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Phillies trade Paulino to SF for lefty reliever Jack Taschner
By RYAN LAWRENCE
ryanlawrence21@gmail.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ronny Paulino's stay in Philadelphia was short-lived.
On Friday night, nine days before the regular season
opener, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced in a press
release that the team had traded Paulino to San Francisco.
In exchange, the Phillies receive left-handed reliever Jack Taschner.
Paulino never played in a major league game with the Phillies. He was acquired in a December trade with Pittsburgh that sent Triple-A catcher Jason Jaramillo to the Pirates.
Taschner, who turns 31 next month, has been a staple in the San Francisco bullpen for each of the last two seasons. He was 3-2 with a 4.88 ERA in a team-high 67 games for the Giants last season.
"It gives us depth," Amaro said. "We've been looking to gain depth from the left side and Jack has done that in the past; we'll see how he fits in the mix."
The trade appears to solve two issues as the Phillies prepare for the 2009 season. With Paulino headed to San Francisco, the battle for the backup catching job is over.
Chris Coste, who shared catching duties with Carlos Ruiz last year, will be back for his fourth season in Philadelphia. Paulino was hitting .194 with one home run in 13 Grapefruit League games this spring.
"We just felt Costey was a better fit for us," Amaro said. "We didn't feel like Paulino played well enough at least in this stage of the game to take it way from him."
The trade should also help the Phillies deal with the loss of J.C. Romero. With Romero out until June 1 while he serves a 50-game suspension tied to negligence in a failed drug test, Scott Eyre was in line to be the only left-handed reliever on the Opening Day roster.
Taschner is not guaranteed to make the 25-man roster, but likely has an edge over the likes of spring training-invitees Gary Majewski and Mike Koplove. Unlike those two, Taschner is a lefty.
"He's bonafide major leaguer," Amaro said when asked if he would compete with the other relievers in camp for a job. "But we added some depth and we'll see how he hits into the puzzle."
Taschner, the Giants second round pick in the 1999 first-year player draft, is 8-4 with a 5.01 ERA in 178 career major league games. Taschner avoided arbitration with the Giants two months ago and will make $830,000 in 2009.
ryanlawrence21@gmail.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ronny Paulino's stay in Philadelphia was short-lived.
On Friday night, nine days before the regular season
opener, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced in a press
release that the team had traded Paulino to San Francisco.
In exchange, the Phillies receive left-handed reliever Jack Taschner.
Paulino never played in a major league game with the Phillies. He was acquired in a December trade with Pittsburgh that sent Triple-A catcher Jason Jaramillo to the Pirates.
Taschner, who turns 31 next month, has been a staple in the San Francisco bullpen for each of the last two seasons. He was 3-2 with a 4.88 ERA in a team-high 67 games for the Giants last season.
"It gives us depth," Amaro said. "We've been looking to gain depth from the left side and Jack has done that in the past; we'll see how he fits in the mix."
The trade appears to solve two issues as the Phillies prepare for the 2009 season. With Paulino headed to San Francisco, the battle for the backup catching job is over.
Chris Coste, who shared catching duties with Carlos Ruiz last year, will be back for his fourth season in Philadelphia. Paulino was hitting .194 with one home run in 13 Grapefruit League games this spring.
"We just felt Costey was a better fit for us," Amaro said. "We didn't feel like Paulino played well enough at least in this stage of the game to take it way from him."
The trade should also help the Phillies deal with the loss of J.C. Romero. With Romero out until June 1 while he serves a 50-game suspension tied to negligence in a failed drug test, Scott Eyre was in line to be the only left-handed reliever on the Opening Day roster.
Taschner is not guaranteed to make the 25-man roster, but likely has an edge over the likes of spring training-invitees Gary Majewski and Mike Koplove. Unlike those two, Taschner is a lefty.
"He's bonafide major leaguer," Amaro said when asked if he would compete with the other relievers in camp for a job. "But we added some depth and we'll see how he hits into the puzzle."
Taschner, the Giants second round pick in the 1999 first-year player draft, is 8-4 with a 5.01 ERA in 178 career major league games. Taschner avoided arbitration with the Giants two months ago and will make $830,000 in 2009.
posted by Ryan at
10:03 PM
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