5 Phillies Who Don’t Belong on the 40-Man Roster
With Spring Training underway in Clearwater, Florida, we discuss five Phillies who are holding up a spot on the 40-man roster.
By Jovan Alford
With pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater, Florida, this week, the Philadelphia Phillies will embark on a new journey in hopes of making another deep playoff run and returning to the World Series.
However, before the Phillies get to Opening Day, they, along with the other 29 teams in the majors must go through the rigors of Spring Training.
Spring Training is a great chance for players to get ready for the season on the 40-man roster and for other guys to win a spot on the active roster.
But on the other end of the spectrum, there will be some players who don’t make the cut and will either be a free agent or play in Triple-A.
Below, we’ll look at the Phillies’ 40-man roster and discuss some of the guys who might not belong and are taking up a spot for someone else.
1. Rodolfo Castro
The Phillies acquired the 24-year-old Castro at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed pitcher Bailey Falter.
The young infielder was supposed to give the Phillies another bat from the left side that they can call off the bench if need be. Castro didn’t do much last year for Philadelphia, as he hit .100 with 2 RBI in 14 games.
After the season ended, the Phillies sent the switch-hitting infielder down to their minor league complex for the postseason, just in case someone got injured.
Nonetheless, this is an important Spring Training for Castro as other guys, such as Cal Stevenson and Scott Kingery would love to get on the 40-man roster and potentially make the ball club out this spring.