12/4/25 : Just Sayin - Minors News and Notes

The baseball off-season affords players opportunities to conduct “normal life” - sometimes “normal life” includes lifetime events. Congrats are in order to Gabriel Rincones Jr and Tommy McCollum who each got married and to Mavis Graves and Marcus Lee Sang who each got engaged. Best wishes to each of the four couples!

I’ve read and heard reports that the Phillies minor league system is “top heavy” - in past years some would say that the talent base was all at the lower levels 🤷‍♂️ - either observation was made with seeming discontent. Isn’t it a good thing to have multiple players at the “top” of the organizational rungs pushing for major league opportunities? I don’t get the critique (if it’s meant as one) - on the other hand how many can actually judge the talent level at the lower levels (especially the new draftees - many of whom haven’t made their pro debuts yet) when those players are in their earliest stages of development? It’s all subjective - is why I prefer and take the approach to observe and write on each individual player rather than creating arbitrary rankings - just saying - more often than not such rankings seem to be proven inaccurate anyways.

The Rule 5 draft will take place on 12/10/25 as one of the last events of the Winter Meetings. The Phillies in the past three off-seasons have been very much involved in the minor league portion of the draft - last off season (2024) they selected six players (one - RHP Gabriel Barbosa remains on the organization roster), in 2023 they selected five players (1B Carson Taylor and C Luis Caicuto remain with the organization from that draft) and lost four players. In the 2022 draft they selected seven players including infielder Oliver Dunn (who then had a standout 2023 season with Reading and was traded in that off-season to the Brewers where he made his major league debut in 2024) and lost five players. None of the seven selected in 2022 remain with the organization. This year the trend will likely continue as it’s an effective way to fill out minor league rosters and perhaps find a gem in the mix as well.

We are currently in the “dead period” as instituted by MLB where organized workouts at team facilities for minor league players is prohibited. The restriction lasts till after the calendar year of 2026 begins. The next organizational gathering for the Phillies will be 1/19/26 when winter High Performance Camp begins at the complex. The camp will last till 2/13/26 and will be followed by Minor League Mini-Camp with first workouts slated for 2/18/26 - that camp will run thru 2/27/26. The full Minor League Spring Training Camp first workout will be on 3/2/26 with games against other organizations tentatively slated to begin on 3/10/26. Lehigh Valley will break camp on 3/22/26 with Reading/Jersey Shore/Clearwater breaking camp on 3/28/26. Lehigh Valley opens their regular season on 3/27 while the other three affiliates beginning regular season play on 4/2/26 and 4/3/26. Personally I report back to the Clearwater Complex for my daily Player Development Center coverage on 1/13/26 and will return back to PA on 4/4/26 - just sayin 🤓.

Minor League roster notes of interest to date (at least to me) - just sayin 😎

Phillies off-season Minor League signings thus far : 9

OF Bryan De La Cruz - is ripping it in Dominican Winter League - .309/.376/.509 slash line in 125 PA’s - .885 OPS, 5 HR, 28 RBIs

INF Liover Peguero - played last season with AAA Indianapolis (Pirates organization)

RHP Colin Peluse - played last season with Midland (A’s organization)

LHP Adam Seminaris - played last season with AA Arkansas (Mariners organization)

RHP MT Morrissey - UDFA - signed from a Virginia Showcase (Tread Athletics) event

UTL Erick Brito  - re-signed to minor league contract

RHP Gabriel Barbosa  - re-signed to minor league contract

RHP Andrew Bechtold  - re-signed to minor league contract

RHP Michael Mercado - re-signed to minor league contract

Former Phillies off-season minor league signings thus far : 9

1B Joey Meneses - A’s

C Abrahan Gutierrez - A’s

UTL Rodolfo Castro - Blue Jays

RHP Robert Stock - Mets

OF Brewer Hicklen - Braves

RHP Beau Burrows - Pirates

INF Scott Kingery - Cubs

OF Leandro Pineda - Nationals

RHP Eiberson Castellano - Rockies

Former Phillies Mjnor Leaguers now on the 40 man rosters of other organizations : 28

Atlanta Braves : RHP Carson Ragsdale - 2020 Phillies 4th round pick - University of South Florida

Miami Marlins : RHP Tyler Phillips -  with Phillies from 2021 to 2025 - majors in 2024 - acquired by Phillies in waiver claim 2021

Chicago Cubs : RHP Ben Brown - 2017 Phillies 33rd round pick - Ward Melville HS, NY

St Louis Cardinals : LHP JoJo Romero - 2016 Phillies 4th round pick - Yavapai JC, AZ

San Diego Padres : LHP Kyle Hart - with Phillies in 2023 - pitched at Lehigh Valley & RHP Nick Pivetta - with Phillies 2015 to 2020 - acquired in trade by Phillies 7/28/15 from Nationals

San Francisco Giants : LHP Erik Miller - 2019 Phillies 4th round pick - Stanford

Colorado Rockies : OF Mickey Moniak - 2016 Phillies 1st round pick - La Costa Canyon HS, CA

Toronto Blue Jays : RHP Jeff Hoffman - with Phillies 2023 to 2024 - signed as free agent 3/31/23 & C Tyler Heineman - with Phillies 2021 - signed as free agent 7/3/21 - played with LHV in 2021

Tampa Rays : LHP Garrett Cleavinger - with Phillies 2017 to 2020 - acquired in trade 7/29/17 from Orioles - pitched at Reading

Cleveland Guardians : LHP Connor Brogdon - 2017 Phillies 10th round draft pick - Lewis-Clark State - traded to Dodgers 4/6/24

Detroit Tigers : INF Hao Yu Lee - signed by Phillies as international free agent 6/15/21 - traded to Tigers 8/1/23 & UTL Matt Vierling - 2018 Phillies 5th round draft pick - Notre Dame - traded to Tigers 1/7/23

Kansas City Royals : LHP Bailey Falter - 2015 Phillies 5th round draft pick - Chino Hills HS, CA & RHP James McArthur - 2018 Phillies 12th round draft pick - University of Mississippi

Minnesota Twins : RHP Mick Abel - 2020 Phillies 1st round pick - Jesuit HS, Portland, OR - traded to Twins 7/30/25, UTL Kody Clemens - with Phillies 2023 to 2025 - acquired in trade 1/7/23 from Tigers, traded to Twins 4/26/25 & OF Hendry Mendez - with Phillies 2023 to 2025 - acquired in trade 11/14/23 from Brewers, traded to Twins 7/31/25

Chicago White Sox : LHP Tyler Gilbert - 2015 Phillies 6th round draft pick - traded to White Sox 1/1/25 & INF Curtis Mead - signed by Phillies as international free agent 5/4/18 - traded to Rays 11/20/19

Seattle Mariners : SS JP Crawford - 2013 Phillies 1st round pick - traded to Mariners 12/3/18

Houston Astros : RHP Enyel De Los Santos - with Phillies 2017 to 2021 - acquired in trade with Padres 12/15/17

Athletics :RHP Michael Kelly - with Phillies 2021 to 2022 - signed as free agent 11/28/21 - pitched at LHV & with Phillies in 2022 & C Austin Wynns - with Phillies in 2022 - signed as free agent 3/19/22 - played at LHV

Los Angeles Angels : LHP Sam Aldegheri - signed by Phillies as international free agent 7/2/19 - traded to Angels 7/27/24, C Travis d’Arnaud - 2007 Phillies C-A round pick - Lakewood HS, CA - traded to Blue Jays 12/16/09 & C Logan O’Hoppe - 2018 Phillies 23rd round pick - St John the Baptist HS, NY - traded to Angels 8/2/22

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

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