Castro may be pitching well enough in the DWL to reclaim his role as never-used lefty in the pen
December 16
2006
The Phillies web site has a review of players in action in various winter leagues. Among the players who may have a hope of starting the year with the Phils, Fabio Castro and Joe Bisenius are pitching well. Outfielder Chris Roberson and infielder Danny Sandoval are struggling.
This article says that Castro, who many expected to work as a starter at Triple-A, may be a candidate for the pen if the Phils don't add a reliever. Matt Smith and Castro combine to have 52 innings of major league experience -- I'd be surprised if the Phillies went into the season with them as the primary lefties in the pen.
Phillies faring well in some 2007 projections. I'm especially excited to see Rollins hit .44 of a home run. I assume that means on one of them he passes a runner ahead of him somewhere around second base. The article projects Rollins to hit about 13 dingers this year, which may seem out of place given he hit 25 last season. Not to be forgotten is that he hit 12 in '05 and 14 the year before that.
This article says that the Mets have the fourth-best rotation in the division. If true, that could be a problem for New York barring an expansion of the NL East to 12 teams or something.
The Devil Rays signed third baseman Akinori Iwamura. Iwamura will get $7.7 million over three years. The Phillies will get Wes Helms instead.
The Yankees may have interest in Toby Hall. The linked article calls the Phillies a "strong possibility." That's a hard one to get excited about. And believe-you-me, I've tried.