Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Phils acquire Lidge

-Courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies

Righthander Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett were acquired by the Phillies from Houston in exchange for outfielder Michael Bourn, righthander Geoff Geary and minor league third baseman Mike Costanzo, Senior Vice President & General Manager Pat Gillick announced tonight.

Lidge, 30, went 5-3 with 19 saves, a 3.36 ERA and a .219 opponents' batting average in 66 games for Houston this past season. He averaged 11.8 strikeouts/9.0 innings and posted a 2.89 ERA in his final 53 appearances. Over the last four seasons (2004-07), no relief pitcher in the major leagues has more strikeouts than Lidge's 452 and he has the fourth-most appearances in that span at 294.

For his career, Lidge is 23-20 with 123 saves, a 3.30 ERA and a .213 opponents' batting average in 378 games (one start), all with Houston. He ranks third on Houston's all-time saves list behind Billy Wagner (225) and Dave Smith (199) and was a first-round selection (17th overall) by the Astros in the 1998 draft out of the University of Notre Dame. In 17 career playoff games, Lidge is 1-3 with six saves and a 2.52 ERA. He pitched a scoreless inning in the 2005 All-Star Game and 2.0 scoreless innings in World Baseball Classic for Team U.S.A. Bruntlett, 29, hit .246 with 14 RBI in 80 games for the Astros during the 2007 season. He played all over the diamond, appearing in 63 games at shortstop (34 starts), four in left field, three at third base, two in center field (one start) and one in right field. He has also played at first base and second base over parts of five major league seasons.

In 320 career games, Bruntlett has a .250 average with nine home runs and 50 RBI. He was a ninth-round selection by Houston in the 2000 draft. He has a degree in economics from Stanford University.

Bourn, a 25-year-old rookie, hit .277 with one home run, six RBI and 18 stolen bases for the Phillies in 2007. He was the club's fourth-round selection in the 2003 draft out of the University of Houston.

Geary, 31, shuttled between the Phillies and triple-A Ottawa this past season. With the Phillies, he went 3-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 57 games and with Ottawa, he went 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 14 appearances. Geary was originally selected by the Phillies in the 15th round of the 1998 draft.

Costanzo, 24, hit .270 with 27 home runs and 86 RBI for double-A Reading, finishing second in the Eastern League in home runs. A 2002 graduate of Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pa., he was a second-round selection by the Phillies in the 2005 draft out of Coastal Carolina University.

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