Report: Phillies acquire RHP Lahey, INF Woodward

Right-hander Tim Lahey, a converted catcher who has never pitched in the Majors, was claimed off waivers from the Cubs. Utility veteran Chris Woodward, who had been in Yankees camp, signed a minor league deal. In other news, J.D. Durbin, infielder Ray Olmedo and outfielder Chris Snelling were outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

(From a Phillies news release) Lahey, 26, went to Spring Training with Chicago after being selected in December's Rule 5 Draft from Minnesota and appeared in 11 spring games. He was originally drafted by Minnesota in 2004 as a catcher and was converted to a pitcher after the season. Last year between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester, Lahey went 8-4 with 14 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 52 games.

Woodward, 31, hit .393 (11-28) in 15 games this spring for the Yankees. He spent last season with Atlanta and has also played for the Mets (2005-06) and Blue Jays (1999-2004), who originally drafted him in 1994. In 607 career games, Woodward has a .243 average with 33 home runs and 186 RBI. He has played every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher.

Beerleaguer: Spring training experimentation will spill into the regular season, as our scouting department strikes again with yet another Rule 5 shot in the dark. Lahey, a big ox at 6-5, 250, has been added to the 25-man roster and will serve as the last man in the bullpen, at least temporarily. Today's transactions also mean Wes Helms will be on the team, barring a last-minute trade.

As usual, the Phils fill a need with the bare-minimum, and someone completely out of the blue. According to Cubs' officials after December’s draft, Lahey has "tremendous life on his fastball, a great sinking fastball and the makings of a good slider." He sounds a lot like fellow Rule-5er Lincoln Holdzkom, whom the Phillies let go earlier in camp. Only Holdzkom had more experience.

Moves like these are why we spend so much time pissing and moaning on this site. Performance, experience, success is absolutely, positively secondary to scouting reports. This move absolutely reeks of Phillies. They see something they like and assume everyone else got it wrong. It isn’t possible to be more disappointed in how the Phillies handled this.

The Woodward signing is interesting. He was an awful hitter last season (39 OPS+). There’s only a marginal difference between Woodward and Eric Bruntlett overall. They’re both right-handed and play multiple positions. Bruntlett is the better middle infielder. I don’t think Bruntlett has trade value, and I like Bruntlett better, but I definitely look at Woodward as a precursor for something – perhaps a move involving Wes Helms. Woodward, who signed a minor league deal, gives them another reservist who can man the corners.

Update: Olmedo refused his minor league assignment, according to the Inquirer. That's probably the main reason why Woodward is here.

Comments

[Willard Preacher]

I share your take on the Woodward signing indicating that Helms will be dealt sometime this season (although not sure about anything immediate).

Who knows what to make of the Lahey signing? Doesn't sound like an upgrade over what they have recently decided wouldn't work. Oh, and he HAS to stay on the roster. Brilliant!!

[GM-Carson]

I like the Woodward signing because he's a veteran to plug into the Lehigh Valley roster, and call upon should someone go down for 15-days. Nothing wrong with signing guys like this if it's merely for insurance.

I hate the Lahey move. It's disgusting. I seriously wish I could interiver/barrate Pat Gillick right now and get his reasoning for such stupidity.

Keeping Helms also makes no sense. Our bench is top notch without him, we need the extra arm for crying out loud, not so schmuck pinch-hitter who didn't hit last season.

[Willard Preacher]

J, I know that there will now be much chatter about these signings, but I didn't get an opportunity to ask for your take on Lauber's blog piece about Chooch. I love the quotes from Moyer. Not only do they speak about Ruiz's development but just go to show that JM wears two hats with this team (#3 SP and coach) - this guy knows baseball.

I know you're a big Chooch advocate and wanted to see what this year's expectations were.

[timr]

I don't understand the Lahey signing either. If they wanted to use a converted catcher to pitch relief, I'm sure Coste would have given it a try.

[GM-Carson]

The Phillies 40 man roster only stands at 35 right now.

[J. Weitzel]

FWIW, I'm glad Snelling will stick around. They have much better position depth than '07 Ottawa (Joe Thurston, Chris Roberson, etc.)

[GM-Carson]

I'm sorry, but I can't take this. I'm sitting here trying to figure it out but I can't. This offense is awesome, one of the best in baseball, yet Gillick is doing his best to make it obsolete by putting together a horrible pitching staff. He shouldn't be allowed to be this shitty at his job.

[kdon]

Good call on Woodward being "insurance" against Helms.

The only - and I do mean only - thing that Helms could have brought was a RH bat to play 1B when Howard takes a day off, or (god forbid) a RH half of a platoon at 1B with Dobbs if Howard was to miss significant time.

So, we're done?

C: Ruiz, Coste

IF: Howard, Utley, J-Roll, Mr. Gold Glove, Dobbs, Stiff, Bruntlett

OF: The Bat, Vic, Jenkins, Werth, So

SP: Hamels, Myers, Kendrick, Eaton, Moyer

RP: Gordon, Madson, Romero, Condrey, Lahey, Durbing

Something tells me (prays to me!) this isn't it.

[GM-Carson]

It's funny how many fans were riding a "high" this offseason, but since Lidge has been DL'd, Kendrick and Eaton have pitched horribly this spring, and Gordon is shot our dreams are turning into nightmares.

[kdon]

I still think Eaton is going on the DL and C. Durbin starts next Saturday. The Phils will add one more pitcher.

[GM-Carson]

I still think I'm pissed!

[MG]

kdon - That is entirely possible although I think Eaton's first trip to the DL will be sometime in May. My bet is Gordon goes on the DL before Eaton.

Issue with this team isn't Lahey or the other marginal guys that are going to be utilized to fill out the bullpen. The problem is that Eaton is being counted on to fill a starter's spot and Gordon to play a key role in the bullpen.

Neither guy will deliver and they will be constant sore spots all this season. The level of acriminous comments directed to Eaton could get really ugly. I can't remember the last athlete in Philly who generated such negative buzz due to his performance/personality.

[MG]

Conlin's article was actually pretty funny today in lieu of the current Phils' pitching woes. I did like a couple of his slogans including "Brett and Cole and dig a hole."

I am sure AWH will appreciate his insight on how the Phils handled Carpenter this spring.

[paul]

I am so vexed by this deal. I could understand outrighting the underwhelming J.D. Durbin, and possibly parting ways with Travis Blackley, and then making a trade to bring in a reliever with more experience and a servicable ERA, but this is going in circles. How many damn offseasons do we have to suffer through with Rule 5 pitchers? What do the Phillies think they're really getting here? Is this going to make Manuel more comfortable in the fifth and sixth innings every day? I know as a manager he has his limitations, but seriously, what is he supposed to do with this ragged collection of pitchers the brass have assembled for him?

[Ankit]

Wall Street Journal statistically evaluates and ranks the top 20 managers to see if Joe Torre was really worth the $13 million he got from the Dodgers. Very surprised to see where Cholly and Leyland were ranked, especially in the "Close Games" category...

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-baseballMgrs08.html?n=50&page=1&sd=ASC&sort=overall

The article that goes along with the above table:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120665826242870009.html

Typical Phils move re Lahey. Why don't they just hold walk-in, open to anyone, no experience or command of your talent necessary, tryouts... Oh well, just glad the regular season is 45+ hours away. Let the roller coaster ride begin!

[Hitman]

Monty and Company need some experience working with a big bank or an investment firm. The lesson they need to learn is how to take a loss. If you invest $100 million in a crappy company, and their stock falls to $5 million, guess what? You sell it and take your loss. That's how it works in the real world. You cut your losses and move on. All of which brings me to the subject of Adam Eaton.

Going over budget to sign another player may not be justified in some circumstances. After all, team payroll is not unlimited. But going over budget to correct a bad investment is always justified. Rather than mitigating their losses by signing Lohse for low dollars, we now get a procession of cadavers, the latest of which is Tim Lahey.

[xfactor]

Cole and Brett and start to sweat.

Actually, I'm not that bothered by the Lahey claim. There's no way he sticks on the 25 man all season, this is just a shot in the dark that he'll pass through waivers and head to the minors. I doubt he even makes opening day.

Meanwhile, after ripping out all my fingernails and jabbing a stick in my ear, I just had to look at Adam Eaton's stats again. That's when the real pain began...I should have just stuck my hand in a blender instead.

[Dan]

I said it yesterday and I will say it again. Sign a guy like Claudio Vargas. It does two things. 1. Fills the #5 spot with a veteran guy who can throw strikes, get out of jams, and went 11-6 last season with the Brewers. 2. It takes him away from the Mets who are on the verge of signing him as their 5th guy in the rotation according the Post. This pitching staff has to rank in the bottom 5 of the major leagues even with two of the top starters in the NL.

[jim]

with moves like this one. and eaton pitching like eaton, it is so very frustrating to think about how they did not pursue lohse!!! it is borderline criminal. they just do not get IT!!!!!

[Ben Keeler]

terrible. thats about all i can really add.

[kdon]

"Sign a guy like Claudio Vargas."

No no no no no!

Really, you have to stay away from guys like this. He had a %33 GB rate, and gave up 23 HR in 134 IP last year. A full season in CBP, and he might give up 40.

I really don't understand. The Phillies are in their current bind, in part, because they have signed a number of fringe veteran players who are locked onto the roster. The answer is not to sign *more* of these guys.

I hate Eaton, but you don't replace him by handing over the 5th spot to Eaton light.

Either fix a problem for real (Lohse, Kuroda, etc.) or try out young players who can easily be shuttled back and forth between the bigs and AAA. The worst thing you can do is sign another one of these guys who you have to keep on the team.

[bay_area_phan]

xfactor: "this is just a shot in the dark that he'll pass through waivers and head to the minors. I doubt he even makes opening day."

If this were true, I would have no problem with the signing. Problem is, if you think this is all the Phillies are doing, then you haven't been paying attention for the last 2 years. Gillick didn't sign this guy as a project who he might be able to slip past waivers. He signed him to be in the Phillies' 2008 bullpen. Once again, Gillick would rather rely on his own ability to discern hidden talent that no other GM sees, than actually shell out a few bucks to fix our bullpen.

[Dan]

If Vargas is Adam Eaton lite then I am real confused. He gave up some shots last year but also strikes out one guy an inning, and has been approached by at least 6 contending teams since he has been realeased. The ability is there. And he has the ability to keep us in games as opposed to giving up five or six runs through 2. That's all I have seen from Eaton at the Bank so far as a Phillie.

[xfactor]

bap:
We'll see in the next few weeks what happens to Lahey.

If I hadn't been paying attention to the Phillies for the past 2 years, I probably could have learned a new language and built a car from scratch by now. Instead, the obsession continues and I'm here blogging with everyone else.

Gillick isn't done yet. Have you forgotten the other last minute deals he made before the season opens?

I'm not saying he's going to rescue the situation--they had plenty of time for that and didn't. But I doubt he's done. Hopefully, it won't be another Barajas type signing.

[Morty]

We need to bring back El Pulpo just to help with the "sticking-fingers-in a-dike" strategy Gillbuckle uses for the pitching staff. Could they have handled this worse?

[lekh tizdayen]

tech problem: When i click on audio or video links on mlb.com (including mlb.tv) they don't open or react at all...any ideas?

[Morty]

"Gillick would rather rely on his own ability to discern hidden talent that no other GM sees, than actually shell out a few bucks to fix our bullpen."

Although he is not helped by management's budget, you nailed about Gillick.

[J. Weitzel]

We'll hold out hope better pitching is yet to come, but all signs point to the Phils being overbudget ever since Howard's arbitration. No to Lohse, now this bottom-barrel acquisition. Hopefully I'm wrong and Helms can be traded for a reliever and Lahey can be dismissed from the roster.

[xfactor]

Speaking of MLB.com, is anyone else disturbed by their new blackout rules? Same price, far fewer games to watch. Infuriating. Why don't they just black out the games Eaton pitches?

Here they are:
Local Live Blackout: ALL LIVE MLB.TV games will be blacked out in each applicable Club's home television territory (except for certain home television territories for which MLB.com may offer in-market subscription services) or in Japan.

• National Live Blackout (Regular Season): Due to Major League Baseball national exclusivities, each Saturday until 7:00 PM EST (beginning May 17, 2008 and continuing for remaining Saturdays during the regular season) and each Sunday night (for games that begin after 5:00 PM EST), all scheduled webcasts of games played within such time period will be blacked out.

• National Live Blackout (Post Season): Due to Major League Baseball national exclusivities, during the MLB postseason, if you live within the following nations or territories, webcasts of all postseason games will be blacked out: United States, Canada, Guam, US Virgin Islands, South Korea and Japan.

• NOTE: Due to broadcast restrictions, new MLB.TV and Condensed Game archives are limited to a playing time of five minutes in duration until 6 am ET on the day following that on which the applicable game commenced play.

[Morty]

Call me slightly perplexed that, although I saw him play last year like everyone else, Helms has zero value. Is his contract that bad? I could easily see him being a serviceable pinch hitter and occasional Sunday fill-in. That's got to be worth something if we threw in a mil of his salary, right?

[Slocs]

DNL just said there is a jumper on the bridge. My guess - Phillies fan not happy about Lahey.

[kdon]

x - I think those are the same as always. MLB always blacks out the local squad as well as all the games during the Fox and ESPN national broadcasts.

It could have been worse; at least they are not blacking out Sun afternoons during the TBS national broadcasts.

[MG]

This issue with relievers is a MONEY THING. Pure and simple. Nothing else matters at this point.

[bay_area_phan]

Morty: Yeah, it's Helms' contract that's the problem. $2M and change for this year & $750K to buy him out after that. That's a lot of coin for a part-time corner infielder, who can't even field his position. Of course, the salary obligation will get less & less as the season goes on. My prediction is that Helms will hit much better this year and, eventually, the Phillies will be able to unload him to some injury-ravaged team that desperately needs a third baseman. But, as usual, they'll get literally nothing of value in return & they might very well have to eat some of his salary as part of the deal.

[CJ]

Just checked in on the Metsblog (that gets harder to read every week, they should really look into grammar lessons), and they seem to be resigned to El Duque as the 5th starter. They are also rather upset that Fernando Tatis got the last spot on the bench over Ruben Gotay. It sounds like Tatis and Helms are rather similar.

[MG]

CJ - As much as we bash Helms, he will be more useful than Tatis this year. Biggest X factor with the Mets is Pedro. If he stays healthy and gives the Mets at least 30 starts, I see the Mets winning the NL East by at least 3 games.

[CJ]

MG: Certainly possible, but predictions like that are rather meaningless (no offense). It's possible they get 30 starts out of Pedro but that Santana goes down for the half the season... or something like that.

If the Mets and Phils face no significant injuries all year long, I think this will be a real dog fight. Despite our pitching woes, I feel our team is the equal of the Mets. I like our top two as much as theirs, especially given Pedro's age and injury history. I like our lineup much better than theirs. I like their bullpen better... but only by a little. And I like our bench a lot better than theirs. I think they have an advantage at the 3 and 4 spot (this all depends on how Kendrick performs), but the 5 spot is worthless on both teams.

Besides... we all know Atlanta will be a major player this year, too. An NL East team may be hard-pressed to win the wild card unless the Nats and Marlins are really, really bad this year.

[Mike H.]

Santana down for half the season? Not likely at all.

[CJ]

Mike H.: I'm not predicting a Santana injury... merely pointing out how difficult predictions are in baseball when a freak injury can vastly change a team's fortune.

Could Santana miss half the season? Sure, why not. Pitching injuries happen...

[AWH the RBP]

"I am sure AWH will appreciate his insight on how the Phils handled Carpenter this spring."

MG, the regualr beat boys are finally getting BeerLeaguer religion.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Phillies do not do a good job developing pitching. The track record just isn't there.

Sure, they'll point to Hamels, Myers, and Madson as examples of success. (KK hasn'rt sustained it so he doesn't count...yet; Geary?)

But for every one of them you can counter with a Floyd and countless others who never made it or just flat out stunk.

Three decent pitchers in how many years? How many have they drafted? I think the old adage about the blind squirrel probably applies. Or, maybe the one about throwing manure at the wall.

Self examination obviously doesn't occur within the organization, because, as the Carpenter anecdote indicates, they keep making mistakes over and over again. No one expects perfection, but there success ratio has been abysmal.

[Mike H.]

He hasn't missed a start in over four years.

[JAS]

"Once again, Gillick would rather rely on his own ability to discern hidden talent that no other GM sees, than actually shell out a few bucks to fix our bullpen."

BAP, you have a point, but sometimes Gillick has been right. As far as I know, no one else wanted Werth, Dobbs, Iguchi, or Romero last year. Gillick apparently saw something, and those acquisitions were great successes. The flip side, of course, is Eaton, Barajas, Helms, JD Durbin, Kane, et al.

Personally, I have a lot of trouble believing that either of these guys will actually start the season for the Phils, and if they do, they will be temporary placeholders. Lahey could, for example, be a third inning pitcher reserved exclusively for the games that Eaton can't get out of the third.

[Andy]

Jason - looks like Gillick out-Gillicked Gillick. Lahey was the ultimate stealth Loogy. So far off the radar as a loogy, in fact that he:
1) isn't lefty
2) isn't a pitcher
3) isn't a major leaguer.

How can you be any more Gillicky than that?

[Andy]

JAS:
You mean those extra special 23 - 8 losses?

[JAS]

Andy, you got it. The losses when someone's (probably Eaton's) line looks like this

2.1 IP 9 ER 12 hits 4 walks

The problem, of course, is that the Phillies now have three relievers who should only be used under such circumstances. I guess Gillick is finally beginning to appreciate how often our starting pitching will be having lines like the above. Hence, the necessity of garbage-time relief pitching.

[J. Weitzel]

Pitching-wise, the big difference between the Mets and Phils is Maine and Wagner. We counter Kendrick in Lidge in those spots. I feel like the only one who isn't ready to count out Pedro. I think he will be good in 08.

[Slocs]

does burrell have a different stance this year?

[bay_area_phan]

JAS: Gillick has been appreciably better at finding useful, under the radar offensive players than at finding useful under the radar pitchers. I suspect that has something to do with the fact that there are a lot more useful offensive players out there than there are useful pitchers.

If anything, Gillick's success with guys like Dobbs & Werth & Taguchi only underscores the point that MG has been making all off-season: when the value village approach has worked pretty well on position players, but has failed miserably when it comes to pitchers, why are we spending all this money on guys like Jenkns & Feliz, instead of spending it on guys like Riske & Lohse?

If we hadn't signed Jenkins, we'd either have Werth as our full-time outfielder or we'd have a Werth-Snelling platoon. Though I've spent the last 2 days arguing with kdon about Snelling's worth as compared to Helms, the fact is, he looks like he may be another solid, but overlooked, offensive player. And, frankly, the same can be said of Valentino Pascucci. Since these guys are relatively easy to find, and since quality pitchers are so hard to find, it's difficult to understand why we threw nearly $11M at Jenkins & Feliz, while neglecting our pitching.

[mw_217]

At this pace, we're on pace to leave 4 batters on base per hit we get.

Nothing changes.

*sigh*

[MG]

JW - Agreed but the Mets pen is much deeper too. Even the last guy who might make their pen (Joe Smith) has decent stuff and is a very capable middle relief. Plus, they might get a rebound from Sanchez too. Phils' dont have a single guy who fits that category in their pen.