Home Baseball Ben Wetzler Situation Getting Worse for…The Phillies

Ben Wetzler Situation Getting Worse for…The Phillies

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“Why would the Phillies do this? It is almost inexplicable. They have nothing to gain—Wetzler is gone, and Philadelphia will receive a compensatory sixth rounder this summer—and everything to lose. Non-senior prospects generally indicate their “signability” before a team selects them. You should now expect very few of them to be open to talking with the Phillies. If, as MLB.com’s Jim Callis surmises, the Phillies ratted out Wetzler in anger for not signing with them, it’s petty, vindictive, and ultimately self-defeating.” –Barry Petchesky

The NCAA reinstated the Washington State player, so maybe Wetzler is guilty of more. Right now it looks bad for Philadelphia. What a shithole of a city and franchise. They should rename it from “City of Brotherly Love” to “City of Little Brother Syndrome”. Much more accurate.

Cue the conspiracy theory (and the timing does seem odd, and also odd the WSU player was reinstated) that this is a way to hurt a non-SEC team. The NCAA is in bed with everyone so there’s probably at least a smidge of truth to that. OSU can win without Wetzler for some time, so this egg on Philly and the NCAA’s face is nice. Wetzler better sue (see Andrew Oliver).

24 COMMENTS

  1. The Phillies don’t get a compensation pick, that only applies to 1st and 2nd round picks.

    The only way I can see why the Phillies did what they did is because they do lose the bonus slot money for Wetzler which might explain why they were so mad. Maybe he was coming in under the slot money figure and backed out, thereby affecting the way the Phillies wanted to allocate their bonus pool money. So Philly felt screwed over, so they screwed Ben and Monda over.

    In the Oliver case the judge was going to rule that the agent representation rule was not enforceable but the NCAA settled and kept the rule in place. Wetzler would certainly win in court since there is somewhat of a precedent.

    • According to the articles, the Phillies receive a compensatory 6th round pick, which I assume is for losing Wetzler. I’m not reading too many positive views about what Philadelphia did. Maybe this is the change that is needed. Of course, if Wetzler played football and was named Johnny Manziel, he would’ve been handed down a minor penalty before the season began and be ready to move on.

  2. As despicable as the Phillies conduct was the NCAA should be taking the most heat. I thought their mission was to protect the student athlete. For this to be going on for the last 20 years with a nod and a wink and not to change the rule shows how corrupt the organization is.

  3. http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/weekend-preview-rejuvenated-vegas-vols-meet-in-knoxville/

    • The inaugural Pac-12/Big Ten challenge takes place in Surprise, Ariz., where three cold-weather teams from the Pac-12 (Oregon State, Utah, Washington) take on three cold-weather teams from the Big Ten (Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan State). The marquee game of the weekend pits No. 2 Oregon State against No. 10 Indiana, which is hoping to rebound after a 1-3 weekend at Texas Tech. The 4-0 Beavers should get a nice test in three of the Big Ten’s top programs. The event is a fantastic idea, allowing quality cold-weather teams from two good conferences to play each other in a neutral setting where the weather is good.

    “It’s awesome,” OSU coach Pat Casey said. “This all got started when the Pac-12 and the Big Ten were going to have an agreement to have interleague play with basketball and football. I talked to our AD and said, ‘Hey, I’d like to have something set up with baseball, too.’ Arizona State had always hosted this tournament down there, and the city of Surprise asked if we wanted to host it and we said yeah. We’ll get to play at a quality site against quality opponents, so we’re excited about that.”

    With Ben Wetzler still sidelined pending the NCAA’s ruling on his eligibility, OSU will stick with Andrew Moore, Jace Fry and Scott Schultz in the rotation. Fry has come back strong from Tommy John surgery, Casey said, working at 89-91 early in the game and holding it pretty well, still bumping 90 in the sixth (while sitting 87-88).

    “He was really consistent,” Casey said. “He throws a curveball and a slider, and a change. He likes to settle in with the slider more than the curveball, but he throws them both. The change was really good. He’s a guy who is 19, 20 months (removed from Tommy John), and getting stronger all the time.”

  4. Retweeted by Connor Letourneau
    Aaron Fitt ?@aaronfitt 9m

    BREAKING: Oregon State’s Ben Wetzler will be suspended for 20 percent of the season, which includes time he’s already missed.

    Aaron Fitt ?@aaronfitt 6m

    I spoke with Kevin Lennon of the NCAA a few minutes ago; he said the NCAA did not receive Wetzler’s reinstatement request until last week.
    Expand

    Retweeted by Connor Letourneau
    Aaron Fitt ?@aaronfitt 8m

    Expect an NCAA release on that news any minute. I’ll have much more on this situation as we learn more.
    Expand

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