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Morning thread: Phillies debunk Japanese signings

Old business: Contrary to Friday’s report by Japan’s Daily Sports Online, the Phillies have not reach agreements with Japanese relievers Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto, according to a Phillies spokesman. Yamakita and Okamoto pitched in the Yokohama BayStars farm system last season, so if the signings don’t come to fruition, it’s no great loss for the Phillies. By way of new business, it was a quiet weekend for baseball with the sports world overshadowed by yesterday’s Super Bowl. But if you’re looking for a fresh Phillies perspective, dajafi of the Good Phight explores the notion idea of the Phillies “Trading Up” with new acquisitions based on Baseball Prospectus’ VORP metric. 'Tis the season for 2010 stat projections. Check it out here.

Phillies hire two lefties off Japanese taxi squad

Relievers Shigetoshi Yamakita, 32, and Naoyo Okamoto, 26, spent last season with Shonen Searex, which sounds like a college rock band from the 80s, but is actually the farm team of the Yokohama BayStars.

Beerleaguer: Always wanted the Phillies to try something like this to see if they could catch lighting in a bottle with quirky Japanese lefties based on the power of confusion. Guys like right-hander Takashi Saito and lefty Hideki Okajima were good, but weren't exactly setting the world on fire in Japan before rising to fame across the pond. Nevertheless, these relievers aren't really comparable. Yamakita, the elder of the pair, has assembled a 9-year career career as a middling loogy in Japan, last appearing in 2008. In 193 1-3 career innings, he's 5-6 with a 5.03 ERA and 153/77 K/BB ratio. With Shonen in 2009, where he was briefly teammates with former Phillie Les Walrond, he appeared in 30 games with a 2.67 ERA. Meanwhile, the younger Okamoto has pitched sparingly in parts of five seasons with Yokohama, appearing in only 10 games with an ERA north of 11 and his last appearance occurring in 2007. In 2009 with Shonen, he pitched in 19 games to the tune of a 5.28 ERA.

As one reader on NBPTracker.com put it, "the Phillies have been pretty good recently, so maybe they can afford to add two players contaminated with the 'BayStars Stench of Losing.'"

Phillies outfielder steals win for Dominican Republic

Several past and present Phillies factored heavily in yesterday’s Caribbean Series.

Outfielder Freddy Guzman, who was signed to a minor league deal recently, stole home in the seventh inning for the eventual winning run in the Dominican’s 3-2 victory over Venezuela. The speedy outfielder finished 1-for-2 with three stolen bases, helping the D.R. improve to 3-0 in the round-robin tournament. In the opposite dugout, infielder Luis Maza, who was signed in recent days, went 1-for-4. Earlier in the day, former Reading Phillie Randy Ruiz led Puerto Rico’s assault on 2007 Phillies Rule 5 pick Travis Blackley in a 5-3 victory over Mexico. Former Phillie Chris Roberson went 2-for-5,leading off in a losing cause and improving to 5-for-16 in the Series. Both Blackley and Roberson spent 2009 with Reno of the Pacific Coast League.

Transactions: The Phillies have signed John Purdom to a minor league deal. The 28-year-old catcher spent 2009 with Triple-A New Orleans (Florida) and also Camden and York of the independent Atlantic League. Over six seasons of mostly Double-A service, he’s a .247/.320/.335 hitter. Look for him lined up along a fence with a dozen other Phillies catchers in 12 days.

Helpful link: Unless I've been missing it, I think this is new; MLB finally created a page that sorts winter ball stats by parent club affiliation: [Link]

Breaking news: Phillies sign reliever Oscar Villarreal

There are conflicting reports on whether he will be invited to spring training, but it is believed to be a minor league deal for the right-handed reliever, who missed 2009 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Villarreal, 28, posted a 5.02 ERA (84 ERA+) in 37 2-3 innings of work for the Astros in 2008, coming over in a trade that sent outfielder Josh Anderson to Atlanta. A veteran of six seasons, he’s had several very good years, including a strong rookie season in 2003 with Arizona, then two good years following elbow surgery in 2006-07 as a member of the Atlanta Braves. Ed Wade and the Astros designated him for assignment just three months into a two-year, $2.85 million contract in 2008. In between Houston and Kansas City, Seattle signed him and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma, but he was released after a few weeks. A native of Mexico, he’s 24-15 with a 3.86 ERA (116 ERA+) with a 236/135 K/BB ratio over 336 big-league innings. Villarreal latched on with Kansas City before last season, but never made it onto the field. When healthy, Villarreal’s success has generally come in lower-leverage frames. As of this writing, Scott Lauber believes the deal does not include an invite to major league camp this spring, but several outlets, including Todd Zolecki and Rotoworld, believe he’ll be invited. The Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Rockies were also monitoring him, according to reports. According to AOL's Ed Price, who has been tracking Villarreal, the right-hander was clocked at 89-90 in last week's scouting sessions.

Beerleaguer: Strong selection from baseball's bargain bin. Impressive off-season for Amaro in how he's stretched his dollar to address certain areas like the bench and bullpen. Considering the timetable for Tommy John recovery, the Phillies are likely hoping Villarreal can help their club during the dog days of summer, once fatigue starts setting into the bullpen. (Ed Price of AOL's Fanhouse said the surgery occurred nine months ago). One can never have enough experienced pitching. Like Jose Contreras, Villarreal has potential to be a nice late-season sleeper for the Phils.

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Transactions: Phillies sign INF Luis Maza, 3 others

Second baseman Luis Maza, right-hander Brian Gordon, left-hander Brian Mazone and outfielder Freddy Guzman, who we reported on yesterday, have been added to the Phillies’ farm system.

Maza, 29, brings 11 seasons of minor league experience to the Phillies organization after spending the last three years with the Dodgers, including a three-month stay in Los Angeles between May and July in 2008, where he hit .228/.282/.278 in support of an ailing Rafael Furcal. He was originally signed by the Twins as a teenager in Venezuela, the land of utility infielders, and spent most of his career in the Minnesota system. He spent all of 2009 with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit .300/.340/.428 with 5 homers in 344 plate appearances. In 11 seasons, he’s a .285/.347/.418 hitter batting from the right side, adopting a super-utility role. (Good little signing; the Phillies have almost no home-grown middle infielders of note and Maza can plug some holes.)

Gordon, a 31-year-old right-handed reliever, is a converted outfielder who earned a cup of coffee with the Rangers at the tail-end of the 2008 season. His minor league journey began as a 7th round selection by the Diamondbacks in the 1997 draft and has included stops with the Angels, Astros and Rangers. He spent 2009 with the Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, going 7-3 with a 3.49 ERA and 51/22 K/BB ratio in 43 games.

Mazone, 33, is the cosummate Beerleaguer and will begin his fifth season with the Phillies. The junk-ball left-hander nearly earned an emergency start for the Phillies in 2006, but his chance was foiled by foul weather. After trying to catch on in the Pacific Coast League, Mazone was traded from the Dodgers back to the Phillies midway through 2009, going 2-6 with a 3.50 ERA in 11 starts with Lehigh Valley. His claim-to-fame is that for a couple seasons, he was among the International League leaders in ERA, going 13-3 with a 2.03 ERA in 20 starts with Scranton/WB in 2006. He’s also seen action in the independent Western League, Northern League and Samsung of Korea.

For more on Guzman, see the previous thread.

International notes: A couple of ex-Phillies have become globetrotters. Oklahoma native Les Walrond (Phillies, ‘08) played in Japan in ’09 and has signed with Doosan in Korea for ‘10. Meanwhile, Yoel Hernandez of Venezuela (Phillies ‘07) played in Mexico ‘08 and ’09 and has signed with Nettuno of the Italian League for ‘10.

Twitter thoughts: If I had my druthers, I'd never hear Ruben Amaro Jr. say "if I had my druthers" again. For more useless thoughts like these, follow me on Twitter. http://twitter.com/beerleaguer

Phillies may have themselves a new outfielder

Right-hander Jason Standridge, who Beerleaguers read about earlier, and outfielder Freddy Guzman, who Beerleaguers have not, will represent the D.R. in the Caribbean Series, beginning today.

If MLB.com’s roster information is correct, than the Phillies have signed outfielder Freddy Guzman, 29, who saw action last season as a member of the New York Yankees. A veteran of eight minor league seasons and parts of four big league seasons with San Diego, Texas and New York, the outfielder is known for his blazing speed, swiping 443 bags over an eight-year minor league career. Guzman, who was outrighted to the minors in November and elected free agency, was a late-season call-up for Joe Girardi’s club, appearing in 10 games and going 1-for-7. Before that, he spent the early season with four –count ‘em—four Triple-A teams: Norfolk (Bal.), Tacoma (Sea.), Pawtucket (Bos.) and Scranton/WB (NYY). He’s a career .211/.255/.274 hitter in 102 plate appearances at the big-league level dating back to 2004 and a .270/.344/.360 hitter over eight minor league seasons. Scouting reports say the versatile outfielder possesses plus-plus speed (obviously), a great ability to bunt, plus range, but a below-average arm. (Hat tip to Kevin at Macho Row for spotting the addition).

Note: Nothing has been officially announced, other than MLB.com listing the Phillies as Guzman’s parent club. [Link]

Tuesday: Phils express ‘moderate’ interest in Lowry

Left-hander Noah Lowry, 29, was expected to throw before Major League scouts today, the Phillies among them, but postponed his session to allow more time to prepare.

Lowry posted a 40-31 record and 4.03 ERA (109 ERA+) over five seasons with the Giants, going 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA (114 ERA+) in his last healthy season in 2007. He’s missed the last two seasons battling thoracic outlet syndrome in his forearm, a rare disorder, stemming from elbow and forearm issues that he believes the Giants misdiasgnosed. The Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, Mariners, Cubs, Nationals and Mets, along with the Phillies, were expected to watch Lowry pitch. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. described their interest as “moderate” to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Beerleaguer: What a steal it would be if can make it back. Lowry looked like the real deal for short while and a top-of-the-rotation starter in 2005, striking out 172 that season. He brings good breaking stuff, so even when he was walking the house during his injury-plagued final seasons in San Francisco, he's effective enough to keep runs off the board. Odds are he burned out his arm in his early 20s, but it’s easy to see why the Phillies would go for this. They’ll pluck a former first-rounder off the scrap pile each and every time, hoping that for every three Kris Bensons they’ll find a Jayson Werth. Obviously, this would be a high-risk signing, and teams like the Mets may be in better position to meet his expectations, but what’s not to like about a 29-year-old lefty with difference-making talent and a burning hunger to taste success again?

Amaro's men tout Ramirez, sorry to lose d'Arnaud

Final nuggets from the Phillies' visit to Reading this week.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was asked to talk about the players the team received for Cliff Lee. "We felt like we received three very, very good prospects," he said. "People talk about Phillippe Aumont and Tyson Gillies, but (assistant GM and former Seattle assistant) Benny Looper really loves J.C. Ramirez and talks about him all the time. We feel like we’ve got two good, quality arms that could pitch in the rotation at the Major League level. In Gillies, he’s got a chance to be a pretty special outfielder. He's a high-energy guy with a lot of tools who is still learning his abilities."

Amaro was then asked to talk about the players they traded away. "It’s tough to part with premium type pitching prospects, guys like Kyle (Drabek). But I tell you what, Travis d’Arnaud ... outstanding catching prospects are hard to come by. There were a lot of guys in our system that weren’t happy with me moving him in particular. Anytime you move that kind of talent, and even in the Cliff Lee deal, you move guys like (Carlos) Carrasco and (Lou) Marson and (Jason) Donald and (Jason) Knapp, that’s a lot of talent to move out of your system in a short period of time."

Happ as reliever: I asked Amaro if the Phillies have finally closed the book on J.A. Happ as a reliever. "I think he proved to us that he’s best suited for being in the rotation," he said. "I think he learned a lot last season. I think Charlie (Manuel) felt and Dubes (pitching coach Rich Dubee) felt that putting him in the bullpen during the playoffs was the best bet with the match-ups that we had, but for me, J.A.’s got a job as one of our starters and it’s his job to lose. He’s a conscientious guy and doesn’t take things for granted, and will be very well prepared for sure."

Pedro: Asked if the Phillies have kept the lines of communication open with Pedro Martinez: "We’ve kept in contact with Pedro and we’ll continue to do so," he said. "Right now, his expectation and our expectations haven’t matched up. He was absolutely fantastic for us. He's a tremendous professional, and if there was an opportunity down the road, or a need, you never know what can happen."

Notes: The Phillies are still hunting last-minute additions for the bullpen. According to Jayson Stark, the Phillies are hoping to land Alan Embree and Ron Mahay on minor league deals, but the veteran lefties are holding out for big league deals. Also, the Red Sox, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Rockies watched Oscar Villarreal throw this week, according to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse. ... Right-hander Steven Register, who pitched two innings for the Phillies last season, has signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. Elsewhere, Tyler Walker has signed on with the Nationals.

Phillies once discussed trading for Franklin Gutierrez

Last night at the Winter Tour, I asked Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. how they arrived at the decision to get Ben Francisco as part of July's Cliff Lee 4-for-2:

"We had been looking for a right-handed bat off the bench since the offseason of ’08," Amaro said. "It was tough. We had had some discussions about either (Franklin) Gutierrez or (Ben) Francisco over the course of that year. We had talked internally about both those guys. Then in '09, once we added that fourth prospect, we felt like we had to get another name back rather than go 4-for-1. We were fortunate to get him back, and he gives us some versatility."

Gutierrez was traded to the Mariners in a three-team deal in December of 2008 and hit .283/.339/.425 with 18 for Seattle in 2009. Many of the larger stat houses, including Fangraphs.com and Baseball Information Solutions, consider him to be perhaps the best defensive player in baseball. The Mariners agreed, signing the 26-year-old centerfielder to a four-year, $20 million extension this month.

Amaro: Bastardo pitching 'lights-out' in winter league

Beerleaguer asked Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to handicap the race between Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona last night during the Winter Tour stop in Reading.

"Bastardo was lights out yesterday in the Dominican," Amaro said. "He’s been outstanding this winter, pitching very well." Phillies officials who've monitored the young lefty's offseason have been excited by the results, watching him throw 2 1-3 perfect innings with three strikeouts Wednesday night in the Dominican Winter League finals. Bastardo also earned the victory in Tuesday's game, striking out three over 1 2-3 innings. All told, Bastardo has pitched in 17 innings this postseason, allowing just four hits, three walks while striking out 26 for an ERA of 0.53.

"Escalona has not been as consistent," he said," but we’ll match them up in spring training and they’ll get to pitch a lot." Asked if the Phillies have closed the door on Bastardo as a starter: "Absolutely," he said. "He’s no longer a starter for us; we think he’s going to be much more effective as a bullpen piece."

Amaro: Contreras was a high-level target for Phillies

Reading Eagle cohort Brian Smith and I had the privilege of getting some quality one-on-one time with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. at tonight's winter caravan stop in Reading.

Brian arrived at the media session a little earlier than Beerleaguer and asked Amaro about new acquisition Jose Contreras, which was officially announced by the Phillies today: "It's interesting," Amaro said. "From the time that we were going our advance scouting on Colorado our guys really, really liked him, especially with the transition going into the bullpen at that time. He was very effective. We knew he was very durable. We felt like he could help us. He actually was one of the high-level targets for us. We just couldn't match up his expectations on the contract with ours, but sometimes patience kind of pays off. We ended up getting him under a contract we felt very comfortable with and feel that he can give us versatility."

Beerleaguer: Contreras's deal came in at $1.5 million, which is a real steal. Label me legitimately excited to see what the 38-year-old will bring to the 'pen now that we know the extent of the Phillies' interest. I mean, the Phillies are already talking about him as a late-inning option. More reports from the Winter Tour to follow ...

Report: Phillies considering bringing back Pedro

According to Scott Lauber via Twitter, Pedro Martinez wants $5 million or more to pitch a full season.

Beerleaguer: You really have to wonder about Jamie Moyer at this point; with all the complications from surgery, it just doesn't seem like much of a reality if they're serious about Pedro. Martinez, 38, was 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in nine starts with the Phillies, but it seemed like conditions had to be absolutely perfect for the three-time Cy Young winner to be totally effective. Parto of the problem could have been missing all the preparation that would have happened during an organized spring training. He couldn't have finished the season on a worse note. He was brutally bad in cold weather in Game 6 of the World Series. Absolutely pathetic actually. It's difficult to see a fit, and certainly not for $5 million over a full season. It makes some sense in a "half-season" incentive-laden lower-cost plan if Moyer is indeed done, knowing the Phillies won't really need a fifth starter until it starts warming up in May.

Update: Jayson Stark informed me that he first floated the Pedro story a week ago in his Rumblings column. I didn't think people actually read this site. 

Beerleaguer for breakfast: Cairo catches on with Reds

Miguel Cairo, part of the Phillies' 25-man roster through the first two rounds of the postseason, went 12-45 (.267) with one home run during the regular season and a combined 0-5 (.000) in the Division and Championship Series.

Cairo, 35, broke camp with the Phillies as the 25th man and split the season between Philadelphia and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, seeing most of his action at second base, his specialty over a 14-year Major League career. In 1,227 career games, he is a .266/.315/.358 hitter with 28 homers and 320 RBIs. Following the NLCS, Cairo was replaced by Brett Myers on the World Series roster, while Eric Bruntlett filled the team's utility and speed need. Cincinnati was seeking someone who could back up Paul Janish at shortstop and play around the infield, according to the team's Web site. The deal is of the minor league variety, and Cairo has been asked to attend big league camp with the Reds. Beerleaguer: Cairo will be the player who stumps Philadelphia sports trivia buffs at Paddy's Pub when contestants are asked to name the Phillies' 2009 postseason roster. I almost forgot myself.

Phillies claim SS Bocock off waivers from Blue Jays

Brian Bocock, 24, appeared in 34 games with the Giants in 2008, hitting .143/.258/.156 in 93 plate appearances, starting 26 games at short. He split last season between San Jose (A) and Connecticut (AA).

Via Rotoworld: “Bocock, who was claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this month, is quickly becoming the Hot Stove's hot potato. The 24-year-old shortstop hit .143 in 77 at-bats with the Giants in 2008 and hasn't made much progress at the plate since, batting just .230/.302/.316 with three home runs and 51 RBI between two levels in San Francisco's minor league system last season. He doesn't offer much besides a nice glove.”

Bocock, who opened the 2008 season as the Giants' starting shortstop despite never appearing above Single-A, first became available to the Jays when the Giants needed to clear roster space for signing Juan Uribe in November.

Beerleaguer: I dug up this quote from the Giants blog, McCovey Chronicles: "Bocock will always stand out to me as a symbol of GM Brian Sabean’s disregard for minor league statistics. It’s not that Sabean ever thought that Bocock was going to be anything other than a light-hitting defensive shortstop; it’s that Sabean thought Bocock could fake it long enough to buy time until Omar Vizquel returned from an injury. Bocock was a shortstop who was just six months removed from hitting .220 in A-ball and was just over a year removed from playing for Stetson University. But he passed over whatever AA or AAA shortstop should have been in place in the event of an emergency. Why? Not entirely sure." 

Bocock and his .614-career OPS would look good only on Reading's bench so as not to impede on anyone's development time. His stat line, high strikeout totals, age, defensive position and the fact that he once earned a Major League cup of coffee reminds me an awful lot of Brad Harman. I would be shocked if he receives an invite to spring training. (Update: He was added to the 40-man roster, so he'll be there). It's a strange signing, too. All I can think is that one of their organizational infielders got hurt in winter ball.

Notes: The Yankees have acquired Beerleaguer favorite Greg Golson, who was designated for assignment by the Rangers last week. Chooch passed his physical, so three-years, $8.85 million is official.

Beerleaguer for breakfast: Chase Utley speaks!

The media was all over Chase Utley like flies on shut-your-mouth yesterday as the second baseman dropped into town to attend various community and charity gigs. The Phillies second baseman spoke on a number of topics, including the need for days off and the acquisition of Roy Halladay. The coverage reminds me of one of those British pop music magazines, like Uncut or Mojo, with headlines like "Keith Speaks!" Or, excuse me, "Keef Speaks!" A number of links to these exclusives can be found on the right sidebar.

Report: Phillies lock up Chooch for 3 more years

As expected, the Phillies have avoided arbitration with Carlos Ruiz, signing their starting catcher to a three-year extension believed to be worth $9 million, according to CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury. [Link]

The 31-year-old backstop rode a second-half surge to a career year for the Phillies, hitting .255/.355/.425 with nine homers and a 104 OPS+. Chooch was in his first season of arbitration eligibility. He and the Phillies weren't far apart when the two sides exchanged numbers last week, and following the three-year extensions granted to Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton, the Phillies rewarded their valued catcher with a deal that buys out his arbitration years. The signing means all the Phillies' key components are in the books for 2010 and that most of the core will remain intact until at least 2011. Chooch's deal will be finalized pending next week's physical, according to the report.

Update: Todd Zolecki writes that a source told MLB.com that the deal includes a fourth-year option worth $5 million with a $500,000 buyout. Nice deal for Ruben Amaro, Scott Proefrock and their team, and a strong vote of confidence for their franchise catcher.

Sunday: Phillies folk hero signs with San Diego

Matt Stairs, whose majestic homer during the '08 NLCS ranks as one of the greatest moments in Phillies history, heads West on a minor league deal.

Stairs, 42, had trouble getting on the field for the Phillies last season, hitting just .194./.357/.379 with five homers, failing to record a hit between July 11 and Sept. 10. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, who first reported this deal, also says that the Canadian has shed 31 pounds this winter in an effort to boost his defensive game. The Padres had been searching for a left-handed bench bat and plan on using him as their designated hitter during interleague play. If nothing else, Stairs remains a respected home run threat who will draw walks.

More on Contreras: The Phillies' preliminary agreement with Jose Contreras is a move I like more with every passing report, especially if Jim Salisbury's source correctly estimated the dollar amount at $1 million. The 38-year-old right-hander has a chance to become a valued workman in a swing role, and when you dissect the numbers, Contreras brings excellent sleeper potential starting fresh in a new league. His 6-13, 4.92 mark between the White Sox and Rockies is a shallow indication of performance based on several factors, including the quality of the ChiSox defense and the fact that he was still mending from a 2008 ruptured Achilles, an injury that typically takes a year to heal. His strikeout totals stood at an encouraging 7.2 S0/9 last season, his highest mark since 2004, and he's still quite good at forcing grounders and keeping the ball in the park.

Minor league transactions: Right-hander Jordan Meaker and utilityman Brandon Pinckney become the latest names added to the Phillies' minor league inventory. Meaker, 23, was a 20th round choice by the Diamondbacks in '08 and pitched for Class-A South Bend last season, primarily in relief. Pinckney, who will turn 28 in April, hit .291/.309/.358 over 267 plate appearances with Triple-A Norfolk (Baltimore). In seven seasons, most of his action has come at shortstop, second and third. The signings were first reported by Baseball America.

Breaking: Phillies sign Jose Contreras to 1-year deal

Dominican baseball writer Enrique Rojas, reporting for ESPN Deportes, has learned that the Phillies have signed veteran right-hander Jose Contreras to a one year deal. Earlier today, ESPN's Jayson Stark said the Phillies "have been in on Jose Contreras, proposing a similar scenario to the deal that enticed Chan Ho Park last year," in other words, preferring him in a bullpen role, but willing to let him compete for the fifth starter's job in spring training. The 38-year-old Cuban right-hander appeared in 28 games (23 starts) with the White Sox and Rockies last season, going 6-13 with a 4.92 ERA (94 ERA+). Terms of the deal are not immediately available. ESPN says the deal is pending a physical. More coming ...

Beerleaguer: From the horse's mouth, via Scott Lauber: "We’re just looking for someone who can give us some versatility,” said Ruben Amaro Jr. In other words, they don't know how they'll use Contreras until they get more clarity on Jamie Moyer's health and Kyle Kendrick's progress. Here's the other thing: Technically, the Phils won't need a fifth starter until the end of the month - April 26 to be exact (hat tip MPN). So the fifth starter position will be in a state of flux, just as it always is.

Personally, I'd prefer to stick Contreras in the 'pen and be done with it. The ability to experiement is a luxury the Phillies can afford. Use it to see if Kendrick can reestablish himself and if Contreras can get his second wind in the bullpen. The Phils have had a pretty good hunch with these types of swing men (Durbin, Park, and eventually, Franklin), and the bullpen is where they need the most help.

The price of success: Phillies reward Vic with 3 years

Sources have confirmed that Shane Victorino is set to receive a three-year extension, which would buyout two years of arbitration eligibility and first year of free agency. The deal is believed to be worth $22 million.

Beerleaguer: Twice a Rule 5 pick, the Flyin' Hawaiian, 29, traveled a longer road to reach this point than many major leaguers, and has been just as vital to the club's success as anyone. To me, players like Vic and Jayson Werth are why the Phillies got over the hump. So rather than make it a year-to-year issue, the Phillies ignore service time and gladly pick up the tab to reward their All-Star, Gold Glove center fielder. It's the same type of gesture they gave many of his teammates, including Joe Blanton earlier today and Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels last season. It's the price of success, and something the Phils, basically, had to do if they wanted to stay true to this group. The deal will reportedly be finalized Friday. We'll have more tomorrow.