Updated Phillies Offseason Moves - Pre-Winter Meetings Edition

2018 Chachi Departures #1

2018 Chachi Departures #2

2018 Chachi Departures #3

As the Winter Meetings get underway in Florida, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the Phillies' offseason moves so far.  I would expect (hopefully) the number of additions and subtractions to grow as this week progresses.

Engelb Vielma's Phillies tenure lasted last than a month, and he joins recent recipients A.J. Achter and Dan Otero as players appearing within the Chachi New Additions insert set to move on before spring training.  Vielma and Cameron Perkins were both placed on waivers - and claimed - on Monday giving the team two openings on their 40-man roster.

Perkins appeared in 42 games last season, hitting .182 with a home run.  Perkins was claimed by the Mariners.  He joins Brock Stassi and Jesen Therrien in the Chachi Departures insert set.  Stassi, who signed with the Twins last week, appeared in 51 games for the Phillies, hitting .167 with 2 home runs.  Therrien will miss the entire 2018 season following Tommy John surgery.  The Dodgers picked him up with the hope he can contribute upon his return in 2019.

Jesen Therrien Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #48
2018 Chachi Departures #1

Brock Stassi Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi #12
2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #4 (with Matt Stairs)
2018 Chachi Departures #2

Cameron Perkins Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #2 (UER - position listed as catcher)
2017 Chachi #45
2017 Chachi Archives #14
2018 Chachi Departures #3

Moving On - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Henderson Alvarez - rhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ty Kelly - 2b-of (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Kevin Siegrist - lhp (10/4/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Pedro Beato - rhp (10/13/17) - Elected free agency.
• Andres Blanco - inf (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Clay Buchholz - rhp (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Hyun Soo Kim - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Daniel Nava - of (11/2/17) - Elected free agency.
• Jesen Therrien - rhp (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11/29/17.
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the San Diego Padres, 11/29/17.
• Colton Murray - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.
• Brock Stassi - 1b (11/6/17) - Elected free agency, signed as a minor league free agent with the Minnesota Twins, 12/7/17.
• Cameron Perkins - of (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.

Coming Back - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Pedro Florimon - inf-of (11/13/17) - Signed to a minor league contract.

New Additions - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (11/20/17) - Claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.

Already Gone - 2017-2018 Offseason

• Engelb Vielma - inf (12/11/17) - Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2017 Phillies Team Issue Update #30 Cameron Perkins

Phillies 10, Marlins 0
Game 146 - Thursday Night, September 14th in Philadelphia
Record - 57-89, 5th place, 32 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jorge Alfaro, Freddy Galvis and Rhys Hoskins all homered in a seven-run second inning on the way to this 10-0 Phillies victory.

What It Means:  The Phillies completed the three-game sweep of the Marlins and the A's come to town next for a weekend series.

What Happened:  Hoskins is unreal.  He hit his 18th home run in his 34th game, continuing to add to his record breaking achievement.  Cesar Hernandez had a four-hit night and Cameron Perkins hit his first career home run.

Featured Card:  I could easily just post Hoskins cards for each of these recent game summary posts, but I'll show some appreciation for Perkins' first career homer.  The Phillies took the somewhat unusual step of issuing a 14-card photo card update set, released on Tuesday night, and this is Perkins' card from that set.  I'll have a separate post up on the set shortly.

Field Report:  And we were there!  Doug and I had the honor of joining an on-field, pregame ceremony as my company is a corporate sponsor of the annual ALS Phillies Phestival.  It was a fun night and I'm happy to help with this wonderful cause.  Doug had a brief visit with the Phanatic as we were leaving the field, and it was very cool to stand behind home plate for the singing of the National Anthem.  We also met fellow collector Rick in the Hall of Fame club, and it was nice to put a face to the name of the collector who has provided so much input over the past few years to my project of checklisting the Phillies team-issued photo card sets.

2017 Chachi Phillies Phestival #6 Ty Kelly - Signature Edition

Phillies 4, Braves 3 (11)
Game 101 - Saturday Night, July 29th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-64, 5th place, 24 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Odubel Herrera tied up the game in the ninth with a solo home run and Ty Kelly delivered a game-winning hit in the 11th to give the Phillies a 4-3 win.

What It Means:  Don't look now, but the Phillies are playing decent baseball.

What Happened:  The Phils couldn't get much going early in the ballgame, finding themselves down 3-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth.  Aaron Altherr singled home Cesar Hernandez to get the team to within a run, setting up Herrera's heroics in the bottom of the ninth. Singles by Tommy Joseph and Herrera, followed by a walk to Cameron Rupp, loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Kelly in the 11th.  He delivered, and the on-field celebration commenced!

Featured Cards/Field Report:  We were there and let it be known that if you sign an autograph for Doug before the game, you have a really good chance of doing something big.  Doug spent an hour before the game autograph hunting and came away with signatures of coaches Mickey Morandini and Juan Samuel (both repeat signers), Cameron Perkins (repeat signer), Herrera, Kelly and new Phillie Jessen Therrien.  I'm fairly certain this could be the first autograph Therrien has signed as a major leaguer.

2017 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

2017 Topps #38 (Quin-Sig version)

2017 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #29

Kelly liked his custom card from the Phillies Phestival, pausing to look at it and telling Doug, "This is really cool!"  Doug is particularly proud of his quintuple-signature card which features autographs from Kelly, Samuel, Morandini, Perkins and Phillies broadcaster Gregg Murphy.  (The Kelly and Murphy autographs were from previous games.)

Transaction:  Pitcher Pedro Beato was recalled from Lehigh Valley to take the roster spot of Jeremy Hellickson.  The Phillies played with 24 players in this game as new outfielder Hyun Soo Kim had not yet arrived in Philadelphia.

Phillies Debuts:  Therrien and Beato both made their debuts.  Therrien is the 10th player making his Major League debut for the Phillies this season.

18.  Jesen Therrien (rhp) - Relieved Jerad Eickhoff in the sixth, allowing a hit and striking out one (Micah Johnson).
19.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Relieved Hoby Milner in the eighth and retired the only two batters he faced before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.  It was Beato's first appearance in the majors since 2014.

Totally Awesome! 2017 Chachi Archives Continues!

2017 Chachi Archives #12

2017 Chachi Archives #13

2017 Chachi Archives #14

Brewers 9, Phillies 6
Game 88 - Friday Night, July 14th in Milwaukee
Record - 29-59, 5th place, 23 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Nick Pivetta suffered though an 8-run second inning as the Brewers demolished the Phillies, 9-6.

What It Means:  This game actually could have been a lot uglier as the first place Brewers are one of the better hitting teams in baseball.

What Happened:  The Phillies scored two quick runs in the first, and for a brief moment it seemed as if the second half of the season would be different.  And then the bottom of the second arrived. Pivetta ended up throwing five innings, allowing nine runs on seven hits, including two home runs in the second - a three-run home run to Orlando Arcia and a grand slam to Ryan Braun.

Odubel Herrera hit a two-run home run in the sixth.  Aaron Altherr, the team's best and hottest hitter, left the game in the fifth inning after injuring his hamstring running out a double.

Featured Cards:  The Brewers are celebrating their championship 1982 season all weekend and both teams are wearing throw-back uniforms.  This gives me a chance to expand the Chachi Archives set with three more cards and I'll add more throughout the weekend if good pictures are available.

I would be one happy fan if the Phillies went back to the baby blue road jerseys full time.

2017 Chachi #45 Cam Perkins

#30
Cameron E. Perkins
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  205
Born:  September 27, 1990, Nederland, TX
Home:  Indianapolis, IN
Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 6th round of the June 2012 draft
Teams:  Phillies 2017
Acquired:  Via draft

2012 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #21

2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP86

10 Perkins Baseball Cards in My Collection per The Phillies Room Checklist
First Card:  2012 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #21
First Phillies Card:  2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP86
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Latest Card:  2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #21

Click to enlarge

Complete Chachi Checklist
2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #2 (UER - position listed as catcher)
2017 Chachi #45

Card statistics through 6/25/17.

2014 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #21 Cameron Perkins

Yankees 9, Phillies 4
Spring Training Game 1 - Friday Afternoon, February 24th in Tampa
Record - 0-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Yankees used the long-ball to defeat the Phillies in the spring opener, 9-4.

What It Means:  Not a great start to the spring for the Phillies, but as one of the oldest baseball clichés goes . . . it's still early.

What Happened:  Didi Gregorius hit Alec Asher's first pitch of the spring for a solo home run to start the first.  The Phillies didn't have a hit (or a baserunner) until the seventh inning.  Cam Perkins and Brock Stassi both hit solo home runs in the ninth.  Nick Pivetta was the only Phillies pitcher to have a decent afternoon, throwing two shutout innings and striking out three.

Featured Card:  Perkins became an instant Phillies Room Favorite when he signed autographs for our sons at an IronPigs game in September.  He only has one readily available Phillies card to date, found within the 2014 Bowman Chrome set.  This is first IronPigs card from 2014.

Camp Head Count:  62

Phillies Now Up to 20 Non-Roster Invitees

2011 Topps #639

2015 Topps Update #US293

2016 Topps Pro Debut #50

In a sure sign that we're inching closer to spring training, the Phillies announced 15 new additions to the non-roster invitee list yesterday.  I had originally missed the addition of left-handed pitcher Cesar Ramos, as he was signed to a minor league contract back on January 5th.  The majority of these players spent the bulk of 2016 within the Phillies organization, and the most notable name on the list is top prospect J.P. Crawford.

Here's a run-down of the now 20 players who will be wearing numbers in the 70s and 80s when camp breaks in February.

2016 Choice Reading Fightin Phils Holiday #2

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10

2015 Immaculate Collection Blue #151

2016 Topps Heritage Minor League #184

Player (position) - 2016 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  Sean Burnett (lhp) - Nationals/Dodgers/Braves/Twins/Nationals - 2014 Topps #68 (Angels)
2.  Pedro Florimon (inf) - Pirates - 2014 Topps #568 (Twins)
3.  Hector Gomez (inf) - Korea - 2015 Topps Update #US229 (Brewers)
4.  Daniel Nava (of) - Angels/Royals - 2016 Topps Now #293 (Angels)
5.  Bryan Holaday (c) - Tigers/Rangers/Red Sox - 2014 Topps Update #US117 (Tigers)
6.  Cesar Ramos (lhp) - Rangers/Tigers - 2015 Topps Update #US293 (Angels)
7.  Victor Arano (rhp) - Phillies - 2015 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs #BCAP-VA (Phillies)
8.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Orioles - 2011 Topps Chrome #199 (Mets)
9.  J.P. Crawford (inf) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman's Best Top Prospects #TP12 (Phillies)
10.  Taylor Featherston (inf) - Angels/Phillies - 2015 Topps Update #US148 (Angels)
11.  Dalier Hinojosa (rhp) - Phillies - 2015 Immaculate Collection #151 (Red Sox)
12.  Rhys Hoskins (1b) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD186 (Phillies)
13.  Scott Kingery (inf) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD128 (Phillies)
14.  Michael Mariot (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
15.  Logan Moore (c) - Phillies - 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome Prospects #BDPP44 (Phillies)
16.  Colton Murray (rhp) - Phillies - 2016 Topps #488 (Phillies)
17.  Chace Numata (c) - Phillies - N/A
18.  Cam Perkins (of) - Phillies - 2014 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP86 (Phillies)
19.  Andrew Pullin (of) - Phillies - 2012 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks #BDPP59 (Phillies)
20.  Brock Stassi (1b) - Phillies - N/A

2016 Choice Reading Fightin Phils Playoff #29

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #17

2016 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #19

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #20

2016 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #20

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #21

2016 Reading Fightin Phils Holiday #25

2016 Reading Phillies 50 Greatest Players #42

New Rare Insert Set - 2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs

2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #1

2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #2

2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #3

2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #4

2016 Chachi IronPigs Signing Autographs #5

The 2016 Chachi master set checklist recently grew by five more cards when these blue-bordered beauties found their way into late series, retail-only hanger packs.  The cards feature action photos of actual autograph signings in process, as evidenced by the IronPigs cards in this post.  Good luck tracking these down!

1st Annual @IronPigs Outing - Autographs! Corn! Fun! #Bacon

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #18

2016 Topps Phillies #PP-10

2016 Topps Pro Debut #109

2016 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #21

Braves 2, Phillies 0
Game 136 - Sunday Afternoon, September 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 60-76, 4th place, 19 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jake Thompson turned in his second straight solid start, but the anemic Phillies offense continued their struggles in this 2-0 loss to the Braves.

What It Means:  The Phillies head to Miami to try to snap a six-game losing streak.

What Happened:  Thompson allowed four hits and one run in his seven innings of work.  He also struck out six.  The offense managed five hits off Julio Teheran and three Braves relievers, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

2016 Topps Phillies #PP-7

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Late Sunday afternoon, we made the two-hour trek to Allentown for our sons' first visit to Coca-Cola Park, home of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  It had been at least six (or seven?) seasons since Jenna and I last visited this ballpark, and we've already made plans to make this part of our annual summer schedule along with taking in a Lakewood BlueClaws game.

We got there right as the gates opened and both Doug and Ben positioned themselves along the third base line by the IronPigs' dugout where they patiently waited for almost an hour for the players to emerge.  The first player to sign a card from their IronPigs team sets was catcher Logan Moore, who was heading to the bullpen to warm up the starting pitcher, Phil Klein.

The days' starters emerged about 25 minutes before game time to get in their pre-game stretching and then one by one (with the exception of a few) they headed over to the stands to sign autographs.  Cam Perkins and Darnell Sweeney were both very accommodating with their time.  Doug specifically called over top prospect Nick Williams for an autograph and told him he was there to see him play. Cody Asche was the most impressive however, signing every last autograph request right up until the start of the National Anthem.

Unfortunately, the IronPigs lost the game 5-4.  Klein pitched very well, but Jimmy Cordero, making his Triple-A debut, allowed four runs to the Rochester Red Wings in the eighth inning.  Perkins, Sweeney and Asche all enjoyed multi-hit games, while Williams went hitless in four at-bats.  On a more important note, Jenna and I can officially recommend the Aw Shucks corn, the BBQ turkey sandwich, the walking taco and beer in an IronPigs mason jar.  We'll be back next year!

Asche signs for the IronPigs fans

As discussed in this post, I'm taking a poll on how collectors track baseball card collections. 

Please vote in the poll on the sidebar if you haven't already.  Thanks!

2016 Topps #133 Aaron Nola

Phillies 5, Rays 2
Spring Training Game 17 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 15th in Clearwater
Record - 11-4-2

One Sentence Summary:  Key hits from Andres Blanco and Darnell Sweeney helped the Phillies come from behind with four runs in the eighth inning to win their 11th game of the spring.

What It Means:  Let's start the season!

What Happened:  Cesar Hernandez had two more hits in this game and Cedric Hunter hit his second home run.  Aaron Nola gave up two runs on six hits in his 4 2/3 innings of work.  He also struck out five.

Featured Card:  Nola enjoyed his best outing of the spring.  Coincidentally, if he continues to pitch every fifth day, he's on track to start opening day on April 4th against the Reds.  This card marks Nola's first appearance in a Topps flagship set.

Camp Head Count:  57 - 2 = 55 - Two potential starting rotation candidates were sent packing on Tuesday morning as Alec Asher and David Buchanan were both optioned to the IronPigs.  The fifth spot in the starting pitching rotation is going to go to Adam Morgan, Brett Oberholtzer or Vince Velasquez.  Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton have the first four spots locked down.

2013 Bowman Chrome
Prospects #BCP186

Uniform Number Update:  Readers of this blog, all three or four of you, may recall I posted last week that Aaron Altherr had switched his uniform number to #9.  Reviewing the team's online roster last night, it appears as if he's now back to #23.  So never mind.

And I'm not sure what I find this so intriguing, but the Phillies have updated their online roster page with the names and numbers of those minor leaguers who get invited to accompany the big team on any given day.  Here's the updated list, which includes some additions from last week's list:

#86 Nick Fanti - lhp
#87 Jose Mayorga - c (new)
#88 Andrew Amaro - inf
#88 Greg Brodzinski - c (new)
#88 Andrew Pullin - of
#89 Hoby Milner - lhp (new)
#89 Yacksel Rios - rhp
#89 Joely Rodriguz - lhp

2014 Bowman Chrome
Prospects #BCP86

#89 Jesmuel Valentin - 2b

#89 Anthony Vasquez - lhp (new)

#90 Alexis Rivero - rhp (new)

#90 Ken Roberts - lhp
#91 Brendon Hayden - inf
#92 Edgar Cabral - c
#92 Brian Pointer - of (new)
#92 Tom Windle - lhp
#93 Dylan Cozens - of (new)
#95 Tommy Joseph - 1b
#95 Ben Lively - rhp
#95 Ryan O'Sullivan - rhp (was originally #92)
#96 Angelo Mora - inf (new)
#98 KC Serna - inf (new)
#99 Cam Perkins - of (new)