According to Todd Zolecki, the Philadelphia Phillies have released Joel Piñeiro.

This seems something of a formality. If the Phillies hadn't released Piñeiro eventually, they would have owed him $1.5 million on a non-guaranteed minor-league contract. He was essentially brought about this winter as insurance, just in case a) one of their real starting pitchers got hurt, and b) he looked good in camp.

Well, their real starters are mostly fine and Piñeiro's hardly gotten a chance in camp at all, pitching only six innings in games that (sort of) count.

Piñeiro's had an odd career, and is perhaps the World's Best Living Argument for putting Dave Duncan in the Hall of Fame. Piñeiro's career, spotty at best, turned around immediately upon joining the Cardinals, his strikeout-to-walk ratio going up dramatically; in 2009, his first full and healthy season in St. Louis, Piñeiro became an extreme ground-ball pitcher.

That season got Piñeiro a two-year, $16 million contract from the Angels. The first year worked out decently, though Piñeiro managed only 23 starts. The second year didn't go nearly as well, as Piñeiro went 7-7 with a 5.13 ERA and humdrum peripherals.

Now he's looking to stay healthy, rediscover what he first found in St. Louis. And get a job, somewhere.