Phillies release right-hander Durbin

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies released Chad Durbin on Friday after he gave up three runs on four hits in one inning the previous night.

Though Durbin's ERA sat a 9.00 in 16 appearances, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said parting ways with the right-hander was not easy to do because of the presence the 35-year-old brought to the team.

"He's a professional, he's good around our players, he's good in the clubhouse," Manuel said. "He's an ambassador of baseball. It came down to, we had to do something with our pitching to get better. It's kind of how it is."

Durbin previously had a stint with the Phillies from 2006-08, and rejoined the team when he signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal in January. The Phillies called up left-hander Joe Savery from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Durbin's spot in the bullpen.

A 14-year journeyman, Durbin had his season get off on the wrong foot when he gave up two runs and did not record an out in the Phillies' Opening Day loss to the Braves. Durbin would end up surrendering at least one run in half of his outings, and he was charged with multiple runs five times.

"He pitched in a long-relief and stabilizer role, so that the younger pitchers didn't have to do that kind of thing," Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said. "Chad has been there and done that. You don't have to worry about his psyche when you get into those types of situations. Unfortunately, for a lot of reasons, he never got into rhythm."

Durbin has a 5.03 career ERA, and was 12-7 in 242 innings for the Phillies.