Phillies add eight non-roster players for spring training

If you have given up on the Eagles and are counting the days until the Phillies head for Clearwater for spring training, here is some baseball news.

The Phillies announced Wednesday that they have signed eight players to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training as non-roster players. A few of the players are familiar names - infielder Pete Orr, who was a frequent visitor to Citizens Bank Park last season,  lefthander Pat Misch, who has pitched for the Mets and the Giants, and outfielder Scott Podsednik, the former White Sox  player with a .279 career batting average - and some who are not familiar. Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, who was a standout defensive backstopper at Reading and who also showed some pop offensively, is among the others.

Earlier this week, the Phillies released right-hander Scott Mathieson "to allow him to pursue an opportunity with a professional team in Asia." A Philadelphia Inquirer report says he is going  to Japan, probably with the Yomiuri Giants.
 
Mathieson, 27, posted a 1-4 record with a 6.75 ERA in 15 major league games (8 starts) over three seasons with the Phillies (2006, 2010-11).  A 17th round selection by the Phillies in the June 2002 draft, Mathieson went 32-37 with a 3.75 ERA and 34 saves in 200 games (96 starts) for his minor league career. The move left the Phillies' 40-man roster with 39 players.

Here's the list of the eight signed minor leaguers and a brief bio from the Phillies:

 Scott Elarton, RHP – Elarton last pitched professionally in 2010, appearing in 16 games for triple-A Charlotte.  A nine-year major league veteran, Elarton was a 17-game winner for the Houston Astros in 2000, with his last big league appearance coming in 2008 with the Cleveland Indians.  In 232 career major league games (170 starts), he is 56-61 with a 5.29 ERA for the Astros (1998-2001), Colorado Rockies (2001, 2003-04), Indians (2004-05, 2008) and Kansas City Royals (2006-07).
 
 Kevin Frandsen, INF – In 81 games in the Phillies minor league system in 2011, Frandsen batted .309 with five home runs and 43 RBI, appearing at first base, second base, third base and shortstop.  He hit .397 (27-68) in his final 17 games of the season.  In 228 career major league games, Frandsen has a .243 batting average with seven home runs and 53 RBI for the San Francisco Giants (2006-09) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2010).
 
Tuffy Gosewisch, C – Gosewisch will attend his fourth consecutive major league camp with the Phillies.  The 28-year-old hit .247 with 13 home runs and 66 RBI in 109 games for double-A Reading, setting professional highs in games, home runs, RBI, hits (91) and stolen bases (4).  For the season, Gosewisch was named the best defensive catcher in the Eastern League by Baseball America.
 
 Pat Misch, LHP – Misch, 30, made six appearances, all in relief, for the New York Mets in 2011, but spent most of his season with triple-A Buffalo, where he went 8-9 with a 4.00 ERA in 22 starts.  He pitched at least 7.0 innings in 10 of those starts.  In 78 career major league games (24 starts) for the San Francisco Giants (2006-09) and Mets (2009-11), Misch is 4-15 with a 4.80 ERA.
 
Pete Orr, INF – Orr, 31, shuttled between the Phillies and triple-A Lehigh Valley throughout the season.  Between both teams, he made starts at second base, shortstop, third base and right field.  Orr hit .219 in 46 games for the Phillies and .267 with five home runs and 26 RBI in 75 games for the IronPigs.
 
Scott Podsednik, OF – Podsednik spent the entire 2011 season in the minor leagues between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia and was limited to 34 games due to a stress fracture in his left foot.  For the Phillies, the 35-year-old played in 14 games for triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he batted .245 with six doubles and a triple.  A member of the 2005 World Champion White Sox, Podsednik is a career .279 hitter in the major leagues with 41 home runs, 300 RBI and 301 stolen bases.
 
 Brian Sanches, RHP – In 39 games for the Florida Marlins in 2011, Sanches went 4-1 with a 3.94 ERA.  The 33-year-old pitched at least 2.0 innings in 16 appearances last season, including two spot starts, and had a stint on the disabled list in the second half with a strained right elbow.  In 36 of his 39 appearances, Sanches posted a 2.48 ERA (15 ER, 54.1 IP).  In 189 career major league games, he is 13-6 with a 3.58 ERA for the Phillies (2006-07), Washington Nationals (2008) and Marlins (2009-11).
 

  Raul Valdes, LHP – Valdes appeared in 13 major league games in 2011 and went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees.  A native of Cuba, he appeared in a combined 30 minor league games (seven starts) for triple-A Memphis and triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and posted a 7-2 record with a 4.50 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 62.0 innings (9.3 SO/9.0 IP).  Valdes, 34, has a 2.18 ERA in his last 17 major league games with a .237 opponents’ batting average and 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings (9.6 SO/9.0 IP).