As of 5:33 PM on Tuesday, here's what we know thanks to the local beat writers:
- The Phillies have released Geoff Jenkins. This means that any team can pick him up for the league minumum of $400,000. Whether this happens or not, the Phillies are still on the hook for the over $8 million Jenkins is owed. So long Geoff, thanks for Game 5.
- The Detroit Tigers have released Gary Sheffield. The Phillies have been looking for a right-handed bench bat and Sheffield would fit that bill. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has told reporters that he has contacted Sheffield's agent to inquire.
- Chan Ho Park has been named the fifth starter.
- J.A. Happ's role is unclear now that Park has been named the fifth starter. If he makes the big league club, it will be as a reliever. The possibility exists that he may be sent to AAA Lehigh Valley to start the year.
Where to begin?
On Jenkins: For those of you scoring at home, this means that the Phillies are now paying approximately $20 million in salaries to players who are no longer on the roster. The Phillies are still paying $3 million of Jim Thome's salary and of course your favorite pitcher, Adam Eaton, was released by the Phillies several weeks ago. It's hard to argue against any of the trades or releases individually, but at the same time, I don't think a team can consistently spend 1/7th of it's payroll on players for other teams.
On Sheffield: It's unclear whether or not Sheffield is willing to become a bench player, but on the plus side, the Phillies would only have to pay him $400,000, similar to whoever picks up Jenkins or the Orioles who were desperate enough to take on Eaton. We do know this, Sheffield has only 38 career pinch-hit appearances. That's such a low total, I'm not even going to waste my time looking up his production in those plate appearances. [Update: curiosity got the better of me; he has a .964 OPS in those situations].
On Park and Happ: Park clearly out-pitched Happ in spring training. Happ pitched pretty darn well on his own though, while Park hasn't been a good starting pitcher since 2001. Judging from the comments made by Amaro, reading between the lines, it seems as if the Phillies are more or less going with the hot hand and will then go with Happ, or another hot hand, when Park inevitably falters.
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