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 likely finalize bullpen with demotions of Zagurski and Mathieson

The Phillies announced the demotion of Mike Zagurski and Scott Mathieson the the minors today, a move that effectively finalizes their bullpen for the start of the season. With Brad Lidge set to start the season on the disabled list, and barring a trade or waiver pickup, the Phillies bullpen will look like this to start the season:

Long Relief:
Kyle Kendrick

Lefty Specialist:
Antonio Bastardo

6th inning:
David Herndon

7th inning:
J.C. Romero, Danys Baez

Setup:
Jose Contreras

Closer:
Ryan Madson

I put Madson in the closers role, though Contreras is also in the mix to close games. There really aren't any surprises in the group, with Herndon making the team only because of Lidge's injury. While there is plenty of depth in the bullpen, I'm still happy they won't be needed much with the Phillies four aces going deep into games on a regular basis.

Phillies place Mathieson on DL, DFA Robertson, add Carrillo

As the Phillies continue to search for the final playoff bullpen pieces, they made a series of pitching moves on Thursday that could have a minor impact on who makes that 25 man playoff roster.

First, Scott Mathieson, who could be a nice bullpen piece at some point down the road, was placed on the disabled list with a muscle strain in his back. If Mathieson's season is over, it ends with an ugly stat line of 1.2 innings pitched and an ERA of 10.80.

Another player with an ugly pitching line was moved off the roster as Nate Robertson was designated for assignment by the Phillies. While there was a remote possibility that the veteran pitcher could have turned his career around and been a contributor for the Phillies, it was clear he didn't have what it takes after giving up 6 runs in one inning against the Marlins. Given how bad his season was this year, Robertson's career might be over.

Finally, the Phillies also added a pitcher today, claiming righty Cesar Carrillo off waivers from the Padres. Carrillo is a 26 year old who pitched in 3 games for the Padres last season. Seeing as how he had an ERA of 13.06 in those three games, Carrillo is likely a longterm project who has little chance of having an impact in the majors. He was a solid prospect at one point in his career, so the Phillies probably look at him as a low-risk late season pickup.

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.

Finally, Scott Mathieson returns to the Phillies

Scott Mathieson made his major league debut for the Phillies back in June of 2006, starting a handful of games for the team and posting some terrible numbers (1-4, 7.47 ERA). Nearly four years and two Tommy John surgeries later, Mathieson is finally back with the big club, this time as a flame-throwing reliever. With Lehigh this season, the righty has put up some great numbers, posting a 2.43 ERA and 1.08 WHIP while saving 12 games. Hopefully he can act as a nice midseason acquisition for a Phillies pen that lacks trustworthy arms.

Mathieson was called up to replace Antonio Bastardo, who was placed on the 15 day disabled list with left elbow ulnar neuritis. Seems like every time Bastardo flashes some of his potential as a quality lefty out of the pen he goes and gets injured.

Phillies make first cuts, pare roster down to 44

There aren't expected to be a lot of surprises in Spring Training this year for the Phillies. Besides the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation and barring a tremendous showing by one of the young bats, the Phillies Opening Day roster is nearly set in stone. Having so little on the line makes for a pretty uneventful and calm spring in the major league camp.

The Phillies did make their first cuts today, reassigning 14 players to the minor league camp. The most notable among them was Scott Mathieson, who has had two Tommy John surgeries and had a decent chance at landing a spot in the bullpen. The Phillies likely feel that Mathieson needs to get some more innings of work in before they can commit a bullpen spot to him. Barring another arm injury, Mathieson should be back up with the big club at some point this season.

The rest of the Phillies cuts are not surprises: pitchers Phillippe Aumont, Yohan Flande, Drew Naylor, J.C. Ramirez, Jesus Sanchez, Joe Savery and Bill White, catchers Tuffy Goeswisch, Kevin Nelson and John Suomi, shortstop Freddy Galvis, outfielders Quintin Berry and Tyson Gillies. You may recognize three of those players from the Cliff Lee deal (Aumont, Ramirez, Gillies) but none of them had even an outside chance at a major league spot.

The Phillies are now left with 44 players at the major league camp, meaning they have 19 more cuts to go.