Blowing Up The Phillies (MLB 14 Franchise)

[k_mac]

Welcome to my newest franchise, this time with the Philadelphia Phillies. As you may or may not know, I had a franchise on here with the Cubs last year. This year I decided to switch it up a little bit, because I find myself losing interest in Cubs franchises since I'm such a big Cubs fan in real life. That may not make sense to everyone the way I intended, so let me expand on that a little; when the Cubs make a move in real life and I made a different move in the game, it just takes away from the experience for some reason. So, I've decided to take on another team and completely rebuild them, just like what the Cubs are doing. The criteria was simple, find an underpreforming team that had players with decent trade value. After looking through the rosters, the Phillies were a no brainer. Guys like Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee and Carlos Ruiz can all be moved since the team isn't that great. I'm not a Phillies fan, so I don't feel bad for letting go of some of their best players of the last decade. Ryne Sandberg being the manager of this team just happens to be the icing on the cake. So, get ready for a Marlins-like tear-down of the Philadelphia Phillies.

This is Blowing Up The Phillies - A MLB 14: The Show Franchise

Phillies Rebuild Progress:
Trades Completed: 6

(Feel free to post comments, thoughts, etc)

[k_mac]

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Change Afoot in Philadelphia
Amaro Jr. Out as General Manager
By Ben Franklin / MLB.com | 2/19/14 7:39 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA - In a move that was quite unexpected given the timing, only 7 days before the start of spring training, the Phillies have fired General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Disappointed in the 73-89 record that was posted by the team last year, President David Montgomery has decided to "start fresh," adding that the only job within the organization that is safe is manager's position, held by Ryne Sandberg.

"I appreciate the work that [Ruben] Amaro Jr's put into his job, as well as the World Series title that he was a part of as an assistant GM. But, right now I feel that it's in our best interest to move on and start fresh."

Replacing Amaro at the general manager position is former Cardinals assistant general manager Michael Girsch.

Michael Girsch was going into his third season as the Cardinals' Assistant General Manager after being appointed to that position in January 2011. In his role, he assisted General Manager John Mozeliak with Major League player transactions, contract negotiations and player evaluations and helped oversee all aspects of Baseball Operations including amateur and pro scouting, player development, international operations and baseball development.

Girsch joined the Cardinals in 2006, starting his career with a two year stint as the Coordinator of Amateur Scouting. In 2008, he was named Director of the newly created Baseball Development department - a group focused on supporting Baseball Operations via internet applications, analytic models and decision support tools. Girsch led the Baseball Development department for three years before being promoted to Assistant GM.

Prior to joining the Cardinals in 2006, Girsch earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Girsch, 37, joins the likes of Rangers GM Jon Daniels and Rays GM Andrew Friedman as the youngest general managers in the league. Girsch was unavailable to comment, given the sudden nature of the move.

Surprisingly, the Phillies kept quiet about their intention to fire Amaro and conducted a search for a replacement completely under the radar.

President David Montgomery added "Hold on, this is about to be one heck of a ride." Expect many changes for your Philadelphia Phillies over the course of the next year. A complete rebuild is in the works, while the biggest question on every fan's mind is the quality of the on the field product that we'll see in 2014.

[k_mac]

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Phillies Acquire Vitters
New GM Girsch's First Move
By Ben Franklin / MLB.com | 2/22/14 12:01 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA - Just three days after taking the job, new general manager Michael Girsch is already putting his mark on this Phillies team.

In a recent interview, Girsch says his main objective for the upcoming year is to "..find a way to bring in young guys to mesh with the older talent that the team has." Doing just that, Girsch engaged in trade talks with his former team's mortal enemy, the Chicago Cubs. Coming to Philadelphia will be a former first round pick, Josh Vitters.

Going to the Cubs in the deal is pitcher David Buchanan, a pitching prospect who like Vitters is 24 years old.

Vitters hasn't had much chance to prove himself at the MLB level due mainly to injury, but he has performed when healthy at AAA. Over three years - as a 22, 23, and 24 year old - Vitters has hit .304/.361/.518 at the Triple A level. His age, lack of performance at the MLB level and the wave of new Cubs prospects has left Vitters off of many of the club's top 20 prospect lists.

"We like him, and we love the way he can hit the ball. He's a sweet swinging guy that has been learning a few different positions, and that maximizes his value to us." Girsch said of the newly acquired Vitters. "He's proven that he can hang at AAA, look for him to come in and compete for a spot in spring training."

Spring training starts in four days, but don't be surprised if the Phillies make some more moves in the next couple of days, as many sources have confirmed Philadelphia is in dialogue with several teams about possible trades.

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Phillies Eye a Pair of Moves
Philly Stocking the Minors
By Ben Franklin / MLB.com | 2/23/14 3:20 ET

PHILADELPHIA - New GM Michael Girsch didn't have to look far for his next move, calling up his former boss John Mozeliak to make a trade. That's right, the Phillies are bringing in one more piece from St. Louis - for now at least.

Girsch had his eye on relief prospect Jordan Sawgerty since he departed from the team, and "was going to do everything it took to get him." Well, he did and now Swagerty is a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies send St. Louis OF prospect Cord Sandberg in return for the hard throwing reliever. According to our guys here at MLB.com, Sandberg was the Phillies 11th best prospect, while Swagerty came in at 13 in St. Louis' system.

Sandberg, of no relation to manager Ryne Sandberg, is a young but raw prospect who will have plenty of time to grow in St. Louis' system. "When I looked at both systems, I saw a surplus in two different areas. Ours was toolsy outfielders, and obviously St. Louis has a knack for drafting and developing young pitchers. It was a win-win for both teams," said Girsch.

The St. Louis deal was completed around 10 AM this morning, but more recently the Phillies have been in trade talks with the Texas Rangers centered around Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz.

Prospects like Nick Williams, Cody Buckel and Luke Jackson are all being discussed in the deal, but the Phillies have kept the media in the dark, a reoccurring theme over the past week. The talk out of Texas is that the deal includes all of the players mentioned above plus a PTBNL coming from Philadelphia, and is a done deal, pending physicals.

Stay tuned for more information on that front.

[k_mac]

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Spring Training Preview
With Ruiz Gone, Who Will Catch?
By Ben Franklin / MLB.com | 2/26/14 8:00 AM ET

CLEARWATER - The Phillies have arrived at spring training with one glaring hole in their 40 man roster. The absence, caused by the trade of starting catcher Carlos Ruiz has left the Phils in a tough spot short-term at the position.

Cameron Rupp, who was called up late last year and played in 4 games, looks like the most logical fit behind the plate. Drafted in the third round of the 2010 draft out of the University of Texas, Rupp is 25 years old. Since 2010, Rupp has put up a line of .308/.357/.385 in the minors.

Rupp is competing with Wil Nieves and Tommy Joseph for the starting job. Joseph, at just 22, is looking to bounce back from a season derailed by concussions to seize the position. Nieves, however is the best contact hitter of the bunch, and that may be the deciding factor for manager Ryne Sandberg.

The blow of losing Ruiz is lessened by the two prospects that Texas sent back over in the deal. Outfield prospect Nick Williams was sent over along with pitcher Cody Buckel. The two teams went back and forth on the deal, with multiple reports circulating about the availability of Rangers pitching prospect Luke Jackson. The Rangers and Phillies, however were able to come to terms on a second deal with included swapping young arms Luke Jackson (to PHI) and Serevino Gonzalez (to TEX).

Gonzalez, Philadelphia's 6th best prospect according to MLB.com was essentially the "PTBNL" rumor that was going around the league. Many believed that Gonzalez could be in line for a call up to the majors at some point during the season, but the new front office may have not been as high on him, hence the trade. Statistically, Luke Jackson had a better 2013 campaign, but Gonzalez is one year younger and has a slight edge in potential.

"Overall, I feel that we improved as an organization after the two deals with [Texas]. We gave up a young pitcher, but in my mind we gained two extremely able guys who will definitely alleviate the pain of losing Gonzalez. Nick Williams, at 20, also has a bright future ahead of him. I'm excited to see how these guys turn out," said Girsch of the new Phillies.

The Rangers will have control of Ruiz through the 2016 season, and is considered a definite upgrade over the Rangers expected platoon of J.P. Arencibia and Geovany Soto.

Here's a look at the depth chart for the Phillies entering spring training:

Philadelphia Phillies Depth Chart - 2014

• Catcher
• Cameron Rupp (R)
• Wil Nieves
• Tommy Joseph (R)

• First Base
• Ryan Howard
• Darin Ruf

• Second Base
• Chase Utley
• Freddy Galvis
• Cesar Hernandez (R)

• Third Base
• Josh Vitters
• Cody Asche
• Jayson Nix

• Shortstop
• Jimmy Rollins
• Ronny Cedeno

• Left Field
• Dominic Brown
• Zach Collier (R)
• Aaron Altherr (R)

• Center Field
• Ben Revere
• Tony Gwynn Jr.
• Tyson GIles (R)
• Kelly Dugan (R)

• Right Field
• Marlon Byrd
• John Mayberry Jr.

• Starting Pitcher
• Cliff Lee
• Cole Hamels
• A.J. Burnett
• Kyle Kendrick
• Roberto Hernandez
• Jonathon Pettibone

• Relief Pitcher
• Antonio Bastardo
• Mike Adams
• Jake Diekman
• Justin De Fratus
• Brad Lincoln
• B.J. Rosenburg

• Closer
• Jonathon Papelbon

• Disabled List
• Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

[NightHawkTH]

You don't waste any time rebuilding! And you would go get Vitters. Jk man im def following!

[k_mac]

Quote: Originally Posted by NightHawkTH

You don't waste any time rebuilding! And you would go get Vitters. Jk man im def following!

Haha, thanks man! I still have a lot of moves lined up, but I didn't want to throw them all out there at the beginning of the season.

Vitters wasn't going to get much playing time, if any in Chicago. If he doesn't play well, it's not like I gave up much for him. I thought it was worth a shot.

[LopaKa]

I love the idea k, good luck rebuilding the Phillies. I'll be following!

[NightHawkTH]

Quote: Originally Posted by k_mac

Haha, thanks man! I still have a lot of moves lined up, but I didn't want to throw them all out there at the beginning of the season. Vitters wasn't going to get much playing time, if any in Chicago. If he doesn't play well, it's not like I gave up much for him. I thought it was worth a shot.

Yeah i hear you. Vitters is in a tough spot especially with a guy like Kris Bryant coming up.