Phillies Say Goodbye to a Number of 2015 Players

While the Philadelphia Phillies have brought in a number of new players for 2016, the club has also lost a few from the organization.

Aside from the obvious loss of closer Ken Giles in the big trade for five young pitchers, there are a number of other players who contributed significantly to the 2015 big league club, to other recent Phillies teams, or who were long time minor league prospects, who will not return to the organization next year.

The biggest name is also the one that was most obviously not returning, former lefty ace Cliff Lee, who has unsuccessfully battled injuries over the last two seasons.

The now 37-year old Lee is a free agent, and has been linked to a number of teams including the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Royals. 

Lee is most likely to catch on with a contending team on a non-guaranteed contract with a spring training invitation, assuming he can play at all.

Three starting pitchers who took the mound for the Phillies in 2015 will also not be returning. 

Phillies 2015 Report Card: Starting Pitchers

To fashion the worst Philadelphia Phillies season since 1972, a deficiency in talent and results from the 2015 starting pitching rotation was a key element. 

However, mixed in with those deficiencies were a few notable bright spots.

Fifteen different pitchers took the mound at the start of a game for the Phillies this past season. 

Thirteen of those made at least five starts apiece, while seven received double-digit starting assignments.

Those seven who did receive at least 10 starts all received at least 13. They will receive grades on their performances, along with the next highest, who received eight starts.

If others want to waste time grading the performances of the other seven starting pitchers individually, that’s fine. 

Suffice it to say that both individually and as a group, they receive an ‘F’ from me.

Aaron Harang Adds Depth to Rotation

Phils sign veteran RHP Aaron Harang for rotation depth

The Phillies have announced the signing of free agent righthander Aaron Harang to a 1-year, $5 million contract. The pitcher, who will turn 37 years old in early May, pitched in 2014 with the Atlanta Braves.

Harang was a 6th Round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 1999 MLB Draft out of San Diego State University. In November of 2000, Texas dealt him to the Oakland A’s. He made his MLB debut with the A’s in 2002, and then was dealt by Oakland to the Cincinnati Reds in July of 2003. 

From 2003-2010, Harang was a valued member of the Reds starting rotation. He won 75 games over parts of 8 seasons in Cincy, including as a 16-game winner in both 2006 and 2007. In that ’07 campaign, Harang went 16-6 and finished 4th in NL Cy Young Award voting.

In December of 2010, Harang went home, signing as a free agent with his hometown San Diego Padres. This began a series of one-year free agent deals that has taken him from the Padres to the LA Dodgers, the Seattle Mariners, and finally to the Braves this past season.

For his career, Harang has a record of 122-128 in 352 starts across parts of 13 seasons in MLB. In 2,149.2 innings he has struck out 1,734 hitters and walked 661. He has gone over the 160 innings mark 8 times, but last year was his first such season since 2012.

The Phillies starting rotation is very much in flux heading into the 2015 season. Ace starter Cole Hamels is the subject of repeated trade rumors. Cliff Lee is a huge question mark as he battles back from injury. David Buchanan was a rookie last year. The club has no idea what to expect from Jerome Williams over a full season. 

“AARON BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE AND DURABILITY TO OUR ROTATION” ~ GM RUBEN AMARO

In a statement released along with the signing announcement, GM Ruben Amaro said: “Aaron brings a wealth of experience and durability to our rotation. He had a very solid season for the Braves last year and will complement the left-handers in our rotation nicely.”

Harang is what fans can expect over the next 2-3 years as the team tries to build with prospects from within as it awaits the 2016 influx of Comcast cash to the coffers. Veterans willing to sign inexpensive one-year deals.

At this point, the Phillies rotation shows as Hamels, Lee, Harang, Williams, and Buchanan. The minor leagues are likely to have arms like Wandy Rodriguez, Jonathan Pettibone, and Sean O’Sullivan, as well as 2014 first rounder Aaron Nola possibly ready to help at some point.