Phillies make a slew of transactions

With free agency starting and decisions needing to be made, the Phillies are beginning to set their roster in anticipation of being able to have some turnover. The other day, we saw them decline options of Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera. Yesterday, we saw some more.

The first move saw them claim Ryan Sherriff off of waivers from the Rays. Sherriff didn’t pitch much in the majors the past two seasons, throwing a combined 24 ¹⁄₃ innings for Tampa Bay. Only 14 ²⁄₃ of those innings came last year, where he struck out 22.2% of batters and walked 12.5% of them. He’s not much in the way of depth, but he also still has minor league options left, meaning the team can move him back and forth between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley pretty easily. He’s no more than depth move that the team can let go of if needed.

Seeing these six players let go shouldn’t be surprising either. Rosso wasn’t going to be in Philadelphia and his roster spot was more important than trying to keep developing him. Jankowski filled a role nicely last season, but again, the roster spot is needed. He and Torreyes could still be brought back on minor league deals, but they probably will move on. Somewhere, Joe Girardi weeps.

The Odubel Herrera Era looks to be officially over, but again, he could come back on a minor league deal and give the team depth in case other options don’t make it. Let’s hope that’s not the case.

Andrew Knapp served as a solid backup catcher for a few years, giving a solid rapport with the pitching staff and being a good clubhouse guy, but at some point you have to hit. He has not done that for some time now, the pandemic season notwithstanding. As with the others, he might be minor league depth, but that feels unlikely.

More moves should be coming soon, but for now, we can see part of a plan forming where the team is lopping off some of the chaff from the roster.