Phillies “highly unlikely” to re-sign free agent Jamie Moyer

Jamie Moyer officially became a free agent yesterday and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that the Phillies are “highly unlikely” to re-sign the 48-year-old left-hander.

Philadelphia hastened Moyer’s arrival on the open market by placing him on waivers in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster immediately and the 267-game winner is expected to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic in an effort to drum up some interest for 2011.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. indicated that the Phillies might be open to bringing Moyer back on a non-guaranteed minor league contract, but told Zolecki that’s likely where their interest would end:

I don’t know if Jamie would accept anything like that, but we haven’t had any discussions about it. I think more than anything else there are some questions about his health. Obviously his age is a factor. But we have to consider our starting pitching depth and see whether or not bringing Jamie back is the right thing for us.

Even without making any changes to the rotation the Phillies could enter 2011 with a starting five of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Kyle Kendrick, so they may not have room for Moyer even if he looks healthy this winter.

Acquired from the Mariners in mid-2006 and later re-signed to a pair of two-year contracts, Moyer went 56-40 with a 4.55 ERA in 721 innings spread over four-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia, which is pretty remarkable given that he was already 43 years old when he joined the team.