Phillies: Breaking down the 40-man roster
The Phillies roster stands to receive a major facelift this offseason
After their atrocious downfall in the final six weeks of the season the Phillies have major questions to answer regarding their 2019 roster. The 25-man major league roster and the 40-man roster will see some major changes through trades, free agent signings, and promotions.
Where does the Phillies 40-man roster stand going into an offseason with more questions than answers?
To start off, several players are candidates to be designated for assignment this offseason. Drew Anderson, Mitch Walding, and Yacksel Rios are all likely candidates. While they’re under team control for many more years, their production likely doesn’t match what others can bring.
Twelve players are eligible for arbitration, including Aaron Nola, Cesar Hernandez, and Maikel Franco. Pedro Florimon is eligible for arbitration, but his price tag as a bench player coming off an injury won’t be substantial. The same goes for Aaron Altherr, who likely lost a job to Roman Quinn. The Phillies can always decide against offering arbitration to a player and simply move on, something they might do with Florimon.
Trades will also open/close holes on the 40-man roster this offseason. Carlos Santana, Hernandez, Franco, and Odubel Herrera are all on the trade block.
There are also a handful of players eligible for free agency, and the team is expected to do more than dip their toe into the market.
Free Agency
The Phillies have just four players on their major league roster set to hit free agency: Wilson Ramos, Jose Bautista, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Aaron Loup. All of them were acquired at the trade deadline and performed at various levels during their short stints in Philadelphia.
Of those four, Ramos is the only one I believe the organization will attempt to bring back. That opens up three spots on the 40-man roster for prospects and free agents. Ramos returning isn’t a guarantee
The Phillies are favorites to add a marquee free agent this offseason, and the two most notable names are Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. While it’s possible the Phillies could sign both Harper and Machado, it’s more likely they get one or the other.
There’s also room to add another pitcher such as Patrick Corbin or Dallas Kuechel to the rotation, or another veteran to the bullpen. Superstars such as Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, and Zach Britton headline the class, while Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, Jeurys Familia, and Kelvin Herrera could be just as effective for much less.
Philadelphia also must protect prospects eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.
Rule 5 Draft
The Rule 5 Draft is complicated and knowing who is and isn’t eligible can be tricky. Here’s the official rule pertaining to who is eligible:
Players who were signed when they were 19 or older and have played in professional baseball for four years are eligible, as are players who were signed at 18 and have played for five years.
As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com breaks down, the Phillies have five prospects in their top-30 who must be placed on the 40-man roster to avoid losing them to the Rule 5 Draft this winter: Adonis Medina (No. 3), shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa (No. 11), second baeman Daniel Brito (No. 12), infielder Jose Gomez (No. 16) and right-hander Tom Eshelman (No. 27)
Medina will absolutely be protected from the Rule 5 Draft being one of the top prospects not just in the organization but in all of baseball.
The tricky aspect of the Rule 5 Draft is predicting whether or not a team will claim a really young prospect. Players claimed in the Rule 5 Draft must remain with the claiming team’s major league club for the entire season, or else the team must offer that player back to his original club.
Would a team put in a Rule 5 claim on Gamboa, who played last season with High-A Clearwater and is just 21-years-old? Same goes for Brito and Gomez, who also played in Clearwater last year.
Had Eshelman been effective in 2018 like he had in 2017 when he won 13 games with a 2.40 ERA, he’d be a lock for Rule 5 protection.
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After going from 13-3 to 2-13 with Lehigh Valley do the Phillies want to protect someone at the bottom of their prospect list whose ceiling is likely a bottom of the rotation arm?
Unfortunately the Phillies will have to protect their prospects before free agency opens up. They can always protect Eshelman then designate him for assignment if needed, but I would not be surprised if the Phillies don’t protect Eshelman.
It’s possible the Phillies only protect two or three prospects eligible for free agency with the hope that no one picks them because they aren’t major league ready.
Next. Phillies end of season awards. dark
Overall I expect there to be as many as 12 vulnerable spots on the 40-man roster between trades, free agency, and the Rule 5 Draft. Realistically there won’t be that many players moved, but in an offseason expected to be littered with moves, we could see some major shakeups to the Phillies roster come opening day.