That Aumont did not arrive until now qualifies as a major disappointment. Seven of his triple-A Lehigh Valley bullpen mates - Jake Diekman, Horst, B.J. Rosenberg, Brian Sanches, Joe Savery, Michael Schwimer, and Raul Valdes - were recalled before Aumont.
After a breakthrough season in 2011 when he was transferred back to a relief role, Aumont was primed to play a meaningful part for the Phillies in 2012. It never happened.
"He saw enough guys go by him. They got opportunities earlier in the year," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "Hopefully, this will ignite him."
Dubee's scouting report on Aumont was the same as it was in spring training: "Inconsistent. Some good days, some bad days."
At triple A, Aumont walked 6.9 batters per nine innings. That ranks third highest among pitchers with at least 16 innings in the entire Phillies minor-league system.
He turns 24 in January and misses enough bats (59 strikeouts in 441/3 innings) to suggest there is potential. It will require improvement.
"For me, it's about attacking hitters and trusting my fastball and off-speed pitches," Aumont said. "Don't go out there and waste anything. Just trust your abilities and keep everything simple. Don't overthink anything out there."
The other two players acquired in the Lee deal, J.C. Ramirez and Tyson Gillies, could also earn September looks. Ramirez, 24, was converted to reliever and had a 4.73 ERA at triple A through Monday's game. Gillies, 23, was hitting .294 in limited action for double-A Reading.
Bastardo lives
After an 11-day break, Antonio Bastardo made his first appearance Monday and allowed a single while striking out two.
"We were looking for the right spot," Dubee said. "Just trying to get the right spots and some good mojo going."
The mojo lasted one day. Bastardo permitted a two-out home run to Todd Frazier in the eighth inning Tuesday.
When asked if Bastardo could be the team's top lefty reliever in 2013, Dubee declined to answer. He said the team could prioritize innings for other arms in the final six weeks because there is plenty of intelligence on Bastardo.
"I have a good feeling about Antonio," Dubee said. "We've seen him enough."
Extra bases
A message from Hunter Pence, who was traded to the Giants at the deadline, was included with his bobblehead distributed to fans at Tuesday's game. "I hope it will serve as a lasting reminder of my time there," Pence wrote, in part. "It was a year of my career that I will never forget." . . . With their 12 runs Monday, the Phillies ended a 69-game streak of scoring fewer than 10 runs. That was the longest active streak in Major League Baseball and the longest such streak for the Phillies in a single season since 72 games to end 1988.
