The Phillies have traded Jesse Biddle to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perhaps a change of scenery will help Biddle get back on track.
On Wednesday the Phillies traded Biddle to the Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Yoervis Medina. The former first-round draft pick of the Phillies brougth plenty of promise as a future fixture in the starting rotation, but Tommy John surgery last September was just the latest in a downward trend for the prospect in the farm system. He will not pitch in 2016 as he recovers from the Tommy John surgery, and the Phillies reached a point with its new management where it decided it was time to move on from the Biddle experiment in hopes of developing someone else in his place in the system.
The Pirates, fortunately, appeared to be much more willing to give Biddle time to get back in good form.
“We feel there is the upside of a quality starting pitcher with Biddle,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “We were willing to tackle the challenge of helping him get healthy and reach the ceiling that many in the industry believed he had when he was identified as one of the best pitching prospects in the industry.”
Medina has 146 game sunder his belt since 2013 with Seattle. He will join the Phillies in Clearwater for spring training as a non-roster invitee, according to Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com.
The end of the Biddle era is another reminder just how effective the Phillies scouting or farm system has been over the past decade. Matt Gelb, who is returning to the Phillies beat this season, shared some somewhat startling numbers to paint the picture.
Games played with Phillies by first picks in 1998-2002 drafts: 3,450
Games played with Phillies by first picks in 2003-2012 drafts: 47
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) February 3, 2016
Those first picks from 1998 through 2002 included Pat Burrell, Brett Myers, Chase Utley and Cole Hamels (Gavin Floyd and Eric Valent were the outliers in that run). As the numbers suggest, the first round draft picks since 2004 (no first round pick in 2003) have either been atrocious or were moved as trade pieces (Greg Golson, Kyle Drabek, Travis d’Arnaud among them).
Moving forward, the Phillies have some reason for optimism from their more recent first round draft picks. Pitcher Aaron Nola is already projected as a key member of the opening day rotation, if not the opening day starter. Shortstop J.P. Crawford will be on the way soon enough.
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