Despite a long offseason that has been characterized by rebuilding and various trade rumors, the Philadelphia Phillies received good news over the past couple of days.
On Wednesday, former team president David Montgomery announced he would be returning to the Phillies in 2015 as the team's chairman. Pat Gillick replaced Montgomery in August after the 68-year-old took a medical leave of absence to undergo treatment for jaw cancer and will remain in that role.
Montgomery will replace Bill Giles, who will now be the team's chairman emeritus. Although the day-to-day baseball operations will now be Gillick's responsibility, Montgomery will still have an active role in the organization working with sponsors, fans, civic endeavors, and continue his involvement with various MLB committees, according to ESPN.com.
He also mentioned that even before his health issues he was talking with ownership about how much longer he would serve as the team's president. His new role is said to be a less rigorous one.
In addition to Montgomery's return to baseball, the team welcomed a pitcher who hasn't played since April of 2013. The Phillies signed former Los Angeles Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley to a one-year, $1.5 million deal, which includes performance bonuses, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
Zolecki notes the move is for depth in case the Phillies decide to trade Cole Hamels or Cliff Lee, but talks have slowed down in recent weeks regarding Hamels. The market for Lee is unknown at least until he makes a start and shows he's back to form after being shut down with an elbow injury last season. Billingsley joins Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams as the other veteran starters Philadelphia signed this offseason.
The 30-year-old right-hander spent eight seasons with the Dodgers before the team bought out his contract following two elbow surgeries. Although he hasn't pitched in nearly two years, he still owns an 81-61 record with a 3.65 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 219 games (190 starts).
If he's healthy he could certainly serve as a solid back-end starter.
