Stay on Target . . . Getting Closer to Baseball

2020 Chachi New Additions #10

Most of my offseason attention has been turned towards building and posting my two other blogs, covering the 1956 and 1965 Topps sets.  After the Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius signings in December, transactions and non-roster invitees have slowly trickled in and I wanted to run another catch-up post before the joy of pitchers and catchers reporting kicks in.  Phillies pitchers and catchers are set to officially report on February 11th.

A number of ex-Phillies recently found new homes, as updated below.  The Phillies also made another waiver claim, taking Reggie McClain from the Mariners.  McClain has no major baseball card appearances to his name to date.

Trevor Kelley was designated for assignment to make room for McClain on the 40-man roster, but at least Kelley has a coveted Chachi New Additions insert card to show for his time in the Phillies organization.

2020 Chachi Departures #15

2020 Chachi Departures #1

2020 Chachi Departures #17

2020 Chachi Departures #9

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency, signed the San Francisco Giants (1/18/20).
• Fernando Salas - rhp (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Corey Dickerson - of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Miami Marlins (1/7/20).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Logan Morrison - 1b (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/9/20).
• Juan Nicasio - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Texas Rangers (1/22/20).
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the San Francisco Giants (1/16/20).
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released.
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jerad Eickhoff - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the San Diego Padres (12/27/19).
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Milwaukee Brewers (1/31/20).
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1/8/20).
• Maikel Franco - 3b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Kansas City Royals (12/27/19).
• Cesar Hernandez - 2b (12/2/19) - Non-tendered, elected free agency, signed with the Cleveland Indians (12/29/19).

2020 Chachi Departures #7

2020 Chachi Departures #16

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Robert Stock - rhp (10/30/19) - Claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres.
• Cristopher Sanchez - lhp (11/20/19) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for Curtis Mead.
• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/2/19) - Claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
• Zack Wheeler - rhp (12/9/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Mets.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (12/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the New York Yankees.
• Nick Martini - of (1/14/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (1/31/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

Latest Round of Roster Moves - 8 More Free Agents

2020 Chachi Departures #12

2020 Chachi Departures #13

2020 Chachi Departures #14

In a flurry of roster moves on late Monday afternoon, the Phillies parted with eight more players and they now have 35 spots taken on their 40-man roster.

The club declined their options on pitchers Jared Hughes, Pat Neshek and Jason Vargas.  Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, as expected, exercised his player option for 2020 and he'll attempt to bounce back from two lackluster seasons.

2020 Chachi Departures #15

2020 Chachi #13

2020 Chachi Departures #16

2020 Chachi #38

2020 Chachi Departures #17

Pitchers Jerad Eickhoff, Mike Morin, Blake Parker and Edubray Ramos along with infiedler Phil Gosselin were all outrighted off the 40-man roster and all five elected free agency.  The Morin and Parker moves surprised me a little, as I could see both playing a role in the team's 2020 bullpen.  I assume one or both could come back on minor league deals.  It's also tough to see Phillies Room favorite Gosselin let go.

Finally, pitchers Victor Arano, Arrieta, Seranthony Dominguez, Adam Morgan, David Robertson and Robert Stock along with outfielder Andrew McCutchen were activated from the 60-day IL.

This is a good time to link over to my Virtual Phillies Wall, which has been updated to reflect the current status of the team's 40-man roster.  As players are added, such as Stock, they'll appear on a 2020 Chachi New Additions insert card.  The next date to circle on our calendars is December 2nd, when the Phillies will need to make a decision on tendering contracts to Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco in advance of the annual Rule 5 draft.

Moving On - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Rob Brantly - c (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (9/30/19) - Elected free agency.
• Corey Dickerson - of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Logan Morrison - 1b (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Juan Nicasio - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Sean Rodriguez - inf-of (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Drew Smyly - lhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Nick Vincent - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released.
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Pat Neshek - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jason Vargas - lhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Jerad Eickhoff - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Mike Morin - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency.

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Robert Stock - rhp (10/30/19) - Claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres.

Phillies Photo Night Returns! (Part Two)

Here's part two of the gallery of cards I created to commemorate our 2019 Phillies Photo Night experience.

2019 Chachi Photo Night #11

2019 Chachi Photo Night #12

2019 Chachi Photo Night #13

2019 Chachi Photo Night #14

2019 Chachi Photo Night #15

2019 Chachi Photo Night #17

2019 Chachi Photo Night #18

2019 Chachi Photo Night #19

Memory Lane
1984 Photo Day - Hudson, Maddox and Lefebvre
2004 Photo Day - First at Citizens Bank Park
2006 Photo Day - with Rick White
2007 Photo Day - with Shane Victorino
2016 Photo Day - Parts One, Two and Three
2017 Photo Night - Parts One, Two and Three
2018 Photo Night - Cancelled due to rain
2019 Photo Night - Part One and Part Two

2019 Chachi #55 Mike Morin

#28
Michael William Morin
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220
Opening Day Age:  27
Born:  May 3, 1991, Andover, MN
Drafted:  Selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 13th round of the June 2012 draft
Teams:  Los Angeles Angels 2012-2017; Kansas City Royals 2017; Seattle Mariners 2018; Minnesota Twins 2019; Phillies 2019
Acquired:  Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations, July 20, 2019
Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible in 2019, free agency eligible in 2022

First Topps Flagship Base Card:  N/A
First Phillies Card:  N/A
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A
First Phillies Minor League Card:  N/A
First Topps Phillies Flagship Base Card:  N/A
Newest Card Added:  N/A

0 - Morin baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 7/21/19.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2019 Chachi #55

2019 Chachi Set Checklist
Virtual Phillies Wall - Featuring Current Active Roster

Game 99 - Meeting Willie Montanez; Phils Bats Go Quiet

Pirates 5, Phillies 1
Game 99 - Saturday Night, July 20th in Pittsburgh
Record - 51-48, 3rd place, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Pirates, wearing throwback monochrome black uniforms to celebrate their 1979 team, held the Phillies offense to three singles in this 5-1 loss.

What It Means:  The Phillies have not won three in a row since the end of June.

What Happened:  The offense couldn't solve Joe Musgrove and three Pirates relievers.  Phillies starter Zach Eflin went four innings, allowing three runs on five hits.

Featured Card:  Doug and I made the trip to Havertown on Saturday afternoon to Carl's Cards & Collectibles as Phillies greats Willie Montanez and Greg Luzinski were appearing to sign autographs.  Full disclosure here, I was more interested in meeting Montanez than Doug was but he agreed to make the trip with me and he was a good sport posing for a picture with the former outfielder.

2019 Choice Rochester
Red Wings

Transactions:  On Saturday morning, the Phillies acquired right-handed reliever Mike Morin from the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.  Morin will hopefully provide some much-needed bullpen depth.  With the Twins this season, he had appeared in 23 games and pitched to a 3.18 ERA.  He's appeared in 209 games over his six-year career with the Angels, Royals, Mariners and Twins, owning a 10-8 record and a 4.48 career ERA.

JD Hammer was sent back down to the IronPigs to make room for Morin and Seranthony Dominguez was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Arrived During the 2019 Season

• Jay Bruce - of (6/2/19) - Acquired from the Seattle Mariners with cash considerations for Jake Scheiner.
• Brad Miller - inf (6/13/19) - Purchased from the New York Yankees.
• Fernando Salas - rhp (6/13/19) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.
• Mike Morin - rhp (7/20/19) - Acquired rom the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.

Departed During the 2019 Season

• Aaron Altherr - of (5/12/19) - Selected off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.