Phillies DFA Gomez, Saunders as placeholder purge begins

Jeanmar Gomez was DFA'd today by the Phillies

A quick scan of the current 2017 standings reveals that the Philadelphia Phillies are the worst team in Major League Baseball.

The 22-46 record that the club has produced is no fluke. The Phillies are 29th in runs scored, 28th in OPS, 24th in steals. The lineup produces little consistent power or speed, and the overall approach of the hitters remains awful.

For roughly six weeks now, I have been calling for major changes to the Phillies lineup. It has been clear for at least that long that the current crop of placeholder players is simply not good enough to compete in MLB on a consistent basis.

It appears that the Phillies may now be coming to that same realization themselves. This afternoon, the Phillies announced that both reliever Jeanmar Gomez and right fielder Michael Saunders have been DFA (designated for assignment.)

In their place, reliever Hoby Milner and outfielder Cameron Perkins have been promoted from the club’s AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs roster.

Phillies 2017: Club Missing a Bullpen Opportunity

On the first day of workouts for Philadelphia Phillies pitchers and catchers, manager Pete Mackanin took the opportunity to make a public announcement regarding his bullpen.

The substance of that announcement is, for me, a sign that this may not be the man to lead this team into contending status.

“When you look at Jeanmar Gomez’s year last year, although he had a poor month of September, he saved 37 games and I think blew only six saves,” Mackanin said per Ryan Lawrence at The Philly Voice.

“Premier guys have those kind of numbers. You don’t see very often a guy like Brad Lidge save 48-for-48 in 2008. He had a hiccup but at the same time I believe that he deserves to be called the closer at this point.”

Gomez had more than a hiccup. He completely collapsed over the season’s final six and a half weeks. And the fact is that he was never a classic “closer,” never dominated opposing lineups at the end of games.

Philadelphia Phillies 2016 Grades: Bullpen

The Phillies bullpen exited spring training with no clearly established closer, had one emerge and received strong early work from the relievers, but have seen that bullpen group collapse as the season draws to a close.

After the latest collapse on Tuesday night, when the pen surrendered all of a 6-1 lead following a rain delay and handed the host Atlanta Braves a 7-6 victory, manager Pete Mackanin spoke in frustrating tone per Jim Salisbury at CSN.com.

“…at some point, somebody else has to do a (bleeping) job. Somebody else has to (bleeping) step up. In two games now, every reliever I brought in has given up a (bleeping) run. That’s unheard of.”

The Phillies are 10-14 in September, but could probably be at least a half-dozen games better than that if the bullpen simply did their jobs, holding leads and getting the opposition out late in games.

During the 2016 season the club has used 19 different pitchers in a relief role at one time or another. 

That includes Adam Morgan, who has made 20 starts but also has two relief appearances, and Phil Klein, who has made two relief appearances and one start.

Gomez, Neris, and Hernandez will all receive grades here, as will regular contributors Edubray Ramos and Elvis Araujo, and Andrew Bailey, who was a regular contributor until his late summer release.

Phillies Should Switch Closer from Gomez to Neris

I'm not going to say that I told you so because, frankly, I didn't ever say it. But I can tell you that there were many times during this season that I thought it.

I never really bought in to Jeanmar Gomez as the Phillies closer. Was he enjoying success in the role? Yes. Did I like him overall as a reliever, a member of the bullpen in some role? Yes.

But it was never a secret among any serious talent evaluator that Gomez didn't have classic closer stuff. He was given an opportunity early in the season because everyone else who was given that shot had failed.

When Gomez had some initial success, he was kept in the role by manager Pete Mackanin. To his credit, the right-hander then did what he usually has done for the Phillies since signing as a free agent for the 2015 season, he provided professional innings.

As late as mid-August, Gomez was still humming along in the closer role.

Phillies Trade Chips: Jeanmar Gomez

During the off-season, Phillies GM Matt Klentak dealt away closer Ken Giles in exchange for a large haul of prospects that included current starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez.

While some Phillies fans were initially disappointed in losing '100-Miles Giles', whom they saw as one of the few exciting, young drawing cards with the cub, those have been mitigated by the exciting success and promise of Velasquez.

However, the trading away of Giles left the team with a gaping hole at the closer spot. For a young team such as the Phillies, coming off the worst record in baseball in 2015, to work hard for a lead only to have the bullpen blow it late can be crippling to morale.

The Phils needed someone to step up and claim the role. To help the process along, Klentak brought in veteran David Hernandez, who entered spring training as the favorite for the 2016 Phillies closer spot.

However, Hernandez faltered in the spring and early season. Other candidates also faltered when given an opportunity at seizing the job in spring training and over the first week of the season.

And so, somewhat because he had always shown himself to be a reliable option when called upon in the 6th and 7th innings, right-hander Jeanmar Gomez was given a shot at closing.

When he stepped on to the mound at CitiField in New York against the Mets on April 9th to try to protect a 1-0 lead, Gomez had exactly one career Save

Final Phillies 2015 Opening Day Roster Fights

Weather permitting, at 3:05pm on Monday, April 6th, the Philadelphia Phillies will take the field to open the 2015 MLB regular season with an Interleague game against the Boston Red Sox.

The spring training process of workouts and Grapefruit League games is beginning to sort out the players as the coaching staff and management will cut down to a final 25-man roster for the Opening Day ball club.

Over the past week, the Phils shipped out a number of players to minor league camp, allowing those players to get in more regular playing appearances and more focused instruction from the minor league coaching staff as they continue to develop.

The reassignment of those players has begun the focus at the major league level on the final makeup of that 25-man roster. 

A number of the roster places are, health-permitting, already determined. But a handful remain up for grabs as the team enters it's final two weeks in Clearwater.

The 15 players who have roster spots sewn up include 7 position players and 8 pitchers: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Freddy Galvis, Cody Asche, Carlos Ruiz, Ben Revere, Grady Sizemore, Cole Hamels, Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams, David Buchanan, Jonathan Papelbon, Ken Giles, Jake Diekman, and Justin De Fratus.

Feb 27, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Oliver (52) pitches during spring training workouts following photo day at Bright House Field. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

In addition to those, the following four (4) players would appear to have the team made, barring some unforeseen developments: Cesar Hernandez, Cameron Rupp, and Rule 5 picks Odubel Herrera and Andy Oliver.

That would leave a half-dozen spots up for grabs over these last two weeks. 

Some of those spots will be determined by injuries. In fact, some of the roster decisions being assumed here already include injuries built into them.

For instance, everyone knows that Cliff Lee is done, and that Chad Billingsley will not be ready and will begin on the DL. 

Also, outfielder Domonic Brown is injured, and this evaluation assumes he will begin the season on the DL. With those situations factored into the roster equation, here is how I see the final battles shaping up.

PITCHING

The Phillies are likely to keep 2-3 more arms at the majors level to start the season. If there is another starter needed due to injury, or if the Phils simply decide to keep him as a long or alternate option, then veteran righty Kevin Slowey has a good shot. The other possibility for that role would be Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.

Feb 27, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; Aumont (48) throws a pitch during spring training workouts following photo day at Bright House Field. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

Frankly, Slowey has outpitched MAG, and deserves the spot on merit. Merit doesn't always win out, as the Phils have a larger financial investment in the Cuban. 

Unless there are a couple of rotation injuries before the opener, only one of these two may make the cut.

A trio of pitchers may be battling for a shot in the major league bullpen: Jeanmar Gomez, Luis Garcia and Phillippe Aumont. 

The 28-year old Garcia has done nothing to lose a spot. He has pitched seven innings across seven games, has three Saves, and has allowed just three hits, with a 7/1 K:BB ratio.

The 27-year old Gomez is the most experienced of the group, with parts of the last five seasons spent in the big leagues with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, including 46 starts and 74 relief appearances. He has a 1.35 ERA this spring, but has allowed eight hits across six innings.

Aumont is out of minor league options, meaning that he would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues. He carries a hefty 4.50 ERA, but has pitched well in general. In six innings across five games, Aumont has allowed eight hits with a 7/1 K:BB ratio. His problem? Three longballs given up.

If the nine pitchers identified as having Opening Day roster spots hold up as healthy, and assuming no trades (Hamels/Papelbon), then it's likely just two of the five from among Gonzalez, Slowey, Gomez, Aumont, and Garcia make the team.

POSITION PLAYERS

With Hernandez out of minor league options and a good fielder, he would appear to have a spot sewn up. Still, the Phils are going to need another backup infielder, preferably one that can play several positions if needed. 

Soon-to-be 31-year old Andres Blanco has received a lot of playing time this spring, but he has not produced the most.

Mar 14, 2015; Lakeland, FL, USA; Bogusevic (17) hits a long fly ball during the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

To this point, the Phils have gotten more out of 28-year old Cord Phelps, who has played in parts of the last four MLB seasons with Cleveland and Baltimore. 

Phelps has been excellent this spring, hitting .345 with a .472 on-base percentage. Phelps has played 2nd, 3rd and shortstop in the majors.

In the outfield, assuming Brown starts on the DL, and assuming the Phils do keep Rule 5 pick Herrera, a no-brainer at this point, we could see 3 of the 4 players from among Darin Ruf, Jeff Francoeur, Brian Bogusevic, and Jordan Danks make the team.

If all the players mentioned here do hold up as healthy, and none are traded, a final actual decision may come down to whether or not to keep one of the outfielders or one of the pitchers.

Do the Phillies go with 14 position players and 11 arms, or 13 and 12, to open the season? Just one of many questions that will be answered in less than two weeks.

Jeanmar Gomez Added to Phillies Bullpen Mix

On Monday the Phillies announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomezto a minor league deal that includes an invitation to major league camp for spring training.

Gomez was first signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2005. 

He pitched mostly as a starter in the minors, and progressed incrementally through the Tribe system before debuting in the majors in 2010. 

From 2010-12 with the Cleveland organization, Gomez bounced back and forth between the Indians and their minor league system as a starting pitcher. 

In 42 games, 38 of them starts for the Tribe, Gomez went 14-16 with a 5.18 ERA. He pitched well in the minors, but could never translate that to the majors.

In January of 2013, Cleveland dealt him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a typical change-of-scenery deal. The Pirates ultimately converted him to the bullpen, and he has found some success as a reliever.