We’ve made a concerted effort to get young, talented position players in our organization over the last couple of offseasons. We had one of the oldest rosters in the league during my first year in Philly (1987), but we’ve systematically churned the roster in an effort to build something that can sustain a certain success level over the near future. We expect to field a competitive team this season, while making no promises about the ultimate result. The fact that we managed to shed net payroll of $20mil+ positions us to be a much healthier (financially) organization going forward. No doubt the new 100% luxury tax penalty rule put into place this offseason got our attention after three straight years of exceeding the old, less punitive threshold.
We feel we’ve made ourselves a much deeper, talented offensive team this offseason. The past two seasons we were very limited in our abilities to absorb significant injuries because once you got past the starters, the roster was incredibly thin. We are hoping this new depth will allow us to weather storms that pop up during the season.
Catchers
C - Tex McLerlan - Age: 27 - Brought over just prior to the Rule V draft from Windy City. Our scout thinks he is ready to play and we’re going to give him a shot to do so. He had success in limited action in AAA last year (217 AB) and but for a paperwork snafu in WC, would not have been available to join our organization.
Infield
1B - Joe Seagarra - Age: 27 - If he can provide a season similar to 1988, we’ll take it. If he can produce an entire season similar to the second half of his ’88 season, we’ll love it. His uneven 1988 has been well documented and it will be interesting to see if he follows the same pattern again this year.
2B - Geoff Scott - Age: 23 - The best player on our team. He makes the transition to 2B from SS to make room for Raul Carbajal who was acquired in the offseason. He’s highly rated at both positions, so we’re worried about the switch. He put together one of the best seasons in club history in ’88 and we look forward to him building on that success as he matures into an even better hitter.
3B - Jim Newlin - Age: 29 - Last year’s 2B moves over to 3B to make room for Geoff Scott. He had what is probably a career year last year at the age of 28, setting the club record for RBI at 126. We can’t expect him to duplicate the success he had all year last year, but something close to it would be welcomed.
SS - Raul Carbajal - Age: 26 - Brought over in the Aurillo deal with Syracuse. Despite several successful years in the minors, the first game he appears in this year will be his first taste of the BLB. Injuries suffered in 1987 derailed his rise through the Slammers’ organization, but he’ll finally get his chance in Philly. Worst case scenario as we see it, he hits .240 | .300 | .380 and provides stellar defense at the SS position. Anything above that is pure gravy.
Outfielders
LF - Orinosuke Takahashi - Age: 24 - We couldn’t have been more pleased with O.T. during his first season in Philly. I take that back. I REALLY wish he hadn’t been hurt at the end of the season and missed the playoffs. Not sure if he makes a difference in a 7 game series with Washington, but it would have been nice to have our full compliment of players available to us for that series. When he was in the lineup last year he played an important role in our offense, mainly batting in the leadoff spot against RHP (against whom he posted a .380 OBP).
CF - Steve Bing - Age: 34 - Carries is AARP card out to CF. We think he’ll be productive while healthy, but the question is, how many games will he play? He might find it hard to fit in around the clubhouse considering the next oldest starting position player on the team is a full 5 year’s younger than him (Newlin).
RF - Dave Ibison - Age: 26 - This is a spot that seems to be very fluid in our OF. We’ve wanted Ibison to grab on to this spot for the last couple of seasons, but he was injured early on in ’87 and never got his season going that year. Last year was a bit of re-entrenchment year for young Ibison, so we’re hoping he is able to build on that moderate success level. Either way, as a starter or off the bench, he’s a great piece to have on hand because he can adequately play all three OF spots. The one truly maddening thing about him is his SB%. Is ratings would appear to indicate that he would be a somewhat decent stolen base threat, but he gets thrown out at a ridiculous %. We’ve essentially given him the stop sign at this point.
Bench
C - Victor Alveraz - Age: 23 - Suffered some growing pains last year as he was thrust into the everyday lineup before he was truly ready. He showed some more growth in the offseason, so we won’t hesitate to go with him if McLerlan struggles early. He can also play a little 1B if we need to give Seagarra a break here and there.
IF - Pete Summers - Age: 27 - A key piece added this offseason to strengthen one of our weakest areas: our bench. He’ll be a super sub and see time all over the infield.
OF - Jose Urra - Age: 33 - He’ll see a lot of playing time against LHP. He had a fine season in ’88 . . . .defensively. He struggled at the plate, but turned things around in September. He’s more suited at this point to his new role as 4th OFer/starter vs. LHP.
OF - Raul Velez - Age: 25 - Rule V pickup that we were surprised was available to us at our selection. Perfect 5th OFer type. He can play around the OF and won’t kill us with the bat, he might even excel.
Stay by the Phone - Minor Leaguers
OF - Pat Gibson - Another pickup right before the Rule V draft. We like this kid a lot. We could easily see him up on the big league team before the season is over and he’ll definitely get the first call if there are any injuries around the OF, which let’s face it, is not out of the question considering who we have roaming CF this season.
LINK
We feel we’ve made ourselves a much deeper, talented offensive team this offseason. The past two seasons we were very limited in our abilities to absorb significant injuries because once you got past the starters, the roster was incredibly thin. We are hoping this new depth will allow us to weather storms that pop up during the season.
Catchers
C - Tex McLerlan - Age: 27 - Brought over just prior to the Rule V draft from Windy City. Our scout thinks he is ready to play and we’re going to give him a shot to do so. He had success in limited action in AAA last year (217 AB) and but for a paperwork snafu in WC, would not have been available to join our organization.
Infield
1B - Joe Seagarra - Age: 27 - If he can provide a season similar to 1988, we’ll take it. If he can produce an entire season similar to the second half of his ’88 season, we’ll love it. His uneven 1988 has been well documented and it will be interesting to see if he follows the same pattern again this year.
2B - Geoff Scott - Age: 23 - The best player on our team. He makes the transition to 2B from SS to make room for Raul Carbajal who was acquired in the offseason. He’s highly rated at both positions, so we’re worried about the switch. He put together one of the best seasons in club history in ’88 and we look forward to him building on that success as he matures into an even better hitter.
3B - Jim Newlin - Age: 29 - Last year’s 2B moves over to 3B to make room for Geoff Scott. He had what is probably a career year last year at the age of 28, setting the club record for RBI at 126. We can’t expect him to duplicate the success he had all year last year, but something close to it would be welcomed.
SS - Raul Carbajal - Age: 26 - Brought over in the Aurillo deal with Syracuse. Despite several successful years in the minors, the first game he appears in this year will be his first taste of the BLB. Injuries suffered in 1987 derailed his rise through the Slammers’ organization, but he’ll finally get his chance in Philly. Worst case scenario as we see it, he hits .240 | .300 | .380 and provides stellar defense at the SS position. Anything above that is pure gravy.
Outfielders
LF - Orinosuke Takahashi - Age: 24 - We couldn’t have been more pleased with O.T. during his first season in Philly. I take that back. I REALLY wish he hadn’t been hurt at the end of the season and missed the playoffs. Not sure if he makes a difference in a 7 game series with Washington, but it would have been nice to have our full compliment of players available to us for that series. When he was in the lineup last year he played an important role in our offense, mainly batting in the leadoff spot against RHP (against whom he posted a .380 OBP).
CF - Steve Bing - Age: 34 - Carries is AARP card out to CF. We think he’ll be productive while healthy, but the question is, how many games will he play? He might find it hard to fit in around the clubhouse considering the next oldest starting position player on the team is a full 5 year’s younger than him (Newlin).
RF - Dave Ibison - Age: 26 - This is a spot that seems to be very fluid in our OF. We’ve wanted Ibison to grab on to this spot for the last couple of seasons, but he was injured early on in ’87 and never got his season going that year. Last year was a bit of re-entrenchment year for young Ibison, so we’re hoping he is able to build on that moderate success level. Either way, as a starter or off the bench, he’s a great piece to have on hand because he can adequately play all three OF spots. The one truly maddening thing about him is his SB%. Is ratings would appear to indicate that he would be a somewhat decent stolen base threat, but he gets thrown out at a ridiculous %. We’ve essentially given him the stop sign at this point.
Bench
C - Victor Alveraz - Age: 23 - Suffered some growing pains last year as he was thrust into the everyday lineup before he was truly ready. He showed some more growth in the offseason, so we won’t hesitate to go with him if McLerlan struggles early. He can also play a little 1B if we need to give Seagarra a break here and there.
IF - Pete Summers - Age: 27 - A key piece added this offseason to strengthen one of our weakest areas: our bench. He’ll be a super sub and see time all over the infield.
OF - Jose Urra - Age: 33 - He’ll see a lot of playing time against LHP. He had a fine season in ’88 . . . .defensively. He struggled at the plate, but turned things around in September. He’s more suited at this point to his new role as 4th OFer/starter vs. LHP.
OF - Raul Velez - Age: 25 - Rule V pickup that we were surprised was available to us at our selection. Perfect 5th OFer type. He can play around the OF and won’t kill us with the bat, he might even excel.
Stay by the Phone - Minor Leaguers
OF - Pat Gibson - Another pickup right before the Rule V draft. We like this kid a lot. We could easily see him up on the big league team before the season is over and he’ll definitely get the first call if there are any injuries around the OF, which let’s face it, is not out of the question considering who we have roaming CF this season.
LINK
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