Phillies activate Lidge, kick Baez to the curb

The moment we have all been waiting for has finally happened! No, not the activation of Brad Lidge, which also happened today, but the Phillies finally rid themselves of Danys Baez, designating him for assignment to make room for Lidge on the roster.

Baez has been nothing but awful for the Phillies the last two seasons, posting an ERA well above 5 while being completely unreliable in the late innings. Baez had become so useless that Charlie Manuel only called on him to pitch three times in July, his most recent appearance coming against the Mets when he got shelled for 4 runs in an inning of work. So long, Baez, I can't say you'll be missed.

Lidge's return to the Phillies shouldn't be overlooked. He won't be stepping back into the closer role any time soon but Lidge could turn into a useful 7th or 8th inning setup man. He should help alleviate the workload of Antonio Bastardo and Michael Stutes, who have been busting their tails in the late innings this season. Lidge isn't the most consistent guy so it will be interesting to see what role he works himself into.

Good riddance? Phillies place Baez on DL, recall Bastardo

Phillies fans have been calling for the team to release Danys Baez for months. While they didn't quite get their wish, those that despise Baez and his 5.14 ERA will be happy to know that the Phillies had to place the reliever on the disabled list due to back spasms. In his place, Antonio Bastardo was called up from Triple A to reprise his role as lefty specialist.

Baez has been the very definition of a disappointment this season. When he was signed in the offseason, the Phillies probably thought they were bringing in someone who could lock down the 7th inning and help bridge the gap from the starting pitcher to Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge. Instead, Baez has been completely unreliable and can only pitch in low-leverage situations when the Phillies are up or down by multiple runs. What makes his bad season even worse is knowing that he's signed on to play another season with the Phillies.

Phillies to sign reliever Danys Baez

And the Phillies busy offseason continues. After the trade for Roy Halladay and the signings of Placido Polanco, Juan Castro, Ross Gload and Brian Schneider, the Phillies still had one more area of the team to take care of: the bullpen. According to Jon Heyman on Twitter, the Phillies have made their first move in shoring up the bullpen: they will sign right-handed reliever Danys Baez.

Baez, who has played for the Indians, Rays, Dodgers, Braves and Orioles in his 8 year career, is a former closer turned set-up man. He played for the Orioles in 2009 and had a solid year, posting an ERA of 4.02 and a WHIP of 1.13 in 71 innings of work. Baez was a closer from '02-'05, saving over 100 games and even made the 2005 All Star team.

The years and value of the contract are not known at this point but as long as the Phillies didn't break the bank, Baez is an excellent signing. He will likely be a 7th inning guy for the Phillies, replacing Chan Ho Park, who won't be coming back. With this signing, the Phillies bullpen is nearly complete. With Brad Lidge closing, Ryan Madson coming in for the 8th inning, Baez and J.C. Romero for the 7th, Chad Durbin for the 6th and Clay Condrey likely coming back, the Phillies are just a second lefty out of the pen short of a complete bullpen. While I had assumed the Phillies would still pursue a lefty option via free agency, Phrontiersman, via Twitter, pointed out that the Phillies would be smarter to give Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo first crack at the job.

Danys Baez will make a solid addition to the Phillies bullpen. He will provide them with less versatility than Chan Ho Park in that he won't often go multiple innings but he will still be solid in the set-up role. Baez was signed with the money the Phillies got from the Blue Jays in the Roy Halladay trade, so I would call this a good use of money. Your 2010 Phillies are shaping up very nicely for a return trip to the World Series.