After a very effective season in 2006, Phillies reliever Geoff Geary hasn't looked like the same pitcher in 2007, pitching to a 5.31 ERA through 37 first-half appearances. Now the 30 year-old righty will try to rediscover his form with triple-A Ottawa, as the Phils demoted Geary today to clear a roster space for lefty J.A. Happ.
But Happ's initial tenure with the Phillies was a brief and unhappy one. The young lefty was optioned back to Ottawa after losing his major-league debut Saturday. Happ allowing two first-inning home runs and three in all as he surrendered five runs in four-plus innings in the 8-3 loss to the Mets.
So who's up in his place? The wheel stops on Anderson Garcia, a hard-throwing 26 year-old right-hander who has passed through the Mets and Baltimore organizations before the Phillies signed him this winter. In two stops at Reading and Ottawa this season, Garcia has put up a 3.09 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. Incredibly, he will be the seventh Phillies pitcher to make his major-league debut in 2007.
J.D. Durbin, who lost the first game of Friday's doubleheader with the Mets, will remain with the team. It's unclear what his role will be; the first article linked above suggests it's the bullpen. If so, near as I can tell, here is the Phillies pitching staff as of Sunday's game:
Rotation: Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton, Kyle Kendrick
Bullpen: Antonio Alfonseca, Ryan Madson, Jose Mesa, J.C. Romero, Mike Zagurski, Brian Sanches, J.D. Durbin, Anderson Garcia
...which makes about as much sense as anything else this season.