Phillies Deal Jesse Biddle to Pirates
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies have traded a former first round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Homegrown lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle, recently removed from the 40-man roster and recovering from Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for the entirety of the 2016 season, was dealt away according to a report by Philly.com’s Matt Gelb.
The Phillies had designated the 24-year old for assignment last Friday, and had 10 days in which to either trade or release him, or expose him to waivers. That move had been made after the club signed free agent lefty reliever Bobby LaFromboise.
There was much speculation at the time that the team would attempt to get him through waivers, and return him to their minor league system until his recovery from the surgery.
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However, it apparently became obvious to the Phillies that Biddle was not going to make it through waivers. Simply releasing him would have meant that they would receive nothing for their 1st round choice at 27th overall in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.
It has not been announced as yet what the Phils will receive in return from the Bucs, but that return is not expected to be substantial. I will update this story if that information is released soon, and if it merits announcement.
Biddle was recently interviewd for a piece by Bob Brookover at Philly.com, and reported that he pitched through pain because he felt like he was close to the big leagues, and saw that the Phils were bringing in a lot more young talent.
“The feeling like I was close” was his thought, per Brookover. “I thought I just needed to string together some really good starts. But by the end of the season I was just worn out. But I made the choice to go out there and pitch and that’s what is on the back of my baseball card. It was my decision.”
Biddle grew up in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, and was drafted out of Germantown Friends High School after his graduation in June of 2010. He turned down an opportunity to attend the University of Oregon on a baseball scholarship to sign for a $1.16 million bonus with his hometown Phillies.
By 2012, Biddle had become the #1 prospect in the Phillies minor league organization. In April of 2013, Biddle set a team record with AA Reading when he struck out 16 batters in just 7 innings. He advanced as far as the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs last summer, and there was some speculation that he could receive a September call to the big leagues.
At the time that he was DFA’d last week, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak stated “If we’re able to slip him through waivers, we’ll be happy to keep him,” according to the Gelb article, further stating: “If not, we’ll be happy to put him in an opportunity that is good for him.”
It appears that the Phillies have done the latter, placing him with a Pittsburgh organization that will, at least for now, be able to keep him on their 40-man roster until his surgery recovery. It is expected that, barring any major setbacks, Biddle will be able and ready to participate when 2017 spring training camps open.