Phillies Roster Cut Down to 27

The Phillies made three more player moves today, cutting their camp roster down to 27 players. Pitcher Travis Blackley, a Rule 5 pick, was placed on waivers. Vic Darensbourg and Gary Knotts, a pair of journeymen relievers, were reassigned to the minor league camp. None of these moves comes as a surprise, although there had been some rumblings at Beerleaguer.com that Darensbourg was deserving of a roster spot. Blackley has done nothing to prove he belongs in the majors, with a 7.27 ERA and a WHIP of 1.73 this spring.

According to Todd Zolecki of the The Phillies Zone, here is the Phillies current roster:

Pitchers (11): Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Adam Eaton, Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, Clay Condrey and J.D. Durbin.

Catchers (2): Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste.

Infielders (8): Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, Greg Dobbs, Eric Bruntlett, Wes Helms and Ray Olmedo.

Outfielders (6): Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Geoff Jenkins, Jayson Werth, So Taguchi and Chris Snelling.

The Phillies will need to part with at least two more of these players before Opening Day on Tuesday. One likely cut will be Ray Olmedo, but the other will be either Chris Snelling or Wes Helms. It's surprising that J.D. Durbin still has a spot on the roster, given his terrible spring. Zolecki speculates that if the Phillies add another pitcher, Durbin will be shipped down to the minors. I am definitely glad to see the Phillies keep only 11 pitchers instead of carrying a 12th pitcher who has little business being in the majors. The extra bench player, whether it's Helms or Snelling, will come in handy in extra inning games or in big pinch-hitting situations.

It will be interesting to see what the Phillies do with their final two moves, and if they can pull off a trade before the season starts. It's very unlikely that the Phils will be able to acquire an impact player at this time, but there are plenty of useful players available that can be small pieces to the puzzle.