25-man roster.

Flaherty has spent his entire six-year, big league career with the Orioles and he owns a .215 batting average over 452 games.  He's played every position except catcher, and he could join Pedro Florimon on what the Phillies hope will be a versatile bench.

It looks as if Flaherty's first Topps baseball card appearance came within the 2010 Topps Pro Debut set.  Since then he's appeared in a handful of Topps sets, most recently within 2017 Topps Series One.

Player (position) - 2017 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Phillies - 2011 Topps Chrome #199 (Mets)
2.  Pedro Florimon (inf) - Phillies - 2014 Topps #568 (Twins)
3.  Eric Fryer (c) - Cardinals - 2011 Bowman Draft #36 (Pirates)
4.  Steve Geltz (rhp) - Dodgers - 2012 Topps Heritage Minors Real One Autograph #ROA-SG (Angels)
5.  Matt McBride (c-1b) - Athletics - 2007 Bowman Sterling Prospects #MM (Indians)
6.  Heiker Meneses (inf) - Red Sox - N/A
7.  Will Middlebrooks (inf) - Rangers - 2017 Topps #46 (Brewers)
8.  Logan Moore (c) - Phillies - 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome Prospects #BDPP44 (Phillies)
9.  Danny Ortiz (of) - Pirates - 2017 Topps Update #US30 (Pirates)
10.  Mitch Walding (inf) - Phillies - N/A
11.  Edgar Cabral (c) - Phillies - N/A
12.  Enyel De Los Santos (rhp) - Padres - 2016 Topps Heritage Minors League #60 (Padres)
13.  Tom Eshelman (rhp) - Phillies - 2017 Topps Pro Debut Promo Night Uniform #PN-50N (Phillies)
14.  J.D. Hammer (rhp) - Rockies/Phillies - N/A
15.  Cole Irvin (lhp) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD-4 (Phillies)
16.  Scott Kingery (inf) - Phillies - 2017 Bowman Draft #BD-114 (Phillies)
17.  Brandon Leibrandt (lhp) - Phillies - N/A
18.  Andrew Pullin (of) - Phillies - 2012 Bowman Draft Picks #BDPP59 (Phillies)
19.  Francisco Rodriguez (rhp) - Tigers/Nationals - 2017 Topps Gypsy Queen #185 (Tigers)
20.  Adam Rosales (inf) - Athletics/Diamondbacks - 2017 Topps #377 (Athletics)
21.  Ryan Flaherty (2b) - Orioles - 2017 Topps #314 (Orioles)