Phillies acquire Rhodes for Michaels

01/27/2006
PHILADELPHIA -- After a week of false starts and tweaks, the Phillies acquired Cleveland reliever Arthur Rhodes for outfielder Jason Michaels.
The off-again, on-again deal between the clubs rested for good in the on position late Friday afternoon, when the Phillies announced Rhodes passed a physical in Philadelphia. That completed the Phillies' portion of a larger deal that led to Coco Crisp's long-awaited arrival in Boston.
But that's another story. What matters to Phillies fans is that their team has added the primary setup man for closer Tom Gordon, and a substitute closer when necessary. Acquiring a veteran for that role ranked high on general manager Pat Gillick's list of offseason priorities, along with the still unfulfilled top-of-the-rotation starter. Rhodes, 37, went 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 47 games for Cleveland in 2005.
"The last six or seven years, Rhodes has performed at a pretty high level," said Gillick. "If you're going to get somebody to slot into the back end of the bullpen, you're going to give up something. Unfortunately, it had to be Michaels. (Rhodes) is a gamer and likes to win."
In passing his physical, the Phillies hope the veteran's health concerns aren't an issue. Rhodes had inflammation in his right knee, causing him to miss the second half of August, and also missed time because of a serious family illness. Gillick is familiar with Rhodes from their time together in Baltimore and Seattle, when he was one of the game's more effective southpaw relievers.
The Phillies were extra careful with Rhodes, subjecting him to three MRI examinations. Gillick wouldn't get into specifics, but said the Phillies were confident that most of his complications were due to his family health issue than his right knee.
"There were some extenuating circumstances on why he missed a portion of 2005, but we're very confident that he'll slide into the back end of our bullpen," Gillick said. "We had a very thorough examination by our medical people this afternoon. Unless something unforeseen occurs, we think he'll perform for the entire 2006 season."
Before rebounding in 2005, Rhodes suffered through two seasons in which he went a combined 6-6 with a 4.56 ERA with Seattle (2003) and Oakland (2004). He is 75-55 with a 4.26 ERA in his career, with 26 saves.
With Rhodes and Gordon at the back end of the bullpen, manager Charlie Manuel will be counting on Rheal Cormier, Aaron Fultz, Geoff Geary and one of Chris Booker, Aquilino Lopez or Julio Santana to form a six-man corps.
"The key is from the sixth inning on," Gordon said earlier this week. "Sometimes the toughest innings are the seventh and eighth inning, and we definitely need a guy we can count on. The setup guys are vital. Every team needs a good setup guy and a good closer to be a championship ballclub."
The deal offers another benefit in that it shifts Ryan Madson to the starting rotation. Manuel has made no secret of his desire to have Madson as his fifth starter, and the pitcher is firmly on board with that idea. While he's pitched effectively out of the bullpen during the past two seasons -- winning 15 games with a 3.28 ERA -- Madson had been a starter throughout his Minor League career.
The righty will round out a rotation that consists of Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle and Ryan Franklin.
Michaels leaves after spending four seasons in Philadelphia. In 2005, he batted .304 with four homers and 31 RBIs. His season was marred somewhat in July, when an altercation outside a nightclub with a Philadelphia police officer eventually led to six months' probation and 100 hours of community service for the outfielder.
Gillick insisted that Michaels' off-the-field issues had nothing to do with his trade.
"Absolutely not," he said. "We had been talking all along and the one excess we had on this ballclub was in our outfield. There were a lot of hits on a lot of our outfielders over the last couple of months. This fit in the direction we wanted to go. We needed to solidify the back end of our bullpen and Rhodes helps us do that."
Michaels will inherit Crisp's spot in left at Jacobs Field, and could see his most playing time yet. He combined with center fielder Kenny Lofton last season to form one of the league's most productive center field duos.
The completion of this deal ends a week of intrigue that had taken many turns. On Tuesday, both deals seemed to hinge on a physical by Guillermo Mota. The swap appeared to crumble amid reports that Mota failed his physical.
Rumors then suggested that the Reds would re-enter the picture as part of a three-team deal with the Red Sox and Indians, leaving the Phillies in the cold. As recently as Thursday, reports surfaced that Cleveland was having second thoughts about dealing Crisp, while a person close to the talks believed the Phillies were less than optimistic that a deal would be completed.
Less than 24 hours later, the Phillies had their setup man.

Source: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/