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March 30, 2011 2011 Spring Training Joe Janish

Will Izzy Go to Philly?

If the tweets of Adam Rubin and Steve Popper are any indication, Jason Isringhausen has yet to decide whether or not to accept the Mets’ “offer” of staying in warm and sunny Florida to further build up his arm.

Considering that Brad Lidge will be out for 3-6 weeks with a shoulder issue, one must wonder if the Phillies would be interested in adding Izzy to the back of their bullpen.

Personally, I don’t know that Isringhausen proved to be ready for the rigors of pitching regularly against MLB hitters just yet. But, the Phils are desperate to fill the closer role, and if nothing else, Izzy has plenty of experience. His agent would be remiss not to place a call to Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro to see if there is any interest. And, Izzy would certainly prefer to get on an MLB roster immediately — especially one that has bright postseason hopes — rather than wait around in Florida hoping for a chance with a team that may be out of the race by mid-July.

And while we’re on the subject of relievers let go by the Mets, you have to think that hard-throwing Manny Acosta would at least cross the minds of the Phillies’ brass. There aren’t too many quality relievers available right now, so the Phils’ best bet is to roll the dice on someone risky but who has a glimmer of upside.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. trs86 March 30, 2011 at 10:36 am
    Joe, I think there is still some confusion on if Izzy has an out in his contract or has to be released by the Mets. If he does not have an out and the Mets did not want him to go to Philly then they could just say report to AAA or retire.
    • Joe Janish March 30, 2011 at 10:43 am
      Interesting thought. It would be surprising to me if Izzy would have signed a contract that did not allow him an out, as it’s pretty standard for veterans on minor league deals — i.e., Willie Harris and Blaine Boyer.
  2. JoeBourgeois March 30, 2011 at 10:41 am
    trs, in theory, yeah, but Alderson has already said that the Mets wouldn’t stand in the way if Izzy got a major-league slot elsewhere.
    Have there been recent instances of players asking for their release and not getting it? I don’t remember any.
    • trs86 March 30, 2011 at 11:01 am
      Originally it was reported, make the Mets or retire. I am not sure if such an out was provided. Thus maybe why Izzy is reporting that it’s in the hands of his agent.
  3. Joe March 30, 2011 at 11:13 am
    Maybe they can get Luis Ayala.
  4. trs86 March 30, 2011 at 11:16 am
    I guess this one is on the back-burner for now.
  5. Marathon Met March 30, 2011 at 9:44 pm
    Quick question: why was Acosta dfa’d and not put on waivers. What’s the difference.
    Thanks
    • Joe Janish March 30, 2011 at 11:46 pm
      I’m not an expert on these intricacies, but the way I understand it is this:

      Waivers: once a player is out of “options”, he must go through waivers before being assigned to the minors. Throughout the waiver process, and after, the player remains on the 40-man roster.

      Designated for Assignment: the player is immediately removed from the 40-man roster, and the team has 7 days to put him on waivers and 10 days to trade him, release him, or put him back on on the 40-man roster.

      Why a DFA is chosen over waiving is generally because a team wants to a) buy some time; b) make room on the 40-man roster for someone else; and or, c) elicit interest in other teams who may want to trade for the player.

      I’m guessing that the Mets waived Evans because they have every intention of keeping him in the organization. As for Acosta, they probably DFA’d him because relief arms are always in demand, and they think they may be able to trade him for minor league depth. If they don’t get any bites within a week, they can still put him on waivers, hope he clears, and ask if he’ll go to AAA.

      Again, this isn’t really my area of expertise, so if anyone else wants to weigh in / correct me, please do!

      • Marathon Met March 31, 2011 at 9:50 pm
        Thanks for the explanation. Sounds pretty complete to me.