Day Three of the Winter Meetings - Phillies Rumors

What former beloved Phillie just put this house on the market? You gotta read on to find out

Not too thrilling a day in Dallas (so I teased you with that picture and caption - I'm getting good at this), but some newsworthy happenings (lots of info coming from two [1 + 2] separate stories from the Inquirer and one in the Daily News)...

1. It really was just a formality (rosters were frozen after the deadline for setting the 40 man roster passed), but SP Gio Gonzalez is officially the third member of the White Sox to come to Philly in return for Jim Thome.
2. In the minor league phase of the Rule Five Draft the Phillies selected INF Peeter Ramos (San Diego), C John Vanden Berg (Brewers) and OF Brian Burgamy (Padres). They lost OF Brad Correll to Pittsburgh and Fernando Quijada to Baltimore.
3. In the ML phase, the Phillies worked out a deal with Detroit to add RP Chris Booker for cash. Booker is a 29-year old reliever who was a career minor leaguer before pitching 2 innings at the end of last season with Cincinnati. He is a big time strikeout pitcher - 91 Ks in 65 AAA innings last season. He has a bit of a history of wildness to put it mildly (5.62 BB/9 innings), but did a much better job in this regard with Louisville in '05 (only 3.88 BB/9). I think Booker was an excellent gamble and is a real contender to land the final bullpen spot in spring training. I also see him as a guy who the Phillies will be able to sneak through waivers and send to AAA if they so choose. A guy with his K rates should be given a chance to pitch somewhere in 2006 and I'd be happy if the Phillies take a shot and let him finally get his first extended taste of the big leagues in South Philly.
   
4. The Phillies want another pitcher. The number one priority seems to be acquiring a starter, but they have seemingly come to their senses and have decided to not pay big bucks (whether in real cash or trade value) on mediocrity. This is a good thing. A better thing is the talk about Ryan Madson getting moved into the rotation. Why pay a marginal FA starter $7, 8, or 9 million a year when you could just add another reliever (Braden Looper and Rudy Seanez are names being mentioned) and use Madson as a starter for a fraction of the cost? I think you have a better team from a baseball standpoint that way, not to mention the economic efficiency behind such a move. As far as the rest of the pitching staff goes, the decision on Vicente Padilla probably won't be made for at least another 10 days or so (they have until the Dec. 20th arbitration deadline to make up their minds), Robinson Tejeda is being considered more of a reliever than a starter, and it is believed that Gavin Floyd would be sent to AAA Scranton to continue starting if he doesn't make the big league rotation this spring.
   
5. It wasn't a proposed Abreu for Derek Lowe/Brad Penny swap as reported yesterday, but a Jason Michaels for Lowe/Penny trade. I'm starting to seriously think the Phillies are overvaluing Michaels here. I like the guy and think he could start for a bunch of teams, but he is still the same guy who will be 30 next May without ever getting 300 at bats in any one season. Maybe Lowe's big contract might make that deal somewhat fair for the Dodgers, but otherwise I don't think L.A. is seriously considering either deal.
   
6. The Inquirer merely points out that Charlie Manuel shouldn't get too comfortable working in Philly so long as Pat Gillick has two of his former managers (Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella) available and looking for work. If the Phils start out slowly, things could get very interesting on this front.
7. Charlie Manuel said the Phillies would likely go with a middle of the lineup of Bobby Abreu (3rd), Chase Utley (4th), Pat Burrell (5th), and Ryan Howard (6th) against righties. Against lefties, Manuel said that Burrell would be moved up to 4th in the lineup. It is only December, so we are a long ways away from discussing potential lineup combos.
   
8. The Phillies declined arbitration on all of their remaining free agents - Kenny Lofton, Todd Pratt, Ugueth Urbina, Ramon Martinez, and Michael Tucker. They did offer it to Billy Wagner and will receive draft pick compensation for his loss.
9. C Todd Pratt might not be signing with the Royals after all (forget I said anything about this, ok?). Atlanta could be a possibility if they decide they want a veteran backing up Brian McCann. We'll see.
10. Finally, a bit of sad news. Goodbye and good luck to a Phillies favorite moving from the area. Happy trails, Dougie (Inquirer).
    

Former Phillies centerfielder Doug Glanville is outta here, and it appears to be for good.

Glanville, 35, a Penn engineering grad, played for the Phils from 1998 to 2002, and then spent time with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs before the New York Yankees cut him loose in spring training. In June, the Phils magnanimously gave him a one-day contract so he could retire as a Phillie.

Glanville just put his McMansion in West Conshohocken on the market. He's asking $804,998 for the four-bedroom, about $300,000 more than he paid six years ago. Pitcher Randy Wolf bought across the street nearly three years ago.

Glanville has moved to Chicago, where he and a business partner buy derelict properties and rebuild them as luxury housing. He also got married in October. "I'm bereft," says his real-estate agent, Janice Leis of PruFox in Rosemont. (Bereft even though she has the listing.) "He's one of my favorite people."

The real estate listing does not mention the Glanville connection, but if you look closely at a photo of the den, there's an action shot of ol' No. 6 hanging on the wall near the TV.