Looking for an offensive boost
Adam Frazier Jersey , the Philadelphia Phillies added an All-Star who may not help them for a while.The NL East-leading Phillies acquired injured catcher Wilson Ramos from the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday for a player to be named or cash. They also got left-hander Aaron Loup from the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league right-hander Jacob Waguespack.Ramos is batting .297 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs but is on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain. General manager Matt Klentak said the best-case scenario has Ramos returning in mid-to-late August, though it’s possible he may be sidelined until September.”We’re uniquely positioned to take on a risk like this,” Klentak said in a conference call. ”The fact he may not be active for a few more weeks is not the end of the world for us.”Ramos said he can do everything behind the plate but still feels pain when he runs.When healthy, Ramos should upgrade an offense that has struggled during a four-game losing streak. He’s also solid defensively.”Wilson Ramos is a proven commodity, both behind the plate and at the plate, and also as a teammate,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.Ramos, who turns 31 next month, has a $10.5 million salary, and the Phillies will be responsible for the remaining $3,443,548. He has 315 plate appearances and can earn $250,000 each for 450, 475 and 500.He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.Jorge Alfaro (.254
http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , 7 homers, 23 RBIs) has been Philadelphia’s starting catcher with Andrew Knapp (.223, 4, 15) also seeing plenty of action. They’ve combined for 16 errors and 13 passed balls.”My first reaction was surprise,” Ramos said of the trade. ”I was reading a lot of news, but as soon as they told me I was traded to the Phillies, I was happy at the moment but sad at the same time. Happy because that team is in first place and I can do a lot of things to help that team win a lot of games. And sad because I’m very thankful with this team because they helped me a lot. They trust me, give me a contract (after knee surgery in 2016). Now, I’m going to Philadelphia and trying to help that team win the World Series.”The Phillies already added more pop when they acquired infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets last Friday.Kapler said he’s happy the team got stronger ”without sacrificing our future to a large degree.”Loup has a 4.54 ERA in 50 relief appearances this season with 42 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings, and the Phillies will assume the $594,422 remaining of his $1,812,500 salary.Waguespack was 4-6 with a 4.68 ERA in 21 games, including 15 starts
Ivan Nova Jersey , at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.”Our bullpen has been among the best in baseball in July,” Klentak said. ”Loup is really good against left-handed hitters. What he can do against lefties to neutralize them is important and something we haven’t had this year.”Infielder Trevor Plouffe and lefty Zach Curtis were designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.—AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Boston and AP freelancer Mark Didtler in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.— A bit of a changing of the guard this season for Arizona"No Paul Goldschmidt. No A.J. Pollock. No Patrick Corbin. No Chris Owings. This winter has seen the departure of the four longest-tenured members of Arizona’s major-league roster. Goldschmidt played his first game for the Diamondbacks in 2011, with Pollock and Corbin both following suit one season later, and CO in 2013. With them gone, I thought it might be fun to look at the players still around, and see who has been on the major-league roster for longest - and also, who has been part of the organization for the greatest time overall. So, I took the current 40-man roster, together with a couple of non-roster invitees who have history in Arizona, and charted their time here. Turns out, the new “veteran” in terms of time on the D-backs roster is David Peralta. He’s one of four current players who made their debut in 2014, with the Freight Train first leaving the station on June 1 that year. Later that month
http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , on the 29th, he was joined by Nick Ahmed. Jake Lamb showed up for the first time on August 7th, and Andrew Chafin got a cup of coffee when the rosters expanded, taking the mound on September 17th. Though among those four, Chafin had been with the organization for longest, having been drafted in June 2011. At that point, for example, Peralta was still trying to re-invent himself as an outfielder back at home in Venezuela!That same draft as Chafin also brought the team Archie Bradley. Both were first-round picks, but Archie went higher (#7 vs. #43), so I guess that gives him bragging rights over Andrew, by a couple of hours! However, there’s one man who has been with the team still longer than either, and is about to start his tenth season in the Diamondbacks organization. You might be surprised to learn that it’s Socrates Brito. He was signed as an amateur free-agent by Arizona on April 28, 2010
Brad Hand Jersey , more than a year before Chafin or Bradley came on board. Brito played his first game for us, in the Dominican Summer League on July 30, coming in as a replacement DH in the fifth inning. The chart below shows the info for everyone. Boxes in yellow are seasons where they were entirely in the minors; in Sedona red means they appeared in the majors (not necessarily for the entire season). There’s one white box, representing Rubby De La Rosa’s recovery from Tommy John Surgery. For 2019, I’ve taken my “best guess” as to where the player concerned will be: red and yellow mean the same, but there’s also grey, indicating uncertainty. The first box for a player also shows how they came to the D-backs. Those abbreviations should largely be self-explanatory, except for IFA, which is short for “International Free Agent.” Have fun!Link to full version of chartDisclaimer. There’s probably an error in there somewhere. I just caught one before going to press, realizing Joey Krehbiel had NOT been with the team since 2011. Bonus points will be awarded to anyone who spots any others!