10/31/25 : Off-Season Chatter
- Steve Potter
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
The Hot Stove :
No later than Saturday evening the 2025 pro baseball season will officially conclude with either the Toronto Blue Jays or the Los Angeles Dodgers being crowned as champions. That means the off-season kicks off in earnest and the hot stove chatter becomes the everyday norm. Folks will speculate on what moves their favorite teams might make, worry about salary thresholds as if they were footing the bill themselves and offer unsolicited opinion on what the clubs should do.
The other day as I was entering the Acme a fella saw me with my Reading Phillies hat and my Phantasy Camp jacket on and felt obligated to shout to me that the Phillies should “do what the Blue Jays did” offering details on how to do so 🤓. Gotta love the local Philly fan passion - that’s something I didn’t see or hear when living in the Clearwater area. On the flip side didn’t hear as much negativity in Clearwater either. Is what it is. By the way the folks in Florida owe my wife and I a debt of gratitude - ever since we moved back to PA there’s been no hurricanes in the sunshine state - just sayin 🤷♂️.
The Phillies Forty :
Major League Free Agency officially kicks in the day after the World Series ends - so this Sunday. That begins the five day exclusive rights period for teams to re-sign their own free agents before they can negotiate with other teams. The Phillies will have nine free agents : Walker Buehler, Max Kepler, Tim Mayza, J.T. Realmuto, David Robertson, Jordan Romano, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez and Lou Trivino. Two more fellas have their status undecided pending on the exercising of options (Jose Alvarado and Harrison Bader). Those option decisions must also be made with five days after the World Series ends. So potentially the Phillies will have eleven open roster spots on their forty man roster by the end of next week. It says here though that Alvarado’s option will be picked up so it’s most likely ten spots open.
Trades :
Teams can make trades once again the day after the World Series finale. Discussions have likely been ongoing but Sunday is the first day transactions can occur.
Minor League Free Agents :
Minor League Free Agency also officially kicks in one day after the World Series ends but akin to the Major Leaguers they can’t sign with new teams until a five day “quiet period” expires during which their current teams have exclusive negotiating rights. The Phillies will have eighteen pending minor league free agents : Christian Arroyo, Phil Bickford, Josh Breaux, Eiberson Castellano, Rodolfo Castro,Nick Dunn, Payton Henry, Brewer Hicklen, Marcus Lee Sang, Matt Manning, Gunner Mayer.
Adonis Medina, Oscar Mercado,Gabe Mosser,Leandro Pineda,Lucas Sims,Luis Verdugo and Jacob Waguespack.
Erick Brito, Andrew Bechtold and Gabriel Barbosa re-signed minor league contracts with the Phillies foregoing free agency.
Minor League Options :
Phillies players on the forty man roster with remaining minor league options include Otto Kemp, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, Jhoan Duran, Orion Kerkering, Tanner Banks, Daniel Robert, Max Lazar, Nolan Hoffman, Moises Chase, Jean Cabrera, Alan Rangel and Michael Mercado. Players out of options include Weston Wilson, Garrett Stubbs, Seth Johnson and Rafael Marchan. That means in Spring Training that those four players must either make the big club else pass thru waivers to be assigned to the minor leagues. Minor league options are huge during the course of a long season - they are an absolute in roster management in shuttling reserves back and forth.
Rule Five :
The Phillies have forty players eligible for the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft - players must be added to the 40 man roster by 6 PM EDT on 11/18 to be protected from the draft which is scheduled for 12/10 at 2 PM as one of the last events of the Winter Meetings. I anticipate that pitchers Andrew Painter and Alex McFarlane along with outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr will be added to the roster and protected. Pitcher Griff McGarry is also likely getting strong consideration. If an organization selects a player in the major league portion of the draft that player must remain on the active 26 man roster the entire season else be offered back to their original club. There are some under the radar names that the Phillies don’t seem likely to protect that I think other clubs will consider selecting - RHP Saul Teran is one that comes to mind, I know of at least one organization that has strong interest. Can’t protect em all - I am in the process of writing my annual player notes which I began publishing each day on 10/13 - I provide more details on each player in those articles. Please read ‘em - I spend a good bit of time writing them - they’re pretty good - just sayin 🤔🤓.
Player Development Staff Openings :
Phillies Lower Level Pitching Coordinator Vic Diaz has decided to leave the organization and accept a Director’s position with Elite Sports Advising which is a College Baseball recruiting service that helps high school players in the collegiate commitment process. Coach Diaz was with the Phillies from November of 2022 thru this October. He holds a degree from Old Dominion University in Sports Management. One of my favorites who always said hello when I saw him at the Complex. We wish him nothing but the best in his new endeavor. Jersey Shore Hitting Coach Matt Snyder and Clearwater Bullpen Pitching Coach Tyler Higgins have also decided to leave the organization. Reading Hitting Coach Tommy Slater is also leaving the organization - he’s going to the University of Florida as Associate Head Coach.
Power Arms :
Knowledgeable baseball folks have said to me that the 2025 group of pitchers drafted and/or signed by the Phillies may be one of the strongest in recent club history in regard to stuff and the ability to get to the show. I’ve seen a few of them throw in person and am anxious to watch them all when I get back to Florida in January for High Performance Camp Two. I’ve completed my off season articles on the pitchers - the last five will be published next week. College power arms like Gabe Craig and Brian Walters have already turned heads with their stuff and could be quick risers once play begins - all detailed in my player profile articles 😎.
Australian Winter League :
I’ve known for a while now thru various connections the fellas chosen to play in Australia this year - with the Australian Baseball League slated to begin play on 11/12 (the league consists of four teams this year) the following Phillies minor leaguers will open play for the Adelaide Giants and Manager Chris “Tank” Adamson who is also the bench coach for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Clearwater Coach Nerluis Martinez will also be on the Adelaide staff this season. LHP Camron Hill, RHP Giussepe Velasquez, RHP Danyony Pulido, Catcher Alirio Ferrebus and outfielder/second-baseman Devin Saltiban will be on the Adelaide opening day roster with a few other players likely joining the club later. Catcher Mitchell Edwards, infielder Nick Ward, outfielder Jordan McArdle, LHP Lachlan Wells and RHP Todd Van Steensel are former Phillies minor leaguers who will also play this season for the Giants. Former Phillies minor league first baseman Rixon Wingrove will be playing for the Brisbane Bandits.
Happy Day, Happy Halloween, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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