Minor transaction roundup: Hernandez rejoins Phils

Yoel Hernandez and his vaguely holiday-sounding first name was signed to a minor league deal with the Phillies, along with 10 others recently.

Balancing diligence with a need to spread fresh content over the holiday break, the following players were signed as minor league free agents recently and it’s likely you read about it elsewhere when the non-roster invitees were first announced: Right-handers Yorman Bazardo, Yoel Hernandez and Justin Pope, left-handers Jason Mackintosh and Joshua Shortslef, first baseman/outfielder Brian Stavisky and outfielders Casey Craig, Kevin Mahar, Wilkin Ruan, Mike Spidale and Rich C. Thompson.

Hernandez spun into Philadelphia through 2007’s revolving bullpen door and appeared in 17 games, his promotion coming as something of a surprise. In 2008, he pitched in the Mexican League for the Vaqueros Laguna and was named a Mid-Season All-Star. Before arm problems derailed his ascent, he was considered one of the best young arms in the Phillies’ chain.

In addition, Bazardo, who’s arguably the best name of the group in both senses of the phrase, appeared in three games with the Tigers last season and has also seen time with the Marlins. He's the owner of a 44-44 record and 4.01 ERA in 866 2-3 minor league innings, most of it as a starter with the Florida, Seattle and Detroit organizations. Mackintosh is ex-Seattle property and appeared in 11 games with the R-Phils last season. Craig is another ex-Mariner. Shortslef has been in the Bucs' organization since 2000 and has yet to appear in the majors. Mahar is a 6-5, 220-pound outfielder who appeared in seven games with the Rangers two seasons ago. In five minor league seasons, he’s a .285/.346/.456 hitter and spent time in Clearwater in '08. Pope and Spidale were with Reading in ’08, while Thompson was with Lehigh Valley. Ruan spent parts of two seasons with the Dodgers long ago and has earned paychecks in 11 minor league seasons since 1998. He's 30 and without power. Stavisky, a lefty bat with moderate pop, is a Port Allegany, Pa. product who climbed Oakland’s ladder all the way to Triple-A and was most recently with the Lancaster Barnstormers and Arkansas Travelers.

Comments

[Sophist]

Someone mentioned the new MLB channel in the previous thread. Just read that Mitch Williams will be a studio analyst. Anyone know how available the channel will be? Is it by subscription only?

[EastFallowfield]

MLB Network won't be hard to find

[baxter]

I get MLB network with a basic cable package.

[MG]

Interesting to see the formatting and programming on the new MLB network. Definitely a chance to bring more than the crew at Baseball Tonight on ESPN.

You can criticize Selig for a couple of things during this tenure but generally his moves with MLB.com & media outlets have generally resulted in more access for fans & big revenue increase for owners/players.

[MG]

If A. Jones comes to NY, it will likely be brutal. Delgado heard it loud and often from Opening Day last year until he began to heat up in June. Unless A. Jones performs right out of the gate, the NY median/fans will be all over him.

[MG]

Looks more and more like the Allentown team is going to be staffed almost entirely retreads and minor league vets. Unless there is a core of interesting prospects there (Donald, Carrasco, Marson), I bet they will likely have a notable dropoff in attendance this year.

Tough to attract fans to a AAA ballpark on a team that doesn't have much in the way of exciting younger players and plays .400-.450 baseball during the course of a season.

[NEPP]

That's the reality of most AAA teams these days. It'll be rare that they actually have legit prospects like Carrasco and Donald there.

[Doc]

Aren't most AAA teams staffed by retreads and minor league vets?

[NEPP]

Yup.

[bay_area_phan]

If the Mets can get Andruw Jones without giving up much, and with the Dodgers eating the bulk of his salary, it's hard to see any downside. I'm not saying he's likely to bounce back (I don't know how anyone could make such a prediction). But if he's healthy, it's by no means out of the question and, if he does bounce back, the move could pay off in a huge way.

[NEPP]

Andruw Jones is not finished at his age...I'd be stunned if he doesn't bounce back next year...wherever he is.

I said we should try to get them to trade him to us for some peanuts and toss him in a LF platoon...I was ignored at the time though.

I honestly think he got injured during his final year in Atlanta and played through it because it was a contract year, then got out of shape from not exercising and tried to play hurt to live up to his contract in LA...he's gonna come back healthy and with something to prove in 09. Honestly, the Dodgers should hang on to him and hope he puts up a huge contract year...they need to get some pitching anyway.

[KidCarnivore]

I'm still very worried about the Mets picking up a reduced-rate Manny.

[Dull]

Seems like the Pigs will have more prospects than suspects this year. Looks like it could be Mayberry and Slayden in the outfield; Donald and Harman as the middle infielders and Marson behind the plate. The rotation could be Carrasco, Carpenter, Kendrick and maybe a Bastardo with lefties Zagurski or Escalona coming out of the pen. Though don't expect too many strikes if Nuke Laloosh impersonators Nestor and Bisenius come out of the pen.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I much prefer A. Jones to NYM than Manny. Giving up on Church, already?

[Hitman]

Fox News had an interesting piece on MLB and how heavily they are subsidized by taxpayers' money. Even the Yankees who are picking up the cost of their new stadium have received about $600 million dollars in subsidies for road improvements and transportation. But the one thing I didn't know is that the entire $1.6 billion dollar cost of the new stadium is written off against the luxury tax. So, in effect, the Yankees pay no luxury tax for their present spending spree. Not much of a deterrent.

[Chuck]

So the new message board is for off topic discussion like Andrew Jones going to the Mets and the main thread is meant to stay on topic. Right? or am I mistaken?

[mvptommyd]

Anyone see the Red Sox attempted to get Hanley Ramirez and the Marlins actually listened, if they can pull that off that is amazing and baseball just isn't right.

[Len39]

There's a messageboard?

[Mike]

I saw the Sox-Ramirez rumor, but the fact that the Marlins "listened" doesn't allude to their reactions after the Red Sox supposedly proposed Buchholz and Ellsbury (probably chuckling). Those two are nothing to sneeze at, but the Marlins have Maybin to play center and Hanley is the de facto face of that franchise (at least for the next 2-3 years while he's still in the early years of his deal). All bets are off though when he gets too "champagne" for the Marlins' "beer" budget.

[howardmvp]

one of the big reasons both new york teams built new stadiums is that they didn't want to lose money due to revenue sharing, so instead they invested in the two buildings.

[howardmvp]

one of the big reasons both new york teams built new stadiums is that they didn't want to lose money due to revenue sharing, so instead they invested in the two buildings.

[EastFallowfield]

From the NYPost on Andruw:

Although an ESPN report last night indicated the Mets and Dodgers were in trade discussions that could potentially make Jones the Mets' new right fielder, a person familiar with the situation said it won't happen.

Jones' name was mentioned to Mets GM Omar Minaya several weeks ago, but the discussions never intensified.

There ya go.

[WillyFromPhilly]

Andruw Jones to the Mets would be great for the Phils. He's washed up.

[NEPP]

So was Tatis...and Delgado.

Funny how playing in the spotlight reengergizes guys sometimes.

[zp]

awesome, a lancaster barnstormer on the list.

[thephaithful]

Just watched the World Series DVD and the Perfect Season DVD. beforehand i was much more excited about the Perfect Season, but I was very impressed with the World Series DVD, still covered a decent amount of the regular season and the philly 'culture', and then did a great job in the playoffs.

It'd be almost impossbile to pick between the two, I recommend both. The intro in the World Series DVD where the players are reading the newspaper article about themselves will bring a tear of joy to your eye.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Delgado wasn't even close to "Washed up" when the Mets got him.

Tatis was, with a lot of that due to injury.

[MG]

Most AAA teams are staffed by minor league vets/retreads, it is just that the last few years the Phils' AAA has almost exclusively been staffed by these type of players.

If there are several younger talented players this year, not only should the team perform a bit better but it will be potentially more compelling to watch a player would might be a potential everyday guy with the Phils in the next year or so.

One thing I do think is that MLB attendance is going to decline by a notable numbers this year (say 3-5%) and that the announced crowds are going to be bigger than the stands look on many nights.

Also, I think you are going to see some tough times for minor league teams and a bunch of the Independent League teams closing up shop after this season. Just too many sports options for a consumer is cutting spending across the board and frankly there are way too many baseball teams out there right now.

You will be able to tell at spring training this year if the crowds (particularly in Florida) are done and if I could "short" attendance at spring training games I would in a big way.

[NEPP]

****Delgado wasn't even close to "Washed up" when the Mets got him****

Sorry, I should have clarified. I meant strictly last season's effort from him when he looked washed up for the 1st half and then suddenly went nuts...not his entire Mets career.

[NEPP]

****Also, I think you are going to see some tough times for minor league teams and a bunch of the Independent League teams closing up shop after this season. ****

Actually, I'm willing to bet that alot of families will drop money to go see Reading, Lakewood and Allentown as a cheaper alternative to going downtown to see the Phillies play.

[clout]

BedBeard: "Delgado wasn't even close to "Washed up" when the Mets got him."

That's true, but after he hit .258/.333/.458 for the Mets at age 35, all sorts of commentators and fans declared him washed up. I presume that's what NEPP was referring to.

[NEPP]

It costs me $8 a game to watch SS Single A games in Vermont...ie its cheaper than going to the movies...more fun too.

[EastFallowfield]

"The Perfect Season"....can see how you've got to leave some great regular season moments off (Howard's HR in Atlanta, for instance) if you had to hit a certain length.

But to not include Victorino's NLCS Hr in LA?

Hours of bonus footage is great, but you can't show the Phils 08 season and leave that out. Weird.

[Bubba]

Pitchers and catchers officially report to Clearwater, Fla., on Feb. 14.

Happy New Year's & a happier Valentines!

[Alby]

NEPP: Your assessment of AJones could be on the money, but it wouldn't be unprecedented if he was through. Back in the old days, when players didn't stay fit year-round, lots of guys were finished by their mid-30s. Andruw started getting thick in the middle before his final season in Atlanta, which affected his range in the field, though not his power stroke. That was before any hint of injury.

One reason Burrell was allowed to walk, I assume, is that he's entering his mid-30s. Many posters here believe he's going to lose it fast when it goes.

If I were Andruw Jones, I'd be exploring Japan for 2010.

[Alby]

On a completely unrelated topic, tomorrow is the last day for BBWAA members to vote for the Hall of Fame. Who would you vote for?

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Blyleven and Mickey Vernon.

[NEPP]

Tim Raines
Rickey Henderson
Andre Dawson

&

Bert Blyleven

[clout]

Henderson, Dawson, Blyleven.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Henderson-definitely. I went with the others b/c, for some reason, I was thinking we were considering guys who have been overlooked.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread

[GoPhils]

At his peak, Andruw Jones was a stellar defensive outfielder who hit with a ton of power but was maddeningly uncoachable in his approach at the plate.

Then came the league-wide hubbub over the use of steroids and HGH. For whatever reason, Jones turned into a player with greatly diminished power who continued to flail away for the fences, much to the detriment of his OBP.

That's really not the profile of a guy who is going to bounce back.

As for being reenergized by the spotlight, NEPP ... he was comically bad in LA this year, and LA is not exactly a muddy backwater.