Amaro acknowledges depth an issue
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Amaro acknowledges depth an issue
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The Phillies have not tried to hide their concern about their perilously thin pitching depth. Throughout the offseason, they've said that they are actively looking for a few good arms. Problem is, there are few arms to be found. Consider: righthander Rodrigo Lopez, who last year started the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley then made five spot-starts after injuries to righthander Brett Myers and lefthander Antonio Bastardo, will enter 2010 as a member of the Diamondbacks rotation. And he will be their fourth starter.
So this is the plan the Phillies are left with as Joe Blanton heads to the disabled list for an estimated three-to-six week stay, according to GM Ruben Amaro Jr.: Move Kyle Kendrick into the rotation, mobilize Triple-A righthander Andrew Carpenter as a potential long reliever, and say a prayer for a healthy couple of months.
"If we had another guy go down, we'd be scrambling a little bit," Amaro admitted yesterday.
That said, the Phillies will treat Blanton's injury with extreme caution, having seen the destruction that a lingering oblique injury can cause. Last year, right-handed reliever Clay Condrey ended up missing close to three months due to an oblique that just wouldn't heal. Amaro echoed what team doctor Michael Ciccotti said earlier in the morning, that Blanton's injury is not as severe as Condrey's, that the main is "more localized," and thus has less of a chance of lingering.
Still, with health now at an absolute priority, the Phillies will gladly sacrifice a week or two extra without Blanton if it means having him 100 percent for the bulk of the season.
"As Dr. Ciccotti said, this is pretty mild, and we are trying to take every precaution to make sure that this is not a recurring thing and we can knock it out and not have to worry about it over the course of the year and have it come back and bite us," Amaro said. "We're going to be cautious with it now, because it's better off being cautious with it now as we have been with J.C. (Romero) and (Brad) Lidge and others in the past so that we can have them be viable and ready once they are pitching to go in a straight line rather than worry about if they are going to have problems."
The Phillies have maintained contact with the agent for righthander Pedro Martinez, who joined the team last July and pitched well down the stretch. But Amaro said Martinez is not an option to replace Blanton. He said they have not talked with representatives for free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn, who remains on the free agent market.
"I don't think they are options for now to deal with the Blanton stuff," Amaro said.
But they would be options if the Phillies were to suffer another injury -- or if either Moyer or Kendrick struggle as starters. Carpenter made a spot start against the Nationals last year, but the upper levels of the minor league system is largely devoid of major league experience or major-league-ready prospects. The Phillies traded lefthander Cliff Lee to Seattle this offseason, dealt former top pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco to the Indians last year when they acquired Lee, and sent top prospect Kyle Drabek to the Blue Jays in the trade for Halladay.
"That's one of the things we don't have, is a lot of pitching depth," Amaro said. "We have some bullpen depth, but we don't have a lot of starting pitching depth. There's a hole in there, between the major leagues and A-Ball, where there aren't a lot of candidates for us starting-wise. That is some of the risk in making some of the trades we've made. It's kind of what happens when you make a run for things and you try to improve your club at the major league level, you have to sacrifice, and this is where we sacrificed. Hopefully we can kind of weather the storm here a little bit."
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The Phillies have placed righthander Brad Lidge and lefthander J.C. Romero on the disabled list, back-dated to March 26. They will be eligible to join the active roster on April 10, although both are likely to remain in Florida longer than that.
I don't think Pedro can last the whole season. If we are having issues in August, then he might be an option but I can't see him starting the year on any team's roster.— vafan- Bring back Pedro!— JesseH
- it wouldn't have been an issue had they kept Lee. How are those prospects working out for you now?
- if Cliff is still on the team, there is no issue...thats what happens when you sacrifice now for the future— flyershockey
- THERE IS NO ISSUE... stop your whining, you sound like mets fans.. this is our #3 starter and he should only miss the 1st month. We have the best offense in baseball, that is plenty to carry the team for a month.— therev
- Bring back Pedro at the end of July.— taintaugustine
- Isn't Cliff Lee on the DL also? Think before you write.— harry & whitey
- If they had kept Lee, they would have gotten rid of Blanton. Otherwise, they would have 6 starters under contract for 5 positions. We would be in the exact same position as we are today. The trade of Cliff Lee did not have any affect on our depth at A-ball. If anything, it helped replenish some of what we lost in trading for Halladay.— otter1970
- Lee is likely headed for the DL plus he has a 5 game suspension for hitting that batter. They're saying he may start the season not on the DL to serve the 5 games then go on the DL. So stop the "what if's" already. Starting Kendrick affects the already depleted bullpen but we can get an early look at just what KK has these days anyway. I wouldn't be considering Pedro until at least June or July. He's not a full year pitcher any more. A lot depends on how long Lidge and Romero are out and how well Hamels and Happ start the season in my opinion.— s
- rabble rabble rabble— flyershockey
- It's April and we'll miss Fat Joe for what 3-4 starts? everyone relax and watch Halladay and Hamels work.— snakeplissken
BASTARDO! WE WANT BASTARDO!— Leegles
Comment removed.
Give us Barabbas!!!- Comment removed.
