by Jeff on March 30 at 1:21PM
GARCIA.bmp
 
Well older anyway.  The Phil's have released 31 year old Karim Garcia to(potentially) make room  on the twenty five man roster for Michael Bourn.  Garcia had great numbers in Clearwater, he was hitting .305 with four doubles in nearly sixty at bats.
 
Manuel said he was releasing Garcia to give him a fair shake at landing another job.  He said that Karim just wouldn't see enough playing time to be productive for the Phil's.
 
Garcia was competing for a fifth outfield position behind the starting three - Burrell, Victorino and Rowand and fourth man Jayson Werth.
 
This move makes sense to me, Garcia has paid his dues with the Mets, the Orioles and the Indians - it would be nice for him to land a full time gig with a team who needs an outfielder.  He wasn't going to get that chance in Philadelphia.  Bourn on the other hand is a kid, this will give him a chance to be in a big league clubhouse and learn from guys who came up the ranks with the Phils.
 
Bourn could serve as a pinch runner and late inning defensive replacement.  He has a strong throwing arm and his speed on the base paths is tremendous, he'll be one of the guys who truly benefits from Davey Lopes experience.
 
Of course, the youngster's stay in the bigs may still be brief, if it even lasts until opening day.  A lot of Uncle Charlie's final decisions will probably come on Sunday after the team re-evaluates the condition of the walking wounded - Lieber, Freddy Garcia and Chris Coste may not be ready to join the team for the opener.  If either Coste or Lieber's injuries are worse than previously thought, or if either isn't as close to being one-hundred percent as Manuel would like, then Bourn may have more of an extended stay.