Phillies: Making the cut

With the Phillies’ roster deadline in the rearview mirror, the importance of those still on the bubble has the same informative value as those general managers Matt Klentak did not protect.

In or out:

When it comes to MLB roster rules, the difficulty includes language with two possible meanings. Therefore, a writer has one answer but one question also regarding decisions by the front office of the Philadelphia Phillies.

"IN OTHER WORDS: “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” – James Thurber"

The answer: The rules do not appear to be vague: A signed 18-year-old requires a spot on the 40-man roster after playing five seasons. The question: Does that include a one-campaign gap before taking the field or missing an entire summer due to injury?

In this article, the first part covers the “swing and miss” candidates, the second is for accurate expectations, and the last features the surprises. Regarding decisions, every franchise has reasons for their moves and gambles besides just statistics. They could be unhappy with a player’s attitude, work ethic or ability to learn from boneheaded mistakes.

Concerning Klentak, he had time limits to decide on players and promoted many up a level or two in the second half: He threw them into the deep end of the pool. Sink or swim. And this most likely determined the fate of many prospects.

My misses:

In his two seasons with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, right-hander Mark Appel, 26, had stretches of good and bad pitching but spent five of his 10 months on the disabled list. Was he getting too old to make an impact in 3-4 years?

Reliever Alberto Tirado walked his way off the 40-slot roster with 19 free passes to 8 punch outs after his advancement to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils.

However, he was probably in the rotation of the Single-A Advanced Clearwater Threshers to improve his control with more innings. The righty struck out 58 and walked 38 at the lower level, which was enough for a chance at Double-A. That stated, management has now cut both flamethrowers acquired for Ben “Revy” Revere.

Among the most interesting developments, southpaw Elniery Garcia, almost 23, went 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA in five outings for Reading. He threw 25 frames in his first contests there. Even though lefties are a common Rule 5 selection, Garcia missed the first 80 games of 2017 due to a PED suspension.

Translation: the red pinstripes could be gambling their number 18 prospect won’t last a full 162 in the majors with another organization.

After batting .307 for the Fightin Phils but .189 for the IronPigs in 54 plate appearances, Carlos Tocci did not receive a roster spot even though he had ranked 23rd in the pipeline.

He was below average in walks, didn’t strike out a lot, or hit for power. In other words, this surprise could be missing some in-house information.