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Phillies Sign Pedro Feliz

The Phillies have signed 3B Pedro Feliz.

ESPN.com is reporting a two-year deal for $8.5M (with a third-year option), pending physical.

Feliz, 32, hit .253 with 20 HR and 72 RBI in 2007 for the Giants. For his career, he is a .252 hitter with marginal power (20 HR per year) but slick defense. Last year he rated as one of the Major League’s top third basemen.

I will only like this deal â€” and not much â€” if Wes Helms is dealt for relief or starting pitching. He won’t get much, though. I honestly think the Phils could’ve spent this money better ways, but supposedly the dearth of relief pitching made it possible to grab Feliz. As it stands, this signing may hamper the team somewhere (whether it’s getting more pitching or bolstering a re-signging of Howard).

But in all honesty, the Phils offense could’ve gone another year with a 3B platoon. This pitching staff can’t go another year with shoddy relief and starting pitching. I feel as if this is more a name signing than anything, which, well, is the norm in Phillies land.

UPDATE (2:03 p.m. Thursday): The deal has been finalized . It’s $8.5M over two years with a third-year option that would make it a $15M total deal. Well, at least the offense is all shored up.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.