Phillies moves: Rollins is back, Ruiz to the DL, Dobbs a goner

The Phillies made a series of moves in preparation for their series against the Indians:

*Jimmy Rollins was activated from the disabled list
*Greg Dobbs was designated for assignment
*Carlos Ruiz was put on the disabled list
*Mike Zagurski was called up from the minors
*Scott Mathieson has cleared and was optioned to the minors

The biggest move out of all of these is the return of Jimmy Rollins to the lineup. Rollins, who has played a grand total of 14 games this season, should immediately help a struggling offense. While Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro have played well at times, adding J-Roll adds another dangerous bat to the mix. Hopefully he stays healthy this time.

On the other hand, losing Carlos Ruiz, who was put on the DL retroactive to June 19th due to concussion issues, will hurt the offense as the Phillies are forced to turn to Brian Schneider and Dan Sardinha at catcher. Hopefully the concussion symptoms go away quickly for Ruiz and he can be back sometime before the All-Star break.

As for the loss of Greg Dobbs, I join with many Phillies fans in saying good riddance. While Dobbs was once a reliable pinch hitter, his .152 average and meager power this season have turned him into a useless bench player. With no glove to go with no bat, the Phillies made the right call in keeping Valdez and dropping Dobbs.

Finally, Mike Zagurski's return to the Phillies is a nice story because he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007. Much like Scott Mathieson, Zagurski has made the long recovery from Tommy John surgery and earned another shot in the Phillies pen. The big lefty doesn't have great career numbers (5.91 ERA) but it's always nice to have a second left handed option to call upon.

As the dust settles from this flurry of moves, the Phillies come out with a slightly better lineup and bench. Yes, Carlos Ruiz being out will make the bottom of the order a pair of automatic outs in a row but having Rollins back at the top keeps things from being a complete black hole at 7-8-9. With Rollins back, I'm interested to see what Charlie Manuel does with the order. It's probably safe to assume that Jimmy Rollins will slot back in the leadoff spot but will Shane Victorino bat 2nd or 7th? If everyone starts hitting like they can (a big if, I know), the Phillies lineup should be back to being the best in the NL in the 1-7 spots.