ACQUISITIONS:
Todd Pratt - Catcher
(Re-Signed) Todd Pratt batted .272 with
4 home runs and 20 RBI’s last year in 125 at-bats while occupying a back-up
role. The leader returns to Philadelphia this season and will not only fill the
position as Mike Lieberthal’s understudy, but also a pivotal presence in the
clubhouse as the team looks to make a run at the
playoffs.
Tim Worrell - Reliever
(Signed from SF) Tim is coming over
from the Giants where he was their closer last year after an injury placed Rob
Nenn on the shelf for the season. The veteran racked up 38 saves, which ranked
him 4th in the NL. For the Phillies he will slot back into the set-up spot for
the newly acquired Billy Wagner. Over the past three years he has appeared in
229 games and saw his ERA finish above 3.00 just once. The signing is a huge
splash for Ed Wade in his attempt to revamp the
pen.
Roberto Hernandez -
Reliever (Signed from ATL) Roberto
Hernandez is used to closing games but he has showed, with the Braves, that he
can also set-up. Hernandez and Worrell will be sharing the duties of setting-up
for Wagner, though he is most likely to see the bulk of his work in the seventh.
The two figure to be an important part in shutting down hitters late in the
games, something the Phillies couldn’t do unless Rheal Cormier or Turk Wendell
was on the mound in 2003.
Amaury Telemaco -
Starting Pitcher (Re-Signed) Telemaco
came up from Triple-A last year when the organization saw a few of its starting
pitchers fall victim to injuries. He filled in by a posting a 1-4 record which
wasn’t great, but he did not get much run support to show for his efforts.
Amaury is going to be fighting for the final two spots in the Phillies bullpen
this year along with Eric Junge, Josh Hancock and Ryan Madson.
Kevin Millwood -
Starting Pitcher (Re-Signed) Kevin
Millwood is coming off of a 14-12 season in which he led the Phillies pitching
staff with 222 innings pitched. After coming off a successful season with the
Braves it seemed that Millwood wasn’t worried about his conditioning much and it
showed late in the season when he fizzled off. During the off-season it seemed
as though he would not be coming back to the Phillies, but Millwood’s agent,
Scott Boras, promised an enormous contract. The Phillies offered, then took back
their offer and then finally re-signed Millwood for a not so large $11 million.
At least not large compared to what he thought he would be
earning.
Ricky Ledee - Outfielder
(Re-Signed) Ledee has been a great
acquisition to the Phillies and has become apart of the “Bench Dogs.” Last year,
Ledee batted .247 with 13 homers and 46 RBI. Ricky looks to continue his success
in 2004 for manager Larry Bowa.
Doug Glanville -
Outfielder (Signed from CHI-N) Doug
will return to the Phillies this year and occupy and extremely limited role.
This time around the veteran will be coming off the bench instead of starting
for the Phillies like he did in his previous stint with the franchise. Doug
batted .264 with 5 HR and 16 RBI while splitting 2003 between both the Texas
Rangers and Chicago Cubs. Glanville is a pretty sure lock to hop on board the
roster coming out of spring training at the end of March. Jason Michaels and
Chase Utley are expected fight for the last reserve spot on the team’s
roster.
Jimmy Rollins -
Shortstop (Re-Signed) Another year of
great expectations and another year of disappointment for the young Phillie.
After working with Tony Gwynn last year, Rollins batted just .263 and was
dropped from the leadoff spot all the way down to eighth. He has turned to Gwynn
again this winter and it promises to be another year of high hope for Rollins.
This time, hopefully, he will not let us down.
Shawn Wooten - First
Base / Catcher (Signed from ANA) Shawn
finished the 2003 campaign with the Angels at a .243 clip with 7 homers and 32
RBI. Wooten will be a huge addition to the Phillies because of his versatility
-- he can play first base, catcher and third.
Billy Wagner - Closer
(Acquired from HOU) Ed Wade said his
top priority was to obtain a closer this off-season and he did just that by
going out and getting one of the best available. Billy consistently throws his
fastball at 100 mph and always has excellent control, something that makes him a
huge upgrade over the departed Jose Mesa.
Eric Milton - Starting
Pitcher (Acquired from MIN) The
Phillies thought they would not get Kevin Millwood back so they went after a
starting pitcher and got Milton. Eric is a south paw coming off of an injury to
his knee that sidelined him for much of last season while with the Twins. In the
three games following his return he went 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA. He could be the
sleeper in the Phillies rotation that will have a huge
impact.
LOST
PLAYERS
LHP Dan Plesac;
Retired
C Kelly Stinnett;
Royals
LHP Valerio De Los Santos;
Blue Jays
RHP Terry Adams; Blue
Jays
RHP Aaron Myette;
Reds
RHP Mike Williams; Devil
Rays
RHP Turk Wendell;
Rockies
INF Tyler Houston;
Yankees
RHP Jose Mesa;
Pirates
TRADED TO
ASTROS
RHP Brandon Duckworth, RHP
Taylor Bucholz, RHP Ezequiel Astacio
TRADED TO
TWINS
RHP Carlos Silva, RHP Bobby Korecky, INF Nick Punto