Phillies claim Jerome Williams, DFA Sean O'Sullivan

The Phillies have, inexplicably, claimed Rangers' righty Jerome Williams off waivers. I call him "Rangers' righty" because that's the team he was with most recently, but Williams was only with Texas for two starts. He made 26 relief appearances with the Houston Astros over the majority of this season, pitching 47 2/3 innings and allowing 59 hits, 16 walks, and 7 homers. He also struck out 38, ending up with a 6.02 ERA. Soooo, not very good. The Astros designated Williams for assignment at the end of June, and released him in early July.

That's where the Rangers come in. They picked him up and started him twice, which was more than enough for them. His first start was decent, but his second start was abysmal (even for the Rangers). On August 1 against Cleveland, Williams allowed 13 hits and 10 runs over just four innings. The Rangers DFA'd him a week later, and now here we are. Williams has some flexibility, which undoubtedly appeals to the Phillies -- he's gone back and forth between starting and relief work, and prior to this season had been one of those dime-a-dozen mid-4.00 ERA guys.

To make room for this GAME CHANGING pitcher, the Phillies have designated Sean O'Sullivan for assignment. O'Sullivan was called up last week to take the place of Roberto Hernandez, who had been traded to the Dodgers. O'Sullivan made two starts for the Phillies this year, one last week and one at the end of June in the second game of a double-header. Neither of them were particularly good, and he leaves us with a 6.94 ERA.

Williams could start against the Angles on Tuesday, which is when O'Sullivan was scheduled to start. I'd tell you to get excited, but you may have noticed that Williams' two previous 2014 teams have two of the worst pitching staffs in the majors. And they both sent him packing. So instead, get excited about Mike Trout... probably hitting the crap out of Jerome Williams' pitches.