Phillies honored for their role fighting ALS

Good morning, and happy Friday! Here’s your Phillies news for today:

• Thursday we found out that John Middleton is the new “control person” for the Phillies, per MLB. That means he’s the figurehead owner, the person Major League Baseball has designated to be point person for the franchise.

Good news. We have a face. That face is especially passionate about bringing a winner back to Philadelphia. He also has overseen this rebuild, which so far has gone relatively to plan. Of anyone who could have control of the team, it should be Middleton.

• Major League Baseball named the Phillies the winner of the Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence for the team’s work supporting the fight against ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) through its Phillies Phestival.

The Phils have always been in the forefront of the fight against ALS. Congrats.

• Finally, today is Rule 5 deadline day. Teams must decide to either protect Rule 5 eligible players by placing them on the 40-man roster, or leave them open to selection in the annual draft, coming up at the Winter Meetings.

Read Jay Floyd’s piece discussing what the Phillies may be planning. Certainly some interesting decisions to be made. It’s possible the Phils make a flurry of roster moves before adding names to the 40-man roster. This could be the last day you see names like Luis Garcia and David Buchanan on that list.