Stories have surfaced once again today about whether or not the Phillies will sign lefty reliever Will Ohman. According to reports, GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has said that he is interested in adding another arm to the bullpen at a “modest” price. It is unclear exactly what price would be considered “modest” and if Ohman is willing to pitch for this price, but since the rumors have surfaced on several occasions now, I figure I’d address them.
Bullpens in general have a tendency to be inconsistent from year to year, so it stands to reason that adding as much inventory to the pen as possible and seeing who emerges makes a lot of sense. But how would Ohman fit in Philadelphia? Is he better than what we already have?
Considering the fact that JC Romero is suspended until June 1st, it appears that Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, Chad Durbin, Chan Ho Park (unless he wins the 5th starter’s job) and Clay Condrey are good bets to make the Opening Day roster, leaving one spot open until Romero returns. There are a number of arms in camp competing to fill that spot, but none (save for JA Happ, who may or may not be the 5th starter and may or may not be successful in the bullpen) have the potential to contribute as much as Ohman could.
Ohman had a terrific season for Atlanta last season, posting a 3.68 ERA and holding lefties to a .200 avg. He could take some of the pressure off of Scott Eyre for the first two months of the season, as Eyre probably doesn’t have the set-up man potential that JC Romero has. It could get even better once Romero returns, when Ohman could take Condrey’s spot in the bullpen. Condery pitched pretty well for the Phillies last season, but his numbers are deceiving. Though he had a 3.26 ERA, opponents hit .302 off of him, which could mean he was more lucky than good. Right-handers hit for a higher average off of Condrey than they did off of Ohman (even though Ohman is a lefty), and Ohman struck out more hitters in fewer innings than Condrey last year. Signing Ohman would give us another lefty to cover us in case of injury, provide Charlie Manuel with more options, and improve a potential trouble spot this season in Clay Condrey. If the price is right, I say lets get us some Will Ohman.
