Yankees Acquire Chad Qualls from Phillies

The Yankees, who have been decimated by injuries to pitchers this season, have acquired Chad Quallsfrom

the Phillies for a player to be named later and cash.  Qualls had very little success in his time with Philadelphia, but the Yankees hope he can turn things around in New York.

Qualls was just released by Philadelphia on June 28th after going 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 35 games.  Qualls is a well-traveled reliever having pitched for five teams.  New York will be his sixth.  The Diamondbacks tried Qualls as a closer in late 2008, 2009, and early 2010 with mold success.  He had 45 saves with the Diamondbacks and posted a 4.34 ERA.

In his career, Qualls has pitched 754 1/3 innings.  He has an ERA of 3.82 over nine years.  His best year came in 2007 when he had a 3.02 ERA in 82 2/3 innings.  Yet, the veteran reliever has failed to post an ERA under 3.50 since 2008.  With the Padres in 2011, Qualls was aided by Petco Park and posted a 3.51 ERA.

The Yankees without Mariano Rivera are in need of a veteran presence in the bullpen.  David Robertson has had some success, but since his return from the DL, he has been shaky.  New York ranks 18th in opponents batting average.

The Yankees had opened up a four game lead in the American League East last week, but with the injuries to C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, there are some definite concerns about their sustainability.  Qualls is likely just the beginning to the patch-work moves New York will have to make to maintain their perch atop the AL East.

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