Phillies Considering Putz?

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a busy offseason so far, signing Brad Schneider and Placido Polanco, now they’re moving on to their next need, a relief pitcher. There are plenty of names being mentioned too.

I’ve talked about Brandon Lyon and how he’d be a fit for the Phillies (a name that ESPN’s Buster Olney is also hyping up today). Fernando Rodney’s name has also been thrown out there but the rumor of the day happens to be former Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz.

Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says that Putz is the type of pitcher that the Phillies are targeting this offseason, the low-risk, high-reward kind that has had history pitching late in the game.

Putz has plenty of history closing games, evident by his 103 career saves in 6 seasons and 337 appearances. When healthy he’s a strikeout machine, with a tad over one per inning throughout his career.

So bringing in a pitcher like Putz could be very beneficial to the Phillies bullpen. especially when no one knows what the Phils will get next season out of Ryan Madson or Brad Lidge. Lidge struggled almost all season, while Madson struggled when it mattered the most down the stretch.

So Putz could either right his career or help push Madson and Lidge back to their previous levels. One of those two could easily happen, who knows maybe even both.

Only problem is Putz wants to be a closer again and I’m not sure he’ll be able to find such a role with his recent injury history. Luckily for the Phillies he’s willing to consider the option of an 8th inning role.

“He has a preference to be a closer, but absolutely will not rule out an eighth-inning job depending upon many factors,” his agent Craig Landis said. “Money obviously will be one. Location, how good the team is, the coaching staff. If everything else stacked up and it happened to be a setup job, we’d consider it.”

The Phillies won’t offer him much money so he’s going to have to play for the love of the game, the chance to win a championship. Will playing for the two-time defending National League champion be enough to entice Putz?

I’m not sure but if it is enough, then he should be a great addition to this bullpen. Then again isn’t that what the New York Mets thought last year when they signed him?