The Phillies have made Chad Durbin a formal offer and the pitcher and his representatives at Beverly Hills Sports Council have made a counter-offer, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The reliever is negotiating with the Phillies and several other interested teams, but Durbin would prefer to return to Philadelphia, according to Gelb.
Durbin, who made $2.125MM in 2010, “is believed to be seeking a raise,” Gelb writes. The 33-year-old right-hander posted a 3.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings last season, his third in Philadelphia.
The Phillies need him so they have one more option before they have to turn to Baez.
Baez went bye bye.
Baez went bye bye.
has any player in the last couple of years not preferred to return to the Phillies?
Who would have thunk it after Rolen and Schilling whined their way out of town a decade ago.
Actually, with Schilling, while that was the case when he left for Arizona, Philly was his first choice before he signed with Boston. He talked recently about how he loved the atmosphere and playing in Philly.
I like Durbin, but I don’t see him as a pitcher worth more than $2m. They have plenty of farmhands and younger guys that could fill his role (6th/7th).
I like Durbin. He’s been getting a lot of flack for one bad outting in the post-season, but he was and has been one of the most solid middle relievers in baseball over the past couple of seasons. With the Phillies rotation, a bullpen of Lidge, Madson, Contreras, Romero, Durbin, Bastardo is looking a lot stronger than it’s depth suggests. Would be a good sign. I hope he comes back.
I would honestly prefer to give some farmhands a shot instead of restricting our payroll even further by signing someone we really don’t need.
Agreed. As much as I like Durbin, we need to find the future guys now. The payroll isn’t going to get any larger and we will have some holes to fill after this season. Young guys need to earn some spots. With the starting staff, it isn’t like the back of the bullpen is going to get much work anyway.
A lot of the Phillies’ top farmhands are still a few years away. The only realistic options would be Michael Schwimmer, Justin DeFratus, and BJ Rosenberg, the the last two haven’t thrown a single inning at AAA. Why rush them to the major leagues when they aren’t ready, when they aren’t needed? Schwimmer could be a valuable asset, but he’s built to be the same type of reliever Durbin is either. Don’t think adding Durbin for around $2 million would limit them all that much, especially since they’re intent on moving Blanton.
You’re forgetting Mathieson who has the blazing fastball and according to reports late last year was working on a sinker
For a moment there I did, but he’s hardly a guy you can rely on. Big injury risk. If he can stay healthy, I’d prefer him over Durbin, but Durbin, though not the vision of health, has been very consistent. All this would be moot if Amaro would bite the bullet and designate Baez. Lol
Even with him there, you’d think Herndon is going for more seasoning to the minors so there should be a BP spot right there. Hopefully DeFratus can latch on in SP.
I’d actually like to see DeFratus get some seasoning in AAA. He could be the closer of the future, and I don’t want to see him rushed. Agree in regards to Herndon though.
Or Worley and Herndon, and if we keep Blanton it will be Kendrick. Realistically whoever fills this slot will pitch 60 innings max, and those innings will most likely be low leverage situations when the starter gets pulled early.
I really don’t get the Phillies big fear of bringing young guys up and giving them a chance. They let Utley and Howard sit in the minors way too long, and I get the feeling they may do the same with Domonic Brown. I understand they are in the middle of a mini NL dynasty but you gotta see what you got at some point, and with the big 4 now is a better time than any.
Inexperience brings volatility. When your team should win 92-95 games you dont want to take a chance on a youngster to blow 3 for you and end up with 89 and outside looking in.
Or Worley and Herndon, and if we keep Blanton it will be Kendrick. Realistically whoever fills this slot will pitch 60 innings max, and those innings will most likely be low leverage situations when the starter gets pulled early.
I really don’t get the Phillies big fear of bringing young guys up and giving them a chance. They let Utley and Howard sit in the minors way too long, and I get the feeling they may do the same with Domonic Brown. I understand they are in the middle of a mini NL dynasty but you gotta see what you got at some point, and with the big 4 now is a better time than any.
Definitely a devil-you-know scenario here. I would like to see that walks per 9 come down this year.
Durbin is awful. Lefties hit about .330 off of him last season and gave up a ton of runs for 2/3rds of the season. Does anyone remember game four of the NLCS? What makes him think he is worth more than 1 year 1.2 mil? Please Royals, Pirates snatch Durbin away before Amaro gives him a 13 year 235 million deal!
And righties hit .195 with a .609 OPS. Do you have a point here?
And right handed hitters hit just .197 against him. So what’s your point? He also gave the Phillies close to 70 very solid innings out of the bullpen, and if you’re going to judge him based off of one appearance in 2010… Don’t know what to tell you. With the rotation and Contreras and Romero on board, the Phillies could use him more against right handed hitters, who he is absolutely filthy against, instead of having him throw two innings with every appearance. He’s not awful.
He’s not a bullpen ace but he’s a solid guy out of the pen who can give multiple innings. He’s consistent.
I have simulated many seasons in MLB 10 the Show, just to see what bizarre things might happen. Durbin once won the CY Young award and then nobody signed him as a free agent. Probably the stupidest thing that has ever happened in that game.
Although that is pretty hilarious, it really doesn’t mean anything in reality.
In MVP Baseball 2005 Jose Lopez once hit 49 home runs. I have no idea how that happened.
They need a reliable arm like durbins becuz of all the questions around Baez and Herndon. I would want durbin back