Phils Cuts Continue, Tough Decisions Looming

As the regular season approaches, the Phillies continue to pare down their roster. Pitchers Shane Youman and John Ennis are the next two to be reassigned to the minor league camp. There still haven't been any surprise cuts, neither of these players were expected to make the team. The only thing Youman had going for him was that he was a lefty, but like Ennis he is not a major league caliber pitcher.

The Phillies have made all of the obvious cuts, but the tough decisions are coming soon. The Phillies have 33 players left in camp, and need to cut 8 more. Looking at their current roster, Jason Jaramillo and Ray Olmedo seem like obvious position player cuts, but there are still six more players that need to be axed. The Phillies will need to decide if Wes Helms will be on the roster, and they have to figure out the final pieces to their bullpen.

Of course, they also need to make the tough decision as to who will be the 5th starter. Adam Eaton pitched adequately yesterday, giving up five hits but no runs in three innings. J.D. Durbin appears to be out of the running as he got rocked again to raise his ERA to 10.95. Darkhorse candidate Francisco Rosario got rocked in his last start, so it looks like Eaton might win the job by default.