The moves, along with the additions of righthander Kyle Kendrick, lefthander Antonio Bastardo, and utility man Miguel Cario, leave the Phillies with 12 pitchers and five bench players to go with their eight regulars.
Manager Charlie Manuel knew he would have to make some tough decisions when selecting the 25 players for the NLDS. Injuries to lefthander J.C. Romero and righthander Chan Ho Park left him without two of his top relief options. And Cairo's performance down the stretch left Manuel contemplating whether to keep both him and Bruntlett, or to part with one to accommodate a 12th arm.
In the end, he chose the latter.
Bruntlett, whose defensive value was touted by Manuel after the regular-season finale, was the biggest surprise. Condrey, who suffered an oblique injury in June that sidelined him for nearly 3 months, was the victim of both limited playing time down the stretch and a glut of righthanders in the bullpen. Walker, who posted a 1.67 ERA in his first 23 appearances, had allowed runs in four of his last nine appearances.
"It's hard to swallow," Condrey said.
All three players will travel with the team, but will not be available to play unless there is an injury. Major league rules allow a team to replace an injured player, but the injured player who is replaced is ineligible for the next round of the playoffs.
In their place are two players who were not on the active roster at the beginning of season, and another who was on the roster for the first and last months of the season.
