Phillies trade for lefty reliever Randolph

The Phillies made a move today to get another left handed reliever, acquiring Stephen Randolph from the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. The Phillies have been searching for a second southpaw to compliment J.C. Romero since the season began, but I am not sure Randolph is the answer. Randolph has been putting up good numbers for Houston's Triple A club in Round Rock, posting a 1.23 ERA, but he is 34 years old and has not been very successful at the major league level. Randolph has spent parts of three seasons with the Astros and Diamondbacks and has a career ERA of 5.52 in 109 major league appearances. He has had some major problems walking guys in the past so unless he can get control of his pitches, he won't be very useful in the bullpen.

My guess is that Randolph will be going to Lehigh Valley and will battle with Steve Kline, who has been a disappointment since he was signed in April, to be the second lefty in the bullpen down the road. This is a typical Pat Gillick move, acquiring a relatively unknown veteran player who could have a minor role with the club down the stretch.
Stephen Randolph's career statistics via Baseball-Reference.com