Phillies add INF Phil Gosselin to 30-man Opening Day roster
By Matt Rappa
West Chester native Phil Gosselin has made the Phillies’ Opening Day roster
The Philadelphia Phillies have added a fourth player to their 40-man roster and, specifically, 30-man Opening Day roster, ahead of the team’s first of 60 games Friday evening against the Miami Marlins.
The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Phil Gosselin; he was slated to make the cut all along, but could not be officially named along with his 29 other big-league teammates on Thursday due to general manager Matt Klentak having to “work through contract stuff,” notes The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro.
To make room for Gosselin on the 40-man roster, the organization designated once highly regarded infielder prospect Arquimedes Gamboa for assignment.
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Other players the Phillies recently purchased their contract and subsequently added to their major-league roster include right-handed relievers Trevor Kelley and Ramon Rosso, as well as infielder Neil Walker. The Phillies had two spots open at the time, and only needed to designate one player; fellow righty reliever Robert Stock, similar to Gamboa on Friday, was the odd man out.
Gosselin, 31, enters his eight season in the majors and his second in red pinstripes. Last year, the West Chester native and Malvern Prep alumnus native slashed .262/.294/.308 with three doubles, seven RBI, three walks and 16 strikeouts spanning 44 games and 68 plate appearances. In the field, Gosselin logged innings at shortstop, third base, and left field, committing only one error spanning 21 combined chances.
Gamboa, 22, slashed just .188/.305/.270 in 113 games last season at Double-A Reading.
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The reason Gosselin made the team over fellow non-roster invitee veteran infielders, such as Josh Harrison and Logan Forsythe, is due to his hot summer camp bat. So much so, teammates have nicknamed Gosselin as “Barrels.” At one stretch in camp, Gosselin collected seven hits across four games, causing manager Joe Girardi to say, “He’s made a real push here, and it hasn’t went unnoticed.”
In fact, it did not go unnoticed. Gosselin made the team. Now, with him, the Phillies’ 30-man roster is filled out. Baseball is back. Just hours remain until the wait is over.