The Phillies have signed 32-year old lefty reliever Juan Perez to a minor league deal. Perez pitched in 47 games (0 starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball last season and he was 4-3 with 1 save, a 2.82 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He only gave up 38 hits in the minors last season while whiffing 58 batters in 47 2/3 innings showing just how nasty he can be. Perez has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Perez will get a shot to win a job in the Phillies’ bullpen next spring. I like this signing for the Phillies as lefty pitchers sometimes take a little while to develop.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt finished sixth in the voting for the N.L. Cy Young Award. Oswalt pitched in 33 games (32 starts) for the Phillies & Astros last season and he was 13-13 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has now pitched in 316 games (303 starts) in his 10 years in the majors and he is 150-83 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Phillies made a great move in picking up Oswalt and I expect him to have a huge 2011 for them.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Halladay has won the 2010 National League Cy Young Award. Halladay started 33 games for the Phillies during the regular season and he was 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He was a horse for the Phillies as he tossed 9 complete games and he had 4 shutouts. He worked 250 2/3 innings during the regular season and he only walked 30 batters while whiffing 219 as he came right after hitters in 2010. His great work continued into the post-season when he started 3 games and was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP. He even tossed a no-hitter against the Reds in the first round of the playoffs! Halladay has now pitched in 346 games (320 starts) in his 13 years in the majors and he is 169-86 with 1 save, a 3.32 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Halladay has proved to be everything the Phillies thought he would be….and a little more.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - Roy Halladay also finished in 6th place in the N.L. MVP Award voting.

The Phillies have signed 25-year old lefty starter/reliever Ryan Feierabend to a minor league deal. Feierabend pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 5-8 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He also has pitched in 25 games (19 starts) in parts of three years in his career and he is 2-11 with a 7.22 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. The Phillies will likely stash Feierabend in AAA in 2011.

The Phillies have signed 27-year old righty swinging 2B Josh Barfield to a minor league deal. Barfield played in 78 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 78 of 265 (.294 avg, .725 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 36 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has also played in 309 games in parts of four years in the majors and he is 267 of 1,012 (.264 avg, .671 OPS) with 133 runs scored, 16 homers, 112 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Barfield will get a chance to win a bench job next spring for the Phillies.

The Phillies have signed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brandon Moss to a minor league deal. Moss played in 17 games for the Pirates last season and he was 4 for 26 (.154 avg, .377 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 244 games in four years in the majors and he is 160 of 672 (.238 avg, .688 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 15 homers, 78 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Moss will get a chance to make the Phillies as a backup outfielder next spring.

Charlie Manuel finished in 5th place in the voting for the N.L. Manager of the Year Award. He led the Phillies to a 97-65 record (55.2%) during the regular season and the Phillies were 5-4 (55.6%) during the post season. Manuel has now compiled a 764-619 (55.2%) record in his 9 years during the regular season and he is 27-19 (58.7%) during the post season. Manuel led the Phillies to a World Series Championship in 2008. I look for Manuel to keep the Phillies rolling in 2011.

The Phillies have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Jeff Larish to a minor league deal. Larish played in 27 games last season for the A’s & Tigers and he was 12 of 67 (.179 avg, .580 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 101 games in parts of three years in the majors and he is 55 of 245 (.224 avg, .688 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 8 homers, 32 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Larish has whiffed 83 times in his career so he has a lot of holes in his swing. The Phillies will give him a chance to win a job on the bench in spring training.

The Phillies have signed 29-year old lefty reliever Dan Meyer to a minor league deal. Meyer pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.89 WHIP. He has now pitched in 103 games (7 starts) in parts of five years in the majors and he is 3-9 with 2 saves, a 5.46 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Meyer was solid for the Marlins in 2009 so it was worth taking a chance on him by the Phillies.

The Phillies have re-signed 38-year old righty reliever Jose Contreras to a 2-year contract worth $5.5 million bucks. Contreras pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 6-4 with 4 saves, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He only walked 16 batters in 56 2/3 innings last season while whiffing 57 batters as he was very solid in his first season as a full time reliever. Contreras has now pitched in 258 games (175 starts) in his 8 years in the majors and he is 77-67 with 4 saves, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. I like this signing for the Phillies as Contreras is pretty nasty as a reliever.