Good Times Call for Desperate Measures?

Without a doubt, the most pleasant surprise about the Phillies this season has been how utterly dependable and clutch the bullpen has been.  No doubt, the Phillies brass has been pleased with the results as well, but that isn't stopping them from looking to improve the pen, nor should it.

Their particular focus now is to acquire a left-handed arm for the pen, and since they haven't been able to find one to suit them externally, they are now turning internally.  According to Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle, word has come down from the big club's front office that they want LHP's Fabio Castro and Josh Outman converted from starters to relievers so that they can possibly help the Phillies this season.

To convert two promising AA starters (Outman more so than Castro) to relievers so that they can help the big club this year as situational relievers/LOOGY's smacks of desperation.  And it's hard to see where the desperation is coming from.  After all, the Phillies are 16-13 and are atop the NL East, and have gotten there in large part, as I mentioned earlier, to a very good bullpen.  Here's the team's relievers so far this year versus left-handed batters:

Not too shabby.  The strikeout rate could be higher, and Castro and Outman can help with that  The walk rate is a smidgen high, but on the other hand, Castro and Outman aren't necessarily going to help with that.

Hey, I'm happy Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro think they need to continue to improve all areas of the team, not just the obvious ones.  But it does make you wonder, what do they know about the current Phillies relievers that we don't?

It must be something because again, converting two AA starters to relievers certainly seems desperate, particularly for a team that traditionally has had a hard time developing starters from its farm system.

Comments

[ggoyne]

I think it's more Joba-Scherzer Syndrome. Just like other pro sports, MLB is a copycat league. If one thing works for one team, everyone else will try it.