Phillies moves: Oswalt to the DL, Romero released

The Phillies announced a flurry of moves today, none of which is too surprising:

-Roy Oswalt has been placed on the DL. Despite not getting an MRI until Monday, the Phillies decided to stash Oswalt on the disabled list. That certainly isn't a good sign. Like I said yesterday, your Phillies rotation now features Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick. Scott Mathieson was recalled to take Oswalt's spot on the roster.

-J.C. Romero has officially been released. After being DFA'd last week, Romero went unclaimed by the rest of the league, so the Phillies released him. So long, J.C. Don't be surprised if another team signs him in the next few days.

-Brian Schneider, who hasn't played for the Phillies since May 11th, was activated from the disabled list and will resume his role as backup catcher. Dane Sardinha was sent to the minors.

With the addition of Oswalt to the disabled list, the Phillies now have four players on the DL: Oswalt, Joe Blanton, Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge. It's unclear when Oswalt will be back but the other three should be back sometime around August.

Phillies designate J.C. Romero for assignment

Due to the doubleheader yesterday, the Phillies needed to call up a pitcher to take the mound on Saturday against the Mariners. Enter Vance Worley, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley. To make room for Worley, the Phillies made a somewhat surprising move and designated J.C. Romero for assignment.

What makes the move surprising is that the Phillies could have easily sent David Herndon down to the minors without having to shake anything up. DFAing Romero makes sense based on how poorly he has pitched this season but it also leaves the Phillies with just one lefty out of the pen. The plan in the long run could be to call up Mike Zagurski or acquire another lefty to be a LOOGY behind Antonio Bastardo.

As for Romero, he now has 10 days to wait and see if he will be claimed. If he goes unclaimed, he could be sent to the minors. I could easily see another team taking a chance on Romero, who isn't too far removed from being an effective pitcher, so don't be surprised if we've seen the last of him in a Phillies uniform.

J.C. Romero has returned to the Phillies

In a move that was expected ever since the deal with Dennys Reyes fell through, the Phillies have re-signed J.C. Romero. Romero, who became a free agent after the Phillies declined his one year option worth 4.5 million, signed a one year deal worth somewhere around a million bucks to return to Philadelphia.

While the Phillies could probably do better than Romero as a lefty option out of the pen, for the right price, he should slide nicely back into his bullpen role. The Phillies 'pen appears to be just about completed, although there seems to be something holding up the a re-signing of Chad Durbin, the long-reliever that is the last missing piece.

Phillies decline 4.5 million dollar option on Romero

The Phillies season just ended a few days ago and we already have our first offseason move: the team has declined their 4.5 million dollar club option on relief pitcher J.C. Romero, making him a free agent. Given his fading numbers over the last few seasons, it was a no-brainer move for the Phillies to not bring back Romero at that price tag, though there is still the possibility that he re-signs with the club at a smaller dollar amount.

Romero, who spent the last 4 years with the Phillies, was a key part of the bullpen in the 2008 World Series run. Over the last two seasons, he has dealt with injury problems and issues with his command, making him far less reliable. If they don't bring him back, the Phillies are likely counting on Antonio Bastardo or Sergio Escalona to take Romero's role out the bullpen.

This should be a relatively quiet offseason for the Phillies, who don't have a lot of money to spend or holes to fill. With Jayson Werth likely gone, the team will try to find a cheaper right handed outfielder, but beyond always needing more bullpen help, the Phillies don't have any glaring needs. Of course, there are those ever-present Cliff Lee rumors....

Phillies roster shuffle: Romero activated, Happ to the DL

Sometimes you have to take the good news with the bad news: while one Phillies pitcher is returning from injury, another is going on the DL.

First, the good news: J.C. Romero has been activated. The lefty has been out all season dealing with elbow isssues but after several successful rehab appearances, he's ready to go. Romero will be a welcome sight to a Phillies bullpen that has been taxed on the days when Roy Halladay isn't pitching.

As for the bad news, the Phillies will be without J.A. Happ for at least his next start. Happ, who didn't feel right in a side pitching session today, will be placed on the 15 day DL due to a left forearm strain. Nelson Figueroa will be called upon to start in place of Happ, who isn't expected to be out for long. In fact, the way the rotation shakes out in the coming week, Happ could be activated after 15 days and only miss one start.

Like I've said with the injuries to Jimmy Rollins and Joe Blanton, it's better to have these minor tweaks in April rather than in September. Missing Happ for a couple of starts now won't have a huge impact in the long run for the Phillies especially when you have a capable spot starter like Figueroa ready to step in.

Early pitching depth test: Phillies place 3 pitchers on the DL

The depth in the Phillies pitching staff will be tested early this year as the team placed 3 pitchers they are counting on in 2010 on the DL today. Two of them were expected as the Phillies finally made official what we all knew about Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero; the other was surprising considering it is Joe Blanton, who hasn't spent a day on the disabled list in his six major league seasons.

Lidge and Romero both weren't on track to start the season with the Phillies but neither is expected to be out for too long. In their absences, David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo will make the club and Ryan Madson will be the closer. The bullpen will definitely be shorthanded as the season starts.

As for Blanton, he will miss 3 to 6 weeks as he deals with a mild oblique strain. While this is good news for Kyle Kendrick, who jumps from the bullpen to the rotation, losing Blanton will be a blow, even if it's only for April. Since acquiring him in 2008, Blanton has been an anchor in the Phillies rotation, a guy that can be counted on every 5th day to go 6 innings and give up 3-4 runs. While Kendrick had a solid spring this year, there is no telling what the Phillies are going to get from him.

With Blanton going to the DL, a spot on the roster has opened up. The early word via the Phillies beat writers is that Andrew Carpenter will be called up to join the bullpen for Opening Day.

Losing Blanton hurts but it isn't crushing. He will only miss 4-8 starts right at the beginning of the year so it's hardly something that will hold the Phillies back for long, if at all. It's usually actually a good thing to get injuries like these out of the way in April and let guys get 100% healthy before they start their season. Of course, there is always the worry that an injury lingers all season long but Blanton has been nothing but healthy throughout his career so that might not be an issue with him. Lidge and Romero might be another story, though, hopefully their aches and pains don't turn them into question marks in the bullpen.

J.C. Romero: out for the playoffs

Scratch another pitcher off the list of candidates to make the Phillies postseason roster. J.C. Romero, who has had a bum forearm and elbow for what seems like the entire season, will be unavailable to pitch for the Phillies in October, according to Scott Lauber of Delaware Online.

Romero, who last pitched for the Phillies on September 28th, will now put his tumultuous 2009 season behind him. As you recall, Romero was suspended for the first 50 games of the season and then managed to pitch in only 21 games for the Phils as he battled through injuries. He should be good to go by Spring Training next year.

Losing Romero leaves the Phillies with a hole in the bullpen. They would like to have a couple of lefty options in the pen, so it is possible they might keep both Scott Eyre and Sergio Escalona on the postseason roster. The Phillies could also use J.A. Happ out of the pen if he isn't the 4th starter.

There goes the bullpen: Romero, Durbin to the DL

The bullpen has repeatedly been taxed all season long, going multiple innings after one Phillies starter after another has a short outing. That heavy workload has already forced Clay Condrey, Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge to be out for parts of the season, and now two more Phillies will spend some time on the DL.

J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin have both been placed on the 15 day disabled list. Romero hasn't pitched since July 19th, so he could be placed retroactive to that date, while Durbin pitched yesterday. Officially, Romero is out with a left forearm strain and Durbin has a right lat strain, but both pitchers are likely dealing with tired arms. With the Phillies up 6 games in the NL East and cruising, it's the right time to give the bullpen arms a rest. Losing each stretches the bullpen thinner, especially with Durbin's versatility and Romero's left-handedness, but if there was a time to rest the bullpen, it's now.

Called up in their places were Tyler Walker and Andrew Carpenter. Walker was just recently sent down to Lehigh and Carpenter was up early in the year and made a start against the Nationals.

The Phillies bullpen has been taxed all season long, so all of these injuries aren't surprising. The starting pitchers need to pitch their way deeper into games, or this 'pen could be completely worn out come playoff time. Of course, the acquisition of Roy Halladay, an innings eater, would be perfect. The strained bullpen also makes the signing of Pedro Martinez, a 5 inning guy, look puzzling.

As I like to do from time to time, I have updated the Phillies bullpen roles. These are just my best guess at what the roles will be for the bullpen pieces, although things like using Brad Lidge in a game where you have a 3 run deficit can still happen.

Long relief:
Chan Ho Park
Andrew Carpenter

Situational Lefty:
Scott Eyre

6th inning:
Tyler Walker

7th inning:
Clay Condrey

8th inning:
Ryan Madson

Closer:
Brad Lidge

J.C. Romero involved in fan altercation

J.C. Romero, fresh off a 50 game suspension for using a banned substance, has found himself in some more hot water. Romero allegedly got into an altercation with a fan on Thursday night when the Phillies where in Tampa Bay playing the Rays. Apparently the fan, Robert Eaton, made some comments to Romero about using steroids that J.C. did not appreciate. Romero allegedly grabbed Eaton by the neck and pushed him. Eaton later filed a police report, so Romero could be dealing with more than just some discipline from the MLB.

While we here at ATPS do not condone the use of violence, it's hard to be too angry with Romero for attacking the fan. Let's hope this situation resolves itself quickly, whether it's just a short suspension or a fine, and Romero can just get back to playing baseball.

For more on the story, click here for the Philly.com write-up.

MLB suspends J.C. Romero 50 games for "negligence"

The Phillies will now be without two key pieces of their roster for the start of the 2009 season. The one we already knew about was Chase Utley, who had offseason hip surgery and will miss at least the first month of the regular season. Now it looks like the Phillies will also have to do without their lefty bullpen ace for the first two months. Talk about a rocky start for the defending champs.

Major League Baseball will announce tomorrow that J.C. Romero has been suspended for 50 games for "negligence". Apparently Romero bought supplements that the league originally approved of but has now decided are banned substances. He will also lose 1.25 million dollars of salary.

The weird thing about the situation is that Romero isn't being accused of taking an illegal substance. Instead, he is being punished for buying a product that MLB was never clear was actually a banned substance. It all sounds pretty fishy to me, and J.C. feels wrongly accused and has plenty of strong words on the situation that you can read if you click here.

This is certainly a tough situation for Romero to be dealing with. Apparently he could have made a deal to reduce his suspension to 25 games but he refused it because he didn't feel he did anything wrong.

For the Phillies, this means they will be without a key bullpen piece for nearly a third of the season. In his absence, the Phillies probably won't go and make any drastic moves. Scott Eyre will likely be the main lefty option out of the pen and the Phils could easily use someone like J.A. Happ as the second lefty.

Losing Romero hurts the Phillies but you have to look bigger picture in this situation. MLB might be doing something seriously wrong, and illegal, by suspending a player who really did nothing that was against the rules. Let's hope Romero is so fired up from this suspension that he dominates the league after he sits out for 50 games.