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Phillies Notebook: Kendrick, Bastardo, Cairo get last spots on Phillies playoff roster

One by one, they were summoned by the Phillies' coaching staff and told the news. Eric Bruntlett, who scored three runs in last year's World Series, the last of which gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the decisive Game 5 . . .

One by one, they were summoned by the Phillies' coaching staff and told the news.

Eric Bruntlett, who scored three runs in last year's World Series, the last of which gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the decisive Game 5 . . .

Clay Condrey, who was one of the team's most consistent relievers during the first 2 months of this season and was a member of the playoff roster throughout last year's run . . .

Tyler Walker, who provided a valuable arm in a time of need this season, posting a 3.06 ERA in 32 appearances.

All three players were left off the Phillies' 25-man roster for the National League Division Series.

The moves, along with the additions of righthander Kyle Kendrick, lefthander Antonio Bastardo, and utility man Miguel Cario, leave the Phillies with 12 pitchers and five bench players to go with their eight regulars.

Manager Charlie Manuel knew he would have to make some tough decisions when selecting the 25 players for the NLDS. Injuries to lefthander J.C. Romero and righthander Chan Ho Park left him without two of his top relief options. And Cairo's performance down the stretch left Manuel contemplating whether to keep both him and Bruntlett, or to part with one to accommodate a 12th arm.

In the end, he chose the latter.

Bruntlett, whose defensive value was touted by Manuel after the regular-season finale, was the biggest surprise. Condrey, who suffered an oblique injury in June that sidelined him for nearly 3 months, was the victim of both limited playing time down the stretch and a glut of righthanders in the bullpen. Walker, who posted a 1.67 ERA in his first 23 appearances, had allowed runs in four of his last nine appearances.

"It's hard to swallow," Condrey said.

All three players will travel with the team, but will not be available to play unless there is an injury. Major league rules allow a team to replace an injured player, but the injured player who is replaced is ineligible for the next round of the playoffs.

In their place are two players who were not on the active roster at the beginning of season, and another who was on the roster for the first and last months of the season.

Kendrick, who was bitterly disappointed when he was left off the postseason roster last year, will provide value as both a multiple-innings reliever and emergency starter. Bastardo, a rookie who had mixed results as a starter early in the season before suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him for much of the rest of the year, will provide a much-needed lefthanded arm against a Rockies team that features a number of explosive lefthanded hitters.

And Cairo, an experienced postseason performer who started the season on the 25-man roster and then hit .357 after being recalled in late August, will take Bruntlett's place as a righthanded bat and versatile defensive replacement off the bench.

But the postseason roster is not permanent. Teams are allowed to reset their rosters before each round of the playoffs. So the 25 men who are available today are not necessarily the same who will compose the roster for a potential National League Championship Series.

Romero surgery

J.C. Romero, who suffered a setback with his injured pitching elbow last week that will cause him to miss the playoffs, is scheduled for surgery on his flexor tendon today in New York. Recovery is expected to take 5 to 6 months, provided doctors discover no more damage when they operate. The operation is not Tommy John surgery, the common procedure that replaces the ulnar collateral ligament and generally has a recovery period of 12 to 18 months.

Former Mets team doctor David Altchek will operate.

Romero finished the season with a 2.70 ERA, but was limited to just 21 appearances by his elbow problem and a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs that he served at the start of the season.

"When the doctor goes in there and there is some more damage, it may change," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, "but right now what he sees in the MRI is consistent with what we've seen. It's a flexor tendon problem we're looking at."

Moyer surgery

Lefthander Jamie Moyer underwent surgery to repair three torn tendons in his lower abdomen and groin on Friday. Moyer was walking around at Citizens Bank Park yesterday. Moyer, who suffered the injury on the final pitch of the seventh inning on Sept. 29, is entering the last year of a 2-year contract that will pay him about $8 million in 2010.

Phillers

Amaro said both lefthander Scott Eyre, who has battled a loose body in his elbow since early September, and righthander Brett Myers, who was shut down for close to 3 weeks with a lat strain after returning from hip surgery, are healthy enough to pitch on back-to-back days . . . Amaro said Chan Ho Park, who suffered a setback on his strained hamstring last week, could return to the team for a potential NLCS, although an exact recovery period is not known . . . Dave Hollins rejoined the Phillies organization as a special-assignment scout. He spent the last four seasons as a pro scout with Baltimore. Hollins played third base with the Phillies from 1990 to '95 and again in 2002.