When the Phillies announced that Sean O'Sullivan would be the Phillies' fifth starter to open the season, we knew that someone had to go. With just two left-handed relievers on the roster, it seemed that Luis Garcia had to be the one to go since he had major league options. But, the Phillies bullpen will be limited going forward, since lefty Cesar Jimenez was designated for assignment to make room for O'Sullivan.
The Phillies are supposedly in rebuild mode but are boxing themselves into a corner with the contracts that they are carrying. The bullpen is currently set up like this:
- Jonathan Papelbon (CL)
- Jake Diekman (LH)
- Justin De Fratus (RH)
- Ken Giles (RH)
- Luis Garcia (RH)
- Jeanmar Gomez (RH)
- Dustin McGowan (RH)
Of those mentioned, only Diekman, Garcia, and Giles can be sent to the minor leagues. The problem with this is that there is no room for the Phillies to have any roster flexibility going forward. Losing Jimenez means they lose someone who is not a star by any means, but who can get some outs from the left side.
Ken Giles has not been the same this year. Will he be permanently a lower-velocity guy than last year? Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes:
Remember last year when Giles was hitting 100 miles per hour on the radar gun? Now it’s 95, and against the Red Sox last week he couldn’t find the plate. All the hard throwers eventually lose it. We saw Rubby De La Rosa, now in the Diamondbacks’ rotation, go from 100 to 93-94. The Phillies want to hand the closer role to Giles after they deal Jonathan Papelbon, but he’s not the same guy as last season. At least not yet.
Would Giles be able to make it as a closer should Jonathan Papelbon be moved? Should the Phillies end up having to use Diekman as closer, they will be much worse off.
Dustin McGowan, Justin De Fratus, and Jeanmar Gomez do not have minor league options. The Phillies inserted McGowan into the mix probably because they hope to flip him to another team at the trade deadline. Gomez and McGowan are a veteran arms, who when healthy can help a team. But, with injury issues, the team is taking a chance on McGowan and to a lesser extent with Gomez.
De Fratus figures to be part of the Phillies future. But Gomez and McGowan do not. Unless the Phillies really feel they can be traded along the way to a contending team, they are a waste of roster space. Jimenez is not a relief ace, but having him get some lefties out takes the pressure off of the Phillies' young relief corps. Their development should be key.
Of course, the Phillies' roster is loaded with veteran players getting in the way of other players' development, so the single-lefty bullpen should not be a surprise. Since the team is not particularly trying to win, the roster should be functional so as to allow the greatest amount of development for young players. Having one left-handed reliever gets in the way.
