Phils claim RP Tim Lahey

by dajafi on Mar 28, 2008 4:16 PM EDT

The Phillies claimed righthander Tim Lahey off waivers from the Cubs and outrighted pitcher J.D. Durbin, infielder Ray Olmedo and outfielder Chris Snelling to triple A Lehigh Valley.

Infielder Chris Woodward was signed to a minor-league contract

Lahey, a 6-5, 250-pound starter, played at Princveton. 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 that 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. He will wear #33.

Here's more on Lahey from Baseball America, right after he went to the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft. He's a converted catcher and has put up good numbers in 178 minor-league innings, with a 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and less than a hit allowed per frame. His spring numbers with the Cubs weren't great (6.55 ERA, 7 BB in 11 IP), but he's certainly worth a shot given the Real Deal-ish alternatives.

This all sounds good to me: the Phils get a better bullpen option than J.D. Durbin, but manage to keep both Durbin and (to my surprise and delight) Snelling. Wes Helms presumably makes the team as the 14th and final position player, at least until Lidge comes back next weekend.

1 recs | Comment 6 comments

Story-email Email | Print |

Comments

Good job, PG...

I like the pick up. In '06 and '07 across A+, AA and AAA, Lahey has put up some decent peripherals. He was used exclusively as a reliever in 97 games, but pitched 154.1 innings. So, apparently, he has the ability to eat some innings after the likes of Moyer, Kendrick and Eaton are done for the day, which may happen sooner in games than we would all like. Also, his whip was a decent 1.41. More impressively, he has almost a 3-to-1 ground ball ratio and almost a 2-to-1 strike out ratio with 6.76 K/9. Finally, he has the ability to keep the ball in the park, which is a nice trait for a Philadelphia pitcher to have, with a low .52 HR/9. All in all, the Phillies subtract "real deal" (but, get to stash him in AAA for a rainy day), add a young pitcher who could be a pleasant surprise and get to keep both Helms and Snelling. In my opinion, this all adds up to a win for the fightins.

by Neduol Caz on Mar 29, 2008 11:10 AM EDT 0 recs

Helms for Stanton rumor

Didn't feel like this was ~~diary~~FanPost worthy, but did anyone hear that the Reds refused the Phillies' offer of Helms for Mike Stanton? A reputable Reds columnist reported this a few days ago. Since then, the Reds cut Mike Stanton (eating 3mm in the process).

I know the Phils are desperate for a reliever and to rid themselves of Helms, but I can't believe that this was really offered and that the Reds refused.

by ken on Mar 29, 2008 1:22 PM EDT 0 recs

hadn't heard that

Pretty funny that the Reds would rather eat $3m outright than take Helms, with his $2m-and-change contract. Funny as in painful.

The hell of it is that I could see Helms working out for the Phillies in a pinch-hitting role. He used to be pretty good at it, and even in his horrendous 2007 he was decent against lefties.

by dajafi on Mar 29, 2008 1:31 PM EDT up 0 recs

Unfortunately, I doubt Helms is ever going to get a chance to redeem himself. April 5th looks to be the death of Helms in a Phillies uniform.

by Neduol Caz on Mar 29, 2008 1:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah

Maybe the offer was contingent on the Reds eating some of Stanton's salary. I don't know. Or maybe Hal McCoy was talking out of his ass.

by ken on Mar 29, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

Smells Fishy...

Something just doesn't add up. The reds would have known they were about to cut Stanton, so why not take Helms' smaller salary and either try and package him with Freel (while eating some of Helms' salary) or just cut Helms and save a million. Now, Stanton is a FA and it seems as if the Phillies have no interest in him even at a league minimum salary. So, this leads me to believe that the Phillies were trying to pass Helms off to the Reds, while having the Reds pay for almost all of Stanton's salary. The whole situation is over and done with now. Though, what I don't understand is why the Phillies don't trade Helms for a sack of potatoes while eating a significant portion of his contract. Our staff obviously cannot withstand having only 11 pitchers, which means on April 5th (hopefully) the staff will swell to 12 pitchers, and Helms is guaranteed to be released. Why not trade him now and save a million bucks in the process? I cannot believe there isn't a single MLB team willing to take on Helms for a million dollars. A million dollars saved is a million dollars that can be spent in July

by Neduol Caz on Mar 29, 2008 4:57 PM EDT up 0 recs