Phils bring up Brummett to bolster bullpen
Heimueller casually asked Brummett how things were going in Salt Lake City, where he had been throwing bullpen sessions in preparation for winter ball in Venezuela. Brummett told Heimueller that things had gone well, so the two hung up and Brummett thought nothing more about it.
But then Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, called Brummett on Sunday morning. But Jordan had first called Brummett's parents, then rang Brummett's cellphone before leaving him a text message to call as soon as possible.
"OK, something is up," Brummett recalled thinking on Monday afternoon in the visitors' clubhouse at Nationals Park. "I'm getting released, traded. Something big is going down."
It was big, but better. Because Tyler Cloyd has soreness in his right forearm and will not pitch on Tuesday, the Phillies need an extra arm to get them through the season's final three games, so Jordan called Brummett to see if he wanted to help.
"Aboslutely," he said.
Brummett now realizes that Heimueller had called to gauge what kind of shape he was in. Fortunately, he gave himself a good scouting report after throwing bullpens the last couple of weeks with the University of Utah Utes.
"I'm here to eat up a few innings, I guess," Brummett said.
Brummett went 4-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 34 games (seven starts) this season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.