On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced Brett Myers, their nominal ace pitcher, will move to the bullpen after a rough start to the year (0-2, 9.39). While this appears on first blush to be the panicked move of a beleaguered manager, Phillies fans can save their bile for a bit longer; this decision has little to do with the first two weeks of the season. (Keep that bile in the cask, kids; it'll age better.)
Freddy García started the season on the disabled list with tendonitis. While tendonitis is nothing to dismiss, it's possible García could have pitched if the situation were more urgent. However, his acquisition by Pat Gillick last winter created a logjam at starting pitcher that made Gillick the envy of approximately 25 general managers.
Unfortunately, Gillick wasn't able to work a trade before the season started to turn his surplus into desperately needed hitting assistance. Therefore, his hand was forced when he wasn't able to turn his 15-day reprieve (granted by García's injury and stay on the disabled list) into a trade.
With 6 men for 5 slots, someone had to make room in the rotation for the returning García. Here are the candidates:
Freddy García (0-1, 5.79) - 3 yr/$27m (2005-07)
Trade? - He's coming off injury; it's very unusual to trade a player that has only pitched 4.2 innings for your team after being the major acquisition of the previous year.
Bullpen? - He needs regular work on the mound if he will be in a trade; he needs to build stamina after his injury.
Jamie Moyer (1-1, 3.55) - 2 yr/$10.5m (2007-08)
Trade? - He's not worth much in a trade. However, his contract is cheap, especially if he misses inning bonuses this season.
Bullpen? - Moyer's worthless in the bullpen and probably too old to change stripes.
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