The Philadelphia Phillies have signed 34-year old righty swinging infielder Pablo Ozuna to a minor league deal. Ozuna played in 36 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 7 for 32 (.219 avg, .617 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He has now played in 309 games in his major league career and he is 191 for 677 (.282 avg, .677 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 3 homers, 45 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. This was a good signing for the Phillies as Ozuna can play anywhere in the field except pitcher and catcher.

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed 32-year old righty swinging catcher Paul Hoover to a minor league deal. Hoover played in 13 games for the Marlins last season and he was 8 for 40 (.200 avg, .463 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 28 games in his major league career and he is 17 for 74 (.230 avg, .493 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Hoover has had problems making contact in the majors as he has whiffed 25 times already in his career. Also, the Phillies are very deep at catcher so look for Hoover to be buried in AAA in 2009.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Ellison to a minor league contract. He played in 9 games for the Rangers last season and he was 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .517 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Ellison has now played in 344 games in his major league career and he is 139 for 554 (.251 avg, .650 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. This was a good little signing for the Phillies as Ellison is a good base runner and defender in the outfield. He will have a chance to stick as the Phillies’ #5 outfielder this spring.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty swinging 2B Marcus Giles to a minor league contract. He will provide the team with a good insurance policy in case Chase Utley is not ready to go in 2009 when the season starts. Giles did not play in the major league last season. He has played in 792 games in his major league career in which he is 813 for 2,934 (.277 avg, .782 OPS) with 468 runs scored, 76 homers, 333 RBIs and 70 stolen bases.

The Phillies have received some bad news recently as Major League Baseball has suspended lefty reliever J.C. Romero for the first 50 games of the 2009 season due to him testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. The 32-year old lefty was a major cog in the Phillies’ bullpen last season as he worked in 81 games (0 starts) in which he was 4-4 with 1 save, a 2.75 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. In two seasons with the Phillies, Romero is 5-6 with 1 save, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. This will definately hurt the Phillies as Romero is the only quality lefty they have currently in the bullpen.