Qualls asks for trade after being designated for assignment
Phillies reliever Chad Qualls asked to be traded Thursday after the team informed him that he was being desginated for assignment.
Qualls asks for trade after being designated for assignment
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Phillies reliever Chad Qualls asked to be traded Thursday after the team informed him that he was being desginated for assignment.
Qualls, 33, signed a one-year, $1.15 million deal with the Phillies at the end of January and was being counted upon as a late-inning reliever. He leaves the team with a 1-1 record and 4.60 ERA after surrendering three runs on three hits in Wednesday night's 11-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"I felt like I had been throwing the ball well all June," Qualls said. "I had only given up runs in two outings this June. No excuses for (Wednesday). I felt like I was throwing the ball better, but the organization felt like they wanted to make a move and that's fine."
Qualls, in fact, had allowed runs in just two of his 15 appearances this month. He still, however, had a 4.26 ERA in June and seven of his 15 outings were less than one inning because he has atrocious numbers against left-handed hitters. Lefties are hitting .377 with a .441 on-base percentage against him. Qualls had a 6.10 ERA in May after going 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in the first month of the season.
Pitching coach Rich Dubee walked with Qualls into manager Charlie Manuel's office, where general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was also in attendance.
"I asked Ruben to trade me and that's basically what he's trying to do," Qualls said. "I think they have eight to 10 days to try to do that, so right now he just kind of said that I'm in baseball limbo. They wanted a little bit more consistency. Hopefully, the move is better for the team."
Amaro said he will try to trade Qualls, but to this point there has been no interest. The team can also designate the pitcher for assignment or release him in the next 10 days. Qualls can decline an assignment to the minor leagues, but he would forfeited his remaining salary for this season. A release seems like the most likely scenario at this point.
"We just thought it was the right thing to do," Amaro said. "There have been some inconsistincies with him and it's something we discussed a little bit over the last several weeks. His stuff is good. I just don't know if he has been effective as his stuff has shown."
Qualls' spot on the roster was filled by lefthander Jeremy Horst, who was called up from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Horst, a 26-year-old lefthander, was acquired in the offseason trade that sent infielder Wilson Valdez to the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched in 12 games with the Reds last season and posted a 2.93 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA in 26 appearances with Lehigh Valley this season. He had walked 18 batters and struck out 32 in 38 1/3 innings.
"He's been pretty consistent," Amaro said. "He's been OK as far as the guys who are down there. He's thrown the ball pretty well."
Horst will be the sixth pitcher who opened the season at Lehigh Valley to spend time on the Phillies' roster this season, but Amaro admitted that the bullpen remains a major concern.
"I think it's an area we have to address," he said. "Right now, we have to give these guys an opportunity to try to grow. How much they can grow throughout the course of the season, I don't know. We have some talent there, but it's tough to put some of the kids in this position, because we're in a position to win and we want to win on a consistent basis. It's not an easy thing to do. It's a good challenge for them and in some ways it will help them develop a little bit. At the same time, it's an area that we lack consistency. It's something we'd like to address."
Earlier in the day, the Phillies had called up righthander Brian Sanches from Lehigh Valley to fill the roster spot created when lefthander Joe Savery was optioned to the Iron Pigs Wednesday night.
unfathomable to think that Phils gave Grilli away for free just last summer... more proof that this organization has absolutely no idea what it's doing or how to evaluate players— warbiscuit- YES!!!! SO HAPPY TO BID QUALLS ADIEU!— bingbangbong
- Qualls thinks he's been pitching well? I wonder what him pitching badly looks like? Good luck trading him. Maybe a team can use a batting practice pitcher.... Watching Jeremy Horst pitch against the Pirates right now and he looks better than Qualls did all season long. Way better....— topwonk
- @dogniscuitthedpe -i said pre-season that Qualls could be useful if used properly to get out an occasional righty but that Chollie doesn't properly play matchups , would misuse him and he would likley be a diaster --i was correct to a 't' -- dont miquote me you dishonest fraud— warbiscuit
- Misusing Qualls is sending him out to pitch. He was terrible for Arizona and Tampa. No analysis needed. He was a terrible signing in December. — mwcnabb
- They finally dumped Savery. Now get rid of Mayberry.— 2smart4philly
- @dogbiscuitthedope --everything I said pre-season occurred -the team is in last place and will never win anything with Amaro as g.m you dumb loser— warbiscuit
- For the record, you also referred to Kyle Drabek (8-15 5.34 ERA, Travis D'Arnaud (Not one MLB PA) and Michael Taylor (51 PA's .188 Avg) as, "Super-Stars" in a vague and disjointed rant about the Halladay trade. Kind of closed the X-File on you then, 'bisquit.... — Special Agent Fox Mulder
- @grapaost you dumb loser --amaro's options were not to waste $50 mil. on a closer, $33 mil. on a shortstop and $7.6 mil on Kendrick ...amaro's options were not to give away a pitcher who can throw 96 mph like Grilli while retaining useless trash like herndon and kendrick— warbiscuit
- Grilli has pitched for 6 teams and has never been a focal point in a MLB bullpen with an ERA over 4.3. Rolins is batting over .350 since May 1. — mwcnabb
- Qualls looks like Chris Clayton.— stoptothinkisanidiot
- @grapost --there were literally dozens of pitchers available this past offseason as free agents (as blogger Jim Smith provides names: Broxton, Rodney, Capps, Frasor, Codero, Dotel, Farnsworth, Hawkins, Saito were all available in the financial range of what Kendrick was signed for)... good g.m,'s find the undervalued ones (e.g, Capuano by the Dodgers) while poor g.m.s seem to only find the overrated or awful ones..in 3 1/2 years name the last undervalued player Amaro has ever found for little or no cost that turned out to be a star (e.g. a Victorino or Werth)..instead he lets go of talent like Vogelsong and Grili who succeed elsewhere while acquiring/retaining useless trash like herndon, qualls, baez, bowker, martinez, etc— warbiscuit
- They are just names, pick one out of a hat. Seriously. Bowker had 12 at-bats. You forgot Brandon Moss. — mwcnabb
- Qualls, buddy...here's a clue since you don't seem to have one...no one wants you, you can't get anybody out.— PhillySubsMac
- Send Qualls to an NL East team and that will be the best way for his pitching to help the Phillies.— burholme
