Jun 23, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Michael Martinez (7) in the on deck circle during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Rays 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Update: Ender Inciarte was selected by the Phillies with the 15th pick of the 2012 Rule 5 Draft.  Inciarte is a 22 year old left handed hitting outfielder. In 2012 he hit .307 with 2 HR and 47 RBI with stops in the Midwest League (A South Bend) and the California League (High A Visalia).

In the minor league portion, the Phillies selected Brendan Lafferty, a left handed pitcher from the Kansas City Royals.  In 2012, he recorded a .447 ERA in 60.1 innings for Northwest Arkansas of the Texas League (AA).

At 10 am EST time, one of the most insignificant portions of the baseball calendar will occur, the Rule 5 Draft.  On this day each year, players with more than 3 or 4 years of experience after they originally signed but left off of the 40 man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

As Phillies fans, we are well aware of some very notable names that have been selected through Rule 5.  There are also many names that we do not remember because they were offered back to their original team.

The most famous and successful Rule 5 selection in recent Phillies history was also offered back to his original team, the Dodgers, who declined.  Thus, Shane Victorino, after being selected back in 2004, made his debut taking over for Bobby Abreu in right field in 2006. The rest is history.

More recently than Shane, the Phillies have taken David Herndon and Michael Martinez in the Rule 5 Draft.  Even though both stuck around with the Major League club for while, most of us wondered why.

They are required to remain on the active 25-man roster for 90 days, but most of us wondered why they weren’t offered back to begin with. Were the Phils really afraid Mini Mart was going to turn into the next great infielder if sent back to the Nationals?

Not with a batting average of .188 in his 2 year stint.  He did play all over the field, and he did have some wheels, but it ended there.

Herndon took some heat from all of us in Philly, but he actually didn’t have such a bad tenure.  It wasn’t stellar, but it wasn’t all bad either.  If it weren’t for Tommy John surgery last year, he may even still be a Phillie.  Clearly the Yankees weren’t too afraid to claim him off of waivers in October.

Last year at this time, the Phillies did not make a selection in the Rule 5 Draft.  This year they do have space on the 40-man roster, currently at 36, but they also need to fill those spots with a few important pieces.  You know which ones I’m talking about.

This year’s crop of eligible players is pitching heavy, as is the top of the Phillies farm system.  I would be surprised if they take one of the many projected relievers in this year’s Rule 5.  Of course, whoever they take is a long shot to become the next Shane Victorino or Josh Hamilton. If they make a selection, odds are he turns out to be more like Robert Mosebach, who the Phils selected in 2009.

We will wait with curiosity to see who, if anyone, the Phillies select with the 15^th pick today.

Michael L. Stein-US PRESSWIRE

While the Phillies stand pat for the moment, allowing rumors to form and circulate in order to maintain a thick curtain of illusion before striking at a moment’s notice with some move that shocks the world, David Herndon’s offseason odyssey continues!

All year long, he was one of the guys that, boy, if we’d had in the bullpen, maybe it wouldn’t be such a piece of crap.  Or maybe it would!  That’s the fun of speculation.  It’s totally made up and basically irrelevant.  Sadly, any made-up whatevers about David became especially irrelevant after he left the team.  The Blue Jays snagged the recently repaired, 27-year-old righty reliever, and that was the end.

I wish David Herndon would make a blog updating us all on how he’s recovering from his surgery.. I mean maybe I’d be the only one to read it

— Alexa (@lexuhbooz) July 27, 2012

Having just dropped his luggage in front of [famous Toronto destination], staring up at the [famous Toronto skyscraper] in wide-eyed glee, David was notified by [famous Toronto personality] that he had just been plucked off waivers by a team called the New York Yankees.

Back on the bus he trudged, the whistling snow at his back, letting him wonder once more, what might have been?  The Toronto chapter of the David Herndon Story will be somewhat abbreviated and probably be the chapter right before the eight pages of personal photographs.  The Philadelphia one will be full of glorious recaps of intense, long relieving opportunities.  But now, caught in the Yankees net, David has a future ahead of him of contracts signed in bodily fluids; the endless cackle of unseeable demons in the clubhouse–interrupted occasionally by the “Are you gonna finish that’s?” of C.C. Sabathia–and the taste of ash in his mouth as he enters the sinister, labyrinthine world of Yankees baseball.

Best of luck to you, David; as the soulless eyes of your fellow players beg for death and the sound of crows squawking overhead haunt your afternoons.  We can only pray you have been put back together strong enough.

With Ty Wigginton, Michael Martinez, and most of the coaching staff, the Phillies have spent the past few weeks trimming the fat, or in the case of David Herndon, watching the fat get trimmed.  By Blue Jays.

It sounds awful, but what actually happened is that the 27-year-old righty was out on waivers, like you do, and the Blue Jays decided he was exactly the kind of pitcher they need in Toronto. Which is not surprising.  Herndon, along with Michael Stutes, spent most of 2012 being the “Oh yeah; that guy,” of the Phillies’ “DL Updates” throughout the year.  The assumption was, he’d be part of a giant pitching collective in 2013 that would be molded in the preseason to fit the best possible bullpen scenario.

It is not to be; now, Herndon is gone, and all we have left to remember him by is that play in the 19-inning Wilson Valdez Fiasco of 2011.  The Blue Jays had recently claimed Tyson Brummet off waivers as well, then DFA’d him to make room for Herndon, indicating either poor planning or a case of mistaken identity by their scouting department.

Either way, let us salute ‘Ol Herndy’s departure with a nickname he never received and a video clip of his finest hour.