First Four Non-Roster Invitees Announced

2019 Topps Heritage #642

2016 Topps Heritage #221

2016 Topps Heritage #632

2012 Topps Heritage #143

If and when spring training happens in a few months, the Phillies will have at least four non-roster invitees suiting up in Clearwater.  That number is sure to grow, but it's always a good sign when non-roster invitee news starts to hit.  The Phillies announced these four names on Monday, a few weeks behind the pace of prior years.  For comparison purposes, the first four non-roster invitees were announced last year on December 20th.

Ronald Torreyes is the only returning Phillies player from 2020, for now, although Christian Bethancourt was in Clearwater with the club last spring before seemingly disappearing.  Neftali Feliz is a nine-year veteran, making the All-Star team and winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2010 while with the Rangers.  He last pitched in the majors in 2017 with the Royals.  The 6'7" Michael Ynoa also last pitched in the majors in 2017, when he appeared in 22 games for the White Sox.

Player (position) - 2020 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Christian Bethancourt (c) - N/A - 2017 Topps #697 (Padres)

2.  Ronald Torreyes (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Topps #537 (Twins)

3.  Michael Ynoa (rhp) - N/A - 2016 Topps Heritage High Numbers #632 (White Sox)

4.  Neftali Feliz (rhp) - N/A - 2017 Topps Update #US117 (Royals)

Look Away if You've Already Moved on from the 2020 Phillies

2020 Chachi Almost #13

2020 Chachi Almost #15

2020 Chachi Almost #20

2020 Chachi Almost #16

In an effort to put the 2020 Phillies season behind me as quickly as possible, I wanted to get this post out of the way.  Every year, I create my custom Chachi cards during the offseason and the early stages of spring training, which means I end up with several "Almost" cards of players who didn't get the call to the big club during the season.  Those cards are presented here.

Victor Arano, Seranthony Dominguez and David Robertson spent the season either injured, recovering from an injury or getting surgery to repair an injury.  Arano and Dominguez should return, while Robertson will not.  Despite the bullpen's woes, JD Hammer never got the call to join the team and Odubel Herrera remains exiled following his arrest for domestic violence last year.  Christian Bethancourt was a non-roster invitee to spring training and then disappeared, with no sign of any transaction (that I can find) to tell us where he ended up.  Finally, veterans Mikie Mahtook and Nick Martini were also non-roster invitees who later joined the taxi squad in Allentown as part of the team's 60-player pool.  Neither got the call to leave Lehigh Valley and travel to Philadelphia.

2020 Chachi Almost #18

2020 Chachi Almost #19

2020 Chachi Almost #14

2020 Chachi Almost #17

Also presented below is a final look at the team's 2019-2020 offseason moves and other player additions and deletions during the pandemic-shortened season.  For some reason, I failed to post my Departures cards of Fernando Salas and Mitch Walding when they originally left the team and solely for the sake of completeness, they're presented here.

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).
• Brad Miller - inf (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals (2/12/20).
• 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, signed with the Miami Marlins (2/15/20).
• 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, signed with the San Francisco Giants (2/9/20).
• Jose Pirela - of (11/1/19) - Released, signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Japan) (11/2/19).
• Jared Hughes - rhp (11/4/19) - Club option declined, elected free agency, signed with the Houston Astros (2/17/20).
• 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).
• Edubray Ramos - rhp - (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1/8/20).
• Mitch Walding - 3b (11/4/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays (2/2/20).
• 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 #2

2020 Chachi Departures #3

Coming Back - 2019-2020 Offseason

• Phil Gosselin - inf (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (12/20/19).
• Blake Parker - rhp (11/4/19) - Outrighted, elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/5/20).
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/31/19) - Elected free agency, signed with the Phillies (2/12/20).

New Arrivals - 2019-2020 Offseason

• 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.
• Ronald Torreyes - inf (1/2/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Minnesota Twins.
• Neil Walker - inf (1/22/20) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Miami Marlins.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (1/31/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Deolis Guerra - rhp (2/5/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Kyle Garlick - of (2/15/20) - Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tyler Gilbert.

Arrived During the 2020 Season

• David Hale (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the New York Yankees for Addison Russ (rhp).
• Brandon Workman (rhp) and Heath Hembree (rhp) - 8/21/20, Acquired from the Boston Red Sox with cash and a player to be named later for Nick Pivetta (rhp) and Connor Seabold (rhp).
• David Phelps (rhp) - 8/31/20, Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for three players to be named later.

Departed During the 2020 Season 

• Nick Williams (of) - 8/15/20, Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. 
• Edgar Garcia (rhp) - 8/18/20, Traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.
• Nick Pivetta (rhp) - 8/21/20, Traded to the Boston Red Sox with Connor Seabold (rhp) for Brandon Workman (rhp), Heath Hembree (rhp), a player to be named later and cash.
• Austin Davis (lhp) - 8/26/20, Traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and  cash.
• Deivy Grullon (c) - 9/3/20, Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.
• Neil Walker (inf) - 9/15/20, Cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Grapefruit Game 11 - 2017 Topps #697 Christian Bethancourt

Phillies 6, Braves 4
Spring Training Game 11 - Monday Night, March 2nd in North Port
Record - 7-3-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies scored four times in the ninth inning to complete the comeback and notch a 6-4 win.

What It Means:  Since 1997, the Braves had called Walt Disney World their spring training home until they moved to North Port last year.  This was their first night game at CoolToday Park, and several people in attendance (including some players) noted how dark the field seemed.

What Happened:  Starter Zach Eflin was working on some stuff, and struggled in his 1 2/3 innings of work allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks.  Vince Velasquez fared better in his 3 innings of relief, allowing a run on 4 hits.  Luke Williams had two more hits to raise his spring average to .467.

Featured Card:  With Andrew Knapp potentially starting the season on the injured list, Christian Bethancourt could find himself on the team's opening day roster as one of two backup catchers along with Deivy Grullon.  Bethancourt hit two solo home runs in this game.

Camp Head Count:  70

Non-Roster Invitee List - 21 and Done?

2017 Topps Heritage #99

2017 Topps Heritage #694

In early January, various Twitter reports announced the signings of catcher Christian Bethancourt and infielder Ronald Torreyes to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.  As the Phillies website just recently added these two players to their official Transactions listing and the Non-Roster section of the team's roster, I wanted to give them their due here as well.

Bethancourt is a veteran of five big league seasons, having last appeared in 2017 with the Padres.  He'll be the fourth potential backup catcher in camp along with Andrew Knapp, Deivy Grullon and Henri Lartigue.  Torreyes has also played in parts of five seasons in the Majors, and he appeared in seven games last year with the Twins.  He appeared in 108 games for the Yankees in 2017, hitting .292.

With the start of spring training now 3 weeks away, and barring a trade, the Phillies' roster seems set with 61 players scheduled to suit up in Clearwater.

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Phil Gosselin (inf) - Phillies - 2017 Topps Heritage #135 (Diamondbacks)

2.  Josh Harrison (inf) - Tigers - 2019 Topps Heritage #552 (Tigers)

3.  Mikie Mahtook (of) - Tigers - 2019 Topps #477 (Tigers)

4.  Matt Szczur (of) - Diamondbacks - 2018 Topps Heritage #528 (Padres)
5.  Christian Bethancourt (c) - NC Dinos (Korea) - 2017 Topps #697 (Padres)
6.  Ronald Torreyes (inf) - Twins - 2019 Topps #537 (Twins)

Player (position) - 2019 Organization - Last Card Added to Collection

7.  Alec Bohm (inf) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #1

8.  Connor Brogdon (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #44

9.  Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #5

10.  Tyler Gilbert (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10
11.  Darick Hall (1b) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #7
12.  Spencer Howard (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Topps Heritage Minor League #27
13.  Damon Jones (lhp) - Phillies - 2018 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #13
14.  Henri Lartigue (c) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #12
15.  Austin Listi (1b-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #13
16.  Nick Maton (ss) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #6
17.  Mickey Moniak (of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #15
18.  Ramon Rosso (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #19
19.  Addison Russ (rhp) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #20
20.  Zach Warren (lhp) - Phillies - 2019 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers #33
21.  Luke Williams (inf-of) - Phillies - 2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #23