Where’s the relief?

At the beginning of the off season Pat Gillick knew the Phils could use another starter, protection for Ryan Howard, and a reliable eighth inning set-up man with closing experience. That final piece remains elusive for Gillick and essential for the Phillies success.

The Phillies do have a few solid bullpen pieces with Tom Gordon, Ryan Madson, Geoff Geary, and Matt Smith who will all be back next year. The main weakness of the pen was exposed when Gordon went on the DL last year leaving the Phillies without a closer. The Phillies have had trouble finding a reliable set-up man in recent years. Ranging from the enigmatic Tim Worrell, to the troubled Ugueth Urbina, to the ineffective Arthur Rhodes, the Phillies have not found any good solutions.

The free agent market is not full of good options for Gillick. Justin Speier and Danys Baez got crazy big contracts setting the stage for teams to overpay for relief pitching this off-season. The Phillies had shown interest Joe Borowski but backed out of contract talks after a recommendation from a team doctor. The Phillies have also sought in free agents David Weathers and Eddie Guardado. While both have closing experience both are closer to the twilight than the prime of their careers. Gillick might try to test the trade waters like he did last year when he acquired Arthur Rhodes for Jason Michaels. Whatever he does it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of relief coming next year for the Phillies.

Source:
Phillies back out of deal with Borowski after physical
by Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com