roster move |

Welcome Back Freddy!! Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell

It’s difficult not to apply interpretation to the latest roster move made by the Phillies. Yesterday, the Phillies completed a trade with Cleveland for veteran utility infielder John “old” McDonald (had a farm…), by sending the oft-traded Player-To-Be-Named-Later (or cold, hard cash instead.) We’ll discuss the move below, but first, note the return of Freddy Galvis to the IronPigs via option. This is significant for IronPigs fans on a couple levels:

Freddy should be a pleasure to watch at shortstop every day. You can bet he’ll be playing. His defense is superb and I’d encourage you to come to the park and not leave your seat while the ‘Pigs are in the field.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts slowly, but Freddy’s bat should help the ‘Pigs as well. He sparked the ‘Pigs down the stretch in 2011 for the playoffs, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him have a similar effect on the IronPigs over the next month or so.
Get out to the park this month, because I’m guessing we won’t have Freddy for long. I’d expect he’d be back with the Phillies later in the summer, and certainly right away should an injury occur among infielders.

OK, so let’s try to answer some questions about the moves of yesterday and this morning:

Why would the Phillies do this? Well, pump the brakes a little. We’ll get to that.
How did the Phillies make room for “Old” McDonald on the roster? The Phillies made room on the 40-man roster by “outrighting” Steven Lerud to the IronPigs yesterday. They then optioned Freddy Galvis from the 25-man active roster early this morning following last night’s Phillies loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
But wait, I thought Lerud was already on the IronPigs? Yeah, but in order to get him off the 40-man, he has to pass through waivers and accept his assignment. It’s the same kind of thing that happened with Super Mart last week.
So what? Well, Steven’s not available to catch for the ‘Pigs until he accepts his assignment. He will be available as soon as he accepts it, but sometimes the process takes some time. This may be significant because we’ve now a double-header tonight and only one catcher (Rupp) on the roster. Will Suomi “the money” make a trip up 222? Will Justin Dalles jump in a Town Car from Lakewood? Will somebody stub a toe to make room for these guys? We’ll see, but I’d think the IronPigs would like two catchers for tonight. I’d think Josh “emergency catcher” Fields would like that, too. Stay tuned for IronPigs moves today and tomorrow.
What does this “Farmer” McDonald bring to the table? His glove. John McDonald is known as a superior fielder who can play multiple infield positions. He is not a great hitter, batting .056 in the majors this season with Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He batted .265 with Indianapolis over 10 games earlier this season on a rehab assignment.
Wait a minute. Isn’t Freddy Galvis a “superior fielder who can play multiple positions?” Yeah, you’re starting to get the hang of this. But there’s another player you’re forgetting about.
Oh! Pete Orr! Do the Phillies HATE him? Is John McDonald related to John Bowker somehow? Ha, no. But although he can play multiple infield positions, I wouldn’t describe Pete’s glove as “superior.” Plus, Pete bats left, and the hamburger guy bats right, so there’s that. And if Orr hits four home runs tonight, you’ll know why. “Brandon Moss Syndrome.”
OK, so this is so that the Phillies can get Freddy Galvis more at-bats, right? He’s been languishing on the bench in Philly and his average is suffering. Who cares if John “I’m Lovin It” McDonald sits the bench! Yeah. That’s it. But why would they want Galvis to play every day at this stage? They’ve kind of been doing this for the last year and a half.
Wait. I’m not prepared to answer…. Oh, back to the beginning: Why would they DO this? I think other moves are coming. Maybe at the trade deadline or maybe next season, but the Rollins-Utley era could be coming to an end. They want to be sure what they have in Galvis. They want him ready to step in and hit the ground running. The Galvis-Hernandez era could be upon us, and we get to watch it at Coca Cola Park right now. In fact, Asche-Galvis-Hernandez, right? Who knows? I’m just guessing.
When will Galvis get here? Where will he bat? I certainly wouldn’t expect him tonight (Friday), but perhaps Saturday, and certainly Sunday. Brundy’s a little squirrely, but I see Galvis batting second, and Hernandez dropping to 7 or 9.