Nothing beats seeing a player up close and personal and having him go up against your team. That's what the Phillies were able to do this weekend against the Pirates and Red Sox.
On Saturday, the Pirates hosted the Phillies and all eyes were on Craig Wilson. The 29 year old Wilson played first base and scored two runs after drawing two walks in the game. Wilson, a right-handed hitter, can also play outfield and could serve as an emergency catcher on the Phillies roster. Ideally, their fifth outfielder would be a power hitting left-handed bat, but they could settle on a right-handed hitting candidate.
While Wilson's audition was good, Dustan Mohr came up bigger when he came to Clearwater as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Mohr, who is hitting .343 this spring, lashed an RBI double off starter Cory Lidle as part of his 1-for-4 day against the Phillies. He also threw a strike to the plate to gun down Jimmy Rollins, who was trying to score from second on a base hit to left.
Like Wilson, Mohr is a right-handed hitter, but could also fill the need of a fifth outfielder for the Phillies. It's likely that the Phillies will wait to make a decision on pursuing Mohr, since his contract - which is a minor league deal - calls for him to either be added to the Red Sox roster by the end of the week or he can become a free agent. Mohr has already said that he is unlikely to go to AAA and would likely become a free agent. With Boston's deal to bring Wily Mo Pena to town, Mohr could be out of a spot on the Red Sox roster.
The Phillies also got to see an old friend in Brandon Duckworth. The right-hander is fighting for a job in the Pirates' starting rotation and threw four innings, giving up just one earned run against the Phillies on Saturday. Duckworth has a spring ERA of 2.08 with the Pirates.