Phillies release pitcher Sean Burnett

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The competition for the final two spots in the Phillies bullpen became a bit thinner on Sunday morning when lefthander Sean Burnett was granted his release.

Burnett, who has twice had Tommy John surgery, allowed two earned runs this spring in nine innings. He had no strikeouts and two walks in seven outings. The 34-year-old returned to the majors last September with Washington after having his second Tommy John surgery in May of 2014.

The race for the final two bullpen spots will come down to lefthanders Adam Morgan and Joely Rodriguez; righthanders Alec Asher, Luis Garcia, and Colton Murray; and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Morgan, Rodriguez, Asher, and Garcia are on the 40-man roster, which gives them an advantage due to the team's roster crunch.

The five pitchers locked into roles - Jeanmar Gomez, Pat Neshek, Edubray Ramos, Joaquin Benoit, and Hector Neris - are all righthanders which would likely mean that one of the final spots will have to be a lefthander to Venditte, who has more success pitching as a lefthander. Pete Mackanin said earlier this spring that those five pitchers are all "one-inning pitchers," which could mean that one of those final spots may go to a long reliever like Morgan or Asher.