At times early in spring training, Andrew Bailey looked like the front-runner to be the Phillies' closer, but after an up-and-down camp he did not make the team's opening day roster.
Relievers Bailey and Ernesto Frieri, outfielder Will Venable and catcher J.P. Arencibia did not make the club and won't travel with the Phillies to Cincinnati for Monday's season opener. All four players were reassigned to the minors Friday.
Bailey and Venable have opt-out clauses in their contracts, giving the Phillies a month's time to further evaluate them at Triple A.
With Bailey and Frieri not making the team, it seems like right-hander Hector Neris will claim a final bullpen spot.
With Venable not making it, it appears outfielder Cedric Hunter and utilityman Emmanuel Burriss have earned the final two bench spots.
Bailey was visibly disappointed in the Phillies' clubhouse after Friday's game. He pitched two scoreless innings against the Orioles at Citizens Bank Park (see story), but it wasn't enough to overcome the dip in velocity he encountered at the midpoint in camp. Mackanin challenged Bailey to show more velocity and the manager was pleased with how he responded, but it simply came down to the organization's having options with these players that create flexibility.
If Bailey produces over the next few weeks with Lehigh Valley, he could be up with the Phillies.
MLB
Frieri's reassignment did not come as that much of a surprise. Counting the Futures Game Thursday at Reading, the homer-prone righty allowed six of them in 7 2/3 innings this spring.
Here are the 25 healthy remaining players in camp. This could very well be the 25-man roster:
SP Jeremy Hellickson
SP Aaron Nola
SP Charlie Morton
SP Jerad Eickhoff
SP Vince Velasquez
RP David Hernandez
RP Dalier Hinojosa
RP Jeanmar Gomez
RP Brett Oberholtzer
RP James Russell
RP Daniel Stumpf
RP Hector Neris
C Cameron Rupp
C Carlos Ruiz
1B Ryan Howard
1B Darin Ruf
2B Cesar Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
SS Freddy Galvis
IF Andres Blanco
IF/OF Emmanuel Burriss
OF Odubel Herrera
OF Peter Bourjos
OF Tyler Goeddel
OF Cedric Hunter