Transaction: Phils designate Harman for assignment

Hours before tonight's midnight deadline to add players eligible for the post-season, the Phillies made a minor roster move, designating infielder Brad Harman for assignment and purchasing the contract of right-hander John Ennis, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

As Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com explains, the move to swap out Harman for Ennis on the 40-man serves as a placeholder that would allow the Phillies to add any player in the organization as of Aug. 31 to the postseason roster. Since Ennis will be a non-factor, the bigger story for now is the DFA of Harman, who was once considered a promising infield talent, but struggled mightily in his second full season in Double-A Reading, hitting .203/.272/.313 with five homers and no stolen bases all while playing second base. The 23-year-old Aussie earned a cup of coffee with the Phils early last season and poked an RBI double in 11 plate appearances, spending the rest of the season in Reading, where he hit .210 and struck out 138 times. His glove and age should keep his professional career going, but his bat makes him an extreme longshot to make it back to the Majors. The Phillies have 10 days to trade him, release him, or put him on waivers. If he clears, he can be outrighted to one of their farm teams.

In other news, after placing Kyle Drabek on the inactive list today, the Phils promoted right-hander Michael Schwimer from Clearwater to Reading.

Comments

[thephaithful]

Will they make the callups right away at midnight, or will they add september callups as they go along as they see fit?

[J. Weitzel]

They will come staggering in like a bunch of hobos most likely after tonight. Last season, the bulk of call-ups were added Sept. 2. Tonight is basically the deadline to make a trade for someone outside the organization and have them eligible for the postseason, like if they wanted to get Nomar for October, they better do it in the next few minutes.

[clout]

In 2008, Harman ranked 20th out of the Phils top 30 prospects according to BA. This year he was not on the list because he's reached the age where, if he can't hit in AA ball, he's not going to make it.

He's got a good arm and sure glove but not nearly enough range to play SS on a regular basis, which leaves 3B, where his bat is far too weak, and 2B, where the Phils are set for awhile.

A year ago he projected as a good glove/bad hit utility infielder at the major league level. Now he projects as not making it at all. Harold Garcia has passed him on depth chart.

[awh]

I wonder if there is a team out there who will claim Harman, in hopes that they may be able to revive his bat?

[clout]

Speaking of prospects, apparently the PTBN in the Kazmir deal is Bobby Wilson, a catcher rated as the Angels 13th best prospect by BA. That makes him the highest rated of the 3 prospects, as BA had Sweeney 18th and Torres 24th pre-season, although I'm sure they'd be higher on the list now since both are having good seasons. None of the 3 projects as a star, but all 3 project as major leaguers.

[awh]

And in case it matters, the Bravos beat the Fish tonight.

[pdrupp]

Didn't the rule used to be that the player had to be on the 60 day DL and could only be replaced with a player from the same position?

[gobaystars]

25 minutes to Nomar.

[Greg V]

Yeah still waiting on that gobaysters! I have a feeling that's not happening. I did earlier but the more I read about it, the Phils were pretty public in saying that they didn't think they'd pull it off. I can't imagine what makes this a hard trade but maybe it is! Would have been nice for Nomar to ride into the sunset in a parade down Broad Street! A moment he wasn't afforded in Baaaston!

[awh]

MLBTR citing sources says Rockies axquire Contreras and Dodgers acquire Thome.

[shaw67193]

Dodgers get Garland, as well

[TrueGrit]

obviously Thome was not a fit for the Phils and im not a fan of Nomar but given the state of the bench, there were ZERO options out there to improve the club???? the dodge have definitely improved themselves...

[doubleh]

Contreras at Coors? Wow.

Dodgers making lots of moves. Apparently, this deadline was only for the NL West? LOL.

One does have to wonder why the Phils couldn't get any bench help, however.

[bullit]

the dodgers have thome as a lefty off the bench. we have stairs. jeebus.

[bay_area_phan]

Pretty lame. We have one of the worst benches in baseball and we couldn't do anything to improve? They can't even use the budget as an excuse because, by moving Moyer to the pen, they saved enough in bonus money to largely defray the costs of bringing in Lee & Pedro. Hard to believe they couldn't have made a minor move or two to upgrade this monstrosity of a bench.

[Greg V]

All's Quiet on the Eastern Front! Yeah, I'm amazed the Phils didn't pull anything off. This is normally where they excel! On that note, the Dodgers became a better team tonight.

[bay_area_phan]

bullitt: I would venture to guess that they have Loney coming off the bench & Thome as their starting first baseman.

[doubleh]

Thome has played just 28 innings at first base since 2005.

I'm not sure now's the time to put him back at 1B.

Maybe he'll get the occasional start--like Stairs--but I would think he'd be better suited for the bench.

[TrueGrit]

seriously, BAP? According to baseball tonight, Thome's played 25 innings at 1B since 2005.

[TrueGrit]

....and old phillie killer Ronnie Belliard's homered tonight in his dodger debut....yet another waiver wire pickup for the dodge..guess he cant turn a UTP quite like scrunt.

[bay_area_phan]

He hasn't played first base because he hasn't had to. Konerko is the first baseman, Thome is the DH. On the rare occasion they play in an NL park, Konerko has gotten the call because he's better defensively and they don't lose much at the plate by using him.

Unlike the difference between Thome & Konerko, the offensive difference between Loney & Thome is vast. I'd be surprised if Thome doesn't get the majority of the starts.

[TrueGrit]

loney is not having the best year with the bat (still .275 with 75 RBI) but he is terrific defensively....gentleman jim can still hit bombs but is now under .250 and hasnt played the position in 4 years

we'll soon find out but agree to disagree on this one

[J.R. King]

Very strange that the Phils didn't pick up bench help. Amaro has been searching for an upgrade since free agency began last winter.
He filled the need for a righthanded 4th outfielder so well (not to mention the need for a top-of-the-rotation pitcher), I just assumed he would eventually come through.

Wow. Five months after the club broke north from Clearwater and Miguel Cairo is again on the active roster. I'm really surprised.

[denny b.]

Pretty disappointed that Ruben sat on his hands and didn't do squat for the weakest part of this team. Its been a issue all year and likely will continue to be, unless guys like Stairs, Francisco, Gnome and Mayberry are all saving up their hits for the postseason. I believe Franzke had a stat last night that our pinch-hitters were a combined 6 for 65 or something like that, since early July. That is disgraceful. Our pitchers probably have twice as many hits then that, during that time period.

Scott Podsednik was available and would have been a perfect fit for the Phils off their bench. A CONTACT guy, lefty hitter, who can run and steal bases and is making close to the major league minimum. Plus Lisa Dergan comes along too. Move over Heidi.

Ohh well. Its just "the bench". Probably not important anyway, right??? (insert sarcasm).

Sometimes sitting tight with what you got, is the right strategy. But teams like San Francisco, Colorado, Los Angelas, Boston, St. Louis, Anaheim and Detroit have all added pieces since the "first" trade deadline. The Phils? Nothing. I guess Brett Myers will be our big "acquisition". Hope it works out.

[king myno]

At least we might finally get to answer the age-old "Happ vs. Garland" argument in the postseason....

[murray]

I don't know if this was discussed previously. How many games a year are you missing on FIOS vs. Comcast? I know they don't cover the CN8 games. Anybody? We live in south jersey and Comcast is just pushing us out the door with their prices and poor service.

[denny b.]

"He filled the need for a righthanded 4th outfielder so well."

He has? I thought it was a good pickup too, but so far, Francisco has provided nothing more then Mayberry did, in the exact same role. Their stat line with the club, in their first 50 AB's, is amazingly similar. Of course, when Cholly never plays the guy, its kind of hard to get into any kind of rythem at the dish. I'd have to guess we will see him in the lineup this week against Sanchez and Zito of the Giants. At least, I'd hope so.

I thought the one thing he would really provide was some speed off the bench. He had 13 SB's with Cleveland this year. For some reason, he has none with the Phils (and hasn't even attempted a steal yet). That is kinda puzzling.

[denny b.]

"Wow. Five months after the club broke north from Clearwater and Miguel Cairo is again on the active roster."

Pretty sad, isn't it? He provided nothing in his first 2 month "run" and has come back up and hasn't gotten a chance to do anything this time either.

For the year, Cairo has made 18 plate appearances with the Phils and gotten 2 hits. He has made 1 start. He has scored 1 run. He has no extra base hits. He has no RBI's. He has no SB's. He has barely played in the field.

I have no idea why he was here in April and May and have no idea why he is here now. He had a pretty good year at LV, but Cholly obviously isn't going to use him to do anything. Its just a waste of a roster spot. He got 221 AB's last year in Seattle, but as others are finding out, if you aren't a starter here, you ain't gonna see the field very often.

[denny b.]

BTW, why were we interested in No-Mah anyway?

He has literally done NOTHING this year.

Since June 1st, he has 0 HR's and 5 RBI's in 86 AB's. He has no speed, no power and would add nothing defensively either.

We already have enough of "those" type of players on our current roster, don't we?

[J.R. King]

The Phillies bench is trending downward:

2007:
1. Werth/Victorino (platoon)
2. Dobbs/Wes Helms (platoon)
3. Michael Bourn
4. Chris Coste (2007 edition)
5. Abraham Nunez
6. Tadahito Iguchi

2008:
1. Dobbs/Feliz
2. Stairs
3. Geoff Jenkins
4. Coste (2008 edition)
5. Bruntlett
6. So Taguchi

2009:
1. Dobbs
2. Stairs
3. Francisco
4. Bako
5. Bruntlett
6. Cairo

[J.R. King]

Luckily the rotation is trending upward:

2007:
1. Hamels
2. Kendrick
3. Moyer
4. Kyle Lohse

2008:
1. Hamels
2. Myers
3. Moyer
4. Blanton

2009:
1. Lee
2. Hamels
3. Blanton
4. Happ

[J.R. King]

I sat down intending to say something positive. At the front end of the bench, I like Dobbs, Francisco and Stairs. I think Francisco is an upgrade over Mayberry and I'd be very surprised if Stairs stayed dormant all month.

But carrying Bruntlett, Bako and Cairo on the playoff roster is criminal. There should at least be a local ordinance against it.

[J.R. King]

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says Thome will come off the bench, according to CBSSports.com:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/12138750

[EastFallowfield]

And Dodgers lost their game, meaning Phils have fewest losses in the NL.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Michael Schwimer with two Ws on his first day at AA. CAn't miss, obviously. He's a double header relief ace.

[awh]

I missed it. In case you did, here's an article on the "top pitching duos" in MLB, which discusses young Colbert:

Best 1-2 Punch: Most prolific (and feared) pitching duos today

Most interesting stat:

The Giants are 34-18 in games started by Lincecum and Cain; they are 35-40 in all others.

I'm going to the game tonight. I posted after they lost 3 of 4 in SF that I wanted to see this series at the Zen before I got worried about facing the Giants in a short series.

I guess we'll find out now.

[EastFallowfield]

Of course, the motivation for the two teams this week is a little different.

One team has a fairly comfortable lead and doesn't have its ace going, the other is dead even for the last playoff spot and has its ace going in the finale.

But-since all the hitters got the day off yesterday they should all hit tonight. Cause I always read that slumping players need a night off.

[SmokyJoe]

Question for Denny B, Clout, NEPP, or any of our other resident prospect experts:

What's the deal with Austin Hyatt. He's putting up insanely sick numbers, including ERA, WHIP, K/9, & K/BB. The best I can tell from the MILB player profile, he is 23 and in his first year of minor league ball, but they don't list a college. Obviously, he's overmatching the 19 year old kids at low-A Williamsport.

He's not on any prospect list, he's old for his level (but I'm not sure where else they would have put him if this is indeed his first year in the Pros). What kind of stuff does he have? If he's a hard thrower, he hasn't had the customary BB that usually go with a young flame thrower. Just curious. I'd appreciate any insight that can be given. Thanks.

[Bonehead]

Before the trade was finalized, Thome himself informed the Dodgers that he is physically unable to play 1B, or anywhere in the field.

[SmokyJoe]

Are we actually still paying some of the salary for Thome to come off the bench and hit a pinch hit HR against us in the playoffs?

Do you think he'd gets cheers, boos, or indifference first game/at-bat in CBP?

[michael]

murray:I'm almost a 100% CN8 hasn't broadcast a game all year. You would only have to worry about that if your a Flyers or Sixers fan. You get CSN Philly with Fios so you shouldn't miss any games.

[J.R. King]

CN8 broadcasts about a dozen games, but they are all at the beginning of the year on nights when the Flyers or Sixers also play. On those nights, you have a 50/50 chance of the Phils being on CN8.

[MG]

Disappointing. Other teams in the NL improved and the Phils sat on their hands all because they likely didn't want to spend another $750-$1M on payroll this year because it likely would have crossed some operating income thresholds.

There are plenty of secondary pieces that might have helped this club really helped them including a competent middle utility INF, a left-handed bat off the bench, and probably a lefty reliever as Romero's status for the postseason is really suspect.

When are the Phils going to learn that by spending a little bit of money like they did on Stairs last year at Sept. 1, that the revenue potential upside can be enormous?

Basically, if they even have 1 more home games in the postseason they will have covered the $750k they would have spent. 2-3 games more and they would have turned a profit on it.

This team is good enough to win another championship in many aspects (starting pitching, lineup, defense) but their bench and bullpen are a bit wanting and that likely will get exposed at some point in the postseason.

[Bonehead]

Murray - I, too, live in South Jersey and am looking to switch away from Comcast when my current agreement expires.
Please let me know how it works out for you if you switch to Fios.

[SmokyJoe]

I hate comcast...I've been sending emails constantly to Verizon to put Fios in my neighborhood. Everyone that I talk to who has it loves it. As good, if not better, for about $50 to $80 less a month.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

MG - on what basis do you claim that the Phils' inactivity on the waiver wire is due to concerns over $750K to $1MM as opposed to concluding that they simply tried and failed to find and land someone they liked?

[J.R. King]

MG: I agree on the bench (I would have replaced Cairo and Bruntlett, though I have less concern about Stairs).

But how many more pieces do you want for the bullpen? Lidge, Madson, Park, and Eyre are locks. Say Myers returns but Romero does not. That leaves two spots for Durbin, Condrey, Pedro, and Moyer. I put Pedro and Durbin on the roster. Ideally you'd swap Chad Durbin for a back-of-the-bullpen lefty, but it's not like the Phils have a lot of spots to fill in the pen.

What else do you want?

[awh]

MG, I don't necessarily think it's money - the sellouts just keep coming and coming, but it may have been the players other teams wanted in return.

(Remember, I am the most prolific FO basher on this site.)

[RodeoJones]

FIOS is great and the 10 or so games you miss are in April/May. It's worth it for the cheaper bill, better service and better quality product.

I think we'll all cut Stairs and Dobbs a break when Thome shows us how hard it is to pinch hit. I think what he can offer the Dodgers is overblown unless he's DH in Game 1 of the WS.

[MG]

Hugh - Just a hunch. Amaro was pretty vocal after the Lee trade that the Phils were pretty much set and you really don't think the Phils could have signed another backup utility INF if they really wanted to? Especially with all of the guys who were supposedly exposed?

If it was a money-related issue, then Amaro failed. My bet is that it largely wasn't and that Amaro had very limited/no funds to spend to acquire an additional player.

JR - The Phils had two lefties in the pen last year and it paid some big dividends for them. Having only 1 lefty in the pen limits Cholly's options late.

It wouldn't matter against the Cards given their really heavily right-handed lineup/bench but you would want 2 lefties in the pen especially if the Phils have to play the Dodgers or the Rockies in the postseason.

People keep making this argument that the Phils have so much bullpen depth and I just don't see it. Durbin has had major control issues all year, Condrey is just another guy, Pedro/Moyer are both guys I wouldn't want to see in a game unless the Phils are getting killed.

Hopefully Myers comes back and is a solid option but it still wouldn't hurt to have another situational lefty besides Eyre.

[J.R. King]

For everyone who hates Comcast ... just cut the cable and go Internet only for $42.50/month. Trust me, it actually works. You'll need to spend a little extra cash here and there: $10/month for private proxy software (to get around those pesky blackout restrictions), about $20/month for a bunch of Netflix disks, and about $180/year for mlb.tv. But it pays for itself real quick.

Connect a laptop or a cheap desktop to your teevee and watch everything through the interwebs. You end up watching good television shows on DVD (start with "The Wire") and baseball and that's it. No more flipping. You'll thank me later.

[MG]

awh - What kind of prospect would have a team demanded for a backup utility INF? At best, maybe a guy ranked 20-25th in the organizational depth chart. Given that Amaro has two of the worst backup INF infielders in baseball on my roster right now, I bet he trades for Nomar if he can. Can't believe the A's would have been more than happy to save some bucks and get a body in return.

[J.R. King]

MG: You're right about the second lefty. Phils starters have been going so deep in games recently I forgot how valuable it is to be able to use Eyre earlier in the game and still have Romero for the next time through the order. Heck, Charlie hadn't used his only lefty in weeks.

But I wouldn't count out Pedro as a valuable long man. Imagine if Happ is in trouble early and Charlie can switch to a righthander the second time through the order. If might settle things down and give the offense a chance to make a comeback. As the seventh man in the bullpen, I think they could do worse.

[awh]

MG, the bullpen wanting?

As far as Brad Lidge has been concerned, then, yes, we agree.

But, as was pointed out here a few threads ago, the rest of the bullpen has been as good as they were last year.

If you subtract Lidge, the bullpen has the second lowest ERA in the NL.

And, that's without having Condrey, Romero, Eyre and Durbin for parts of the season.

If Lidge has indeed turned things around, I'm not too worried about the bullpen.

The bench OTOH.....

[TNA]

Anybody know what the Dodgers had to give up to get Thome and Garland?

[curt]

Um, this team didn't bulk up with Lee and Pedro and then fail to pick up a bench guy because of $$. The Phils are obviously not as concerned about the bench as the fans are.

[SmokyJoe]

Found this on Hyatt from BP via thegoodphight:

Austin Hyatt, RHP, Phillies (Short-season Williamsport)
Thursday’s stats: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K
A 15th-round pick in June out of Alabama, Hyatt was one of those cheap senior signs who throws strikes, has a good changeup, and is a solid organization arm. The shocker here is that his fastball is suddenly up to 94 and he’s been the New York-Penn League’s most dominating arm, allowing just one run in 31 2/3 innings while compiling a 49/5 K/BB ratio and giving up just 14 hits. At 23, he needs to move quickly and is probably no more than a reliever in the end, but he’s certainly more than just a solid organizational arm.

He was drafted in the 15th round out of Alabama this year, and his fastball has increased by 4 mph this summer, up to 94.

[awh]

MG, the answer is "I don't know" what kind of prospectanother team would have wanted.

Neither do you.

Perhaps Hugh Mulcahy is correct in that they couldn't find anyone they really thought was an upgrade.

My point was that it might not have been money.

I stand by that statement.

[awh]

MG, Condrey "just another guy"?

Sheesh, how well does a guy have to pitch to deter you from using that label?

You can argue "stuff" all you want, but results are results.

[awh]

Smokey, I wonder if the increase in velocity has to do with better conditioning he learned in a professional baseball organization, or, perhaps, they changed his mechanics?

[thephaithful]

I think my horrible Hotwire service which doesnt carry CN8 only missed like 6 broadcasts games all year, and they were all in April/May. You will be fine with fios, enjoy.

Thome is a great pickup for the Dodgers, who will have real playoff impact, whereas your Penny/Contreras/Garland pickups shouldn't factor in much as they are all 4th/5th starters and probably do not crack any of the team's playoff rotation. They will be more useful in helping to make the playoffs than advancing in them, which is why the NL West teams were the most active.

If the Dodgers make the playoffs, now the opponent has to worry about holding on to a lefty reliever at a certain time beause they've got a .897 OPS vs RHP in 2009 waiting to mash late in the game.

[SmokyJoe]

As I've been researching Austin Hyatt, I found this link (great picture, it's work friendly):

http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/more_names/blog/dugan1.jpg

[thephaithful]

smokyjoe: cool pic, how does John Mayberry known Adam Sandler?

[SmokyJoe]

phaithful, I'm assuming you are kidding, so I'll add on:
they're both Jr's, and were part of the same "Destined for Stardom" teen group growing up?

[Tony D]

That Dodger-Cardinal Division Series matchup is gonna be a good one.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

" Other teams in the NL improved and the Phils sat on their hands all because they likely didn't want to spend another $750-$1M on payroll this year because it likely would have crossed some operating income thresholds"

Doubtful.

Curt's opinion that the team feels they are ok here is probably the more logical conclusion.

[TNA]

Are the Giants inserting Penny tomorrow?
Sanchez, Penny, Lincecum.

The Phillies (and Ibanez in particular) might have caught a break by not having to face Zito and facing a more hittable Penny. It's likely Penny will be trying to blow hitters away so this should be an interesting matchup against Philly's lefty fastball mashers.

The Phillies can hit Lincecum pretty well (or at least better than other teams). Sanchez is due for one of his 90-pitch outings so hopefully the Phillies can get deep into the bullpen tonight.

[awh]

EF, I've thought about what you posted above about the "motivation" of the two teams.

I look at this series (OK, it's me and not the boys in red pinstripes) as a "message" series for both teams.

The Giants would like to win, obviously, because they are in a very tight playoff race.

The Phillies ought to be motivated because they may face the Giants in the playoffs, and should want to show them that the series in SF was a fluke, and that they are the better team. IMO, you don't want to face a team that thinks they have your number.

The Giants, in addition to needing to win for playoff purposes, would also probably like to get in the Phils' heads by taking the series.

IMHO.

[timr]

With Dobbs on the DL, nobody on the Phils bench is hitting higher than .200! It is absurd that they didn't try to improve that area, and it will likely come back to haunt them in a bunch of big spots this postseason.

[The Truth Injection]

MG: So the Phillies didn't add a guy becasue of money? It couldn't be that maybe they couldn't work a deal for a guy that fit their needs?

And Condrey is "just a guy" He had a 2.14 ERA before he got lit up in the Toronto series which is when he finally admitted to having an oblique strain. He came back early and pitched 3 scoreless innings giving up one hit before going down again.

I know FO spending and bullpen have been two issues with you so you have to keep beating the issue, but you make yourself look ridiculous.

[TNA]

awh - i doubt any team really gets into the heads of the Phillies. they expect to beat everybody but understand that losses happen; it's a very good mindset.

the phillies hitters (and CBP) are more in opposing pitchers' heads than anything. if the, albeit short, history holds to form, the Phillies should tee off on Lincecum, but will have some problems against Penny.

[NEPP]

I was somewhat surprised that we didn't make a move but I figure Amaro has something up his sleeve with that minor roster move to add a player after 1 Sept.

Still, a legit middle infielder would have been nice or another LH bat off the bench as Stairs has been terrible since June now.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, newer threads