Chris Coste is now dead to us

Scratch Chris Coste off your list of favorite former Phillies, he has gone to the dark side. Coste, who spent 3 plus years with the Phillies before being waived and playing for the Astros last season, has signed with the New York Mets.

There is no guarantee that Coste will actually play any games with the Mets, however, as he was only given a spot on the 40 man roster and not given a guarantee that he would be on the 25 man roster. There is also no word as to whether the Mets expect Coste to play catcher or first base.

It's hard to say if Coste signing with the Mets is an indication of how desperate Coste is to play or how bad the Mets are going to be next season. Losing Coste to the dark side hurts because he is such a good guy, I guess we will always have 2008.

Chris Coste released, claimed by Astros

The writing was on the wall. Chris Coste had to know that the Phillies, who were keeping three catchers on their roster for some inexplicable reason, were eventually going to get rid of him. Coste hadn't started a game since June 27th and was relegated to pinch hitting duty, getting only two at-bats so far in July. He had to know that, sooner or later, he was going to be on his way out the door.

And that day has come. To make room for the return of Raul Ibanez, Coste was released by the Phillies and was subsequently claimed by the Houston Astros. Coste will now continue his unlikely career in Houston as a backup catcher.

Coste's story is well-known, how he spent many years in the minors before finally getting his shot as a 33 year old. He was a bit of a fan favorite in Philly because of all he had to overcome to get to the show, but as a player, it's hard to say he will be missed. Coste was having a mediocre season with the bat and clearly couldn't be relied upon behind the plate, hence the Phillies need to bring in Paul Bako. He's the kind of guy you could keep around on a decent team because of his great story, but, with the way he is playing this year, he wasn't going to be a useful player on a team with World Series aspirations.

Good luck in Houston, Coste. Hopefully they have some playing time for you so you can prove that you still belong in the big leagues. Oh, and thanks for helping us win the World Series last year!

Phillies acquire lefty Jack Taschner for Ronny Paulino, roster looks to be taking shape

Well, that didn't take long! Two days after the Phillies announced that they were looking to trade catcher Ronny Paulino, they found a taker: the San Francisco Giants acquired Paulino from the Phils for lefty reliever Jack Taschner. The trade of Paulino officially makes Chris Coste the backup catcher for this season, or until Lou Marson is ready. The acquisition of Taschner will have a domino affect on the final Opening Day roster spots and also tells us who will win the 5th starter spot.

Taschner, 31, will be the Phillies second lefty option out of the pen after Scott Eyre. Taschner lost his spot in the Giants bullpen seemingly the moment they brought in Jeremy Affeldt in the offseason, so he became expendable. He hasn't put up great numbers in the past, including a career ERA over 5, so I wouldn't expect him to start mowing hitters down now. He is likely expected to hold down his spot for about 50 games, or until J.C. Romero is back from suspension.

This trade gives the Phillies 12 pitching spots for their Opening Day roster and it likely means that J.A. Happ has won the 5th starter spot and Chan Ho Park will start the season in the bullpen. If Happ was going to be starting the year in the bullpen, the Phils would have no reason to go out and get another lefty.

This move also means that the Phillies will have one less bat for their bench, meaning either Matt Stairs or Miguel Cairo has to go. The smart money right now would be on Cairo winning the spot because the Phillies need another right handed bat, but it's still tough seeing Stairs getting cut. The Phils could always trade Geoff Jenkins and keep Stairs around, although I doubt anyone would want to take on Jenkins' salary.

Ronny Paulino was acquired from the Pirates in the offseason for catcher Jason Jaramillo, so this trade essentially works out as Jaramillo for Taschner. While Taschner is nothing special, he will fill a specific role that the Phillies really needed.

In all, a nice move by GM Ruben Amaro but nothing to get too excited about.

Phillies looking to trade Paulino, Coste will be backup catcher

Despite struggling through Spring Training as he dealt with injuries, Chris Coste will once again be the backup catcher for the Phillies. Coste appears to have won the spot behind Carlos Ruiz now that the Phillies have begun shopping the other contender for the spot, Ronny Paulino. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Phillies have let other teams know that Paulino can be had in a trade.

Paulino was acquired by the Phillies this offseason from the Pirates for catcher Jason Jaramillo. He hit a mere .185 in Spring Training and the Phils feel he doesn't bring enough to the table to keep over Coste. If the Phillies can't find a taker for Paulino, they could send him down to Lehigh, although he would serve as a backup there to Lou Marson.

Making a catcher available opens up the possibility of the Phillies getting a second lefty for the bullpen in return, although I am not sure many teams would be interested in Paulino. After all, how much demand could there be for a light-hitting backup catcher?

The bigger story here is the fact that Chris Coste will continue to have a job with the Phillies. While the Phils could get more for him in a trade, they realize that Coste brings a lot to the team with both his bat and his leadership. Of course, it's really only a matter of time before Lou Marson is ready and Coste will find himself out of a job.