Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. spoke with reporters at the Philadelphia Sportswriter Association banquet last night and explained that “we’re probably not going to re-sign” free agent reliever Chad Durbin.
Durbin spent the past three seasons in Philadelphia after signing as a free agent, going 11-7 with a 3.62 ERA and 188/109 K/BB ratio in 226 innings. He never really worked himself into a prominent late-inning role, but has proven to be a dependable middle reliever after struggling as a starter early in his career.
However, with Joe Blanton slated to be the Phillies’ fifth starter and Kyle Kendrick being pushed to the bullpen there just isn’t much room on the pitching staff. Durbin could help quite a few teams, but seems likely to wind up with only a minor-league contract at this point.