Ottawa preview: Swann, but no swan song for Lynx

The future of Ottawa Lynx baseball remains uncertain, but for at least one more season, Canada’s capital city will field a competitive Triple-A squad, courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies. [Roster]

Outfield: Ottawa's outfield isn’t the youngest collection of talent, but it should be productive nevertheless. Ron Calloway, Lou Collier and Pedro Swann were all standout Lynx in the past. Collier hit .316 with Ottawa back in 2002 and Swann was voted most valuable player on the 2003 playoff team. They’ll be joined by Phillies farm veteran Jim Rushford and slashing switch-hitter Chris Roberson. Average age of the outfield is nearly 32.

Catching: The only positional surprise shows up behind the plate, where Jason Jaramillo has done enough in the eyes of Phillies officials to graduate from Double-A following a so-so year. Veteran Dusty Wathan returns for another season. Ryan Budde, a Rule 5 pick who’s still on the Phillies 25-man roster but is injured, could be retained and sent to Ottawa or Double-A Reading if his original team refuses to carry him, which is likely. This could also be the destination of last year's Cinderella story, Chris Coste.

Infield: Like the outfield, Ottawa’s infield is comprised of veteran parts: Brent Abernathy, Gary Burnham, Brennan King, Carlos Leon and Danny Sandoval. Among them, King is the youngest at 26. Burnham can rake and is a good organizational guy. Leon, Sandoval and Abernathy represent an interesting infield logjam manager John Russell will need to unravel.

Starting pitching: The Lynx are loaded with quality left-handers. Brian Mazone was Scranton's pitcher of the year last season and led the International League in ERA. Fabio Castro didn’t make the Phillies cut, so now the 22-year-old will have plenty of time to work on his command in a pressure-free environment, either as a starter or reliever. Right-hander Matt Childers split last season between Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Trenton and is in his 10th season. Left-hander J.A. Happ is rated as one of the best pitchers in the organization and could be the first pitcher called on in an emergency. Ditto Zach Segovia, who remains on the Phillies 25-man roster, but could be sent down once Jon Lieber comes off the DL. Like Castro, lefty Eude Brito could take the mound as a starter or reliever.

Bullpen: Relief should be another strength. Joe Bisenius could see action as a closer after opening eyes in Clearwater. Brian Sanches can’t pitch in the majors, but he’s hell on minor league hitters. Hard-throwing Venezuelan Yoel Hernandez was once a highly regarded talent, but has suffered injury setbacks. Justin Miller started 33 games for the Toronto Blue Jays between 2002 and 2004. I don’t know a lot about him, but obviously his career hasn’t turned like he’d hoped. Kane Davis has 114 Major League innings under his belt, most recently with Milwaukee. Veterans Jim Crowell and John Ennis round out the bullpen choices.

Franchise outlook: Besides Class-A Vancouver, Ottawa is Canada’s last remaining minor league affiliate, a sad fact for a country that entered a baseball golden age when Pat Gillick's Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.

When I spoke with Lynx General Manager Kyle Bostwick earlier this winter, he said the 1994 strike weighs heavily on the hearts of Canadian baseball officials. Bostwick worked in the Montreal Expos farm system for years and no organization felt the strike harder. Once a model for excellence, the Expos toppled hard and fast. Many believe the '94 Expos fielded the decade’s best collection of talent, which was mostly home grown. After the strike, they were never the same.

Bostwick maintains that Ottawa has been unfairly labeled as a poor destination for baseball. Indeed, the climate is cold and fans are scarce, but the city is beautiful and bustling, as returning players such as Collier, Calloway and Swann would likely maintain. Lynx Stadium seats 10,332 and is fairly new, built in 1993 and home of one of the largest home clubhouses in minor league baseball.

Next season, the Phillies are set to move into a new, state-of-the-art facility in the Lehigh Valley, leaving Ottawa’s future uncertain. Bostwick said he and his staff are heading into the 2007 season fully prepared for 2008.

Tomorrow: Double-A Reading

Comments

[curt]

Wow. The Phils should consider moving a handful of those pitchers back to Reading, closing down the 2007 AAA team, and investing the money saved in draft picks.

[MG]

Curt - That is actually not a crazy idea from a purely operations standpoint. The Phils would almost certainly be better off talent-wise by investing this money in signing a few additional draft picks and exploring other talent pools, particularly the Asian markets.

Unfortunately, I can't see MLB any sanctioning any team to close down their T-AAA affiliate. Just wouldn't fly.

[GM-Carson]

Weitzel, I see that you have spelled Segovia's first name "Zach" as well (I did on my blog too). Most sources have it with an "h" at the end, but Phillies.com has a "k" for Zack. Not a big deal, but puzzling nonetheless. This is the crap I think about at 5 am...wow, I think I have a slight obsession with this sport.

[J. Weitzel]

The reason Phillies.com has it that way is obvious. A "K" is better than an "H."

[GM-Carson]

Corny, but funny.

[Cable]

Why is Scott Mathieson on the active roster? Is it options related?

[clout]

Cable: I don't think you can option someone who's injured. Mathieson will open the season on the DL.

Speaking of options, a poster on the previous thread wondered how Francisco Rosario could be out of options given that last season was his first in the bigs. Options are based on when a player is added to the 40-man roster, not when he makes The Show. A team may option a player any time within the first 3 years he's added to the 40-man roster (4 years if he never makes the bigs). Presumably, Rosario was added to the Jays 40-man in 2004, which made him optionable that year and in 05 and 06. had he not seen major league action last season, he would've been optionable this year.

Jason: That Ottawa Lynx roster tells you all you need to know about the state of Phillies position players down on the farm. Ugh.

[J. Weitzel]

Clout: Wait until you see Reading.

[clout]

I see the Astros have designated Ezequiel Astacio for assignment. Supposedly, PG was talking about trading for him. He's a Rosario clone and it looks like the Phils can get either one of them (or both) for free now by making a waiver claim. I still like Justin Germano better.

[davthom73]

Jason, at this point, there is no way that Ottawa should "be the destination of last year's Cinderella story, Chris Coste."

Rather than "saying the right thing", as Coste has publicly since Gillick boy Jason Werth donned catching gear in ST, and it has become evident that the team wants nothing to do with him in 2007, Coste should (if he has not already) communicate to management that "optioning" him to Ottawa is not a viable "option -- either for Coste -- or for the Phillies.

In major league baseball, there is the "out the the majors, out of mind" psychology -- which would be accentuated in Coste's instance -- where the guy spent 11 years in the minor before his fine performance in more than a third of the Phillies' games in 2006.

Vacant "assurances" that "we'll bring you back as soon as possible" mean nothing in this case -- particularly where the one giving the "assurances" would be Gillick -- and the player receiving them would be Coste. Gillick has never liked Coste as a baseball player, and all events since the end of last season have done nothing but document this fact.

Contrary to the views of some on this board, I believe that Coste *does* have major league "value" -- if not "trade value" to obtain someone the Phillies want -- then "value" on the waiver wire or free agent market.

Bottom line -- Coste needs to get away from Gillick right now -- and he should never report to Ottawa if the team should be callous enough to "option" him there. A DL rehab assignment of finite duration might be a different matter, but, as I stated in my post of yesterday, Coste has been playing in AAA ST games with Ottawa for the better part of the past week, and Coste is likely physically ready to play right now anyway.

Finally, there really isn't any room for Coste in Ottawa in Gillick's plans. The Lynx' catchers are Jaramillo and Wathan --with Budde to probably replace Wathan if he survives Rule 5 return rights to the Angels.

Put simply, at this point, unless he is traded before opening day, Coste should make it clear to Gillick that "optioning" him to Ottawa is not going to be an "option" for the Phillies.

[GM-Carson]

I'd like to see Francisco Rosario, Dan Kolb, Ricardo Rincon, and Ezequiel Astacio all brought in to be insurance at Ottawa. Realistically we would probably only be able to get 1 of that lot, but besides Bisenius the relief help in Triple A doesn't look too good.

[J. Weitzel]

Rangers look like a bad team. Matt Kata and Bruce Chen earned spots on the 25-man roster. Rob Tejeda is their fourth starter. If Astacio wasn't good enough to make that team, one wonders if he can help the Phillies. Still, Phils are so thin, they should look.

If Astacio draws interest from other clubs and isn't guaranteed to fall to the Phils, I'm betting the two sides would call Coste for Astacio a match.

[GM-Carson]

DavThom73- please tell me you at least own a Chris Coste Phillies jersey. If not, BeerLeaguer should start up a collection for you, as his mother isn't even this enamored with him.

[voice of reason]

Noticed Germano was sent outright to AAA by the Pads. Doesn't he have to clear waivers again before going to Portland? Seems likely he would be claimed by a team in need of a quick fix.

[ae]

vor, at least one news article I can find (here) says that Germano did clear waivers this time.

[martin]

A problem with bringing back Ezequiel Astacio is he might fall into the "You Can't Go Home Again" curse. I originally liked the signing of Adam Eaton, but he too might be plagued by this. In the past dozen or so years, originally signed Phils pitchers were brought back and they failed miserably. Andy Ashby, Mark Davis, Mike Williams, Alfredo Simon, Jay Baller. I can think of one possible exception, Ricky Bottalico. Please, let the season begin

[davthom73]

GM-C: I own the second official Citizens Bank Park Chris Coste No. 27 home jersey produced, which I bought at CBP during a business trip to Philadelphia last July -- at a game in which Carlos Ruiz caught, and Coste didn't see action. I don't know who bought the first one.

[MG]

This thread marks the first official Davthom73 rant about Coste this season (or close enough). I really hope that Coste does make the team just so Davthom73 keeps posting lengthy threads about him.

If Burrell really struggles this April, does Davthom73 call for a switch to Coste as the starting LF?

[MG]

If I go to a Phillies a game this year and see a fan wearing an official Coste home jersey, I think I will meet my first Beerleaguer poster in person. Just how many of those jerseys can their be around?

[MG]

If I go to a Phillies a game this year and see a fan wearing an official Coste home jersey, I think I will have meet my first Beerleaguer poster in person. Just how many of those jerseys can their be around?

[voice of reason]

Thanks ae.
Given the list of starters opening the season on the DL, I'm surprised he went unclaimed.

[davthom73]

MG: As you know, Coste has played both corner outfield positions in the minors. A scenario a bit more likely than the Burrell situation of which you jest would be the forthcoming embarrrassing failure of ($1-million guaranteed) Jason Werth -- as a backup corner outfielder -- as Werth cements his status as a strikeout artist of the first order, who fails to hit in the clutch.