Farewell Lincoln and Brignac

2015 Chachi Departures #2

2015 Chachi Departures #3

As a younger Phillies fan, I developed an irrational loyalty to such notable Phillies players as Dave Roberts, Ronn Reynolds and Mark Ryal.  I have no idea why.  I'm finding the same pattern is being followed by my seven-year-old son Doug, as one of his favorite players this past season was Reid Brignac.  (He also has a completely unjustified dislike for Jeff Manship, which makes absolutely no sense.)

In any event, we had to break the news to Doug last week that Brignac, along with Brad Lincoln, had signed minor league deals elsewhere.  Brignac received his sole Phillies card this year in the team's second series photo card set, available for sale at the ballpark.  Lincoln was in the first series set, as well as in the IronPigs team set.

With Brignac going to the Marlins, it gave me a chance to break out my 1985 Topps style Marlins template.  I'll have more on the color scheme selected (and why) in a future post.

Moving On
Reid Brignac (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Miami Marlins organization 11/19/14)
Jeremy Horst (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Jeff Manship (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Sean O'Sullivan (10/6/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and released.
Tony Gwynn, Jr. (10/10/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.
Mike Adams (10/30/14) - Team option declined, making him a free agent.
Kyle Kendrick (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.
Wil Nieves (10/30/14) - Elected free agency.
A.J. Burnett (11/3/14) - Declined option for 2015, elected free agency.  (Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates 11/14/14)
Brad Lincoln (11/4/14) - Elected free agency.  (Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization 11/18/14)

Coming Back
Andres Blanco (11/13/14) - Signed to a minor league contract and invited to spring training.
Koyie Hill (11/20/14) - Signed to a minor league contract.

New Additions
Elvis Araujo (11/13/14) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians organization.

The First Moves of the 2014-2015 Offseason

2014 Chachi Almost #7

I'm the guy who gets an alert from MLB Trade Rumors titled "Minor League Free Agents" and I immediately stop what I'm doing to check it out.  Three Phillies were on the list of new free agents, and another pitcher joined the ranks of ex-Phillies a few days later.

Presented below are your first Ex-Phillies of the offseason.

2014 Phillies Team Issue 2 #17

Moving On
Reid Brignac (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Jeremy Horst (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Jeff Manship (10/2/14) - Elected free agency.
Sean O'Sullivan (10/6/14) - Outrighted off the 40-man roster and released.

Horst spent the entire season in Triple-A, earning him the final Chachi Almost card of 2014.  He had an impressive 2012 campaign, pitching to a 1.15 ERA in 32 games.  But everything seemed to fall apart for him in 2013 (0-2, 6.23 ERA in 28 games) and he hasn't been heard from since.  Horst appeared in three Phillies team issued sets - the 2012 second series set, and both 2013 sets.

Brignac and Manship both appeared in the 2014 second series set, marking their only appearances on Phillies cardboard.  O'Sullivan had a card in the 2014 Lehigh Valley IronPigs set and will join the ranks of Missing Links - Phillies players with no Phillies baseball cards.

Reid Brignac Still Needs a Phillies Baseball Card!

2014 Topps #74

Phillies 7, Padres 3
Game 64 - Thursday Afternoon, June 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 28-36, Tied for 4th Place, 6 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  For the second game in a row, Reid Brignac delivered the big hit and the Phillies defeated the Padres, 7-3, to complete the series sweep.

What It Means:  It means the Phillies completed only their second series sweep of the season.  The first came back in May against the Marlins.

2011 Topps #284

What Happened:  Brignac's pinch, two-run double in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie and John Mayberry, Jr.'s three-run home in the the seventh broke the game open.

Kyle Kendrick secured just his second win of the season with six strong innings of work.  Rookie Kenny Giles made his big league debut, hitting 100 on the radar but allowing a solo home run in the ninth to Yasmani Grandal.

Featured Cards:  Still no Brignac Phillies cards . . . Mayberry takes the lead in this post, with another one of Brignac's cards from his Rays days playing a supporting role.

Reid Brignac Needs a Phillies Baseball Card!

1972 Topps #690

Phillies 3, Padres 0
Game 63 - Wednesday Night, June 11th in Philadelphia
Record - 27-36, 5th Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Reid Brignac hit a dramatic, walk-off, three-run home run to give the Phillies a 3-0 victory over the Padres.

What It Means:  It means Brignac needs a Phillies baseball card!

What Happened:  Cole Hamels pitched another outstanding game, shutting out the Padres through eight innings while striking out 11.  The Phillies were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position until Brignac came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

2011 Topps Heritage #261

Featured Cards:  Listening to the end of this game while in Denver for a work conference, I knew I needed a Brignac card as the featured card for this game summary.  Knowing that Brignac had no Phillies cards to date, I was hoping that he was in the recently received 2014 IronPigs team set that I briefly flipped through before leaving for my trip.  Alas, checking the set again today, there's no Brignac card in it.

I at least wanted to feature an older Brignac card in this post, but I needed to counterbalance it with an actual Phillies card.  According to MLB Stat of the Day, via their Twitter account, Brignac became the first Phillies player to break a 0-0 tie with a walk-off home run since Willie Montanez did it on July 28, 1972.  And now you know.

2014 Chachi #41 Reid Brignac

Phillies 6, Mets 5 (14 Innings)
Game 52 - Friday Night, May 30th in Philadelphia
Record - 24-28, Tied for 4th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Reid Brignac lined a single to left to score the winning run in the bottom of the 14th, securing a 6-5 win for the Phillies.

What It Means:  It meant I was sleepy Saturday morning as for some reason I stayed up and watched this entire game - all five hours and 23 minutes of it.

What Happened:  A.J. Burnett didn't have his best stuff, but he turned in a decent outing, allowing five runs over seven innings while striking out 11.  The bullpen was strong, throwing seven scoreless innings capped by two scoreless frames from Justin De Fratus.

Marlon Byrd reached in the bottom of the 14th when Mets right fielder Chris Young dropped his fly ball.  He moved to third on Carlos Ruiz's fourth hit of the night and came into score on Brignac's big hit.

Featured Card:  I would have liked to have given Brignac a stand-alone post to debut his Chachi card, but since Topps and The Shlabotnik Report have yet to produce a Brignac Phillies card, this is all I have with which to work.  Here's the back of Brignac's debut Chachi card:

#17

Reid Michael Brignac

Third Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  214

Born:  January 16, 1986, St. Amant, LA

Home:  Gonzales, LA

Drafted:  Selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the June 2004 draft

Teams:  Tampa Bay Rays 2008-2012, Colorado Rockies 2013, New York Yankees 2013, Phillies 2014

Acquired:  Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the New York Yankees, November 17, 2013

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

There are no Phillies cards yet for Brignac.

First Chachi Card:  2014 Chachi #41

New Non-Roster Invitees - Brignac, Blanco & Manship

2013 Topps Update #US206

On the same day the Phillies officially signed back-up catcher Wil Nieves, they also announced the signing of their seventh non-roster invitee to spring training.  Jeff Manship will join the fray of pitchers in Clearwater trying to catch new pitching coach Bob McClure's eye.  Manship appeared in 11 games last season with the Rockies, pitching to a 7.04 ERA over 30 2/3 innings.  He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Twins.

Back on November 19th, the Phillies signed infielder Reid Brignac to a minor league contract.  Brignac played in parts of five seasons with the Rays beginning in 2008.  In 2013, he bounced from the Rays to the Rockies to the Yankees and back to the Rockies, where he hit a combined .114 over 17 games.  Brignac has the honor of having the most recent mainstream baseball card among the first seven non-roster invitee, having appeared in the recently released Topps Update series.

Finally, the Phillies brought back Andres Blanco who spent the 2012 season with the Triple-A IronPigs, but found himself out of baseball last season.  Blanco last appeared in the Majors in 2011 with  the Rangers.

So here are your first seven Phillies non-roster invitees.  There's got to be a diamond in the rough somewhere in there.  Right?

Player (position) - 2013 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance

1.  Shawn Camp (rhp) - Cubs/Diamondbacks - 2012 Topps Update #US238 (Cubs)

2.  Leandro Castro (of) - Phillies - 2010 Topps Pro Debut #84 (Phillies)

3.  Cesar Jimenez (lhp) - Phillies - 2009 Upper Deck #857 (Mariners)

4.  Clete Thomas (of) - Twins - 2010 Topps #441 (Tigers)
5.  Reid Brignac (inf) - Yankees/Rockies - 2013 Topps Update #US206
6.  Andres Blanco (inf) - N/A - 2007 Topps #659 (Royals)
7.  Jeff Manship (rhp) - Rockies - 2010 Finest #141 (Twins)

Memory Lane

2013 Non-Roster Invitees