Roster Whys for Phillies’ Final Spots

While 25 players are in the clubhouse, many fans don’t completely know all the details of the camp-ending decisions that came down to the wire for general manager Matt Klentak of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Unknown Pieces of the Puzzle:

If you add the information you missed to your current knowledge, you can understand how even one obscure point can change your conclusion.

When GMs finalize their active 25 for Opening Day, writers find out rules regarding certain players like Luis Garcia and Chris Coghlan. And missing those few roster moves led to a question from Double D, a poster from another site. Well, firstly some are also unpredictable and no amount of available information will matter because management factors in other considerations. For instance, after the skipper uses his one infield reserve – not including those for first base – he has to make two substitutions for a second bench replacement.

Regarding Garcia, his third option ran through April 9, which means the Phillies can recall him, but he must clear waivers to return to Triple-A. Usually, scribes refer to the three options as protection for a player: Pitchers – in this case – cannot permanently block Garcia from another major league opportunity. But the rule also guards general managers for roughly the first week of the season if an athlete makes the team with a solid spring but struggles in the initial days of a new campaign. That stated, Garcia showed enough for another chance because he developed a splitter and only had difficulty in his two February outings, not five of his other six appearances buying himself some time. He had a 2.08 ERA for those 8 2/3 innings.

Double D, Coghlan had a complicated free-agent deal: It involved Article XX (B) regarding his contractual status. But, additionally, he had an opt-out date of March 26, and he would have received a $100,000 retention bonus if the Phils didn’t cut him by March 28 or promise him a spot on the 25-man roster at $3 million. So, even though he could play left field, second base and third base, Klentak declined the risk involved because he finished behind Brock Stassi and Daniel Nava with a .231 average. What was also a major factor regarding his release? $3.1 million.

"IN OTHER WORDS:     “Building a baseball team is like building a house. You look for the best architects, the best builders – and then you let them do their jobs.” – Pat “Stand Pat” Gillick"

As a meeting progressed in the last week of camp, the brain trust covered the final three candidates: Nava, Stassi and Jesmuel Valentin. And even though Valentin, 22, hit .366 in spring training, the first-base coach pointed out his three errors. However, another former infielder replied that two booted plays were during his second game on February 27, and Valentin only had one miscue for his final 19 contests. But Klentak noted that Scott Kingery must earn a promotion to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and J.P. Crawford needs a regular keystone partner. On the other hand, Valentin – the GM reasoned – went from .276 for the Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils to .248 at Lehigh Valley. And the kid needs more time.