Phillies will pick up Carlos Ruiz's 2013 option

The Philadelphia Phillies will exercise catcher Carlos Ruiz's $5 million club option for the 2013 season, reports Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly:

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. isn’t one to publicly discuss contract matters before the ink dries, but even he acknowledges that picking up Ruiz’ option is a no-brainer.

"That’s a formality," Amaro said before Tuesday night’s game, which the Phillies lost 4-2. "But we’ll wait because we feel that’s the right thing to do."

The 33-year-old Ruiz had a resurgent year for the Phillies behind the plate -- hitting .326/.397/.542 with sixteen home runs in one hundred thirteen games -- making him one of the few bright spots in a disappointing season for Philadelphia. Most of Ruiz's offensive numbers are career highs -- including batting average, SLG, home runs, RBI -- and resulted in the catcher's first All-Star appearance this year.

If Ruiz can continue his hot hitting next season, Amaro has stated that the team will likely bump the backstop into the middle of the lineup. The Phillies have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to make a formal decision on Ruiz's contract option.