Spring Training Game 28 - Phils Head North to Begin '21 Season

2019 Choice Williamsport
Crosscutters #27

Blue Jays 13, Phillies 7
Spring Training Game 28 - Monday Afternoon, March 29th in Clearwater
Record - 12-15-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies bullpen decided to pay tribute one last time to the 2020 team in this 13-7 drubbing by the Blue Jays in the final exhibition game of 2021

What It Means:  It wasn't pretty, but at least this spring training came to its natural conclusion instead of the sudden jolt of a stop we experienced last year.

What Happened:  Zach Eflin went five strong innings, allowing one earned run while scattering 8 hits.  The bullpen trio of Hector Neris, Jose Alvarado and Tyler Carr combined to allow 11 runs on 9 hits over 1 2/3 innings of work.  After starting the spring strong, Alvarado has looked Brandon Workman-like in his final few spring games.  The Phillies offense banged out 12 hits, led by solo home runs from Bryce Harper (his 4th) and Bryson Stott (his 1st).  Adam Haseley had two hits and a stolen base on the way to earning a spot on the opening day roster.

2021 Chachi Almost #5

Featured Card:  Stott, the team's top draft pick in 2019, looked good this spring and I'm looking forward to seeing him soon at Citizens Bank Park.  This is the first card of his I added to my collection, from the 2019 Williamsport Crosscutters team set.

Camp Head Count:  47 - 20 - 1 = 26.  None of the 20 mini-camp invitees made the club, including Odubel Herrera, so I'll subtract those 20 players from the tally.  C.J. Chatham (inf) was released to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and non-roster invitees Matt Joyce (of) and Brandon Kintzler (rhp) had their contracts selected.  At this point, the only thing left to do is to clear another 40-man roster spot for Ronald Torreyes (inf) who also made the team.  That leaves Neftali Feliz (rhp) as the last remaining non-roster invitee and hopefully he accepts an assignment to the minor league camp.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Reliever Bradley Headlines Trio of Phillies Additions

2021 Chachi New Additions #6

2021 Chachi New Additions #7

2021 Chachi New Additions #5

It may appear The Phillies Room has been dormant over the past few weeks, but behind the scenes we've started stretching, playing some long toss and dusting off our custom baseball card creation software in preparation of the 2021 baseball season.  Despite the best efforts of a worldwide pandemic and continued national unrest, we're getting closer to pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater in mid-February.

Admittedly, I've not been excited by the Phillies offseason and it seems as if player moves have been infrequent and inconsequential.  But on Monday morning, the first player move to cause a flicker of excitement at Phillies Room HQ was officially announced.  The Phillies signed free-agent relief pitcher Archie Bradley to a one-year deal, with Bradley expected to fill a key back of the bullpen role, potentially serving as the team's closer.  In 16 games last season, Bradley was 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 6 saves for the Diamondbacks and Reds.  To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Kyle Garlick was designated for assignment.

Bradley's first baseball card appearance came in the 2011 Bowman Draft set, and he began appearing in the Topps flagship sets in 2015.  Last year, he had readily available cards in Topps flagship, Topps Chrome, Topps Gypsy Queen and Topps Heritage.

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As Bradley was being introduced via a Zoom press conference, the Phillies announced they had acquired infielder C.J. Chatham from the Red Sox for a player to be named later.  Chatham is expected to provide some much needed infield depth in 2021.  Reliever Victor Arano was designated for assignment to make room for Chatham on the 40-man roster.

Chatham was a 2nd round selection by the Red Sox in 2016, and he last played for their Double-A team in Portland in 2019.  His most recent mainstream card can be found in the 2020 Topps Heritage Minor League set.

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Way back on January 9th, the Phillies acquired reliever Sam Coonrod from the Giants for pitching prospect Carson Ragsdale.  Ragsdale was the Phillies' 4th round pick in the 2020 draft and he had yet to play at any level officially within their minor league system.  Coonrod went 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA in 18 games last season with the Giants.  His latest mainstream card can be found in the 2020 Topps Heritage set, and he made his Topps flagship set debut on a multi-player rookie card in 2019 Topps Update.

* * *

Finally, the Phillies announced their full coaching staff for 2021 back on January 11th.  Jim Gott is officially out as the bullpen coach with David Lundquist sliding over to the bullpen from the assistant pitching coach role he filled last season.  In lieu of a new assistant pitching coach in 2021, the Phillies have named Mike Calitri their Quality Assurance Coach, and if I told you I knew what that meant, I'd be lying.

Departures - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Deolis Guerra - rhp (10/14/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jose Alvarez - lhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jake Arrieta - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Jay Bruce - of (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Didi Gregorius - ss (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Tommy Hunter - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• J.T. Realmuto - c (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Brandon Workman - rhp (10/28/20) - Elected free agency.
• Phil Gosselin - inf (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Heath Hembree - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Adam Morgan - lhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• Blake Parker - rhp (10/30/20) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency.
• David Phelps - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• David Robertson - rhp (10/30/20) - Club option declined, elected free agency.
• Reggie McClain - rhp (12/10/20) - Selected by the Yankees in the minor league portion of the annual rule 5 draft.
• Trevor Kelley - rhp (12/14/20) - Signed a minor league contract with the Chicao Cubs.
• Garrett Cleavinger - lhp (12/29/20) - Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Phillies receiving Jose Alvarado in exchange from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Coming Back - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Ronald Torreyes - inf (10/15/20) - Elected free agency, re-signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent (1/4/21).

New Additions - 2020-2021 Offseason

• Johan Quezada - rhp (10/30/20) - Claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
• Ian Hamilton - rhp (12/7/20) Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
• Kyle Holder - inf (12/10/20) - Selected from the Yankees in the annual rule 5 draft.
• Jose Alvarado - lhp (12/29/20) - Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays with the Dodgers receiving Garrett Cleavinger in exchange.
• Sam Coonrod - rhp (1/9/21) - Acquired from the San Francisco Giants for Carson Ragsdale.
• Archie Bradley - rhp (1/18/21) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cincinnati Reds.
• C.J. Chatham - inf (1/18/21) - Acquired from the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later.