Phillies Tire of Money, Throw Extra at Romero

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed left-handed reliever J.C. Romero to a 3-year deal worth $12 million. A club option for 2011 could kick the total value up to $16.75 million.

And now for the funny bits. Quoth Romero:

I’m glad I didn’t have to go out and test the free-agent market. I had a great time with the Phillies and really wanted to come back.

Yeah, I’ll bet you’re glad you didn’t have to test the market. Quoth Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

J.C. had an outstanding three months for us this year, particularly down the stretch. He was an integral part of our winning the NL East, and we’re very happy we could get him signed before he hit the open market.

I once had a good three months working for someone. I’m not sure how I managed to keep from parlaying that into a three-year guaranteed contract. Wait, I remember: my employer had a strong grasp of the market and understood that my short-term contribution to the company’s bottom line, while valuable, wasn’t irreplaceable.

Romero, for his part, turns 32 in June and is coming off a three-year stretch in which he posted the following numbers:

What we know:

• Romero will probably throw around 50 innings in ‘08.
• He’ll walk a ton of guys and not strike out very many.
• Regardless of his performance, he’ll be well compensated.

What we don’t know:

• Whether Romero will be difficult to hit, as in 2007, or easy to hit, as in 2006.
• How consistent he’ll be over each of the three seasons this deal covers.

The other thing that puzzles me is how Peter Angelos can control two teams at once. Seems to me that’s a conflict of interest.

Wait, Angelos did authorize this signing, didn’t he? Because it sure seems like the sort of thing he’d do…

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