Yesterday, the Phillies made two trades and signed multiple players to their active forty-man roster. Watching Bryce Harper win MVP was just another hint to Dave Dombrowski to upgrade the clubhouse this season, and put some depth behind the now 2x MVP. Are these blockbuster moves? No. Do I know any of the guys we obtained yesterday? Not really, no. But let’s take a look at all that went down with the Fightin’s yesterday.

First things first, the Phils selected threw contracts from the minor leagues today. Infielder Luis Garcia, right-handed pitcher James McArthur, and outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz were added to the 40-man roster. The team also claimed left-handed pitcher Kent Emanuel off of waivers from the Houston Astros, who’s coming off a short season due to an 80 game PED suspension. Emanuel made 10 appearances with the Astros last season, pitching a 2.55 ERA in his time with Houston in 2021.

Just a few hours later, the Phillies made their first trade of the offseason. The team acquired right-handed pitcher Nick Nelson, and catcher Donny Sands from the New York Yankees. The team sent NY left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez and first baseman T.J Rumfield. Sands hit 18 HRs and 58 RBIs in 2021 with two minor league teams and is known as a high upside type of guy. Nick Nelson has the pitches in his arsenal, it’s just the matter of getting his control set. He tends to get a little wild, but if they can figure him out, he’ll be a fairly good piece for this team.

But the team wasn’t done. Dave Dombrowski must have been feeling it today and went and fired another trade like an hour later.

The Phils acquired another catcher, Garrett Stubbs, from the Houston Astros in exchange for Phillies minor league outfielder Logan Cerny. Stubbs has 34 at-bats in the major leagues, with a line of .176/.222/.236 and 3 RBIs. The Phillies roster now stands at 39 out of 40 people, with one current open spot on the 40-man roster. But if everything goes according to plan, this team will be looking a lot different when Opening Day hits.

Yesterday was a busy day for the Phillies. They added Garcia, McArthur, Ortiz, Emanuel, Nelson, Sands, and Stubbs all to their active roster, and sent away some players too. There are rumors flying around, awards being won, and moves being made in this organization. Keep going Uncle Dave, I need playoff baseball back.