Phillies make their first round of roster moves

The Phillies announced their first round of moves in what promises to be an eventful offsesaon.

Some of this just roster cleanup. No one really expected the likes of Phil Gosselin, Heath Hembree or David Robertson back with the team, Robertson especially at the price his option was at. David Phelps had an option of $4.25 million for 2021, so the fact that he wasn’t brought back should tell you all you need to know about the coming market for free agents. If they are cutting him, even as poorly as he pitched while here, they must be reading the market and seeing they can find someone close to what he can give at a much more cost effective number.

Before you freak out about Hector Neris, re-read that paragraph again. They keep him on the 40-man roster; he’ll just cost them much less (or so they think) if he goes through the arbitration process. It’s an interesting gambit, but one that might save them a few million.

Johan Quezada coming over from the Marlins is an interesting move. He throws very, very hard, something the current Phillies roster lacks.

He’s also really, really, really wild. In his minor league career, Quezada has thrown 183 innings, has 184 strikeouts and 150 WALKS ALLOWED!!!!!!!

AND 70 WILD PITCHES!!

He makes Mitch Williams look like Greg Maddux by comparison. However, he’s young, cheap and has minor league options left, something that many teams will value over this offseason, not just the Phillies.

There will be more moves to come, but these aren’t the worst ones to start out with.