The Phillies have signed 31-year old righty swinging infielder Andy Gonzalez to a minor league deal.  Gonzalez played in 21 games in Independent ball this year and he was 21 for 77 (.273 avg, .649 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He last played in the majors back in 2009 with the Florida Marlins.  Gonzalez has played in 91 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 41 of 225 (.182 avg, .539 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Gonzalez will provide depth in the minors in the middle infield for the Phillies.

The Phillies have released 35-year old righty reliever Chad Durbin.  Durbin pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP.  Durbin pitched in 210 games (0 starts) in his four years with the Phillies and he was 12-7 with 3 saves, a 3.98 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.  Durbin did the best work of his major league career with the Phillies, but he was pretty awful this year.  The Phillies should be o.k. without him moving forward.

The Phillies have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 35 games (20 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  Zambrano has now pitched in 354 games (302 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 132-91 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  Zambrano has a July 1st opt out date in his minor league deal with the Phillies.  This is a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Phillies.

The Phillies will call up 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tyler Cloyd tonight to start against the Diamondbacks tonight.  He will get the first shot to replace Roy Halladay in the starting rotation.  Cloyd pitched in 6 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.  Cloyd got his first taste of the majors for the Phillies last year when he started 6 games in which he was 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  Cloyd came into this season as the Phillies’ #21 prospect according to Baseball America and they hope that he’s up for the challenge.

The Phillies have released 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Ronnie Weltz.  Weltz played in 15 games in AA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 6 for 37 (.162 avg, .463 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Weltz has played in 534 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 536 of 1,906 (.281 avg, .820 OPS) with 293 runs scored, 68 homers, 310 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Phillies moving forward.

The Phillies have signed 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Greg Smith and they have assigned him to AAA.  Smith pitched in 28 games (27 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Angels last year and he was 11-11 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  Smith last pitched in the majors in 2010 with the Rockies.  Smith has pitched in 40 games (all starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 8-18 with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  Smith might get a shot with the Phillies later on in 2013 if he looks good in AAA-ball.

The Phillies have designated 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ezequiel Carrera for assignment.  Carrera played in 13 games for the Phillies this year and he was 1 for 13 (.077 avg, .327 OPS) with 2 runs scored.  Carrera has now played in 129 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 90 for 362 (.249 avg, .641 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.  The Phillies aren’t going to miss Carrera moving forward as they have activated 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Delmon Young to replace him on the active roster.  Young played in 7 games in A+AAA-ball on his rehab assignment and he was 11 for 30 (.367 avg, .788 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs.  Young played in 151 games last year for the Tigers and he was 153 of 574 (.267 avg, .707 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 18 homers and 74 RBIs.  I expect that Young will play almost everyday in the outfield for the Phillies moving forward.

UPDATE:  (5/2/2013) - The Phillies have lost Ezequiel Carrera on waivers to the Cleveland Indians.

The Phillies have reinstated 34-year old righty swinging catcher from his suspension from Major League Baseball for testing positive for amphetamines.  Ruiz played in 4 games in A+AA-ball getting ready for his return to action and he was 2 for 14 (.143 avg, .723 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  Ruiz played in 114 games for the Phillies last year and he was 121 of 372 (.325 avg, .935 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 16 homers, 68 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  32-year old righty swinging Erik Kratz will return to being Ruiz’ backup.  Kratz has played in 21 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 13 for 68 (.191 avg, .531 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs.  The Phillies have designated 33-year old righty swinging catcher Humberto Quintero to make room on the roster for Ruiz.  Quintero played in 7 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 5 for 20 (.250 avg, .636 OPS) with 2 RBIs.

UPDATE:  (5/3/2013) - The Phillies have outrighted Humberto Quintero to AAA.

The Philadelphia Phillies have returned 22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ender Inciarte (a Rule 5 Draft Pick) back to the Diamondbacks.  Inciarte played in 127 games in A-ball last year and he was 145 of 473 (.307 avg, .797 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 2 homers, 47 RBIs and 46 stolen bases.  He has now played in 456 games in his first five years in the minors with the D-Backs and he is 475 of 1,680 (.283 avg, .714 OPS) with 260 runs scored, 5 homers, 135 RBIs and 111 stolen bases.  The D-Backs are happy to get Inciarte back from the Phillies.

The Phillies have claimed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ezequiel Carrera off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  He played in 48 games for the Indians last year and he was 40 for 147 (.272 avg, .707 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Carrera has now played in 116 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 89 for 349 (.255 avg, .653 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.  I really like this pickup for the Phillies as Carrera is a very fast player.