Phillies Minor League Free Agents & Chachi Almost Cards

2017 Chachi Almost #18

2017 Chachi Almost #20

2017 Topps Update #US171

On Tuesday, Baseball America published a list of 572 new minor league free agents and the list included 16 players from the Phillies organization.  Players in red below saw time with the Phillies over the past few seasons.

RHP:  Michael Mariot, Colton Murray, Miguel Nunez, Jesen Therrien
LHP:  Cesar Ramos
RHP/LHP:  Pat Venditte
C:  Wilson Garcia, Chace Numata, Nick Rickles
1B:  Jake Fox, Brock Stassi
2B:  Angelo Mora
3B:  Harold Martinez
SS:  Hector Gomez
OF:  Christian Marrero, Herlis Rodriguez

Both Mariot and Murray spent time in the Phillies bullpen during the 2016 season, but neither got the call all season long in 2017.  Stassi provided a feel-good story coming out of spring training, as the 27-year-old rookie made the Phillies' opening day roster.  In 51 games, he hit .167 with a pair of home runs and he earned baseball cards in the Topps Heritage High Numbers and Topps Update sets for his efforts.

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.
• Pedro Florimon - inf-of (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Jesen Therrien - rhp (11/6/17) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.
• Colton Murray - rhp (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.
• Brock Stassi - 1b (11/6/17) - Elected free agency.

2017 Chachi Almost #16

2017 Chachi Almost #21

2017 Chachi Almost #24

I also wanted to clear out my draft folder of a bunch of Chachi Almost cards.  I make cards during spring training of every player on the 40-man roster as well as each non-roster invitee if a good photo becomes available.  These cards wait patiently all season to perhaps become official Chachi cards, but if the player doesn't get the call the cards join the Chachi Almost insert set.  Mark Appel, Dylan Cozens, Elniery Garcia, Scott Kingery, Logan Moore, Shane Pullin, Roman Quinn and Alberto Tirado should all be in the mix when the Phillies head to Clearwater in February.

Hector Gomez, Mariot, Murray, Chace Numata and Cesar Ramos will be moving on.

2017 Chachi Almost #13

2017 Chachi Almost #14

2017 Chachi Almost #15

2017 Chachi Almost #17

2017 Chachi Almost #19

2017 Chachi Almost #22

2017 Chachi Almost #23

2017 Chachi Almost #25

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

2016 Topps #488 Colton Murray

Mets 10, Phillies 5
Game 154 - Friday Night, September 23rd in Flushing
Record - 69-85, 4th place, 20 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Jeremy Hellickson and the Phillies bullpen were hit hard in this 10-5 loss to the Mets.

What It Means:  Manager Pete Mackanin summed up this game nicely with this opening quote during his post-game press conference, "Well, that was a shame."

What Happened:  After pitching one of the best games of his career in his last outing, Hellickson couldn't escape the fifth inning in this game.  His final line wasn't pretty - 4 1/3 innings, 6 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks.  Maikel Franco (24) homered for the second time in two nights and Darin Ruf added his first home run of the season.

Featured Card:  Making his first appearance in over a week, Colton Murray was one of a string of Phillies relievers who allowed the Mets to tack on runs in this ballgame.  However, he's the only one of the bunch with a 2016 Topps card, and I imagine it will stay that way.  I haven't seen a checklist for the 2016 Topps Update set yet, but I would be extremely surprised if Frank Herrmann, Patrick Schuster or Severino Gonzalez made the list.

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 Chachi #41 Colton Murray

#60

Colton James Murray

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195

Born:  April 22, 1990, Overland Park, KS

Home:  Overland Park, KS

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 13th round of the June 2011 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2015-

Acquired:  Via draft

2011 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #21

2015 Chachi #64

2016 Topps Heritage #173

10 Murray Baseball Cards in My Collection per Zistle
First Card:  2011 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #21
First Phillies Card:  2016 Topps Heritage #173 (with Jerad Eickhoff)
First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue 2 #60
Latest Card:  2016 Phillies Team Issue 2 #60

Complete Chachi Checklist
2015 Chachi #64
2015 Chachi Special Edition #11
2016 Chachi #41

Card statistics through 6/2/16.

2016 Phillies Team Issue - 2nd Edition

Number of Cards:  44
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  Following the standard formula for team-issued photo card sets in recent years, the front of the cards feature the player's name, position and uniform number on a band across the bottom of the card.  The band for this set is wood-grained, using a design element last used for the 2012 first edition team set.  A Phillies logo appears on every card in the top left.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

With the exception of the Cody Asche card, all photos used for these cards are from the first month and a half of the 2016 season.

How Distributed:  The second series set went on sale at Citizens Bank Park on or around May 20th for $5 a set.  I attended the game on May 17th, and I'm fairly certain the first series set was still on sale at that point.

An update set was sold at the ballpark beginning with the August 12th Alumni Weekend series.  The update set removes four cards and adds six cards to the set.

Complete Standard Checklist (38):  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Tyler Goeddel 3 - David Lough 4 - Andres Blanco 5 - Steve Henderson CO 6 - Ryan Howard 7 - Maikel Franco 8 - Juan Samuel CO 9 - John McLaren CO 10 - Larry Bowa CO 12 - Mickey Morandini CO 13 - Freddy Galvis 15 - Emmanuel Burriss 16 - Cesar Hernandez 17 - Peter Bourjos 18 - Darin Ruf 22 - Bob McClure CO 25 - Cody Asche 27 - Aaron Nola 28 - Vince Velasquez

29 - Cameron Rupp 30 - David Hernandez 33 - Rick Kranitz CO 34 - Brett Oberholtzer 37 - Odubel Herrera 38 - Andrew Bailey 39 - Adam Morgan 45 - Pete Mackanin MG 46 - Jeanmar Gomez 48 - Jared Eickhoff 50 - Hector Neris 51 - Carlos Ruiz 57 - Luis Garcia 58 - Jeremy Hellickson 59 - Elvis Araujo 60 - Colton Murray 94 - Dalier Hinojosa Phillie Phanatic Phillies Broadcasters

Complete Update Checklist (6)

19 - Tommy Joseph 41 - Jimmy Paredes 52 - Severino Gonzalez

56 - Zach Eflin 61 - Edubray Ramos 25 - Jim Thome (Alumni)**

One and Done (0 for now)
First Appearances (7):  Eflin, Gonzalez, Joseph, Murray, Neris, Paredes, Ramos
Returning Players (26):  Araujo, Asche, Bailey, Blanco, Bourjos, Burriss, Eickhoff, Franco, Galvis, Garcia, Goeddel, Gomez, Hellickson, C. Hernandez, D. Hernandez, Herrera, Hinojosa, Howard, Lough, Morgan, Nola, Oberholtzer, Ruf, Ruiz, Rupp, Velasquez

The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Mackanin
Coaches (7):  Bowa, Henderson, Kranitz, McClure, McLaren, Morandini, Samuel
Phillie Phanatic (1):  The Phanatic is shown wearing the day week day alternate red jersey top.
Broadcasters (1):  After an absence in the first series, the broadcasters card returns with Tom McCarthy, Larry Andersen, Ben Davis, Scott Franzke, Gregg Murphy, Mike Schmidt, Matt Stairs and Jim Jackson.
Other Cards (1):  Thome (Alumni Card)

The following players who were in the first series set have been dropped from this second series set (6):  Bobby LaFromboise, Charlie Morton, Edward Mujica, James Russell, Daniel Stumpf and Darnell Sweeney.  Morton is out for the season with an injury, Stumpf has been suspended for PEDs and the other four players are all currently with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

The following players/cards have been added (4):  Elvis Araujo, Colton Murray, Hector Neris, Broadcasters.

Variations/Rarities (6/13/16):  Fellow collector Steve F. sent the scan below of cards for Joseph and Jimmy Paredes, which were available at the ALS Festival on June 9th.  Hopefully these cards make it into the sets currently for sale at the ballpark.  (They did - see above!)

• 19 - Tommy Joseph
• 41 - Jimmy Paredes

Update Set (8/13/16):  On August 12th, I purchased an update set which added cards of the six players listed above and removed the cards for the following four players:  David Lough, Emmanuel Burriss, Elvis Araujo and Dalier Hinojosa.

Update (8/29/16):  As pointed out by Steve F. in his comment the Thome card should be considered a short-print, as it was only intended to be included within the photo card set during Alumni Weekend.

Update (12/15/18):  At the recent Phillies holiday sale, an annual event held at Citizens Bank Park, Steve found another rare version of a card in this set's style.  There's a Tommy Joseph card available showing him wearing the team's alternate, home day-game uniform.

• 19 -  Tommy Joseph (alternate uniform)

Also See:  Ben & Doug's Amazing Autograph Adventure

2016 Topps Heritage #173 Jerad Eickhoff & Colton Murray

Twins 7, Phillies 5
Spring Training Game 22 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 22nd in Clearwater
Record - 14-6-2

One Sentence Summary:  Jared Eickhoff pitched well in his first spring start as the Phillies fell to the Twins, 7-5

What It Means:  Eickhoff injured his thumb in an early spring bunting drill.  Despite missing time due to the injury, the team seems confident that he'll be ready for opening day.

What Happened:  Eickhoff allowed three runs on four hits in four innings.  He also struck out seven, thanks in part to an extremely effective curve ball.  Closer candidate Andrew Bailey allowed four soft hits and surrendered three runs.

Third baseman Angelys Nina had two errors, but he also executed a perfect suicide squeeze in the sixth to score Emmanuel Burriss.

Featured Card:  I mentioned this card in yesterday's post, and I figured I'd feature it today given Eickhoff's solid start.  The young pitcher's first two Phillies cards can be found in Topps Series One and Topps Heritage.

Camp Head Count:  49 - 1 = 48 - Continuing the pattern of at least one to two demotions per day, the Phillies optioned pitcher Severino Gonzalez to Lehigh Valley prior to this game.

Farewell, 2015 Phillies Season!

Phillies 7, Marlins 2
Game 162 - Sunday Afternoon, October 4th in Philadelphia
Record - 63-99, 5th Place, 27 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Aaron Altherr paced the offense and David Buchanan ended on a pitching high note as the Phillies closed out this awful season with a 7-2 win over the Marlins.

What It Means:  The Phils avoided 100 losses, but the 99 losses were still the most in a season since 1969.  Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in a little over four months.

What Happened:  Altherr's three-run triple in the seventh broke the game open.  He also had an RBI-double in the fifth, which could have easily been ruled an E4 by the gracious official score keeper.  Andres Blanco capped off his career year with an RBI-double int he fourth to start the scoring.

Buchanan pitched 6 2/3 solid innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out seven.  He also had seven strikeouts.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  Doug and I got washed out on Friday night, so we exchanged those tickets to tickets to this game.  I finished the 2015 season with an impressive 9-6 record in Phillies games I attended.  Some of the highlights from this game for us:

• Doug got a retro bobble head at the gate and we both received our 2016 Phillies schedule magnets.
• Walking past the Ashburn Alley entrance, I noticed Phillies pitcher Colton Murray hanging out pretty much by himself.  He was kind enough to pose for a picture with Doug.
• A few feet away from Murray, Doug spotted Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan and Morgan signed Doug's baseball and also posed for a picture.  (We missed our chance to get Murray to sign the ball.)
• At the entrance to the Hall of Fame Club, Phillies braodcasters Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen were chatting with fans entering the ballpark.  They both signed Doug's ball, which was the same ball Franzke had dropped to Doug in August.
• Carlos Ruiz was honored before the game for having caught four Phillies no-hitters.  Former manager Charlie Manuel was on hand to present Ruiz with an awesome looking painting commemorating his feat.
• A dead hawk had to be removed from the left field foul area in the middle of the game, temporarily delaying the game.  Can't say I've ever seen that before.
• Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki pitched (!) the eighth inning for the Marlins.  He allowed doubles to Odubel Herrera and Darnell Sweeney but escaped having allowed just a run.

Ken Giles faces the final batter of the 2015 season

Memory Lane - Game 162
For the seventh season in a row, I posted on the daily highs and lows of the Phillies and (God willing) I'll be back for an eighth season in 2016.

I'll keep doing this as long as I'm able and as long as it continues to be fun for me.  It's your comments, your e-mails and your participation that make this even more enjoyable for me.  As always, thank you for reading!

October 4, 2009 - Catcher Paul Hoover singled in the winning run in the 10th in a 7-6 win over the Marlins.
October 3, 2010 - The Phillies lost 8-7 to the Braves in their final tune-up before facing the Reds in the N.L.D.S.
September 28, 2011 - The Phillies closed out the 2011 regular season with a 13-inning victory against the Braves, setting a franchise record with their 102nd regular season win.
October 3, 2012 - The Phillies closed out their 2012 season with a lethargic 5-1 loss to the N.L. East Champion Nationals.
September 29, 2013 - Zach Miner got the ball for the Phillies and lasted 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Braves.
September 28, 2014 - Cole Hamels pitched another fine game and suffered through another outing with minimal run support.

2015 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #20 Colton Murray

Nationals 2, Phillies 1 (12 Innings)
Game 155 - Saturday Afternoon, September 26th in Washington
Record - 58-97, 5th Place, 30 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils tied the game in the eighth, but couldn't push another run across as the Nationals eventually prevailed in 12 innings, 2-1.

What It Means:  The Mets won their game, giving them the N.L. East pennant and eliminating the Nationals from postseason play.  We bounced between watching the Phillies game, the Mets game and the local news coverage of the Pope's visit to Philadelphia all afternoon.

What Happened:  Aaron Nola shut down the Nationals in his five innings of work, allowing six hits while striking out five.  Adam Loewen allowed a run in the sixth, but Brian Bogusevic tied it up with a double in the eighth.

Featured Card:  Entering yesterday's game, only three other players on the Phillies active roster had pitched less innings for the Phillies this season than Colton Murray:

• Colton Murray - 5 innings, last pitched September 15th
• Ken Roberts - 3 innings, last pitched September 16th
• Nefi Ogando - 3 innings, last pitched September 16th
• Jeff Francoeur - 2 innings, last pitched June 16th

Murray, understandably rusty, surrendered the game-winning double to Bryce Harper that scored the winning run for the Nationals.  I don't know a lot about Murray, but hopefully we'll see more of him next season with the Phillies.  This is his sole 2015 baseball card from the IronPigs first team set.

2015 Chachi #64 Colton Murray

#60

Colton James Murray

Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195

Born:  April 22, 1990, Overland Park, KS

Home:  Overland Park, KS

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in the 13th round of the June 2011 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2015

Acquired:  Via draft

2011 Choice Williamsport
Crosscutters #21

6 Murray Baseball Cards in My Collection per Zistle
First Card:  2011 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #21
First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Topps Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
Latest Card:  2015 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #20

First Chachi Base Card:  2015 Chachi #64

Murray Games I've Attended per Hardball Passport

N/A

Cards and game statistics through 9/4/15.