Luis Garcia was the one relief pitcher on the 40-man roster not with the Phillies (Frank Klose/Sports Talk Philly)
The Phillies sent reliever Adam Morgan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after Tuesday's blowout 14-4 loss to the New York Mets. In order to have a fresh arm in the bullpen for Wednesday's match up, the Phillies called upon a famliar face. Right-handed reliever Luis Garcia will join the Phillies bullpen.
Garcia made just one appearance for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, pitching one scoreless inning and earning the save. As the Phillies-Mets game played out, the Phillies may have purposely kept Garcia from pitching last night as the IronPigs defeated the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders.
The move leaves the Phillies with just one left-handed relief pitcher to go with their all-right-handed starting pitchers. Joely Rodriguez, who pitched arguably as poorly as Morgan, remains for now. The Phillies do not have any other relief pitchers on their 40-man roster.
The Phillies could try to sneak Morgan or Rodriguez through waivers to clear a 40-man roster spot. Relief pitchers Hoby Milner and Pat Venditte might be the first two considered for a call-up should the Phillies need to dip further into the Triple-A depth. The Phillies may also need to add a starter, depending upon the results of the tests Clay Buchholz will have taken after straining his right forearm.
The Phillies opted to keep Garcia over outfielder Tyler Goeddel when adding bench pieces Daniel Nava and Brock Stassi before Opening Day, anticipating a need for a relief pitcher. That happened on just the eighth day of the season. Any further injuries may cause the Phillies to be creative.
