Phillies deal Wilson Valdez to Reds

The Phillies bench in 2012 will have one less familiar face: utility infielder Wilson Valdez has been traded to the Reds for lefty pitcher Jeremy Horst.  Valdez spent two seasons with the Phillies and was a mediocre injury replacement for Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Placido Polanco.  While his bat was pretty awful, Valdez was at least a good-to-great fielder that was somewhat useful to have on the bench.

The trade of Valdez may trigger the Phillies to make another move or they could simply rely on Michael Martinez for all of their utility needs.  It would be nice if they could find another bench piece that could give them a few decent at-bats while filling in at the various infield positions.

As for Horst, he made his big league debut last season with the Reds at the age of 26.  He probably won't be a contender for a bullpen role with the Phils and should slide right into the Iron Pigs pen.  What, did you expect the Phillies to actually get a useful player in return for Valdez?

Wilson Valdez (!!) is the winning pitcher in Phillies 19-inning marathon game

That was just how they planned it. After using every available pitcher, the Phillies were forced to turn to Wilson Valdez in the 19th inning and he didn't disappoint, getting three Reds batters to pop out, including 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto. In the bottom of the 19th, the Phils finally plated a run on a Raul Ibanez sac fly and won the game, 5-4, and gave Valdez a win in his first pitching experience.

Valdez actually wasn't terrible, throwing nearly 90 miles an hour as he needed just 10 pitches to get out of the inning. While he was certainly lucky that the Reds didn't get a hold of any of his pitches in their pop-outs, Valdez did a commendable job for someone who probably won't pitch another inning in his career.

As with any 19 inning game, there were plenty of other quirky moments, including Carlos Ruiz playing third base, Danys Baez going 5 innings without giving up a run and Domonic Brown getting 5 plate appearances despite not entering the game until the 9th inning. Phillies fans at the ballpark also deserve a ton of credit for staying late into the night and making plenty of noise in the final innings; you truly had to be a dedicated fan to sit through what amounted to more than 2 full baseball games with very little scoring.

And, hey, the Phillies have another game in just a few short hours! Hopefully Cliff Lee can pitch a complete game and save the bullpen from having to over-extend.

Sound familiar? Rollins to the DL, Valdez called up

Hopefully you weren't getting used to the Phillies being at full strength. After leaving Friday's game when he re-injured his calf, Jimmy Rollins has been put back on the disabled list. While initial reports were that Rollins' calf strain wasn't nearly as bad this time, the Phillies clearly don't want to risk further injury.

Wilson Valdez has been called up to replace Rollins on the roster, just like he was back on April 14th when Rollins was first injured. Valdez, who just cleared waivers, will be backing up Juan Castro, who takes over as the starting shortstop once again.

One of these days the Phillies offense will be healthy and rolling. For now, let's enjoy the fact that the team is 11 games over .500 and is 2nd in the NL in runs scored without their optimum lineup.

Phillies roster shuffle: Rollins, Bastardo in; Lidge, Valdez out

With most of my attention focused on the Flyers playoff run, I haven't had much energy to talk about the Phillies on the site lately. Needless to say, despite whatever imperfections the Phils have in the bullpen, the team has been on a roll lately, playing like the two time National League Champs that they are.

The only real news to come from the Phillies in the last few days has been a series of roster moves as more players have succumbed to injury and others have made their way back. First, the bad news: Brad Lidge was placed back on the disabled list as he continues to deal with elbow issues. Things just haven't been right for Lidge this season and I would expect him to not be rushed back this time. In his absence, with Ryan Madson also still out for several weeks, Jose Contreras is taking over at closer. While Contreras has been a stud out of the bullpen, should the Phillies be without Lidge for a long period of time, I would expect them to start seeking out a trade for a new closing option.

With Lidge being removed from the roster, Antonio Bastardo was called up once again. He will give the team a second lefty out of the pen but should be ready to get shifted back down to the minors at any time.

Also returning to the Phillies on Monday was Jimmy Rollins, who was activated from the disabled list and inserted right into the lineup. While his replacements at shortstop haven't been terrible, J-Roll's return brings the Phillies one step closer to their ideal lineup, a scary thought for a team that has been producing plenty of runs recently. To make room for Rollins, the Phillies designated Wilson Valdez for assignment, meaning they have 10 days to trade, release or place him on waivers. With how well Valdez had been playing in the field, it's a shame they may lose him, but he is the third string shortstop and he was pretty terrible with the bat.

Two more pieces of good Phillies news: Carlos Ruiz is back after taking a few days off and J.A. Happ is starting to throw, signaling he is making progress towards a return to the team. It should be frightening to the rest of the league that, with all of these players coming back into the fold, this Phillies team, already 10 games over .500, is only going to get better. Be afraid, National League, be very afraid.

Rollins to the DL, Valdez called up

After suffering a mysterious injury just moments prior to the Phillies home opener, we finally know what's wrong with Jimmy Rollins. According to Ruben Amaro, Rollins has a mild to moderate right calf strain, one that is likely to keep him out 2-4 weeks, and the team has placed him on the disabled list. To replace him on the 25 man roster, the Phillies have called up infielder Wilson Valdez from Triple A.

While the news sounded like it could have been worse given how long it took them to announce it, Rollins will still be missed in the lineup until he can return sometime in May. In his absence, expect Juan Castro to get most of the starts at shortstop with Valdez sliding into Castro's old utility infielder role. We should also expect a lineup shuffle as Shane Victorino figures to jump to the top of the order and Castro slots into the 7th or 8th spot in the lineup.

It's never a good thing when a star player goes down with injury, but if the Phillies are going to have to play without Rollins for a few weeks, the beginning of the season is the easiest time to deal with it. Sure, the lineup will be a little weaker for a short period of time but Rollins will still come back and play the remaining 125 games or so and help the Phils bounce back from whatever lull they experienced without him for 20 games. The most important thing right now is that Rollins gets healthy so he can come back quickly and help keep the Phillies lineup the most potent in baseball.