"We've talked to half a dozen potential closers for us," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Sunday afternoon at Bright House Field. "Without naming names, one guy said he would probably be more comfortable as the seventh- or eighth-inning guy. So that tells you right there that might eliminate him."
There figures to be six legitimate candidates to pitch the ninth inning for the Phillies this season. There is right-hander David Hernandez, who signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract in December. There is right-hander Luis Garcia, perhaps the only returnee with closer's stuff. There also are four non-roster invitees with extensive experience closing or pitching in the back end of the bullpen: right-handers Andrew Bailey, Edward Mujica and Ernesto Frieri and left-hander James Russell.