Contreras activated; Savery optioned
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Contreras activated; Savery optioned
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
UPDATE: The Phillies activated reliever Jose Contreras from the disabled list. Joe Savery was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
EARLIER:
All signs Sunday morning pointed toward veteran reliever Jose Contreras being activated after the series finale between the Phillies and New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
That means Contreras will likely be available in the bullpen when the Phillies begin a 10-game road trip Monday night in San Francisco. Contreras, 40, has not pitched in a big-league game since June 19 of last year. He underwent elbow surgery last September.
"Personally, I'm very happy because my health is good, my arm is good and I can help the team," Contreras said through an interpreter.
Contreras said he had not yet spoken to manager Charlie Manuel or general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., but he anticipated going on the team's road trip.
"Yeah, sure," he said. "If not, I wouldn't be here. I can tell you more after I talk to the manager."
Contreras, after opening last season as the Phillies' closer, appeared in only 17 games because of his elbow issues and he opened this season on the disabled list. He made five rehab appearances with single-A Clearwater and was 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA. Most of the damage came in his first appearance for the Threshers when he allowed three runs in one-third of an inning.
"The first outing, the pitches were flat and high," he said. "At any level, if you throw like that, they are going to hit you and they did."
Contreras only allowed one run on three hits and struck out nine batters in four innings over his final four rehab appearances, including consecutive scoreless outings Thursday and Friday.
"My last five outings have been good," he said. "My speed was better, my location was better. The flight on my fastball was working much better."
Hurry back, Grandpa! Thome needs a shuffleboard partner.— dasher
Comment removed.- I'm disappointed they wouldn't keep a second lefty in the pen and keep Herndon. Herndon is nothing but mop up duty so why not keep Savery? At least Savery could pinch hit for you because he's actually a really good hitter.— ronin32
- Just what is it with Herdon? He sucks. Bring back Savery-he can be his own double switch.— mike l
- Of course Savery has never taken a major league pitch. His hitting prowess was all in the minors. As intriguing as it is to maybe give him a shot at the plate I never really saw that happening. He gives up the long ball a bit right now. Herndon's record is actually better so far this year. Herndon's even better than Kendrick right now. Herndon seems to be the Blanton of the bullpen. Even when he pitches well people love to hate him. I think he's a serviceable reliever. Nothing to write home about but he plays a role. The guy who's surprised me so far is Qualls. I expected him to be the one giving up the long balls. He's been great. Of course, now that I said that ...— s
- S, I agree, Herndon is a serviceable reliever. The issue is that he performs poorly in high leverage situations, and is often excellent in low and medium pressure situations. Very annoying! He's a major league reliever, but pretty much as the 6th or 7th bullpen option... My hope for the bullpen this year is that (1) Bastardo regains his form; (2) Contreras stays healthy and becomes very effective once again; (3) Diekman and/or Aumont emerges as an effective rookie. I also hope Stutes regains his form, but his ceiling doesn't seem as high to me. I'm impressed by Qualls, too. I expected exactly the same thing. But his fastball is hitting 95 and his sinker is working... We could have a back end made up of, say, Papelbon, Bastardo, Contreras, Qualls, Stutes, Diekman and Kendrick as the long man. In fact, we NEED an elite bullpen to back up elite starters in order to be a contender.— PhilaLogic
- I too have a lot of hope that Contreras can regain the form he showed in 2010 and early last year. However, I think the downside of Contreras is he probably has to be used less. Bastardo looked a lot better to me yesterday. I've never been sold on Stutes. I like the guy but he's inconsistent and his small stature concerns me. I thought Diekman was a better option than Savery and I expect to see him up sometime this year. Aumont maybe not until 2013. Let's hope Qualls can continue. I never expected the velocity and his sinker is something I never imagined being as good as it's been. If you imagine Qualls continuing what he's been doing and Bastardo and Contreras pitching like they're capable of, the back end of tbe pen leading to Papelbon looks pretty good.— s
- Will be a short stay.— scootch
