Phillies, reliever Cruz 'part ways'
Veteran reliever Juan Cruz will not report to Phillies camp.
Phillies, reliever Cruz 'part ways'
Ryan Lawrence, Daily News Staff Writer
On the first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Camp Clearwater, the Phillies have one fewer pitcher on their spring training roster.
Veteran reliever Juan Cruz will not report to the Carpenter Complex.
“We mutually parted ways, so to speak,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.
The 34-year-old Cruz had agreed to join the Phillies on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training last month. But apparently he wasn’t as enthused with the opportunity presented in Clearwater after the Phils came to an agreement on a major league deal with Chad Durbin later in the month, according to Amaro.
“After discussing (things) with his agent… we decided to kind of part ways,” Amaro said. “He won’t be in camp and he’ll be able to sign wherever he wants to for maybe a better opportunity.”
Amaro said the Phils went that route “out of respect for a guy who’s been in the big leagues nine years.” Cruz had never officially signed a contract with the Phillies, only a “letter of agreement,” according to Amaro.
So it’s not an official release.
On Tuesday, the first day pitchers and catchers had to report to camp, Amaro said Cruz was a no-show because of a "miscommunication" involving his agent.
In any event, the number of players competing for the final few spots in the bullpen is down to one less reliever. As the roster stands on Feb. 13, four players are likely locks for the bullpen – closer Jonathan Papelbon, fellow righthanders Mike Adams and Durbin and lefthander Antonio Bastardo.
If the Phils break camp with seven relievers, there will be three openings for a group that includes but is not limited to righthanders Phillippe Aumont, Justin De Fratus, Mike Stutes, Michael Schwimer and lefties Jake Diekman, Jeremy Horst and Raul Valdes.
The Phillies have 59 players in camp: 30 pitchers, 6 catchers, 12 infielders and 11 outfielders.
Ruben once again demomstrates his complete incompetence in anything related to running a baseball team...can now expect Cruz to do better than Phils relievers— warbiscuit- JABRONI ALERT!!!! — cdedrick05
- So...lets get this straight: you constantly complain, ad nauseum, that the Phils are old, overplayed, talentless and have ZERO prospects. Yet, when they part ways with a journeyman reliever, making room for one of the promising youngsters (of which there are many, I might add!), you complain about that, as well?! — The Pack Leader
- Too bad. Cruz looked as if he'd be able to help, but he seems to be a bit of a prima donna. Refused his assignment to the minors with Pittsburgh last year, now "not enthused" about having to compete for a job. Don't need the headache that comes with him.— Dave14
- in other article Rube apparently caught in yet another bold-faced lie to another reporter who says: "According to Ruben Amaro Jr., there was a miscommunication issue with Cruz' agent about the report date" ...
now, it's clear that this Rube was lying through his teeth, as Cruz was never under contract and is now free to sign with any team becuase Rube misrepresented the truth once again to players and agents (like he did to Lee in 2009, Madson, Lidge, Shwimer, and I'm sure many others that we dont know about)... Rube is not only incredibly incompetent, but is dishonest, arrogant, and has difficulty getting along with qualified underlings or coaches --who have left en masse -- making him uniquely unqualified in every way..one of the more despicable public figures in sports— warbiscuit - Jabroni — cdedrick05
- Who cares? Chad Durbin is a much better chance to take for a middle reliever. Let the man (Cruz) do what he thinks is best for him. I wish him luck...he's been a good pitcher who came upon changed circumstances.— tomficara
- Miscommunication?— dasher
- Not a Ruin Tomorrow Jr fan , but he did nothing wrong here. The guy signed a letter of agreement, decided he wanted to look for other opportunities when Durbin signed, so he moved on. He was a jerk in Pittsburgh last year too, refusing to pitch in the minors when the Bucs were happy with the guys they had. He obviously believes he's better than the teams he played for believe he is , so let him try to find a major league job somewhere.— drbob1
- They should have sent him to the Red Barons and made him play out the entire season in the minors.— The Moose is Loose
- my comment wasn't directed at Rube's personnel decisions --he's already demonstrated over 4 1/2 years that he is an utter failure at personnel evaluations and decisions...
my comment was directed at his poor character and lack of integrity in lying through his teeth to reporters once again and once again having "differences" with players, agents and coaches as to what they supposedly agreed to (Lee, Madson, Lidge, Schwimmer, Lopes, etc) ...not surprisignly when someone is so incompetent he's also a failure of a human being— warbiscuit - "...not surprising when someone is so incompetent he's also a failure of a human being"
Kettle calling the pot black, much?— The Pack Leader - Why is it the Phils/Amaro lie to everybody repeatedly about what's really going on. I mean, I know they couldn't divulge the results of Madson's physical last season because of HIPAA guidlines, but clearly to everybody in MLB he failed his physical and only then did they turn to Paps and sign him instead. Btw, the Angels just shut Madson down again because of continued elbow pain and he'll start the season on the DL....we never got the straight scoop on Bastardo and his thoracic outlet syndrome, heck we didn't even get the straight scoop on Juan Cruz not reporting yesterday, instead we were told it was a miscommunication between Amaro and his agent? Really? Now today an entirely different story emerges? Don't these organizations realize they are dealing with a knowledgeable, enlightened fanbase now? You can't hide too many things these days, but it's awfully insulting to a fan, to lie to them and tell them false truths. That's a good way to alienate a lot of your fan base. Look at the Eagles and AReid over the last 14 years. His lack of candor, not answering even simple questions, was a big reason for fans' disgust with him over the years. He really turned a lot of people off. Some fans may not come back to the Eagles regardless of who the coach is now.— Mark1npt
- previously philly.com reported: "Amaro Jr. labeled it a miscommunication between Cruz's agent and Amaro regarding the report date"...whenever you read Amaro "labeled" or "characterized" or "explained" or "asserted" or even "said" you can be pretty sure he's lying through his teeth... and I don't recall another g.m. or coach wiht so many "miusunderstandings" with players/agents --he's a lying aS$%^le— warbiscuit
- Nice spin, but anyone with a brain realizes that Cruz didn't show-up yesterday because he was being a pre-Madonna due the Phils signing Durbin. Maybe RAJ said it was "miscommunication" at the time, because he was still trying to convince Cruz to be a man and stick to his commitment, rather than throwing him under the bus by telling the media that Cruz isn't a man of his word? I guess that scenario never entered your brain, huh? — The Pack Leader
- as I said, I don't recall another g.m. or coach with so many "misunderstandings" and difficulties communicating with players/agents/coaches/assistants/reporters,etc ...
and don't ususally find such a persistent imbecile as Thepackleader who never has a single intelligent thought and yet persists on trying to rival his hero Clueless Rube in trying to demonstrate his low intelligence quotient...— warbiscuit - @ThePackLeader: yeah and don't forget that in 1964 Dick Bertell hit .238 for the Chicago Cubs (and that's still as relevant and responsive as your brainless rambling)— warbiscuit
- crashburnalley: 'Failure in Philadelphia by Bill Baer on January 24th, 2013 ...Four years ago, the Phillies had a relatively stable Minor League system with high-upside talent, one of the most formidable offenses in baseball, an incomparable starting rotation, and enough payroll space to purchase a small tropical island. Now, the organization is bereft of young talent, the offense has withered away, and this season will be paying $120 million to seven players over the age of 30, all locked up to long-term contracts...Since ...Amaro — the Phillies’ playoff success has trended downward... to missing the playoffs entirely last ... no other way to look at Amaro’s tenure at this point in time as anything but an utter failure... Amaro era is Exhibit A that overseeing baseball teams, as it operated previously, is inefficient at best and actively destructive at worst."— warbiscuit
