The Phillies sured up a spot in their pitching rotation yesterday by signing Jerome Williams to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with performance incentives. It is a very low-risk deal after Williams performed well, giving up two runs or less in six of his nine starts as a Phillie.
With Cole Hamels, David Buchanan, Cliff Lee and now Jerome Williams in the mix for the rotation spots, pending any trades, one has to wonder what may be on the mind of AJ Burnett. When Ruben Amaro brought him in to pitch for the Phillies, it wasn't easy. The veteran right-hander was mulling retirement to spend time with family, but instead took a pitching job close to home. The Phillies will almost definitely decline the $15 million mutual option, but Burnett still has a $12.75 million player option on the table. A nice offer for the way he pitched in 2014. As for whether he plans to pitch next season or not, Amaro isn't leaning one way or another. (via The Zo Zone)
“I’m really kind of neutral on it,” said Amaro, asked if he would be surprised if Burnett turned down that much money. “I knew what it took to get him back and pitching this year. I would assume that he’d want to pitch again. I don’t have that information, but my inclination is that he’s going to want to pitch. He’s a competitive guy.”
With Kyle Kendrick slated to become a free agent, which is now more likely to happen with the signing of Williams, the only two remaining starting pitchers on the 40-man are Jonathan Pettibone, who is recovering from an injury, and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.
Phillies fans got a glimpse of Gonzalez towards the end of the season out of the bullpen. While the Cuban flamethrower can deal some heat and then keep hitters off balance with a slow breaking ball, he still hasn't shown signs of consistent strike zone control. That being said, the Phillies GM plans to give him plenty of opportunities to be in the rotation. (via The Zo Zone)
“We’re going to give him every opportunity to be in our rotation,” Amaro said. “We have to try to create as many opportunities for starting pitching as we possibly can. We’re not going to be able to go through a season with five or six pitchers. It’s probably going to take seven to 10 pitchers.”
But can Gonzalez hold up?
“He personally feels more comfortable being in the rotation,” Amaro said. “Whether or not he can provide that remains to be seen. But after speaking with him it was very important to him to be prepared mentally and physically for this offseason to get stretched out.”
Gonzalez went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 5.1 innings of work for the Phillies. He posted a 3.11 ERA over 46.1 innings across three minor league levels in 2014 as well. Gonzalez endured success in the highest minor league level, Triple-A, holding opposing hitters to a .172 average in just under 17 innings of work with the Ironpigs.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
