Rubén Amaro, Jr. optimistic about bullpen as he encourages young relievers on roster – MLB News
Using the words 'balancing act', the Philadelphia Phillies’ General Manager Rubén Amaro, Jr. believes that newly inducted Minor League relief pitchers on the roster will take some time before they can come up with their best.
He acknowledges their talent while maintaining that mix of youth and veterans in the squad will bear fruits, soon.
After the season started, Phillies struggled to assert their contention. Their miseries culminated when the areas in which they boast dominance generally started betraying them, as well.
While witnessing an offence floundering from the very beginning, decline in the ability of the starters to become a kind of formidable force they have been in years for the club, compounded their worries. This in turn demoralised the whole team and the club
sank to their lowest ebb.
Meanwhile, injuries kept surfacing. Whatever little progress they will begin to make was pushed back by a flurry of injuries to important players. One of their greatest setbacks was an injury to their ace Roy Halladay.
Amidst all this, Phillies’ decaying bullpen turned out to be the last nail in their coffin.
This had forced the General Manager to turn to Minor League farms and hunt for reliable options. Thus, bullpen was restructured to some extent, with some relievers being sent back and others being called up for the Majors.
Unfortunately, despite the move, results did not change. Bullpen kept causing defeats during the situations which result in wins more often than not.
To this, Rubén thinks, for young relievers, it is not always easy to adjust to the pressure at Major League and bring victories on a regular basis. Therefore, he will be investing faith in them and will expect results once they settled in with the situation.
“How much they can grow throughout the course of the season, I don't know. We have some talent there, but it's tough to put some of the kids in this position, because we're in a position to win and and to want to win on a consistent basis, so it’s not an
easy thing for kids to do,” Amaro said.
As previously injured player Chase Utley makes his way into the line-up and Ryan Howard soon expected, better performance from the Phillies' offence can be expected.
Therefore, relievers can now look forward to better run-support late in the innings. One will hope that it will help them in ensuring victories for the club.
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