Your new Chan Ho Park
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Your new Chan Ho Park
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The past two seasons, the Phillies bullpen has received a critical boost from a former starting pitcher who re-invented himself in the bullpen. In 2008, it was Chad Durbin. Last year, it was Chan Ho Park.
This year, Jose Contreras will attempt to fill the void. The Phillies have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the hard-throwing Cuban righthander, according to a league source, and are hoping he can fill the void created when they gave up on re-signing Park.
Terms are unknown at this point, and the deal is not expected to be announced until Contreras passes a physical.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledged yesterday that the Phillies had been in frequent contact with Contreras' agent, but downplayed the significance of the interactions. Conteras will most likely fill in as a reliever, a role he has not filled regularly since his rookie season with the Yankees.
The righthander could theoretically contend for the fifth spot in the team's rotation, but both veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer and young righthander Kyle Kendrick would have to falter for that to be considered a realistic option.
Contreras proved to be a pivotal boost to the Rockies' bullpen last season during their fight for a playoff spot. In 17 innings, he allowed three runs and struck out 17, starting two games, then five relief appearances at the end of September. He faced the Phillies twice in the NLDS, allowing one run and striking out three while walking two in two innings of work.
Before last season, Contreras had made just two relief appearances since his rookie season with the Yankees in 2003. His best year as a starter came in 2005, when he went 15-7 with a 3.61 ERA for the White Sox during their championship campaign. He struggled as a starter since then, but the Phillies are hopeful he can make a transition to the bullpen similar to the one made by Park last season.
Interesting enough, the Phillies' two bullpen additions this offseason are both former Cuban defectors, righthander Danys Baez being the other one.
Contreras defected in 2002 while pitching for the Cuban national team during the American Series in Mexico. He originally signed a four-year contract with the Yankees before being traded to the White Sox in 2004.
At 6-foot-4, 224 pounds, the 38-year-old complements a low-to-mid 90's fastball with a change-up and slider.
The Phillies now have six relievers under contract, with prospect Antonio Bastardo the frontrunner to fill the remaining void. With veteran lefty J.C. Romero expected to miss up to a month, and with closer Brad Lidge questionable for Opening Day, young lefty Sergio Escalona and righthander Scott Mathieson will also have a chance to contend for a roster spot in spring training.
Other options include lefthander Mike Zagurski. Righthander B.J. Rosenberg, who showed promise at Class A last season, will also be in spring training.
Comment removed.
I like it too. What would be a great boost is if Happ or Kendrick could have a fairly big year, and bump to No. 3. Then, Blanton at 4 and Happ/Kendrick/Contreras at 5. Moyer is done. Bastardo can spot start in a pinch.— eman- Until the Marlins get their roof we need a long man to complete those 2 hour rain delays in the second inning. Hopefully Kendrick and Moyer can platoon for the fifth starter, save Moyer for the Rockies and Marlins and keep him away from the Mets, Cubs and Dodgers. Thankfully we play the Marlins like 92 times a year :)— phasor
- Good signing under the circumstances, even though the circumstances are of Amaro's own doing. Let's go back to the day we picked up Lee's $9MM option for 2010 and when free agency opened. And let's just non-tender Blanton and get that $8MM for 2010 out of the way. First, sign Scutaro for SS at $4MM x 2 (like Boston later did - and get the same defense for half the cost). Then sign Polanco to play 3B. Next, package Rollins and Ibanez to Boston for Buchholz and maybe a couple of prospects (with Lackey signed, and still needing a SS and an OF, since they knew they wouldn't be able to re-sign Bay, what a steal for them - a no-brainer). That's another $20MM per year for the next two years off of the payroll. Now trade for Halladay, but make it Brown and Drabek. Keep Taylor for LF in 2010 with Francisco - both RH hitters by the way (and cheap). And you keep D'Arnaud by including Brown instead of Taylor. The rotation is Roy, Cliff, Cole, JA and Clay (and if you can't extend Cliff, you still get 2 picks and still have Buchholz). Lineup is Victorino, Polanco, Utley, Howard, Werth, Taylor/Francisco, Scutaro and Ruiz. A better, more consistent leadoff (as Rollins is 4th wortst) and another RH batter to replace Ibanez's LH bat. And guess what! You have $24MM to extend Lee and Werth, but since Moyer's $8MM will be gone after 2010, you allocate that to Lee and only need to eat $6-8MM into the $24MM. So say you have $18MM left, you can still cover Victorino's $2MM salary increase, extend Werth and have a little money left over. Oh, you believe the hype about the farm system being depleted? Its a crock, but fine. Swap Buchholz for prospects (say a SS prospect MLB-ready in 2 yrs +/-). Or tender Blanton then trade him for a few low-to-mid-level prospects. Or both. And then take a flyer on Contreras or another free agent, or let Moyer and Kendrick battle for the 5 spot. Point is, the math works for Lee, Werth and Victornio if you sacrifice J-Roll, Raul and Joe. I'd do it every time.— bm2626
- can't hurt having an extra hard throwing, experienced pitcher in the pen, or as emergency 5th starter...What's NOT to like about the signing?— drjimmy
- Comment removed.
- Anything new on Gagne?— Repubrebirth
- RUBEN dipping into the trash bin again, we got this guy, but we couldn't give SCOTT EYERS a decent contract, so he'd come back for one more year?— dfrancis1958
- Ruben is the man. I like the signing a lot. He's a guy who should earn a spot out of the bullpen. He pitched very well there at the end of last year for the Rockies.— KidCole35
- Ruben is the man. I like the signing a lot. He's a guy who should earn a spot out of the bullpen. He pitched very well there at the end of last year for the Rockies.— KidCole35
- Good signing will help for a post season push and the expirence he brings will help the younger players to develop.— Murray11
- los Phils just signed Rico Dubez as new pitching coach.— dasher
- Watch out! Raul Castro may have sent Contreras to kill Baez for defecting.— Delaware Jim
- I like this. Contreras has post season cred with 14 games and 5 World Series appearances.— jtj06
- I am still outraged we traded Lee....Amaro gets credit for the worst move ever by a gm for that....— procol33
