Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

Phillies will call up relief help, not top prospects

NEW YORK - When rosters expand Thursday, no touted prospects will join the Phillies. Instead, the will add to a bullpen that has been used with greater frequency as the rotation fails.

NEW YORK - When rosters expand Thursday, no touted prospects will join the Phillies. Instead, the will add to a bullpen that has been used with greater frequency as the rotation fails.

The front office has prioritized the minor-league pennant races. The young players, team officials believe, are better suited to play meaningful baseball.

So the bullpen could see familiar reinforcements like Luis Garcia, Elvis Araujo, Dalier Hinojosa and Colton Murray. For many of those arms, the season's last month could be one final chance to win favor because the Phillies face a 40-man roster crunch in the winter. Spots are needed, and the roster is loaded with relievers unable to secure a permanent job in the majors.

There should be opportunity. A Phillies starter has lasted seven innings just once in the team's last 28 games. The club will rely upon the bullpen even more in September as innings restrictions are applied on some pitchers, thinning the pool.

That is why some of the recalled arms, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said, will be made more out of necessity.

Alec Asher, when his performance-enhancing drug suspension ends Sept. 4, will be back in the majors. Righthander Phil Klein could return to make some starts. So, too, could David Buchanan.

The prospects, though, will not arrive until later in September - if at all.

Quinn hurt again

Roman Quinn, a potential call-up later in September, was placed on the disabled list Sunday at double-A Reading with a concussion. Quinn was hit in the head by an errant pickoff throw.

The outfield prospect's rise has been derailed by constant injuries. He missed five weeks earlier this season with a strained rib-cage muscle. Quinn has never played more than 88 games in a minor-league season.

He has hit well this season at Reading, with a .282 batting average, .359 on-base percentage and .432 slugging percentage. Quinn, 23, had a good chance of being promoted to the Phillies once Reading's season ended because he is on the 40-man roster. The concussion could change that.

Andrew Pullin, a hot-hitting outfielder at Reading, also went on the DL with a sprained right elbow.

Extra bases

For the second straight game, outfielder Nick Williams was not in triple-A Lehigh Valley's lineup. Williams has just two walks with 64 strikeouts in his last 59 games. He's hitting .237 in that span. . . . On Saturday, the Phillies allowed the cycle of home runs - a solo homer, a two-run homer, a three-run homer and a grand slam. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Phillies did that was May 19, 1979, the infamous 23-22 game at Wrigley Field. . . . Jake Thompson, who has a 9.78 ERA in his first four big-league starts, will pitch Monday in the opener of a three-game series against first-place Washington at Citizens Bank Park.