On Saturday the Phillies came to a 1 year agreement with veteran right hander Jose Contreras. Sources believe the deal is right around the $1 million range. After a brutal start to the season in the American League with the White Sox, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies and pitched extremely well. This has been a common trend for players coming from the AL to the NL, where they face much weaker competition. Overall he finished the season 6-13 with a 4.92 ERA and his overall flexibility is a great asset to any team. He can start or relieve and throws 6 pitches from 3 different arm slots, which makes him very deceptive when he drops down to a submarine style, three-quarters, or straight over the top. His splitter is also one of the best in the bigs.
This is the only move this entire off-season I have agreed with besides the Halladay deal, minus the Lee trade. At Charlie Manuel’s press conference on Wednesday he stated that Contreras would come out of the bullpen in all likelihood but in my opinion he would be of much greater value pitching every five days in the rotation. Right now if you leave Contreras in the pen, you are leaving the 5th rotation spot to a competition between Kyle Kendrick and a recovering Jamie Moyer. That is not exactly something I would be excited about, going into this season with expectations of another World Series run. Money will most likely play a factor, as Moyer is owed almost $7 million for this season. As I look at it, he’s going to get his money one way or the other, so why cost your team games being stubborn. He is 47 years old and was largely ineffective last season. He is coming off of three different major surgeries this off-season. Kyle Kendrick is essentially a one trick pony that the league has figured out to this point. In his rookie season he showed tremendous poise while getting by with just his sinker. The second time around the league that simply is not enough. Until he develops a legitimate second “out” pitch, he will struggle at this level. Jose Contreras was a great signing at a cheap price but now Amaro and Manuel have to use him in a way where he can be at his greatest value to the team, and that is in the rotation.
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