The Phillies made their first move to spruce up the 40-man roster Friday, as they outrighted to triple-A Lehigh Valley pitchers Patrick Schuster, Dalier Hinojosa, Frank Herrmann and Colton Murray; infielder Emmanuel Burriss; and outfielder Jimmy Paredes.
None of those players figure to be long-term solutions for the Phillies. Of them, Paredes had the most time in the majors, hitting .217 in 76 games in 2016. Murray put up a 6.25 ERA in 24 games.
That move brings the 40-man roster down to 34. More reductions are anticipated, both with exiting free agents and further potential outrightings. Meantime, 60-day disabled list residents Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Matt Harrison could be placed back on the 40-man once they’re ready to go.
This is an expected move, with the Phillies likely adding a slew of younger players to the 40-man to keep them from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
Tim MalcolmTim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.
