Pittsburgh sent RHP Mike Williams and cash across the state to Philadelphia for LHP Frank Brooks yesterday. As the Pirates possess considerable bullpen depth and weren't inclined to pick up Williams' 2004 option, he's been on the trade market for a few weeks. The Phillies, scrambling to find a way to overtake the Braves for the division title after their off-season purchases have failed to hand them the East, seized on the bullpen as the one area of the team into which they didn't inject any free agents over the winter.

In Williams, the Phillies acquire a 34-year-old pitcher who has compiled a 20:22 K:BB this year with 42 H and 5 HR allowed in 37.1 IP for a 6.27 ERA over 40 appearances. He managed to save 25 games for the Pirates while only blowing 5 saves this year, proving a shining example in support of the argument that a closer need not be a highly skilled pitcher. However, he won't be charged with the task of finishing games for the Philadelphia, as they intend to leave RHP Jose Mesa as their closer. The Phillies plan to unleash Williams on the middle innings, giving him a chance to inflate their starters' ERAs and challenging their other relievers to hold his baserunners. Philadelphia's defense should be able to limit some of the damage, so his H/9 should drop.

Philadelphia drafted Brooks out of St. Peter's College with their 13th round pick of the 1999 draft. He finished the season with Batavia in the Short-Season New York-Pennsylvania League before advancing to A Piedmont in the South Atlantic League for 2000. Brooks moved up to A+ Clearwater in the Florida State League for 2001 and the majority of 2002, though he did spend some time at AA Reading in the Eastern League last year. While he worked as a starter for most of his first three years in the Philadelphia organization, Brooks moved to relief a couple seasons ago.

At the time of the trade, the 24-year-old had compiled a 71:13 K:BB with 40 H and 5 HR allowed in 58.2 IP for a 2.30 ERA over 34 relief appearances at AA Reading this season. Midway through next season, Brooks easily could be pitching more effectively than Williams for more than $3.5M less. Reportedly the cash in the deal doesn't even cover the remainder of Williams' salary this season let alone the $1.5M buyout on his $4M option for 2004. Philadelphia evidently viewed the possibility of picking up his option as one of the good things about acquiring Williams.

Meanwhile, the Pirates can build the value of one of their other relievers by moving them into the closer's job for the rest of the season. RHP Mike Lincoln currently appears to have the edge in that competition. Although a stray golf ball landed him on the disabled list for the first three months of the season, the 28-year-old seems fully recovered from his shoulder problems and is pitching quite effectively. If they decide not to go with Lincoln, RHP Salomon Torres would be a solid choice as would RHP Mark Corey, who is currently closing for AAA Nashville in the Pacific Coast League. Both RHP Brian Meadows and RHP Nelson Figueroa are dominating as starters at AAA.

In order to make room for Williams on the roster, the Phillies designated LHP Hector Mercado for assignment. Although he reportedly was fully recovered from his hamstring strain, Mercado pitched infrequently after returning from the disabled list in late May, likely a result of his walk and homer problems. However, Philadelphia should have held onto Brooks and Mercado, allowing some other team to poison their pen with Williams. At least with Mercado, they knew better than to throw him into important situations.

While we knew the Phillies had overpaid for IF-R David Bell when he signed this off-season, we at least expected him to perform better than 2B-L Marlon Anderson this season. After a miserable first half, Bell hit the disabled list on July 11th. He reportedly began experiencing lower back pain in early July but kept the problem to himself in the hope that he would recover over the All-Star break. However, there were also reports of him having trouble with his back in late April, so he may have been covering this up for much longer than 10 days. Bell hopes to rejoin the team when he is first eligible on the 26th, however I sincerely hope the Phillies make an effort to determine that he's fully recovered, as there is no need to rush his sub .600 OPS back to the majors.