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Phillies Claim RHP Lahey, IF Woodward

The Phillies today claimed RHP Tim Lahey off waivers. They also grabbed IF Chris Woodward.

To make room, they outrighted Chris Snelling, Ray Olmedo and JD Durbin to AAA Lehigh Valley. (I suppose Durbin wasn’t waived, or he wasn’t taken by anybody.)

Lahey, 26, wasn’t terrible ascending the ranks to AAA Rochester last year. His K/9 rate diminished considerably each season while in the Twins farm system. He was picked up first in the Rule V draft by the Rays, then sold to the Cubs. This spring with Chicago, he went 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA in 11 innings. He walked eight and struck out seven. He started strong then fizzled, making him vulnerable to the cut.

Lahey is just another righty arm that the Phils hope will make sense early on in the season. With Snelling going to Lehigh Valley, Wes Helms becomes the final hitter (for now), and Lahey joins the bullpen as the 25th man. He’ll likely be given an audition until Francisco Rosario is ready to return.

Woodward, 31, is a veteran who was in camp with the Yankees. He tried to make better on his .199 clip in 2007. Career, he is a .243 hitter with 33 home runs and 186 RBI. He obviously didn’t make the Yankees.

Woodward will probably start the season in Lehigh Valley, as Eric Bruntlett is blocking his path. But he offers an option if Helms gets traded. He also gives Lehigh Valley another passable bat.

The current 25-man roster, as it stands:

Carlos Ruiz
Chris Coste
Ryan Howard
Chase Utley
Pedro Feliz
Jimmy Rollins
Eric Bruntlett
Wes Helms
Greg Dobbs
Pat Burrell
Shane Victorino
Geoff Jenkins
Jayson Werth
So Taguchi

Cole Hamels
Brett Myers
Jamie Moyer
Kyle Kendrick
Adam Eaton
Chad Durbin
Tim Lahey
Clay Condrey
Ryan Madson
JC Romero
Tom Gordon

We’re waiting on where Woodward goes; that will determine Helms’ fate, as well.

To be frank, I don’t understand either of these moves. If anything, we need a good, veteran arm for the bullpen, not this Rule V junk. And Woodward is coming into a position of strength. Infield is not the priority.

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.