The Phillies have re-signed 35-year old righty starter/reliever Nate Bump to a minor league deal. Bump pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball last year for the Phillies and he was 5-9 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors way back in 2005 with the Florida Marlins. Bump has pitched in 113 games (2 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 6-7 with 1 save, a 4.68 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Phillies will stash Bump in AAA-ball once again in 2012.

The Phillies have signed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Joel Pineiro to a minor league deal. He pitched in 27 games (24 starts) for the Angels last year and he was 7-7 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Pineiro has now pitched in 335 games (263 starts) in his major league career so far and he is 104-93 with 2 saves, a 4.41 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This was a good move as Pineiro could step into the rotation if Joe Blanton has any issues. He could also serve as the long man in the pen if he doesn’t make the opening day starting rotation.

The Phillies have released 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF John Bowker. Bowker played in 12 games for the Phillies last year and he was 0 for 13 (.000 avg, .000 OPS). He played in 31 games overall last year for the Phillies & Pirates and he was 4 for 30 (.133 avg, .354 OPS) with 2 RBIs. He has now played in 240 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 133 of 574 (.232 avg, .664 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 17 homers, 73 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Phillies aren’t going to miss Bowker one bit in 2012 or beyond.

The Phillies have signed 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Luis Montanez to a minor league deal. Montanez played in 36 games for the Cubs last year and he was 12 for 54 (.222 avg, .615 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 129 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 68 for 305 (.223 avg, .586 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Montanez will be a big time longshot to win a job on the Phillies’ bench next spring.

The Phillies have signed 31-year old righty swinging infielder Hector Luna to a minor league deal. Luna played in 113 games in AAA-ball for the Red Sox last year and he was 119 of 421 (.283 avg, .799 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 14 homers, 58 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He last played back in 2010 with the Marlins. Luna has played in 311 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 194 of 732 (.265 avg, .705 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 13 homers, 86 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The Phillies will likely stash Luna in AAA in 2012.