With Reyes Deal Falling Through, Phillies Sign Romero
By: Mike Reisman
Well it looks like the Phillies have made another move, "solving" bullpen woes once again. However, this time it is not the physical-failing Dennys Reyes they have signed, but a familiar face in J.C. Romero. Romero has played with the Phillies since midway through the '07 season. The Phillies actually declined his $4.5 million contract option in 2011 earlier this year, so the assumption must be that the contract is less than that, however no specifics of the contract are available.
Yes, this does "add" a left handed reliever to the bullpen, however, is J.C. Romero really the right move for the Phils? Of course, with the addition of Cliff Lee the bullpen is not as important as it would be without him, but if the Phillies are looking for an upgrade, (ignoring the fact that Romero is the same player they had last year) a player with more walks than strikeouts (29 to 28) is not the way to go. Though Reyes was not much better statistically, he would be a better compliment to the rotation than Romero would be. And I don't know about anyone else, but personally, I am sick of the same old bullpen that has been the Phillies' Achilles heel for a long, long time. It's time for change.