Phillies Bring Back Contreras

Reliever inks 2-year, $5.5M deal

The Phillies addressed one of their needs Monday by retaining a critical piece of the team’s bullpen.

The Phillies have inked Jose Contreras to a two-year, $5.5 million deal, the team announced.

The 38-year-old Cuban had spent most of his eight-year career as a starting pitcher before joining the Phils as a reliever before last season.

He was one of the most reliable and consistent hurlers for Charlie Manuel. He appeared in 67 games going 6-4 with a 3.34 ERA, 57 strikeouts and 16 walks in 56.2 innings pitched.

“Jose was as consistent a reliever as we had last year,” said GM Ruben Amaro Jr. “We were pleasantly surprised by his durability since it was his first full year in a relief role.”

All those factors combined made keeping Contreras important to the team.

“Jose has fit in extremely well in our clubhouse and he is a quality, back-end of the bullpen pitcher who showed versatility in a variety of roles in 2010,” Amaro said. “We’re pleased to have him on board for the next couple of years.”


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