PHILLIES 101

The Philadelphia Phillies had four starters and they were missing a reliable eighth-inning setup man for their bullpen. As of today, neither of those things are true. The Phillies have agreed to deals with former Texas Ranger Mike Adams and former Washington Nationals pitcher John Lannan. 

Mike Adams – Relief Pitcher

Adams had a 5-3 record last season in 61 appearances last year with the Rangers. He had a 3.27 ERA, 45 strikeouts, issued 17 walks, and had an ERA+ of 140. While Adams is 34 years old, and probably on the back nine, he provides the Phillies something that Antonio Bastardo never was – a reliable setup man in the eighth inning. Before the season, many people thought that person would be Josh Lindblom before he was included in the  Michael Young trade. The contract for Mike is a 2-year $12 million deal with a club option for a third year.

John Lannan – Starting Pitcher

Like I mentioned before, the Phillies were staring at a four-man rotation at the beginning of the week. According to the Phillies official website, those four men are: Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Kyle Kendrick. Not a slouchy rotation, but it was obviously lacking a backend guy. John Lannan, at age 28, will be that guy for one year and $2.5 million. He has been playing for the Washington Nationals since his major league debut in 2007. He has compiled a career line of: 42-52, 4.01 ERA, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 783.2 IP, 410 K, 296 BB, 103 ERA+, 1.424 WHIP.

While those statistics aren't overly impressive, especially the W-L, you have to consider the team that Lannan was pitching for in the early 2000's. His WHIP and ERA are both pretty high, but his ERA+ indicates that he was slightly above average. His baseball-reference.com WAR is also indicative of a pitcher who was better than average. 

The Phillies still have some question marks across the board, but they are making good moves around the organization to fill those holes. Baseball is coming, folks! Just a little while longer!

Tags: Baseball, MLB, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies

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