Over the next 28 days Philly Pressbox (https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com) (@phillypressbox) will be doing a review and analysis of each Phillies player, Manager Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff leading up to Opening Day 2012.  On Day 21 we preview, Chad Qualls.

Chad Qualls – Qualls is another somewhat unknown off season free agent signee. Chad is an 8 year veteran relief pitcher that has filled all of the bullpen roles in his career, including closer. Qualls has pitched 4 years for Houston, 2 ½ years for Arizona, ½ year for Tampa Bay and 1 year for San Diego before joining the Phillies. During that time he has pitched in 537 major league games. He has posted a 38-34 record with a 3.78 ERA and 51 saves. Possibly the most important statistic about Qualls is that he has made more than 70 appearances in 6 of his 8 seasons. Qualls has also appeared in 17 post season games in his career, 15 with Houston and 2 with Tampa Bay. Chad was originally drafted out of high school, 1997, in the 52^nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays but opted to attend college. It was a wise choice, as he was selected in the 2^nd round of the 2000 draft by the Houston Astros out of the University of Nevada – Reno. Qualls is scheduled to make $1.15m in 2012 for the Phils.

Personal Analysis:

There’s uncertainty to what role Qualls will have in the Phillies bullpen but our feeling is he will be the righthanded 8^th inning set up man for Jonathan Pappelbon. This could change based on the progress of Michael Stutes and the health of Jose Contreras, however, we don’t think so. Qualls will need to be as durable, and reliable, as he has been in the past. The 33 year old appears to have plenty left in the tank based on his performances over the last few seasons. We feel like this was a very good signing by the Phillies and that Qualls will play a large part in the success of the bullpen much like Ryan Madson was for Brad Lidge in 2008.  

Tomorrow we will preview Freddy Galvis.

The series: Day 1, Charlie Manuel. Day 2, The Coaching Staff. Day 3, Roy Halladay. Day 4, Cliff Lee. Day 5, Cole Hamels. Day 6, Vance Worley. Day 7, Joe Blanton. Day 8, Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz. Day 9, Ryan Howard. Day 10, Chase Utley. Day 11, Jimmy Rollins. Day 12, Placido Polanco. Day 13, John Mayberry, Jr. Day 14, Shane Victorino. Day 15, Hunter Pence. Day 16, Brian Schneider. Day 17, Jim Thome. Day 18, Kyle Kendrick. Day 19, Antonio Bastardo. Day 20, Ty Wigginton.

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