"I always played against the Phillies," said Belliard, who was with Washington from 2007-09. "They have a good team and are always competitive. I just came here to continue my career. If I can help the big-league team, I'll be down here and ready."
The uncertainty of Chase Utley's knee injury makes the depth at second base a question mark, even though replacement starter Wilson Valdez has been just fine early on. Belliard is a 13-year veteran at the major league level, who played in the 2004 All-Star Game while with the Indians and won a championship with the Cardinals 2 years later.
"He's a righthanded bat, which possibly could come into play at the major league level," said Lehigh Valley manager and Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg. "He's a veteran guy and an insurance policy. From what I've seen so far, he swings the bat real good and is in good shape. He's a nice pickup. He'll fill a need for us and possibly also with the Phillies as a righthanded bat."
Belliard, who hit .216 last year with the Dodgers, clearly is no longer an everyday player, but he holds possible value as a bench candidate for the big club provided he shows there is still juice in the tank.
Barfield, 28, is another guy trying to climb his way back into the bigs. After a fine rookie season with San Diego in 2006 (.280, 151 hits, 21 stolen bases), he was dealt to Cleveland and hit just .243 the following season. Barfield, whose father Jesse played 12 seasons for the Blue Jays and Yankees, has been around the game his entire life. If there's one thing he won't let himself do is get too caught up in what the big club needs, even if the player ahead of him is an All-Star second baseman dealing with an injury that will keep him out for God knows how long.
