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48 Responses to “Phillies Sign RHP Majewski To Minor League Deal”

1. Erich Homsher Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm

   This seems like another Kris Benson deal- with a potential huge up-side and only half a million wasted on the down side. BTW, what ever happened to Benson?

2. Jason B Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm

   Benson was released at the end of last season. Erich… You’re right, this does smell like the Benson deal. These little ticky tack moves however, will not get it done. For depth this is ok, but we will need more.

3. Rob Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 pm

   how do you figure we need more in the bullpen? We’ve pretty much kept integral pieces intact and threw in some potential bangers to compete for spots. What more do you want?

4. Justin Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 pm

   I like getting majewski for the price of a minor league deal, he was really good before he was traded to no man land in cincinnati, he may have a chance at resurrecting his career.

5. Chris L Says:
   December 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 pm

   Yeah, to be honest any more moves they make the team would need to create room for them. And there’s not a lot to dislike about the roster as it stands now:

   A rotation that includes an ace, three solid starters and a mix of youth and vets to compete for the last spot and push the others

   A pen that has shown it can handle pressure with options for both sides and people for each role, long: Condrey and Park; middle: Durbin and Eyre; late: Madson and Romero; and a closer. Plus a few guys to push them/cover for injury.

   The bulk of the off season is going to be resigning the arbitration guys and loking to trade some of the redundant parts to free up some flexibility for a late season pickup if needed or to strenghthen the farm

6. Chris L Says:
   December 24th, 2008 at 12:01 am

   The position guys are close to being set to depending on Chase’s status. Although a right handed bench player with power (to go opposite Stairs/Dobbs) would be nice.

   The one small issue is that 3 guys in the middle will be left handed but which team in the division has the best LH reliever for those late inning match-ups? — Philly, and according to some publications Eyre could be the second best

7. Phils Are joedaddy Says:
   December 24th, 2008 at 1:04 am

   I really like this pitching staff. We have one of the deepest bullpens and this makes it a bit deeper. Majewski has the potential to be a middle reliver so he fits the bill of low risk, some reward.

8. Greg V. Says:
   December 24th, 2008 at 1:16 am

   A classic Phillies case of low risk and high reward!

9. Greg V. Says:
   December 24th, 2008 at 1:17 am

   I’ll be cheering Mr. Majewski on at Coca-Cola Park next season, I’m sure!

10. Nationals#1 Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 3:06 am

    go ironpigs, here’s hoping for a better finish this year

11. Phillies Phan SC Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 3:14 am

    Numbers are scary, but I am willing to chance him. Numbers seem better than Eaton though LOL

12. NateB Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:48 am

    This guy’s first 2 seasons in the bigs were great. He had a promising career ahead of him… so if he can get over whatever’s been bothering him these last 2 years… then this is a great deal for the Phils! Not that this guy will ever compare to Lidge… but it’s a similar scenario to the old Lidge of last year, and the Phils’ pitching staff has a tendency to re-awaken talented guys.

13. KB Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 7:42 am

    Gavin Floyd > Mark Texeira

14. Griffin Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 10:51 am

    That’s right KB! Screw Tex, an unproven high school pitcher was a much better pick than the All-American 3B from Georgia Tech.
    Thankfully we picked Howard four rounds later.

15. fred Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 10:53 am

    Oh my, by signing Majewski we’ve just one-upped the Mets signing of K-Rod and trade for Putz ! All we’ve done so far this off-season is move sideways (arguably backwards), whilst the Mets have turned there only real weakness to a strength and are about to land Derek Lowe. Goodbye, 1st place.

16. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    Come on you can’t be angered by this move, it’s a win win deal and the Phils don’t need another top-tier set-up man unless there’s no faith in Madson picking up where they left off. If Majewski pitches his way onto the 25 man roster we’ve upgraded what is already an incredibly strong bullpen far better than the Mets because of the quality in depth, if not the Iron Pigs are a better team for the deal giving them a reliever with lots of major league know how that will only improve the development of the younger guys.

    We’re all hoping the Mets don’t sign Lowe and wonder why Amaro didn’t hold back to see if his price dropped but credit to Amaro for the minor moves. I really like the attitude of lets add guys that will make the guys already here and in the system better, the Mets are proof you can only do so much with the big names.

    Good signing, hopefully more to come.

17. Don M Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 11:48 am

    Everything i’ve read says that Lowe has backed off his demands for 5 years/$90 M

    What can he really be had for? Does Boston jump back into the mix to better shut-down the Yankees lineup?

    I’d really much rather see Lowe go back to Boston, then go to the Mets. Of course, if the Mets really overpay for Lowe, they would hurt them down the line, so that wouldn’t be too bad

    I said yesterday, and I’m starting to make myself believe it now.. JA HAPP will win like 15 games next year with a 3.85 ERA, and win the NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

18. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

    Don…watch JA Happ throw, then watch Andy Pettite throw…its a mirror image..its the same guy, if he can just focus himself and hit his marks he has the stuff and the style to be similar to andy pettite without the HGH. I think the prediction is accurate except ill take the over, i think hell win 16-18 games.

    for everyone else: thats why i dont see the point in overpaying for some free agent pitcher…you have a 26 year old left hander who projects as a good third starter ready to break out onto the scene and you want to shuffle him back down again by signing a 35 year-old sinkerballer whos due to break down sometime….i mean, i even think they gave moyer too much money and a year too much..giving 4 years to derek lowe is a terribel idea, let alone 5.

19. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    if everyone stays healthy, they can afford to leave carrasco down there a year longer. if myers slips up though, look out because carrasco is creeping down there ready to come up..

20. Griffin Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    I hate to break up the Happ love.
    BP projects Happ’s upside as “an innings-eating fourth starter” and his downside as “an occasional starter, and an occasional long reliever”.

    All I want for Christmas is the Red Sox signing Lowe.

21. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    He can spot the fastball too well to just be that I think.

22. Griffin Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    let’s hope so Geoff, the BP article also says he’s an extremely bright guy (he went to Northwestern) so maybe Moyer can tutor him a bit (since Happ doesn’t have overwhelming stuff). We will find out in 2009.

23. Mike B. Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Not unhappy with the signing. Like everyone else says, low-risk, potentially high reward. I like the depth he gives us. As long as he’s competent or I never see him if he’s not, I’m happy with the signing. I remember he used to be good against us with the Nats.

    J.A. Happ is a mirror of Andy Pettite? Lofty comparisons, Geoff. I can see it, though, if he hits his spots and focuses.

24. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    Their deliveries are very similar, they even look alike. similar type of pitcher on the surface. Its all up to Happ. He can be that guy for the Phillies, that great number 3 if he listens to Moyer (NOT rich dubee) and focuses himself to prepare.

25. Mike B. Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    If their deliveries are similar, that means Happ should have a good pick-off move. Does anyone know if he has a good move to first? His one stolen base against isn’t exactly the most revealing statistic.

    If anything, he needs to improve on walking righties. If he does that, he’ll be okay.

26. Don M Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    I just think that Happ around Hamels, and Moyer will be able to pick their brains and learn a ton… combine that with the ability he already has to strike batters out, if he keeps the ball down in the zone, he should have a BIG year

27. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    Looks liek the mets are closing in on lowe 3/4 years for 15mm per year…which is STILL too much money….3/45, 4/60, those are both BAD signings. way too much money committed…lowe isnt worth more than 12mm a year, would prefer even 10mm. i mean, hes good but hes old and thats just too much money.

28. Chris.I Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 2:30 pm

    But how does that make us look if the Mets go out and sign Lowe? I still think the Phils should make a push for another starter..Whether its Sheets, Garland, or even Prior (yes I said Prior)…If Prior is healthy, I think he would be very vital to this team. Oliver Perez would even look good in a Phils uniform. Happ, or Carrasco sound nice, but it would be good to have a backup plan.

29. Geoff Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Why? Carlos Carrasco is better than an injured mark prior. Sheets is injured all the time, garland is the same thing as jamie moyer on a good day and worse on a bad day. oliver perez wants 12mm per year and youd have to give the mets a second round pick (the mariners get the first round pick)

    plus: they signed jamie moyer, which means they wont sign/get another starting ptiching unless brett myers is traded.

    to answer: it makes the phillies look smart and confident. it makes the mets look VERY VERY desperate. thats a HUGE commitment for a 35 year old pitcher.

    if you sign someone you have to move happ to the bullpen, send him down, or trade him. or to balance out the salaries youd trade brett myers….and i really dont think thats a good idea. why blow all that money when you STILL havent extended hamels victorino or werth?

    those guys are waiting for their extension and youre going to give that same type of money/commitment to garland (4th starter/ability) oliver perez (4th starter/inconsistent), ben sheets (ace, but since hes always injured: 4th starter), or mark prior (NOT EVEN a 5th starteranymore on a championship team/injured all the time)

    the only guy worth the risk is sheets but that ship has sailed. theyre NOT going to sign another starting pitcher of any major note. theres simply no room. they have a lot of depth already.

    shoudl they have risked it for sheets? eh, maybe, but that would mean you would not resign jamie moyer. so signing someone now makes YOU look desperate. if the rotation falls apart then there is PLENTY OF time during the season to trade for someone more cost effective and better than the remiaining options..

30. Chris.I Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    First of all, how do we know for sure Carrasco can even pitch on a major leauge level? I’m not saying that he can’t (and I wont say he can either, cause that’s uncertain). I will say this…If the Mets sign Lowe, they will have a deeper rotation than us.

31. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    The Mets are the Yankees of the NL now and we have to accept that, they will spend the money so you’ve got to beat them by being better not by ‘buying better’. There must be a reason Amaro didn’t wait on Lowe, we can’t be bitter about a deal we couldn’t make.

    If anything can be said for sure is the Mets will suffer injuries, the Phils will have to capitalize.

32. Brooks Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

    This goes to emphasize the point I made a few times already, if you are going to give Benson and now Majeski a chance (free money), why not do the same with Mulder who has proven in the past to be much more valuable than either of these candidates.

    Sign him to a minor league deal and see what happens.

    Fred, dude, calm down! Phils will be just fine son and the Muts will find a way to implode as usual. It will just cost them more than last years implosion…

33. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

    Brooks it’s tough with those back-to health minor league deals, remember Prior wasn’t cheap when he was signed by the Padres and the same would probably go for Mulder. Unless a name has ties to Philly or the organisation it must be hard to attract one of those premier names, it may not seem it but those guys have a lot to loose if it goes wrong as we saw last year with Bartolo Colon.

34. psujoe Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    I would go 3 years 45 for Lowe if we could get value for Myers. Not sure what that value would be though.

35. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Low for Myers, no-ones giving up anything they can’t do without for a guy your shopping they know you can’t afford to keep.

36. psujoe Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    If the Mets sign Lowe I think they put themselves in a great spot to unseat us. No lock, but combined with their bull pn upgrades and our standing staying status quo I’d give them the edge.

37. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

    The Mets will always pay to put themselves in a spot to run the table, the Phils have the luxury that we won the championship in a year several of the teams core players didn’t play well. Irrelevant of how the additions do, those guys play better and we are in position to repeat, they don’t doesn’t matter if we’d added Lowe.

38. psujoe Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

    Nj, I agree about the core, but we did get a heck of a season from our pitching. I’d be pleasantly surprised with a duplicate effort this year.

39. IRONPIGPEN Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    lvironpigs.wordpress.com
    go phillies, go ironpigs

40. KB Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Brooks – with the Mets BP revamped and their starting rotation being updgraded (it looks like Lowe is the next Met), it seems much less likely there will be a 3rd implosion. Don’t forget how many saves their pen blew. If they had won just half of them, they would have won the NL East.

41. Malcolm Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    The Phillies don’t need another starter! We’ll just have to see how the bullpen is set up after spring training and who will become the 5th starter. There is no reason to think the rotation or bullpen will be worse than it was last year. There is no reason to rip on Majewski. If he makes the squad, good for him, but I don’t think he will. People who are already giving up on the Philadelphia Phillies before the start of season make no sense to me. How can you call yourself a legitimate fan if you don’t have any faith? I mean, the team won us a championship! Let’s not worry about anything until they give us reasons to worry. It’s a long season. A lot can happen. Trades can be made. Injuries. Player movement. Right now, let’s just get our arbitration cases settled, and get ready to rock.

    Yes, the Mets look as if they’re going to sign Derek Lowe. They probably will pick up a lefty like Will Ohman to face of our left-handed bats. They added K-Rod and Putz. So what? For the past two years, the Mets have disappointed their fans over and over again. I would have been embarrassed to be a Mets fan. Who out there is seriously going to tell me that they didn’t expect the Mets to “upgrade” their team this offseason? I’m not worried. Not yet. Yes, the Mets will be a better team. That means nothing to me. This is going to be a brutal season. I’m ready to head up to Citi Field with a choke artist shirt and fist fight. I’m ready to show my Phanaticism and Philly pride everyday. I’m ready to drink more than two thousand beers again this season. I’m ready to defend our world championship.

42. KM Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 6:39 pm

    Another case of the phillies ownership trying to find a diamond in the trash heap. Majewski has had a serious history of arm trouble, but with the amount they are paying him it isn’t necessarily a bad deal, especially if we have an injury in the pen this year.

43. NJ Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

    Diamond in the trash… Diamond in the trash would be eclipsing slot value on a late round draft pick, this moves just adding another bullpen arm remembering there are virtually no relivers in the system expected to be servicable at any point this year, it’s a long season for the pitching…

44. psujoe Says:
    December 24th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    Park and Moyer had their best seasons in more than 5 years last year. I just don’t think they’ll do it again. I just don’t think Happ and Kendrick are the answer. So I think our starting rotation is weak. Our pitching in September was incredible, but you don’t plan for incredible, IMO. That doesn’t mean I’m not a loyal Phillies fan. For example.

    Based on the the law of averages expect Moyer’s era to climb from 3.71 to about 4.30 last year. Not bad, but not were I think a 3 should be.

    Expect Park’s era to go from a 3.40 last year to back in the 5.00 range especially considering the park.

    Myers is a total question mark that none of us can even guess on.

    Lowe has 4 straight years better than any of Myers or MOyer so IMO he’d be worth 14-15 a year for 3 years. Again, it doesn’t mean I’m not a loyal Phillies fan.

45. Brooks Says:
    December 25th, 2008 at 7:44 am

    Merry Christmas all! And to all another WS championship!!!!!!!!!!!
    KB, regarding the Muts – I was pretty convinced that the signing of Pedro was going to place them firmly atop the division in 05, along with the aquisition of Beltran. Then in 06, the big new entry was Delgado, 07 Wagner (to fufill more promises??) and finally Santana – the untouchable in 08.
    What has all this bleeding done for the Muts? It has been our great pleasure to see them fall, no, crumble and fall the past 2 seasons.
    Look, if I were (excuse me while I choke on the Christmas turkey…) was a Muts fan (gasp!), I would be excited – really.
    Being a Phillies fan, one who believes in Jimmy Rollins, who believes that Ryan Howard will once again show us more of the same thunder which consumed us all in 06, a believer that Chase Utley is without a doubt a serious contender for the NL MVP (shortened year? Who cares!), a fan who shares in the excitement of an outfield with Victorino, Werth & now Raul Ibanez – I can only see Phillies red!
    I don’t want to leave out the next (how cool of a name is Cole Hamels) dominant pitcher in the NL, nor my anticipation of Lou Marson filling in for and eventually replacing the heir apparent to “no hit Nunez”, Carlos Ruiz (ok, ok, give him his props for the WS)- my only concerns have been with the pitching. The Phillies took us to the promised land last year because of their BP. These guys were directed by Chahlie and perfrormed incredibly. Each with their part, be it small (Scot Eyre – 1 pitch, 1/3 of an inning), set up (the “Bridge to Lidge”) or closing – the remake of the best closer in all of baseball – Can they repeat?
    Therein lies my ONLY concern – that is why my thoughts are to take a chance (not a big one) on Mulder with a very moderat 1 year minor league deal.
    Once again Merry Christmas all!

46. fred Says:
    December 25th, 2008 at 11:44 am

    The thing that bugs me isn’t that Majewski and Park don’t have a chance to turn out as good signings, because they do. What get’s me is that by saving the roughly $3.5 million that they spent on those two guys they could have re-signed the Bat instead of Ibanez, an absurd signing due to his very, very old age, poor defence, left handedness and not being an upgrade over Burrell. The chances of Majewski and Park turning out well are slim, but even if both of them do well in relief roles how much better do we actually get ? I’d say the upside for either of those guys is in the region of what Condrey and Seanez gave us last year, ERA’s in the 3’s in mop up duty. Good thing Texiera signed with the Yankees, cos the chances of Lowe going to Boston just went up. Merry Christmas everyone

47. Cheap Bats Says:
    March 25th, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    Great quality stuff.

48. Steve Miles Says:
    February 2nd, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    I usually don

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