Amaro checks another item off wish list
A busy Saturday morning sees the Phils add two pitchers to the staff: set-up reliever Mike Adams and back-end starter John Lannan.
Amaro checks another item off wish list
Ryan Lawrence, Daily News Staff Writer
First, the Phils agreed to terms on a two-year contract with one of baseball’s best set-up men, righthander Mike Adams.
But a busy Saturday morning continued when they also plucked former Washington Nationals starter John Lannan off the free agent market, too.
According to multiple reports, begining with CSNPhilly.com, the Phils have come to terms on a one-year, $2.5 million deal with Lannan, a lefthander who is the odds-on favorite to assume the rotation spot vacated by Vance Worley. The 28-year-old Lannan is 42-52 with a 4.01 ERA in 134 career games, all starts, from 2007 to 2012.
After the Nationals added Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson to their healthy stable of starters last winter, Lannan was pushed out of the rotation and spent most of 2012 in Triple A. Lannan went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in six starts with Washington in 2012.
Lannan’s addition to the Phillies is hardly surprising. With an eye on still adding a high profile bat to the lineup and a proven, trustworthy arm to the back of the bullpen, Ruben Amaro Jr. said he was looking for a “low-risk, high-reward” type guy.
“Or somebody’s who’s come back from an injury or someone like that who can battle for that fifth spot,” Amaro said. “A lot of teams have had some success looking for that guy late in the season and finding that productive guy. So that’s one possibility.”
In choosing an inexpensive option for the rotation, the Phils were able to instead spend a reported $12 million on Adams. The 34-year-old Adams has a 2.28 ERA in 358 major league games with the Brewers, Padres and Rangers.
He will take over the eighth-inning job the Phils desperately needed in 2012. Of the 363 2/3 innings Adams has pitched in his career, 228 of them have come in the eighth inning. In that eighth inning work, Adams has a 1.82 ERA with 237 strikeouts and 63 walks.
With Adams and Lannan in the fold, Amaro’s last big chore is to find an everyday, proven outfielder.
Nick Swisher and Cody Ross are the most attractive outfield bats on the free agent market. Michael Cuddyer and Alfonso Soriano are two veterans who could come available in a trade.
After spending less than $14 million on the foursome of Adams, Lannan, third baseman Michael Young and centerfielder Ben Revere, the Phils should have ample salary left to acquire one of those bats.
I like Adams. Lannan is as good a choice as any for the 5th spot, I guess. Not much to lose there. The whole offseason depends on the outfield though. If you end up with just another dime a dozen platoon guy off the scrap heap then Ruben has failed miserably. The problem is that outside of Swisher, who the Phillies don't seem to have any interest, I don't see where the quality is with whats left. or does Ruben just scrape the farm clean for a trade? I just don't get the lack of interest in Swisher. God forbid he has a decent OBP, decent power. The Phillies don't need any of that, right Rube? I just sense we're in for some typical Ed Wade cliches..."Well, we need some of these guys to do what their baseball cards say they can do". Yeah, maybe 5 years ago.— Sewellmatt- I agree that Swisher could be a nice fit, but you're missing the point as far as why they won't go after him. Draft pick...it's as simple as that. The Phils have the highest pick that they've had in years (16th) and probably feel that signing Swisher for a ton of money AND losing that pick isn't worth the price. Not that it matters, but I totally agree. — The Pack Leader
- So what's Halladay been up to? Updates on him would be nice since he's kind of a big deal...— FightinPhil
- Hard to get excited about Lannan. I expect him to have a ceiling about as high as Dontrelle Willis. Adams is hurt. Texas would have signed him if they thought he would be the pitcher he used to be. Sign Cody Ross and I'll be happier.— Sam Crow
- I couldn't disagree more regarding just about everything you wrote. You should be comparing Lannan to Blanton, not Willis. Lannan is a slight upgrade and MUCH cheaper than Blanton. Win/win. You're also saying that you have insider info on Adams that the Phil's aren't aware of? Laughable! Why do you think the Phils nixed the deal for Lopez earlier this winter? And you think they'd go after an injured Adams without doing their homework first? Yeah, right. Lastly: 'F Cody Ross! You think signing a guy to platoon against lefties is really what's going to put us over the top? Again...laughable. I'd take a platoon of Brown & Ruf over your savior Ross, in a heartbeat. — The Pack Leader
- @Sewellmatt - Ross has to potential to hit just as many HRs at CBP as Swisher. Swisher will cost a lot more than Ross, will cost the Phillies a pick in the draft, and has had a history of disappearing in the postseason. Ross sees the ball extremely well at The Bank, will probably sign for less years, and has performed well on the big stage. You might gain a little defense with Swisher, and Swisher is switch hitter, but Ross is the better option IMHO.— Sam Crow
- I don't consider 12 million "low risk" and the reward is questionable, considering the procedure he underwent in October. Adams may have been "all that" back in the day, but here we go again with another player on the down side of his career. Concerning Lannan, there's a reason he spent the majority of last year in the Nats AAA affiliate. More Amaro bottom feeding. How about securing a QUALITY corner outfielder, Amaro? Enough with the "low risk, high reward" cr*p.— ghost of callison
- PLEASE don't sign Swisher/Ross. Both are on the wrong side of 30, will require a 3-4 year committment and neither are good batting average hitters. What I don't understand is why the "dissing" of Darin Ruf? He will give the Phillies as much as either guy, w/o the expensive committment. What else can Ruf do to warrent a big league spot in the line up? All he did was bang out close to 50 HR's between AA/MLB. Not every solution has to come from an over prices free agent. Swisher's numbers are more consistant than Ross. However, he is a switch hitter which has some value. In the end, Ruf needs to play LF and show his stuff. Brown has to be given a real shot to play everyday. Otherwise, he was wasted as trade bait two years ago. Time to let the minor leaguers show their stuff. I like the lineup of Revere, Young, Utley, Howard, Ruf, Rollins, Ruiz/Kratz, and Brown. You also have Mayberry Jr. who can spell Ruf in the 8th inning or later.— drhoffman
- Do you really think relying on D. Brown to stay healthy for the entire season is wise? Do you really want to go into the season pinning your hopes on a guy who has only had less than 50 MLB plate appearances? Do you want to go into the season hoping John Mayberry plays as well as he did in the second half? What if he plays more like the first half Mayberry? I'm all for giving these guys a chance to play but I think it would be wise to pick up another OF who has proven in the past to be valuable to a major league team. They have the money so why not do it? Ruf, Mayberry and Brown have yet to contribute to a winning team at the major league level.
— Sam Crow - why not? because they would take away playing time. is ross that much better than schierholtz? he's too expensive this offseason and you don't want to be stuck with his big salary next year. more bullpen and start trading pitchers in three team trades for can't miss prospects and great players about to hit free agency. phils need young hitters.
- If Schierholtz was RH they probably would have kept him. I actually like Schierholtz. The Phillies didn't have a place for him because they have Nix. Why do you think Ross would take playing time away from Ruf? Ross can play RF. — Sam Crow
- I'M NOT TO BIG ON THE LANNAN SIGNING,JUST A FEW OF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT WHERE IN THE SAME SPOT AS LANNAN.THAT WOULD HAVE MUCH MORE OF AN UPSIDE FOR THE SAME MONEY OR IN THE SAME BALLPARK(ROBERTO HERNANDEZ,A.K.A.FAUSTO CARMONA)JOHNANTH SANCHEZ,OR TRADE FOR BUD NORRIS....BUT I LOVE THE MIKE ADAMS DEAL,AS FAR AS FOR THE OUTFIELDERS,I THINK THEY SHOULD REALLY TRY TO SIGN BOTH ROSS&SWISHER THEY HAVE THE MONEY&ALL THE OTHER TEAMS JUST IN THE NL EAST ARE NO PUSH OVER'S ANY MORE&WHATS THE POINT OF HAVING THIS GREAT PITCHING IF WE CANT EVEN HIT&SCORE RUNS????BUT IF THEY ONLY SIGN 1 OF THE 2,MY VOTE HANDS DOWN IS FOR ROSS....I FEEL EVERYONE IS SAYING SWISHER JUST CAUSE OF THE NAME,BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THERE NUMBERS SIDE BY SIDE ROSS IS THE BETTER PICK,OTHER THAN SWISHER IS A SWITCH HITTER....THATS JUST MY OPINION— pearljamkevin315
- Amaro is a frickin genius. He gets a .294 hitting cf that hardly ever strikes out, he gets a 3b guy who had 211 hits 2 years ago and who hardly ever strikes out, he got a nice 4th starter like Lannan, and he got a top shelf closer all for under 16 million bucks. Are you kiddingme? Now we can bring in a Cody Ross or something and have a real chance to win the East. Line up:
1) Revere
2) Utley
3) Young
4) Howard
5) Ross
6) Ruiz
7) Ruff
8) Rollins
9) Pitcher
Bring it on— uts - That lineup looks terrible. You can take Ruiz out of it for a month and Howard and Utley will be periodically out for stretches of time as well. True you didn't spend much money to get the guys this year, but that's because you have so much locked up on aging players already. This is the sad decline of a short stint at the top for the Phillies. The Nats and Braves are waaaay better. Oh and Lannan is complete doodoo. — JustAnOpinion
- @Pack - welcome to the forum! My point about Lannan is that Lannan will have as much impact as Willis- zero. If he's the next Joe Blanton we should be so lucky. Inside information on Adams? What's inside about him having surgery for a condition that affects feeling and touch in your arm? No inside information there, just common sense. What kind of homework do you think they can do? Pinch his arm with tweezers and ask him if he feels anything? For a $12M contract I'm sure he'll say it hurt. You're not going to know if can ever pitch again at the same level until you get him in a game. That's the only "homework" they can do, ese. I like Ruf but what's wrong with Ruf and Ross? Relying on D. Brown is "laugable" as the guy is a walking DL. Again, welcome to the forum.— Sam Crow
