Dec. 7 -- RULE 5 RESULTS

The Phils acquired three players in this morning's Rule 5 draft. Here's how it works: Each player costs the Phils $50,000 and must remain on the active 25-man roster for all of next season or be offered back to their original team for $25,000 apiece. Basically, the Phils want to evaluate these players in spring training, decide if they can help the team, and if not, cut them loose.

Here's a look at the players, plus a scouting report from assistant GM Mike Arbuckle.

ALFREDO SIMON
RHP, 6-4, 230, 25 years old
2006 stats: 2-10, 6.62 ERA, 28 games (17 starts), 88-1/3 innings, 119 hits, 33 walks, 70 K, for Class AAA Fresno and Class AA San Jose (Giants)
Arbuckle: He's a kid we had (until they traded him to the Giants for Felix Rodriguez a few years ago). He's been throwing really well in winter ball. Maybe he's starting to put things together. We view him, ultimately, as a reliever. He's a power-arm guy who has a chance to blow smoke for a couple innings. (He's been throwing 98 mph in winter ball in the Dominican Republic).

JIM WARDEN
RHP, 6-7, 195, 27 years old
2006 stats: 5-2, 2.90 ERA, 55 games, 59 innings, 35 hits, 29 walks, 47 K, for Class AA Akron (Indians)
Arbuckle: He's a 6-7 sidearmer. We took him because he's a different-looking type of guy, kind of like a Chad Bradford. He has good velocity and heavy sink on his fastball.

RYAN BUDDE
C, 5-11, 205, 27 years old
2006 stats: .233, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 72 G, 15 2B, 55 K, 22 walks, .738 OPS for Class AAA Salt Lake City (Angels)
Arbuckle: He's a catcher, and we wanted to draft him for inventory. He doesn't have much with the bat, but he was an above-average arm and he's a solid defensive receiver.