Both the Post-Gazette and the Trib are now dropping Jon Lieber's name. Since the Phillies acquired Freddy Garcia in a trade on Wednesday, they can part with Lieber. The problem is that the Bucs would actually have to give up something to get Lieber, who's now just mediocre. He had a 4.93 ERA last year and allowed 27 homers in 168 innings. Lieber has always allowed homers, but they're more problematic now that he no longer strikes batters out. Since 16 of those homers were by lefties, it's quite possible that a move to PNC Park wouldn't cause those numbers to drop much. His control remains excellent, but that's about all he's got.
But that's not the really depressing part. No, the depressing part is the one where the Trib mentions - brace yourselves - Michael Tucker as a potential free agent candidate. Yes, the same Michael Tucker who batted .196 for the Mets this year after being released in Spring Training by the Nationals. The same Michael Tucker who hasn't had an OPS over .775 since 2000. Yikes.