Phillies Make First Trades of Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Nov. 19 a series of small trades, the first ones of the 2021 offseason.

© Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Nov. 19 that they acquired catcher Garrett Stubbs from the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Logan Cerny, and RHP Nick Nelson and catcher Donny Sands from the New York Yankees in exchange for LHP Joel Valdez and first baseman T.J. Rumfield. 

Although minor, it's encouraging to see President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski already making trades this offseason. These trades, along with the selection of three prospects' contracts, and the claiming of Kent Emanuel from Houston, rounds out the Phillies' 40-man roster to 39 players.

Stubbs, Houston's eighth round pick in 2015, made his MLB debut with the Astros in 2019. In 51 career games with Houston, Stubbs served as their backup catcher, and batted .182/.238/.247. He has a career .485 OPS, six RBI, and is still looking for his first major league home run. Cerny, selected in the 10th round of this year's draft, goes to Houston with 13 minor league games under his belt, batting .200 in those appearances. 

Nelson, the right-hander selected in the fourth round in 2016 by the Yankees, made his MLB debut in 2020. In 22 appearances, Nelson has pitched 35 innings, collected 40 strikeouts, and posted a 6.43 ERA. Sands, listed as both a catcher and third baseman, has spent six seasons in New York's minor league system after being drafted in the eighth round in 2015. In 368 games in the minors, Sands has batted .268/.331/.382 with 26 home runs and 183 RBI.

Philadelphia sent Valdez, a 21-year-old left-handed starter, and Rumfield, who appeared in 27 games with Clearwater and batted .250 in 2021, to New York in exchange for Nelson and Sands.

It's unclear what Dombrowski's intentions are with these moves, whether they are to add depth to the minor league system (although the Phillies are not short on catching) or to be used in a trade to be made later, remains to be seen. Either way, Dombrowski has a plan for Philadelphia this offseason, and he is just getting started.

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