Joe Savery won't be the Phillies' No. 5 starter.Not this year, at least.
But, then, you already knew that, didn't you? As expected, Savery was among 14 players optioned or re-assigned to minor-league camp today. Make no mistake, though, the Phillies are expecting him to go to the minors (likely single-A Clearwater) and harness his control and mature into a major-league pitcher. Heck, they're practically counting on it.
In the latest installment in our series of Sunday enterprise features, we look at Savery, Carlos Carrasco and Josh Outman, the Phillies' top three pitching prospects, and their importance to the organization. In a broader scope, we examine the growing trend that teams are gambling on their own young pitchers instead of pay big for mid-level free agents (think Kyle Lohse and Jeff Weaver).
Call it the "Adam Eaton fear factor."
"No question," assistant GM Mike Arbuckle told us. "Even if you sign a free agent and he is successful, you still don’t truly know the guy, how he fits in, until you get him. When you develop your own, you know what you have. You know what the off-field habits are, how he competes. You have a more complete picture.
"It’s nice to have experience, but the young guys have more bullets left in their arm. That's a plus, too. And, obviously, it's a more cost-efficient way to do it, going with the young guys."
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Other players sent to minor-league camp: pitchers Joe Bisenius, J.A. Happ and Scott Mathieson and infielder Brad Harman were optioned because they're on the 40-man roster; pitchers Ron Chiavacci, Zack Segovia, Brian Mazone and Savery, catchers Tuffy Gosewisch (best name in camp) and Lou Marson, infielders Jason Donald, Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy and outfielder Valentino Pascucci (best name runner-up) were re-assigned because they were non-roster invites.
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In our Sunday baseball notes, I took issue with Don Fehr's rhetoric that players who are unhappy with their pre-arbitration contract renewals always hold grudges against their teams. Ultimately, money always talks. If Cole Hamels ever becomes a free agent -- and that scenario can't happen until after the 2012 season -- he'll re-sign with the Phillies if they offer him the most cash. Chances are, he won't take less money from another team just because the Phillies ticked him off in 2008.
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Finally, here's more on the competition (can we even call it a competition?) for the No. 5 starter spot, including news that Eaton had an MRI and a CT scan on his back.
Enjoy your Sunday.
(Update, 7:30 p.m.): Eaton's MRI revealed a slightly herniated disk in his back. He'll miss his next start. According to colleague Mike Radano, it hasn't been determined when he'll throw again.
2 comments:
It's tough to put much stock in Arbuckle's words given the way the Phils approach the draft. Brandon Workman, the Phils' unsigned 3rd-round draft pick from last year, is now ranked the 13th best college player in the country by Baseball America.
Had the Phils been willing to pay over slot, they would have another young pitcher with a ton of upside.
So I was sitting in the Blue Parrot Bar & Grille recently and this man sitting next to me starts talking about the Phillies. He says he read something in your blog that was interesting. And the funny thing is the bartender chimes in and you mean Mr. Irrelevant wrote something interesting. He must have heard Bill Conlin say it first on Daily News Live. We laughed and laughed and laughed. You should have been there, because I would have enjoyed seeing my boy Scott rebuttal this butt clown.
Keep up the fine, fine work Bill1Clair, I mean Scott.
Bing
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