The Phillies hope that 34-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley can stay healthy in 2013….but that is a longshot due to his knees.  With that in mind, the Phillies have a lot of capable middle infielders coming to spring training this year, just in case.  Utley played in only 83 games for the Phillies last year and he was 77 of 301 (.256 avg, .793 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 11 homers, 45 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.  He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Phillies last year and he had 7 errors while showing slightly below average range.  Utley has now played in 1,192 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,275 of 4,434 (.288 avg, .876 OPS) with 779 runs scored, 199 homers, 739 RBIs and 121 stolen bases.  31-year old righty swinging Yuniesky Betancourt, 23-year old switch-hitting Freddy Galvis, 33-year old lefty swinging Pete Orr and 28-year old switch-hitting Andres Blanco will be duking it out for the right to back up Utley in 2013.  Betancourt might have the edge going into spring training, as he is a natural SS.  He played in 57 games for the Royals last year and he was 49 of 215 (.228 avg, .656 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers and 36 RBIs.  He played in 46 games (43 starts) at 2B for the Royals last year and he had 5 errors there while showing slightly below average range.  Betancourt has now played in 1,019 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 974 of 3,661 (.266 avg, .682 OPS) with 402 runs scored, 67 homers, 411 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.  Freddy Galvis got his first taste of the majors for the Phillies last year.  He played in 58 games for the Phillies last year and he was 43 of 190 (.226 avg, .617 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs.  He played in 55 games (45 starts) at 2B for the Phillies last year and he had 1 error there while showing off out of this world range.  33-year old lefty swinging Pete Orr does his best work as a pinch hitter for the Phillies.  He played in 35 games for the Phillies last year and he was 17 of 54 (.315 avg, .772 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Orr played in 13 games (9 starts) for the Phillies at 2B last year and he made 3 errors while showing pretty horrible range there.  Orr has now played in 428 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 173 of 669 (.259 avg, .621 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 3 homers, 46 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.  28-year old switch-hitting Andres Blanco is a longshot to win a bench job for the Phillies.  He played in 120 games in AAA-ball for the Phillies last year and he was 97 of 413 (.235 avg, .648 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 10 homers, 40 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Blanco last played in the majors in 2011 for the Rangers.  He has played in 235 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 151 of 591 (.255 avg, .634 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 3 homers, 47 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SECOND BASEMEN IN 2013:  C

The Phillies have signed 30-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS Matt Tolbert to a minor league deal.  Tolbert played in 113 games in AAA-ball for the Cubs last year and he was 79 of 329 (.240 avg, .617 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 9 stolen bases.  Tolbert last played in the majors back in 2011 with the Twins.  Tolbert has now played in 247 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 139 of 605 (.230 avg, .607 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 3 homers, 54 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  Tolbert will get a shot to win a backup job this spring, but he’s probably a longshot.

The Phillies need 33-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard to stay healthy in 2013 if they are going to get back to the playoffs.  Howard played in only 71 games for the Phillies last year and he was 57 of 260 (.219 avg, .718 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 14 homers and 56 RBIs.  He played in 67 games (66 starts) at 1B for the Phillies last year and he had 5 errors.  Howard has now played in 1,098 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,100 of 4,054 (.271 avg, .915 OPS) with 661 runs scored, 300 homers and 920 RBIs.  Howard has whiffed 1,306 times so far in his career and he is not a good defensive 1B, but he is still a huge asset for the Phillies when he is healthy because of his power.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE FIRST BASEMEN IN 2013:  B+

33-year old righty swinging catcher Carlos Ruiz has been suspended for the first 25 games of the 2013 season after he tested positive for PEDs.  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.  Ruiz played in 106 games (95 starts) behind the plate for the Phillies last year and he had 6 errors and 5 passed balls.  Ruiz also threw out 21 of 85 (24.7%) runners trying to steal on him last year and Phillies’ pitchers had a 4.12 ERA with him behind the dish.  Ruiz has now played in 733 games in his first 7 years with the Phillies and he is 616 of 2,238 (.275 avg, .781 OPS) with 274 runs scored, 52 homers, 299 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.  32-year old Erik Kratz will likely be the Phillies’ starting catcher until Ruiz is ready to return to action.  Kratz played in 50 games for the Phillies last year and he was 35 of 141 (.248 avg, .809 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 9 homers and 26 RBIs.  He played in 41 games (38 starts) behind the dish for the Phillies last year and he had 1 error and 3 passed balls.  Kratz threw out a very impressive 12 of 30 (40%) runners trying to steal on him last year and pitchers had a 3.43 when throwing to him.  Kratz has now played in 61 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 41 of 181 (.227 avg, .712 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 9 homers and 27 RBIs.  The Phillies hope that Kratz can handle a heavy workload until Ruiz returns to action.  33-year old righty swinging Humberto Quintero played in 43 games for the Royals last year and he was 32 of 138 (.232 avg, .598 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 19 RBIs.  He played in 43 games (40 starts) behind the plate for the Royals last year and he had 5 errors and 2 passed balls.  He threw out 11 of 43 base stealers (25.6%) last year and Royals’ pitchers had a 4.11 ERA with him behind the dish.  Quintero will likely be Kratz’ backup until Ruiz returns to action.  22-year old righty swinging Sebastian Valle came into last season as the Phillies’ #3 prospect heading into the 2012 season according to Baseball America.  He played in 105 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 98 of 388 (.253 avg, .699 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 17 homers and 58 RBIs.  Valle has now played in 510 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 502 of 1,875 (.268 avg, .735 OPS) with 220 runs scored, 49 homers, 270 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Valle c0uld beat out Kratz for the starting job to start the 2013 season for the Phillies, if he has a really strong spring.  But, they won’t let him sit on the bench.  If he doesn’t beat out Kratz, he will start the 2013 season in AAA-ball.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2013:  C+

The Phillies have designated 24-year old righty reliever/starter J.C. Ramirez to a minor league deal.  Ramirez pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Phillies last year and he was 3-4 with 4 saves, a 4.01 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 177 games (127 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 43-51 with 4 saves, a 4.31 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.  This is not much of a loss for the Phillies moving forward.

UPDATE:  (2/1/2013) - J.C. Ramirez has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty swinging infielder Yuniesky Betancourt to a minor league deal.  He played in 57 games for the Royals last year and he was 49 of 215 (.228 avg, .656 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 7 homers and 36 RBIs.  Betancourt has now played in 1,019 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 974 of 3,661 (.266 avg, .682 OPS) with 402 runs scored, 67 homers, 411 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.  Betancourt will have a good shot of winning a bench job this spring for the Phillies.

UPDATE:  (3/24/2013) - The Phillies have released Yuniesky Betancourt.  He played in 17 games for the Phillies in spring training and he was 21 of 47 (.447 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 14 RBIs.  He won’t be out of work too long with the way he’s swinging the bat this spring.

The Phillies have signed 35-year old righty reliever Chad Durbin to a 1-year, $1.1 million dollar deal with a club option for 2014.  Durbin pitched in 76 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 4-1 with 1 save, a 3.10 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 440 games (75 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 42-47 with 5 saves, a 4.95 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.  Durbin was really successful in his three previous years with the Phillies, in which he worked in 194 games (0 starts) and he was 11-7 with 3 saves, a 3.62 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  This was a good signing for the Phillies, as they needed help for the bullpen in 2013.

The Phillies have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Delmon Young to a 1-year, $750,000 deal with plenty of incentives to earn.  Young played in 151 games for the Tigers last year and he was 153 of 574 (.267 avg, 707 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 18 homers and 74 RBIs.  He has now played in 880 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 955 of 3,358 (.284 avg, .742 OPS) with 396 runs scored, 89 homers, 482 RBIs and 34 stolen bases.  This was a great deal for the Phillies as Young will likely step right into the starting lineup in LF for them in 2013.

UPDATE:  (3/29/2013) - Delmon Young will start the 2013 season on the 15-day D.L. as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.  He will hopefully be back in early May.

The Phillies have signed 31-year old righty reliever Brian Bass to a minor league deal.  Bass pitched in 17 games (13 starts) in AAA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 2-5 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  He last pitched in the majors with the Pirates in 2010.  Bass has pitched in 101 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 9-7 with 1 save, a 5.16 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP.  Bass will be a longshot to make the Phillies’ bullpen this spring.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Joe Mather to a minor league deal.  Mather played in 103 games for the Cubs last year and he was 47 of 225 (.209 avg, .581 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Mather has now played in 229 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 108 of 493 (.219 avg, .628 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.  Mather will get a shot to win a job on the Phillies’ bench this spring.

UPDATE:  (3/9/2013) - The Phillies have released Joe Mather.