Cliff Lee to make Phillies debut tomorrow; Who goes?
Cliff Lee will make his Phillies debut tomorrow against the Giants.
Cliff Lee to make Phillies debut tomorrow; Who goes?
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Cliff Lee will make his Phillies debut tomorrow against the Giants.
More from the newly-acquired lefty shortly.
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The first two roster moves to come as a result of the Cliff Lee/Ben Francisco trade are not a surprise. Steven Register, who allowed one run on three hits in two innings of his only appearance, was sent back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. John Mayberry Jr., who is 10-for-53 with four home runs, eight RBI and 22 strikeouts in 35 games, was also sent down. Mayberry has had four at-bats since the All-Star Break.
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The more interesting transactions should come with Chad Durbin, Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero return from the disabled list. Durbin and Condrey are eligible to return Aug. 7. J.C. Romero is eligible to return Aug. 4.
Here is a look at the non-regular players currently on the Phillies roster:
Pitchers: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Rodrigo Lopez, Tyler Walker
Bench players: Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs, Paul Bako, Ben Francisco, Eric Bruntlett
Kendrick and Walker are the two obvious demotions once the first two relievers return. Beyond that, there is no clear answer to who the third will be. And assuming Pedro Martinez is ready within the next week to 10 days, there will have to be another roster spot cleared.
Here are your options. Remember, two of the following players will have to be off of the roster once Martinez arrives:
Rodrigo Lopez, RHP: Lopez makes his fifth start of the season tonight. He has been steady in his first four. It is obvious that he won't have a spot in the rotation. But he has pitched before as a reliever. In 26 career relief appearances, he has posted a 2.95 ERA and held batters to a .209 average. But the Phillies don't have much invested of him. They could designate him for assignment, hoping that he would clear waivers and accept a demotion to the minor leagues. If another team claimed him, or if he became a free agent, they would owe him nothing.
Eric Bruntlett, INF: It doesn't seem likely that the Phillies would go with four players on the bench for the rest of their season. While Bruntlett is hitting just .125 this season, he is the only option off the bench should Jimmy Rollins or Chase Utley need a blow.
Clay Condrey, RHP: When healthy, Condrey has pitched well this season. And he is relatively cheap. If the Phillies designated him for assignment, there is a good chance he'd be picked up by another team. The Phillies need all the bullpen depth they can get.
Chad Durbin, RHP: Durbin is on a one-year deal, so he could also be designated for assignment. Seeing as though he is making $2 million, he isn't a likely candidate to be claimed. He would then have to accept a demotion and maintain his salary, or become a free agent and forfeit it. He's been solid for the Phils the last two years, and again, they need all the arms they can get.
Jamie Moyer, LHP: The most interesting piece to the puzzle. If the Phillies want to keep J.A. Happ in the rotation, where it appears he belongs, then Moyer seems to be without a role, unless the club goes to a six-man rotation. Moyer is not an ideal bullpen piece. But while it may not always look pretty, he is 6-1 with a 3.51 ERA in his last seven starts.
TRADE COMING— soliteryman- As I said before, release Bruntlett. He is not a major league player. He is so far out of his element, clueless...— Living_Legend
- Interesting post Murphy, i was thinking about this yesterday when the trade went down. In an ideal world, the Phils don't rush Durbin and Condrey back and have them wait until September 1st when rosters expand. However, that may not be ideal, if a pitcher is ready to pitch, he's ready to pitch. Although he's done the job, Lopez is the odd man out of the rotation and most likely one of the first off the roster when they have to make a second move. He'll get claimed by some team that needs a 5th starter. The way Durbin's season is going (bad performance and the pitching thru the injury) he would probably be designated for assignment, and have a choice forfeit salary and become a FA or join the Iron Pigs until September for another shot a winning a World Series. Your other choices have no shot, Condrey is underrated, valuable, and under club control for another several years. If I'm not mistaken he may even have another option to the minors, but he's not going anywhere. The Phils need a back up 2B and SS and would never ride with a 4 man bench so unless we get another UT/position player via trade Bruntlett stays. Moyer is not going anywhere at least this season. This is where club loyalty and gauranteed salary come into play. The Phils already are paying Thome, Jenkins, and Eaton 20 million not to play this season. There not going to cut Moyer loose. I don't understand why people don't think he can pitch out of the bullpen. Yes he gives up hits but he could be a long man / spot starter in my opinion. The other names you should have mentioned is Eyre. I like him, but he's a lefty specialist. If they move Happ to the pen (they shouldn't) Eyre becomes expendable with Romero back. Myers should just wait until September to save the team from making an unnecessary move in case he is truly not ready. This will be very interesting.— PhillyPhan35
- Interesting post Murphy, i was thinking about this yesterday when the trade went down. In an ideal world, the Phils don't rush Durbin and Condrey back and have them wait until September 1st when rosters expand. However, that may not be ideal, if a pitcher is ready to pitch, he's ready to pitch. Although he's done the job, Lopez is the odd man out of the rotation and most likely one of the first off the roster when they have to make a second move. He'll get claimed by some team that needs a 5th starter. The way Durbin's season is going (bad performance and the pitching thru the injury) he would probably be designated for assignment, and have a choice forfeit salary and become a FA or join the Iron Pigs until September for another shot a winning a World Series. Your other choices have no shot, Condrey is underrated, valuable, and under club control for another several years. If I'm not mistaken he may even have another option to the minors, but he's not going anywhere. The Phils need a back up 2B and SS and would never ride with a 4 man bench so unless we get another UT/position player via trade Bruntlett stays. Moyer is not going anywhere at least this season. This is where club loyalty and gauranteed salary come into play. The Phils already are paying Thome, Jenkins, and Eaton 20 million not to play this season. There not going to cut Moyer loose. I don't understand why people don't think he can pitch out of the bullpen. Yes he gives up hits but he could be a long man / spot starter in my opinion. The other names you should have mentioned is Eyre. I like him, but he's a lefty specialist. If they move Happ to the pen (they shouldn't) Eyre becomes expendable with Romero back. Myers should just wait until September to save the team from making an unnecessary move in case he is truly not ready. This will be very interesting.— PhillyPhan35
- All you Moyer lovers do you forget his explosion against the Brewers and Dodgers in the playffs?
- Moyer has 10 wins that's great, but when the playoffs begin chances are he's facing a good pitcher. Playoff rotation has to be Lee, Hammels, Blanton, and Happ. Pedro if he shows anything to the pen or if he pitches better than Happ, J.A. becomes the second lefty in the pen as Eyre may not make it through the season. If you guarantee me the Phillies will score 7 runs every time Moyer pitches in the playoffs fine, as he has an ERA over 6.00, if not stop with the nonsense.
- PLEASE get Bruntlett out of here!!! At what point does his 125 BA become an embarrasment, on a team that's defending World Champs??? There's NO ONE in their minor league system that can come up and hit better than this??? Cole Hamels is a better hitter than Bruntlett, and keeping him, is like having a 24 man roster.— dfrancis1958
- The trade for Lee was about 3 hrs old and Wild Thing was calling for the Phils to trade Happ and others for relief pitching. Rosenthal tonight indicated that the Phils need to trade for relief pitching and another infielder. Moyer is not the kind of problem that will lose the Playoffs or W.S. for you but the lack of a bench and bonified reliever will. Right now they are nursing Lidge along in hopes he will come back around but I don't see it. Its Houston all over again. A great year and a lousy tear. Are we willing to take a chance on that?— Wally 24
- The trade for Lee was about 3 hrs old and W.i.l.d T.h.i.n.g was calling for the Phils to trade Happ and others for relief pitching. Rosenthal tonight indicated that the Phils need to trade for relief pitching and another infielder. Moyer is not the kind of problem that will lose the Playoffs or W.S. for you but the lack of a bench and bonified reliever will. Right now they are nursing Lidge along in hopes he will come back around but I don't see it. Its Houston all over again. A great year and a lousy tear. Are we willing to take a chance on that?— Wally 24
- Bruntlett is the worst batter AND the worst fielder on the bench. He's useless.— DS17
- As Amaro says, these things usually work themselves out. When Happ loses his third game in a row next Wednesday the roster move will become glaring. Send Happ back to AAA to work on secondary pitches.— booman55
- I didn't realize Chase Utley needed a blow so can be converted into a pitcher or catcher? Another fine article Murph.— sportsdead
- I didn't realize Chase Utley needed a blow so can be converted into a pitcher or catcher? Another fine article Murph.— sportsdead
- They still have Miguel Cairo at AAA - he'd be an upgrade over Bruntlett.— fafafooey
- And don't forget that Brett Myers could come back in a few weeks. Time to trade for a backup infielder or catcher. Lidge is still the Achilles heel though.— NEMark
