Phils non-tender Condrey
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Phils non-tender Condrey
Andy Martino
In a move that came as something of a surprise, the Phillies just announced that they would not offer arbitration to righthanded pitcher Clay Condrey, making him a free agent.
Condrey, 34, was 6-2, with a 3.00 earned run average, in a 2009 season shortened by an injury to his oblique (side muscle). He was left off the postseason roster. Condrey has been with the Phillies since 2006.
Earlier this week, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that he expected to tender a contract to Condrey and fellow righthander Chad Durbin (along, of course, with Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton and Carlos Ruiz). But minutes after last night's 11:59pm deadline to offer players arbitration, the team announced it had non-tendered Condrey. We presume that the lack of announcement regarding the others means that they were all offered arbitration.
Comments (75)
Good luck, Clay, and thanks.— fizzbin- If it frees up room to sign Halladay for 4-5 yrs.,uuuuummmmm,YES!!!— GeorgeDumbyaBush
- I always liked you work quietly here, condrey. thanks for everything and good luck!— illrhyme
- good riddance to clay and his lack luster physical health, no more weaklings in the bullpen— BHite15
Comment removed.- Clay was better than expected. Relief pitchers are up and down. Only pay for stars and roll the dice with potential.— hawk18
- Amaro didn't want to give Condrey a raise. That's what it all boils down to. If Condrey doesn't get signed by anyone else (which I think he will) Amaro will try to resign him cheap. Condrey may not have been flashy for the Phillies but he was a good mop up man and in the end started pitching in critical game situations. Maybe Amaro isn't convinced that he's physically healthy. I guess we'll never know the real thinking behind this decision.— SteveS11
- Comment removed.
- he did something mcnabb never did. he wont a championship. for that, maximum respect.— jb99
- wont.... what is that— Seal Rock
- The Phils are clearly going after Halladay and this is part of the effort. I hope it works out.— jtj06
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Its all leading to the Phils getting Roy Holliday.— kristofor
- What in the world does not signing Condrey have to do with Halladay? They still have to go out and replace that roster spot with someone. Halladay isn't gonna pitch every game. You gotta have more than 3 relievers, which is about all they have right now. Anyone linking the Condrey move to Halladay is a moron. You people have issues.— youpeoplehaveissues
- Clayman will be on the EdWade train later this week.— mick314
- Getting HALLIDAY, means we may LOSE 2 STARTING PITCHRS, Happ in the trade, Blanton to move salary, it also means we may be loking at LEE, HALLIDAY & WERTH AS LEAVING at the end of 2010, NO WAY this team re-signs all three, we may be lucky to re-sign one of them, {HALLIDAY OR LEE} WERTH will want MORE than what JASON BAY is asking, [he turned down 4yrs. 60 mill from Boston]so you trade your prospects, where are we AFTER 2010??? RANDY WOLF got 3 yrs 27 mill from Milwaukee, what does Blanton get???— dfrancis1958
- Getting HALLIDAY, means we may LOSE 2 STARTING PITCHRS, Happ in the trade, Blanton to move salary, it also means we may be loking at LEE, HALLIDAY & WERTH AS LEAVING at the end of 2010, NO WAY this team re-signs all three, we may be lucky to re-sign one of them, {HALLIDAY OR LEE} WERTH will want MORE than what JASON BAY is asking, [he turned down 4yrs. 60 mill from Boston]so you trade your prospects, where are we AFTER 2010??? RANDY WOLF got 3 yrs 27 mill from Milwaukee, what does Blanton get???— dfrancis1958
- Wishing Condrey well. He gave us what was asked of him. It is hard to understand why anyone would make nasty remarks about him. While those that think that this amy be Halladay related are not morons - at least not in the classic definition - they are probably guilty of wishful thinking.— drbob456
The path from Condrey to Halliday is a joke. Condrey was going to make much less than $1.2 million. Halliday takes that in warmups.- Condrey made $650,000 this past season. Even with a healthy raise through an arbitrator, the Condrey money does nothing to "free" up money to sign Halladay. "youpeoplehaveissues" is right: the Phillies still need to replace Condrey's reliever spot in the rotation. To sign Halladay, the Phillies would need to unload some serious money from their current payroll, since they seem destined to stay near 140 mil overall for their entire roster next year.— misterhman
- jb99- Comparing Condrey to McNabb is just stupid, no matter what you think of McNabb. Not sure why the Fightins let Condrey go, except that maybe he needed to cut down on trips to the BBQ joint— andwhysee
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Not signing Condrey can very well be connected to Halladay. We'll know within a month. The Phillies are clearly deciding (not unlike the Eagles) that middle relievers and mop up men are not worthy of raises. They can replace this nice performer with a cheaper version from their minor leagues. Yes, it does give you the option of signing Halladay or spending the money more wisely elsewhere.— mlogan49
- I wish all of this ridiculous talk about Halladay would stop. Condrey's contract is almost nothing, it might pay for one Halladay start. Phils must see plenty of bullpen options that are better or cheaper than Condrey, but I think they are wrong. Condrey pitched well for more than one year, he will do well with whatever team signs him.— Boethius
- If Halladay looks like a longshot, the Phils should offer Chien-Ming Wang a 3 year deal. Also, Mike McDougal (back end of the bullpen and potential closer) and Garrett Atkins. Atkins could be used in a rotation with Polanco at Third, Ibanez in Left (which he could probably adjust to easily) occasionally spell Howard at First, which would also allow Utley to occasionally spell Howard and Polanco to spell Utley. All this would keep the defensive liability known as Greg Dobbs in his role as a pinch hitter. The Polanco signing was hasty, Atkins is (despite a bad year last year) a guy who plays great defense, and hits for average and a bit of power. Too bad that this is a missed opportunity...— Ckott
- He was a cog, and a good cog. Shame the injury shortened his season. He'll be missed -- he logged some big innings in the last few years. As much as you need a great back end, you still need reliable innings-eaters for the front end. He performed that job with class. Hope to see you in spring training, CC— ejc527
- Comment removed.
- This move has zero to do with getting Halladay (or Holliday, learn his name).— willy33
- I fully agree with issues & ejc. Equating Clay's non-tender with clearing room for Halladay is absurd; so Ruben must have another motive or objective. Clay was a nice surprise and I will miss him. Also, he was more then just an innings eater- he was brought into some crucial situations and performed pretty well under pressure. Clay rarely seemed to get rattled or intimidated on the mound. I liked that about him....good luck, Clay.— Nigel#1
- Comment removed.
- Here's the dream sequence. If Ken Rosenthal can start rumors based on admitted hunches, how about this. Trade Hamels and Gose for Halladay (or something on that line). Then trade Moyer, Ibanez and Victorino. That's about $30MM. You cover Halladay's $15MM and have about $15MM left over. Hmmm. Go sign Matt Holliday. Swith Werth to center and let Francisco and Taylor platoon in right. I'd take a rotation of Roy, Cliff, Joe, JA and someone else if it means Rollins, Utley, Holliday, Howard, Werth, Taylor/Francisco, Polanco, Ruiz. Hamels is only around for this year and next at most, but moving his contract (with Moyer's, Ibanez's and Victorino's) yields the ability to get Halladay AND Holliday. Anyone who wouldn't give that up, particularly when we're overloaded with OF minor league talent that has to start working into the lineup to offset the big veteran salaries needs to have their head checked. This would be a no-brainer. You could even pave the way for Dom Brown when Werth is due his payday. May seem minor, but that savings could allow the Phils to extend Lee TOO! The economics through 2013 can work at around $150MM all in over the next 3 years. Start talking it up!— bm2626
- Halladay= Blanton, Victorino, Condrey's projected salaries in 2010. I obviously not saying trade those 3 for Halladay but those 3 will have to moved. Werth FA after 2010, Victorino after 2011 and Ibanez might not be worth the money in 2011. They did sign a #2 hitter (Polanco). trade Victorino his value will never be higher. Francisco in CF or Werth CF and Taylor in RF. I think Amaro is trying to trade both Blanton and Victorino and in the Halladay deal keep Drabek, Taylor and Brown. Drabek is Lee replacement in 2011, Taylor is Victorino replacement in 2010 and Brown is Ibanez replacement in 2011 after they eat some of Ibanez salary and move him. Unless the phillies are blowing their budget all this could possibly happen. Phils still need to address the bullpen and money is already close to budget.— Deitz4
- IT'S SIMPLE, WE CAN GET BETTER FOR LESS.— garcia7
- @bm2626 were thinking on the same lines however, Moyer Ibanez Victorino is @26 mil plus who would take Moyer's and Ibanez's salaries without Phils eating some of their money. I also think the Phils won't give up on Hamels and trade him in any deal. I could be wrong about that.— Deitz4
- We want Roy! When he pitches you barely need a relief pitcher. He is a stud like Lee that goes deep almost every game.— BroadStreet
- Until he got hurt, Clay always pitched quality innings and was reliable. Don't understand this move. It must be a payroll decision. I'm sure some other team will sign him. Good luck Clay.— Grapost
- during the World Series, I ran into Condrey's agent in Santiago, DR and he was NOT happy Condrey was left off the postseason roster.— Swindy10
- The guy only made $650,000 last year. Unless Condrey has serious physical problems, this makes no sense.— The Clear
- I believe that not signing Condrey might have something to do with freeing up money for Halladay.Perhaps they don't want to commit to anything else in the bullpen until they see what Halladay might cost. No reason to call people with different opinions morons.— Rabe56
- I am surprised they let Condrey and Walker go. Both make very little money and were good last season...— 93phils
- Condrey was going to be the last guy out of the bullpen. Mostly working when the game is all but decided. No reason to pay more than you have to for this spot on your roster, he can easily be replaced by any scrap heap reliever. He has had good numbers the past couple years but b/c middle relievers are so up in down their is no sense giving him a raise.— chuckm
- amaro is a little too comfortable with the idea of relying on guys like bastardo and mathieson in the pen next year.. we are taking a big chance letting ALL our relievers test free agency while at the same time we havent been successful signing other teams free agent relievers.. amaro better be sure of what he is doing.. we had a lot of talented relievers last year, problem is we had a lot of injuries.. we will be in trouble of we do not re-sign most of these relievers— zwarte piet
- Boo freaking hoo, Condrey is no loss at all.— Njtod10
- You never knew which Clay was going to show up at any given time. The one that would last 1/3 of an inning or the one that would pitch 2 solid innings.
- Clay Aiken was fairly solid for us, he will be missed. -not bob levy— remyy
- You're actually equating Clay Condrey with Donovan McNabb?! Yo jb99. How weak can you be? Even the clowns on WIP wouldn't throw that stretch out there. What about the other hundreds of other athletes in this city who haven't won anything? Get lost.— JLH
- Halladay deal could be Happ, Gose and 2 prospects Phils get by trading Blanton and Victorino. The money all works if they are stickin to their budget. Still gives them flexibility to address the bullpen. Phils keep Drabek, Brown and Taylor. I'm reiterating my first post a little, forgot to list what the trade for Halladay could be.— Deitz4
- RAJ is acting like an NHL general manager and clearing salary cap room for a big aquisition - a certain pitcher from Toronto perhaps. Hate to see Clay go, he was quietly reliable. RAJ shot down rumors that he was trying to move Joe Blanton to save more money. But did anybody ask him if Blanton was part of a package - with Happ, Taylor and some other prospects - to send to the Blue Jays? Will the last Phillies reliever in the bullpen please turn out the lights?— phillyfandc
- Deitz4, its clear you have a brilliant mind like me! I love the mental gymnastics of trying to make this all work. The difference between the $26MM in your post and the $30MM I said is that I included Hamels' $6.5MM salary as I had him leaving in the Halladay trade. I agree that we'd probably need to eat some on Moyer, not sure about Raul. If Bay leaves Boston, and we took Holliday, the Sox would take $11.5 x 2 for Raul. Its actually not a big deal for a lot of teams because its short term dollars (i.e., 2 years only). $11.5 per year for the next 2 years, for a 30 HR guy/.280 BA who can also DH in the AL is do-able for most any contending team. Its the 4-5 year deals that scare them off (rightly so). But my gut is you could move Moyer and probably eat a mil to 1.5 at most. He's a servicable guy and only under contract for 1 more year. Wait until spring training to move him once someone else on another team gets injured. But I think we're on the same page about Taylor and Brown taking over for Vic and Werth. But to take that risk on unprovens, I think you need a stud like Holliday to provide insurance. I actually like a core of Utley, Holliday, Werth and one of Taylor or Brown, and let Howard walk in 2012. Not that I wouldn't want Ryan a Phil for life, its just that at the $20-25MM he's going to want, I'd rather lock up Utley first, then Werth and then Taylor or Brown (with Holliday in the fold already). And it allows room for 2 top pitchers like Halladay and Lee or something close.— bm2626
- zwarte piet, this time last year, you were claiming that the only way the Phillies would even have a chance of contending was if they broke open the piggy bank and signed Derek Lowe. Lowe ended up with the Braves for $60 million and delivered an ERA of about 4.50. I respect your opinion, but can you please cool it with the Amaro bashing? Based on his performance so far, he might actually know what he's doing.— ben715
- Condrey is a good story. He has severe diabetes, was waived by the Phils five or six times in a single season (2007), but has still become a pretty decent bullpen piece. He even hit a double in a game against the Mets! I will be sorry to see him go.— ben715
- nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, not condrey!!!!!!— NBAdraftRoom.com
- I sincerely hope the Phils find a way to bring back Clay Condrey. He's always available, works hard and eats a lot of innings. There's something wrong with a system that balks at paying someone like Condrey less than $1 million a year while paying someone like Lidge $12 million. There's also something wrong with a system that conditons pitchers to work for only one inning or one out, and then be unavailable the next day. Everyday Clay is a throwback to a better day in baseball. The Phils would be lucky to get him back. As far as the "we're getting Halladay but losing Lee," lunacy, what would be the point? Lee took the Phils to the world series and then won the first game of the series. Will Halladay do this any better? The whole purpose of acquiring Halladay is to give the Phils the top-of-the-order pitching it may need to win another world series. Without Lee, acquiring Halladay only gives the Phils more of the same. The Phils can get creative with salaries if necessary. They can carry both Lee and Halladay with backloaded salaries.
- Condrey's departure has nothing to do with Halladay. Condrey's salary is about 1% of what Halladay earns.— pogiepop
- I would have kept Clay for less money or give him an incentive laden contract, such as weight control clauses, etc.— ccb2008
- Comment removed.
- Hey, bm2626- Utley is already locked up long-term. He signed a 8 year deal worth $85MM in early 2007.— Nigel#1
- The guy who bought a ticket to hear Wheels speak should be put on waivers.— mick314
- What Mick said.— CenterCityPhan
- Because Condrey was overpaid if he was getting more than the MLB minimum,DAVINCI.— GeorgeDumbyaBush
- Figure they'll keep Durbin and see if someone like Mathieson or Escalona can step up to a bullpen role. And whoever doesn't make that fifth starting spot (Moyer, Kendrick, and maybe Martinez) could be pen material. Get real - this has nothing to do with Halladay.— s
- 4% of Halladays contract,Issac Newton.— GeorgeDumbyaBush
- hahaha youpeoplehaveissues finally hits the nail on the head. I guess some of the fans that have jumped on the Phils bandwagon have no idea what's going on. Condrey would have earned about a million bucks....whew what a salary relief that is. The fact is that Condrey was more than serviceable for what he was asked to do, which is be the last man out of the bullpen. And "Low Throw McBlow"? Really? Take your irrational McNabb anger out somewhere else, somewhere that actually involves the Eagles.— yougottabelieve26
- The point is the guys going to be 35,he has a lifetime 4.10 ERA,had 2 decent seasons last 2 years,now he's got injury issues,maybe someone knows that he was taking too much creatine...wink,wink.If your an avg. player at this age it's been proven creatine...wink,wink,only gets you hurt more often.With the Phillies Minor League System,and the owner friendly economy,I'm sure we'll be able to replace CLAY CARLTON.— GeorgeDumbyaBush
- former yankees sp/ace wang could be a intriguing option for the backend of the rotation. power sinker that produces a ton of groundballs with our infield defense could be a nice fit.— Pacoatl
- Forget Halladay the Phillies shuold give Wang a shot in red pinstripe, He could be a very good pitcher if he is healthy— Phillies08
- I'll miss Clay. He gave you everything he could, and didn't ask for anything in return.— maximusud
- Nigel#1, I am aware Utley is locked up. It was a 7-yr/$85MM deal in 2007. In my haste to deal with the character limits on these things, I didn't put in all the story. Utley's salary is now fixed for the next 4 years at $15MM. Its great money, don't get me wrong. But 4 years is a long time in the pro world to have a static salary, particularly when the player is the heart and soul of your team, which Utley is. As such, if you're bringing in Holliday at $15-20MM per over the next 4-5 years, and you pay Werth what he'll be due over the next few (and if Taylor is legit, they'll give him some real dough within the next 4 years), you'll have to re-assess Chase's contract a year or two before its up. Frankly, they'd need to do that anyway because there's no way he gets close to free agency. So for payroll management purposes only, one must look at his contract as having only 2-3 years left. Plus, you can't have big contracts like Holliday's and Utley's coming up at the same time (which they would if we gave Holliday a 4-year deal). Sorry for the lack of clarity.— bm2626
- For the prices these guys get paid for not inventing a better light bulb,Cancer vaccine,cleaning up our polluted environment,stopping all the pain and suffering of the "BILLIONS" worldwide,for playing a"CHILDRENS" game.The best thing they could ever do is "SHUT UP AND PLAY",and never be heard from by the public.Because their only a baby step behind the guys on Wall St. ,stealing for a living.— GeorgeDumbyaBush
- Condrey helped us alot. Too bad he is gone, but such is life in the fast zone of professional sports.— Yankel
- If it would be a choice of either keeping Condrey or Durbin, I would have kept Clay at any moment of the day. Durbin has not had a decent stretch after the first 6 monthhs since he joined the Phillies. Thanks for your efforts Clay and the best of luck.— pieter
- @bm2626 I like your if- then scenario with ibanez to Boston. How about Victorino to Boston and Boston goes after lackey and derosa to play third. I'm not up on Boston's financial situation. Would Boston give up a top prospect for Vic that the Jays like? Or even give up Buckholtz, considering Boston would have to get Lackey. Would you think its Vic, plus (brown/taylor/or Gose. Does all that make sense for Phils and Boston.— Deitz4
GeorgeDumbyaBush- the more you speak, the more your stripes show. Please, go away and leave the baseball talk to people who want to talk baseball and not politics.— DaveCicc
1
About this blog
The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Search this blog:
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
