Phillies pitching a big concern heading into season


After Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett there are lot of question marks in Phillies rotation. (Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE)

When pitchers and catchers reported to Florida’s Gulf Coast back in the middle of February, the general feeling was that everything would have to go right for the Phillies to contend in the National League East.

So far, the exact opposite has happened to the Phillies. Their time in Clearwater has been marred by all kinds of surprises and controversies, from the slow recovery of left-hander Cole Hamels to the sudden benching and trade rumors surrounding shortstop Jimmy Rollins followed by the strange MRSA infection suffered by shortstop Freddy Galvis.

A veteran team looking for reassurance that it could still do it has not hit, has a mess of a starting rotation, a bullpen that is full of question marks and a rookie Hall of Fame manager who seems willing to rattle a few cages along the way.

The end result in the Grapefruit League was a lot of losing — and a slow start could really turn up the heat of embattled general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., who has almost doubled down that his band of older starters (Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Rollins, Carlos Ruiz) could bounce back to elite form.

Amaro has kept using the term “championship-caliber club” when he tries to describe what he is trying to build. But that championship may have been better suited for 2007 or 2008 than it is for 2014, where five of the projected starting eight players (Rollins, Utley, Howard, Ruiz and returnee Marlon Byrd) are all 35 or older. The only player in that group who had an above-average season in 2013 was Byrd, who had a strong campaign (.291, 24 HR, 88 RBI) for the Mets and Pirates.

And while the Phils offense has definite limitations, it is the pitching that could be the biggest concern. Hamels suffered from tendinitis during the winter and is delayed by a month on his return to the rotation. While Cliff Lee is still a very strong ace at the top of the rotation and A.J. Burnett helped seal a hole in the middle of the rotation, it is the bottom end of the rotation that has been nothing short of a disaster that now features a non-roster invitee (Jeff Manship) and an unheralded youngster (David Buchanan) vying for the last spot until Hamels and Jonathan Pettibone return from injury. One of the players that was in the competition for the final rotation slot — Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez — has been injured and ineffective and won’t start the year at the major league level.

The biggest controversy of the spring, however, was the rumored speculation about the status of Rollins, who has 10-5 no-trade rights and is the longest tenured Philadelphia athlete dating back to 2001. Rollins was benched for three games earlier in the spring for Galvis, who was praised by manager Ryne Sandberg for his energy. When Sandberg was asked about Rollins’ energy and enthusiasm, Sandberg responded with a very telling “no comment.” This came a few days after Rollins gave a “who cares?” about struggling spring numbers to the Philadelphia Daily News. Eventually, it led to an ESPN.com report that said that the club was looking for Rollins to “lead or leave” — a comment that Amaro has denied is the case. Rollins has made it known that he won’t waive those rights immediately — he is 60 hits short of the franchise record current held by Mike Schmidt.

Through all of this, the Phillies have to find a happy place and hold the tide. If they stay in things until midseason, they could have a chance for a run. But a year that must have everything go right has started with virtually nothing going well. And that’s not a good omen.

NOTES, QUOTES

–IF Kevin Frandsen was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on March 23 and taken off the 40-man roster. Frandsen cleared waivers. If he decides not to report to the IronPigs, Frandsen will forfeit his $900,000 guaranteed salary and become a free agent. Frandsen led all major league pinch-hitters with 14 pinch-hits in 2013. Frandsen has until Wednesday to reach a decision.

–IF Darin Ruf will start the season on the disabled list after suffering a left oblique strain while taking batting practice before a Grapefruit League game. Ruf was expecting to be Philadelphia’s best power bat off the bench, but now is likely to be gone until late April or early May, leaving the Phils very little roster flexibility.

–LHP Cole Hamels was able to throw a live batting practice session — his first of the spring — on Saturday afternoon at Bright House Field in Florida. The timeframe still leaves the Phils left-hander about a month behind schedule, but he and the club hope right now that he will be able to play in late April or the first week in May.

–IF Freddy Galvis is expected to be sidelined indefinitely after coming down with a MRSA infection in his knee suffered during the spring. “We do not have any timeframe because of the severity of what MRSA is,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “Clearly, he’s going to start the season on the (disabled list). But hopefully the infection gets out of his body as quickly as possible.”

–3B Cody Asche officially won the starting third-base job after the club sent hotshot prospect Maikel Franco to minor league camp later in the week. The job was considered open competition when camp opened on Feb. 13. “Franco goes and gets seasoning and gets at-bats and works on things, probably more on the offensive side, shortening up his swing and getting some better line-drive-type of contact,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg told MLB.com “Now Cody plays in these games and gets ready for the start of the season and then we go from there.”

QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s a little bit different feel than it was under Charlie (Manuel). But overall, there is a positive outlook. I know we haven’t won as many games as we probably would like to win, but we’re working.” — 2B Chase Utley, to MLB.com, about the Phillies’ spring struggles.