Phillies Sign Ronny Cedeno as the Offseason Madness Continues

Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

This offseason has offered nothing but excitement for Phillies fans.  Just about every week, we’ve heard news of yet another big name acquisition: Marlon Byrd! Wil Nieves! Brad Lincoln! Fausto Carmona!  Roberto Hernandez!  (Note: As it turns out, those last two players are apparently the same guy.)  It felt like we were one step away from Vince Young declaring the Phillies to be a “Dream Team.”

It seemed like the excitement had died down recently, and that we were done with all of the big moves.  But just as Phillies fans were starting comfortable, they were hit with another shocker: The team has signed infielder Ronny Cedeno to a minor league deal.

I’m sure that everyone is familiar with Cedeno, but in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a little bit of background: He’s 30 years old and has played for six teams in his nine-year career.  In 2013, Cedeno split time between the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. In 89 games, he batted a fairly representative .242 to go along with three homers.  Defensively, he is regarded as being inconsistent.  He has the talent to make an outstanding play, but also tends to botch routine grounders.

If this doesn’t serve as a wakeup call to Reid Brignac, I don’t know what will.  Brignac and Cedeno have both been invited to the big league camp at Spring Training and will likely wage a spirited battle to see who will be third on the Phillies depth chart at shortstop. To think, everyone was worried that they’d never be able to adequately replace Michael Martinez. I think that the void his departure caused has been more than adequately filled.

Are the Phillies finished for now?  Or do they have more shocking moves in store?  Stay tuned!  (For the record, I believe Vince Young is available.)