That's right, while the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks were busy trading young players back and forth, and Chone Figgins was shocking me by signing with Seattle, the Phillies went out and made a splash of their own. No, it's not Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, but in all honesty it was an important move. Today, the Phillies reached a deal with infielder Ross Gload, bringing him to to round out the bench. The deal is pending a physical, but it looks like it's all but set in stone, and Gload will be a Phillie for the next two years.
Last year with the Marlins, Ross Gload led the majors in pinch hits with 21, and hit .261 with six home runs and 30 RBI. He's a bit of a journeyman, having played for Florida, Colorado, Kansas City and the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, but he's a solid bat to have off the bench, and he gives the Phillies a lot more depth than they had last year in terms of bench players. He can play both first base and in the outfield, and did both with the Marlins last year.
So, it looks like the Phils have their bench situation taken care of at this point. Paul Bako, Eric Bruntlett, Matt Stairs and Miguel Cairo are out. Replacing them are Ross Gload, Brian Schneider and Juan Castro, and they will join Greg Dobbs and Ben Francisco who are holdovers from this past season. Go ahead, look at that bench now. At least tell me it looks better than last year's, because in my mind, it really does. All that's left to do now is work on fixing up the bullpen issues that are present, and this team could be primed for another deep run into October. I certainly wouldn't mind that.
ESPN.com: Phillies, Gload agree to deal
No comments:
Post a Comment