A plethora of action on the half field and adjacent mounds this morning - a day before the official opening of pitchers and catchers for spring training.
We watched Jose Alvarado, Gregory Soto, Michael Rucker, Tyler Phillips, Kolby Allard, Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Christopher Sanchez and Seranthony Dominguez throw bullpens. I missed Zack Wheeler’s bullpen - he threw yesterday afternoon.
David Buchanan (just recently signed to a minor league contract) also threw a bullpen. The 34 year old right hander has pitched in two foreign leagues the past seven years - from 2017 to 2019 he pitched for Yakult in the Japanese Nippon League and from 2020 thru 2023 he pitched for Samsung in the Korean Baseball Organization. He notched double digit wins in each of his four seasons in Korea and posted an overall 54-28 record with a 3.02 ERA in 113 games (all starts) amassing 699.2 IP. Buchanan pitched in parts of two seasons in the major leagues for the Phillies (2014 to 2015) appearing in 35 games (all starts) with a 5.01 ERA in 192.1 IP. He was the Phillies 7th round draft selection in 2010 from Georgia State University.
Infielders who participated in drills today included Bryson Stott, Scott Kingery, Weston Wilson, Matt Kroon and Alec Bohm. Center fielder Johan Rojas is also here once again as is Brandon Marsh. JT Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs along with Rafael Marchan, Aramis Garcia, Cody Roberts and William Simoneit were the catchers receiving bullpen pitches.
Minor League Pre Mini Camp :
A few players who participated in High Performance Camp (finished on 2/9/24) decided to stay put this week rather than venture home in order to continue training before Minor League Mini-Camp opens on Monday. Ten pitchers threw off the mounds (seven mounds area) either to a catcher or to the nine square target - Samuel Aldegheri, Micah Ottenbreit, Wesley Moore, Mitch Neunborn, Andrew Baker, Cristian Hernandez, Brett Schulze, Andrew Schultz, Parker Thompson and Andrew Walling. I was able to watch some of Cristian Hernandez’s session - from my vantage point he threw the baseball very well today to catcher Kehden Hettiger.
Florida Complex League News :
As posted by Baseball America today : “For 2024, the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues will begin and finish their seasons a month earlier than before. Last year, the two complex leagues began on June 5 and finished on Aug. 22. This year, they will begin on May 4 and will wrap up on July 25, which means the regular season will be complete just days after the 2024 MLB draft finishes.”
Roster News :
-RHP Kaleb Ort claimed off waivers from MIA. To make room on 40-man, INF Diego Castillo DFAd.
- Former Phillie David Buchanan signed minor league deal. He's in big league camp.
- Andrew Bellatti and Simón Muzziotti both outrighted to Triple-A. Both in big league camp.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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