Phillies Add Bullpen Help
Last season the bullpen for the Philadelphia Phillies had their ups and downs. Chan Ho Park added consistency. Brad Lidge was not himself. Ryan Madson strived in the 8th inning, but couldn’t find his groove in the ninth as the closer. The Phillies needed to add another piece to the puzzle and with that being said the have inked relief pitcher Danys Baez. The 32 year old right handed pitcher has agreed to a two year contract. Pending a physical, Baez will be playing for the Phillies next year.
So what does this acquisition mean? How much will Baez help? Well its hard to tell. Last year he went 4-6 with an ERA slightly over 4 in 59 appearances. The year before that in 2008, he went 0-6 and his ERA was 6.44. That sounds bad, however he played for the Orioles, one of the leagues worst teams. His best season was in 2005 when he played for the Tamba Bay Rays and racked up 41 saves. Baez will give Charlie some room to work with when it comes to the later innings. He can close, setup, or even come in during the 6th or 7th inning. The bottom line is that Baez will not be the savior to the team. He isn’t going to come in and post a 0.0 ERA or even close to it…but that’s not what is being expected of him. He needs to be solid, consistent, and reliable.
