Photo: Philliedelphia/Frank Klose
The Phillies have made a few "September call-up" moves thus far. The three of them you might have expected the Phillies to bring up. With the elimination of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs from playoff contention, the first group has arrived. But, at least for now, one ommission appears to be sending a message to one of the younger Phillies.
Added to Roster:
Nate Schierholtz.
Okay, so this isn't your usual call-up. Schierholtz is returning from a disabled list stint. So, essentially he is replacing Michael Martinez who would have otherwise gone down to AAA. In 12 games with the Phillies so far Schierholtz is batting .212 with one home run and two RBI.
Justin De Fratus.
Though he might have made the Phillies Opening Day roster, De Fratus suffered an elbow injury in Spring Training and spent most of the season on the major league disabled list. De Fratus was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley upon his return in July, where he found some success in the Iron Pigs' bullpen. De Fratus is not listed on the Phillies roster at the very moment on Phillies.com but he tweeted this morning that he was headed to Atlanta.
Jake Diekman.
Lefty Diekman was thrown right into the fire. And boy was it some fire. Upon Diekman's summoning from AAA Lehigh Valley earlier this season he found himself in a bases-loaded jam. He faced other similar high-leverage situations in his time in the majors and was successful sometimes and other times not. With lefties Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst, and Raul Valdes all pitching effectively in the Phillies bullpen, Diekman was optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley.
No Sign Of…
Michael Schwimer.
Sent to AAA Lehigh Valley a week ago, Schwimer at first refused to report. It appears that Schwimer thought he should have been sent to the disabled list instead of being optioned to the minors. Of course, if Schwimer was on the major league disabled list, he could collect a full major league salary. The minors pay much less. So, after not reporting Schwimer was placed on Lehigh Valley's active roster and was listed on it yesterday.
Yet, Schwimer has not pitched. I have to wonder if he will be kept off of the Phillies roster in September as punishment. If he is really is hurt, they have not disabled him. We may have seen the last of him for 2102.
Besides, the Phillies bullpen is currently comprised of:
- Papelbon
- Bastardo
- Horst
- Aumont
- Rosenberg
- Valdes
- Lindblom
- De Fratus
- Diekman
I think that is enough pitching to get them through September.
Coming Soon?
AA Reading is playoff-bound. Many fans want to see Darin Ruf, a triple crown candidate for the Eastern League. Phillies fans likely will have to wait until their season is done.
