The Phillies finally made some waves at the Winter Meetings on Thursday as sources tell CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury that the team has signed free agent pitcher Roberto Hernandez who was formerly known as Fausto Carmona. He pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and finished the year with a 6-13 record and a 4.89 ERA. Here's what Sully says about the right-hander:
Hernandez struck out a career-high 6.7 batters per nine innings in 2013, while walking just 2.3. An extreme groundball pitcher, Hernandez has a career groundball rate of 57.8 percent. His best season was 2007 with the Indians, when he went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
The deal is believed to be for one year. I know, surprising from Rube!
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Sully also says Hernandez figures to slot into the Phillies rotation right out of spring training.
The Inquirer's Matt Gelb has more from Amaro:
"It's more of a depth guy," Amaro said. "This is not someone who is going to slide into the top of the rotation. He's in the bottom of the rotation. But we need some depth. Again, we're trying to get the best bang for our buck. In this marketplace, it's tough because the prices have soared pretty significantly."