The Philadelphia Phillies officially declined the 2012 team contract options on Brad Lidge(notes) and Roy Oswalt(notes).

Unless both players are willing to accept short, cut-rate, deals, they may have worn the red pinstripes for the last time.

These moves were no surprise and clearly made sound business and baseball sense.

When the lights went out

Let’s start with the former closer Lidge, who will always be an icon of the 2008 World Series season.

Including the playoffs he won two games, had 48 saves and only allowed 16 earned runs.

For the past two decades a superior closer helps a team go a long way toward reaching a championship. Without ‘Lights out’ who is to say that the Phillies would have won anything during that magical season.

As with many relievers, Lidge later suffered the effects of a having pitched a significant amount of innings in subsequent seasons.

After uneven efforts in 2009 and 2010, he missed the first half of the 2011 season.

When he did return, he earned his one hundredth Phillies’ save and posted a 1.40 ERA. But, his performances paled in comparison to past season’s efforts.

Wizard of Os

Oswalt arrived in 2010 and became the exact type of mid-season pitching pickup all teams hope for.

Like Lidge, he was delivered via a trade with the Houston Astros.

His 7-1 record, 1.74 ERA and 0.895 WHIP were gold down the stretch and helped the Phillies to clinch a playoff berth.

He performed decently in the playoffs and was counted on to appear on one of the four starting aces cards as the 2011 season began.

A series of health related issues, some of which were connected to a weakened back, had a major impact on his performance. His 9-10 record was the first sub .500 effort of his career.

In consideration of injury concerns and the 2,154 regular season innings that Oswalt has thrown, the likelihood of his return in 2012 seemed slim.

Money matters

Okay, we all know that everything in business comes down to money decisions. But, there are other secondary factors that play into choices as well.

The Phillies bought out Lidge for $1.5 million and Oswalt for $2 million. If they had picked up their options, Lidge would have received $12.5 and Oswalt would have received $16 million.

The idea of paying $28.5 million for these two middle-aged pitchers was never a real option.

Might they ink one, or both, to new deals? Maybe

But, it could be that the next time we see these players in Philadelphia is when they are members of other teams. The other time might be if they return in the future for an alumni game.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

More from Sean O’Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

When Baseball Cards were King

Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels to become a $100 million man?

Will the Phillies cash in Victorino’s trade value?

Can Phillies second baseman Chase Utley ever be ‘The man’ again?

Will Rollins’ contract request be honored by the Phillies?

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Phillies’ pitcher Brad Lidge hasn’t pitched this season because of elbow and shoulder problems. (Reading Eagle, Ryan McFadden/Associated Press)

The Philadelphia Phillies have activated former closer Brad Lidge and designated reliever Danys Baez for assignment.

Lidge hasn’t pitched this season because of elbow and shoulder problems. The move was made before the major league-leading Phillies opened a 10-game homestand on Friday night against San Diego.

Lidge is 3-9 with 99 saves and a 3.99 ERA in 189 games with the Phillies over the last three seasons. He was a major reason Philadelphia won the World Series in 2008. Lidge was 48 for 48 in save opportunities that year, including the postseason. Lidge isn’t expected to return to his closer role.

Baez struggled in parts of two seasons with the Phillies. He was 2-4 with a 6.25 ERA in 29 appearances this year, and was 5-8 with a 5.81 ERA in 80 games overall.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have activated former closer Brad Lidge and designated reliever Danys Baez for assignment.

Lidge hasn’t pitched this season because of elbow and shoulder problems. The move was made before the major-league-leading Phillies opened a 10-game homestand on Friday night against San Diego.

Lidge is 3-9 with 99 saves and a 3.99 ERA in 189 games with the Phillies over the last three seasons. He was a major reason Philadelphia won the World Series in 2008. Lidge was 48 for 48 in save opportunities that year, including the postseason. Lidge isn’t expected to return to his closer role.

Baez struggled in parts of two seasons with the Phillies. He was 2-4 with a 6.25 ERA in 29 appearances this year, and was 5-8 with a 5.81 ERA in 80 games overall.

TRENTON – Brad Lidge can shut down every batter he faces for the remainder of his minor league rehab assignment, and the 34-year-old veteran still may never return to his role as the Phillies’ closer.

Not the way Antonio Bastardo is pitching, and certainly not the way Lidge looked for Double-A Reading against the Thunder tonight in front of 7,694 at Waterfront Park.

Attempting to work his way back from a right rotator cuff strain, Lidge hit two batters, nearly clipped another, walked one and unleashed three wild pitches in the seventh inning of the 9-5 Trenton victory.

Lidge was pulled by Reading manager Mark Parent to a mix of boos and standing applause after reaching his pitch count before the inning was over. He allowed a hit and two earned runs.

Unofficially, Lidge threw 28 pitches, only 15 of which landed in the strike zone. One of the two outs Lidge recorded reached the warning track in right field.

“It was an interesting outing for me because my fastball (89 mph) was the best it has been since I’ve been back, but my control was not very good at all,’’ Lidge said. “Everything felt good. I wanted to stay out there. I wanted to keep throwing. I know I am going to have outings like that when I get back to Philly and I need to be able to grind and get through it. It was a step up for velocity, but a step back for my control.’’

Even with Lidge, Jose Contreras (forearm) and Ryan Madson (bruised hand) on the disabled list, the Phillies have not missed a beat and begin the second half with the best record in baseball at 57-34.

The left-hander Bastardo (3-0, 0.82, 0.76 WHIP) has registered four of his five saves over his last 10 appearances, during which time he did not allow a hit or an earned run.
Bastardo leads all National League relievers in ERA and opponents’ batting average, making it easy for the Phillies to cut loose J.C. Romero, who signed with the Yankees yesterday.

“The way I view it is that I want to let (manager) Charlie (Manuel) know that I am healthy to throw any time of the game that he wants me to throw,’’ Lidge said of the role he expects upon his return. “I would like to get all the way back and be able to close again, but this year Madson and Bastardo have done an outstanding job and I want them to continue doing an outstanding job so we can continue winning games. There’s no other way to look at it. I’ll be ready to throw whenever Charlie wants me to. I’d like to be able to throw in close games, late in the game, but we’ll see what happens.’’

Lidge, who has not pitched this season, is scheduled for three more rehab outings. He will pitch against the Thunder Saturday and Sunday, then possibly Wednesday at Class-A Lakewood.

The victory helped Trenton (49-42) snap a nine-game losing streak, one shy of tying the franchise record set in 2006.

****

Former Thunder broadcaster and assistant general manager Tom McCarthy was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to the game.

In his second year as the television play-by-play voice of the Phillies, McCarthy became the 16th member inducted and the second this season, joining Boston Red Sox bench coach and former Thunder manager, DeMarlo Hale.

****

The injury-ravaged career of Alan Horne as a member of the Yankees’ organization came to an end Thursday when the right-hander was released.

Catcher Ryan Baker (undisclosed) and outfielder DeAngelo Mack (hand) were placed on the disabled list, while utility man Addison Maruszak and reliever Josh Schmidt rejoined the Thunder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Mack is likely to have an MRI today to determine the severity of his injury, which could require surgery.

Additionally, designated hitter Cody Johnson was demoted to Class-A Tampa after Thursday’s game to make room for Zoilo Almonte, the Florida State League Player of the Month for June.

Johnson led the team in home runs with 15, but was hitting .226 with an Eastern League-leading 138 strikeouts.

Almonte was hitting .293 with 12 homers and 54 RBIs for Tampa.

Also, catcher Austin Romine was reinstated from the temporary inactive list and starting pitcher Graham Stoneburner was activated from the DL, but immediately transferred to Tampa.

Read More: Brad Lidge (P – PHI), Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been working his way back from a partially torn rotator cuff over the past couple months. Everything seemed to be going pretty well until recently, when he developed some soreness in his right elbow. Lidge was sent to Philadelphia to have his elbow examined, and a lot of people were holding their breath.

Fortunately, it’s all good news. Matt Gelb:

Brad Lidge was examined by team physician Michael Ciccotti and no serious damage was found in his elbow. Lidge called it a normal “flare up” he’s used to experiencing in spring training. So he was given a cortisone shot.

Just a little discomfort, that’s all. You’d rather there be no discomfort than minor discomfort, but this shouldn’t be a major setback, and the cortisone shot ought to help.

Lidge can no longer be considered ahead of schedule, but he’s on track to return to the Phillies’ bullpen sometime around the All-Star break. He won’t slide right into the closer role — especially if Ryan Madson keeps thriving — but he’ll be there as proven insurance.

The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t had the services of closer Brad Lidge(notes) all season and now it looks like the team will need to wait a little longer before it does again.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Lidge “suffered a second setback Monday during his rehabilitation in Clearwater, Fla.” The culprit? Elbow soreness while he pitched a bullpen session.

Lidge is being brought back to Philadelphia to get looked at by the team doc, Michael Ciccotti, the paper reports.

“He was throwing in the bullpen [Monday morning], and he pretty much got through it, but he’s been feeling a little bit of discomfort in his elbow,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said, the Inquirer reports. “His shoulder’s doing pretty well and is getting stronger. He gets some elbow discomfort pretty much every spring, which is kind of where he is right now – in spring training mode. But we’re going to see if it’s anything more serious.”

Still, the Phillies are doing pretty well without him, currently holding the best winning percentage in the majors at .600 and sharing the most wins in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals at 36.

Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Related: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals