It’s unknown if the Philadelphia Phillies’ closer Brad Lidge may be ready by Opening Day. Lidge had surgery on his right knee on Wednesday, and the team needs to prepare as if he’s not going to be there at the beginning of the season.

Ryan Madson (10 saves with the Phillies in 2009) will probably assume the closer role with Danys Baez doing the setup.  However, the team may want to have a more experienced closer.  If the Phillies go down this route, the free agent market currently has Octavio Dotel, Derrick Turnbow and Kevin Gregg available.

Dotel has drawn interest from the Pittsburgh Pirates this winter. You can see Dotel’s complete statistics here.

Turnbow is expected to audition this week for teams.  It is unknown if the Phillies plan to watch him. You can see Turnbow’s complete statistics here.

Greg has also drawn interest from the Pirates this off season. You can see Kevin Gregg’s statistics here.

Lidge, 33, was 0-8 with a 7.21 ERA and 31 saves for the National League Champion Phillies in 2009. He’s expected to make $11.5 million in the second year of his three year contract. You can see Lidge’s contract history and statistics here.

Related posts:

1. Derrick Turnbow Rumors: Former closer auditioning for clubs
2. Kevin Gregg Rumors: In talks with Pirates
3. Phillies interested in Fernando Rodney as setup man for Lidge
4. Octavio Dotel Rumors: Pirates offer $3 million plus incentives
5. Octavio Dotel Rumors: Atop Pirate's wish list