Durbin's return from DL will leave Phillies with difficult decision
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Durbin's return from DL will leave Phillies with difficult decision
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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If all continues to go well for righthander Chad Durbin, the Phillies could soon have the full complement of relievers they anticipated being in their bullpen when they opened spring training.
With closer Brad Lidge and left-handed setup man J.C. Romero on the disabled list at the start of the season, the Phillies have not had their bullpen entirely intact all season.
Durbin, on the disabled list since June 24 with a strained right hamstring, pitched a perfect inning and struck out two for Clearwater Saturday night and is scheduled to pitch again Monday for Clearwater.
Whenever Durbin is ready to come off the disabled list, the Phillies have a difficult roster decision.
Do they designate righthander Nelson Figueroa for assignment for the second time this season or do they offer Rule 5 draft pick David Herndon back to the Angels?
Some might argue that the Phillies should release veteran reliever Danys Baez, who struggled through the first half of the season, but he signed a two-year contract worth $5.25 million before the start of the season, so that's not happening.
Herndon, a rookie, is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA and in his last eight appearances he has a 2.35 ERA.
Figueroa is 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA. Since rejoining the team from triple-A Lehigh Valley he has allowed one hit and no runs spanning four appearances and 7 1/3 innings. If you include the three starts he made for the IronPigs, he has allowed just 11 hits, two runs and struck out 25 batters in his last 26 1/3 innings. He has a 0.68 ERA during that stretch.
Phillies it's a no brainer......dump Baez and get Figgy wit'it!— rockinrob- I agree with most of the previous posts, from what we've seen of baez so far, he's the guy to go. I've wondered from the moment they signed him what the attraction was.— igglephan
- Figueroa should be released just for that picture— Timmy
- DO NOT LOSE DAVID HERNDON!!!!!— MJSI
- You're not thinking very clearly. Just because management made a mistake and paid a guy $5.25 million when they shouldn't have, doesn't mean they should therefore make a second mistake and keep him on the club when his performance doesen't warrant it. Further, keeping him would compound the error by possibly losing a player who should be kept or lower the morale of a player who is performing. To raise the intellectural bar, the $5.25 mil is a "sunk cost" and should not be considered whatsoever in current decision-making.— Odayman
- I think the point is moot. Once JA Happ comes back, both Herndon and Figueroa will be gone.— sellersvillefan
- Send down Baez so he can work on getting better. Why is this such a bad idea?— NickFromGermantown
- This is a tough decision.....which terrible pitcher should we let go of first?— kozykoz26
- @phiggelsfan75: i laughed so hard at your post, i cried. seriously though, i say, see if we can dump baez and his salary in an effort to add INF depth and/or starting pitching. i believe, you gotta reward figueroa. i mean, it would be a slap in the face to reassign him a second time. at the moment, he's our best middle relief option b/c he can pitch long relief. moreover, he can spot start. heck he's been better than that 8 million dollar man, joe blanton.— josefbreuer
- Man...RAJ is getting no love these days. Granted he tried to force feed us the "Lee was traded to replenish the farm system" BS, but he also got us Roy friggin Halladay. He also signed guys like Ransom, Gload, Schneider and Valdez. The point being, he has done more good than bad and contiuing to rip on him shows what little we know about being a good GM....who by the way, answers to the ownership, not us fans.— dri_as_a_bone
- Can the Phillies please make decisions on who stays and who goes based on their performance instead of the contracts? Otherwise, the guy above stating the Phillies are expected to be in the World Series is whistling Dixie. Look at the guys with the high earned run averages: Madsen, Lidge, Baez and Blanton. Teams are looking for pitching, so make a trade. Herndon has not been used properly by Manuel. Rule 5 players should never be used in pressure situations. They should be used in garbage time innings or when games are out-of-hand. He has made it this far through the season, so let him stay the rest of the season. Besides, he hasn't pitched as badly as some of the more experienced relief pitchers on this staff. Also, this team needs all the good young arms they can find.— RunningTheBases
- Eat the Baez contract. He's being used to mop up horrific innings right now. He's not even getting the ball in tie games. No use for him. Money or no money. He's as good as gone. Figueroa and Herndon deserve to keep their spots. It's supposed to be about winning.— Greg V.
- Go with the tried and true turf toe ruse and put DannyBoy on the DL.— mick314
- It's time. Send Baez, Lidge, Blanton or Kendrick, and Ibanez to Texas for Lee.— ngfs66
- People on here are so certain Happ pitches in MLB this year but I am not. SOmething major is about to happen with this kid's arm and the Phils are being super catious. His velocity is still not right and he has had most of the year to build his strength. I think the doctors feel he could be headed for tommy john surgery and this may be why Amaro says starting pitching is our most urgent need. Happ not coming back, Blanton looking terrible and Moyer may be headed for lackluster second half. Cole is big mystery in equation, can he keep the postive vibes moving in right direction? Having Lee in second spot would have allowed PHils to focus on most dire need which is bullpen, and especially closer. The only certainty for this season is Brad Lidge Will Not hold up,he WILL blow saves when the Phils can least afford it. WE learned this in Game 4 of World Series, yet they just keep hoping he will return to grace. Lidge will always be a hot and cold closer for the rest of his career. Look at his velocity on fastball, 92-93mph. When he was a dominant closer he could hit high 90's, mix that in with hard slider that he could locate in big situations. Now, Lidge is only as good as his command on slider. Which is spotty, hence one night he looks great, next night he looks like he CANT get anyone out. Phils knew this but chose to be cheap and stick with him instead of addressing it in offseason.
