CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Bobby Mosebach has company. He only needs to look around the Phillies' clubhouse at Bright House Field to see it.

Brad Lidge, Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre are just three names in a countless group of Major League pitchers who began their careers as starters before becoming successful relievers. Mosebach, a Rule 5 Draft pick in December from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, is looking to make the same transition. Philadelphia is making him a reliever this spring to see if he can win a bullpen job.

"Whatever gets me to the big leagues," Mosebach said. "I see these guys, they've won the world championship, they've got the rings. That's where I want to be. Hopefully, the quicker I get up there, the more chances I'll have to get one. I like to start, but if I can help a team out of the bullpen, I'll do that."

The Phillies have liked Mosebach for some time as a pitcher in the Angels' organization. A ninth-round Draft pick in 2005, the right-hander is 35-30 with a 4.18 ERA in 99 appearances (95 starts). He went 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA in 29 starts last season for Double-A Arkansas, leading the Texas League with 177 1/3 innings.

Mosebach thought his season had ended last year, but when Angels Minor League pitcher Ryan Aldridge violated the league's policy against performance-enhancing substances and received a 50-game suspension, the Angels asked Mosebach to take Aldridge's place in the Arizona Fall League.

But because Mosebach had started 29 games for Arkansas, the Angels told him they would use him as a reliever to limit his innings.

"They always told me, 'We could probably put you in the big leagues now in the 'pen, but we want you to be a starter,'" Mosebach said.

Mosebach, who went 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in four relief appearances for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL, eventually had to be shut down because of tendinitis in his right shoulder. But not before Phillies scout Del Unser came away with a favorable impression of him. Mosebach's fastball, which ranged from 91-94 mph as a starter, hit 94-96 mph consistently out of the bullpen.

"We felt it was the kind of arm to take a shot on," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We always tell our scouts, 'Don't be afraid to take a chance on a guy.' We decided we weren't afraid to take a chance. We'll see how he does."

It's not always an easy transition to go from the rotation to the bullpen. Starters have a regimented schedule. Pitch, run the next day, throw a bullpen session the day after that. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. But Mosebach seemed to enjoy it.

"[I like] the adrenaline rush," he said. "It was harder to control your pitches, because you have so much adrenaline coming in. And it's only one inning, so you don't have to pace yourself like a starter. I got up there, threw as hard as I could for one inning. And it felt good."

Mosebach even got to finish a game.

"It was exciting," he said. "I got a lot of complete games, but I always wanted to know what it's like -- like in a big playoff game, what it's like to finish a game. It's a totally new experience, and when I finished it, it felt so good."

Mosebach, in Amaro's words, is "just a tick" behind the other pitchers in camp because of the tendinitis he suffered last fall. But Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said Mosebach will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself worthy of a bullpen job before Opening Day on April 5.

There are one, maybe two bullpen jobs open. Should Chan Ho Park win the fifth starter's job, there will be two jobs available. Should somebody else make the rotation, Park would move into the bullpen, leaving one opening: the spot left-hander J.C. Romero vacated with his 50-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy.

"It's my job to make it tough on them, to make them say, 'This guy is really good. I don't know what to do. Should we put him on the team or not?'" Mosebach said.

Mosebach said that he has heard that the Angels will take him back if the Phillies don't keep him on their 25-man roster. Rule 5 Draft picks must remain on the 25-man roster the entire season or be offered back to their former team. Sometimes those teams take the player back. Sometimes they don't.

(The Los Angeles Dodgers didn't take Shane Victorino back in 2005, and the Phillies are eternally grateful.)

"It's make or break here," Mosebach said. "To tell you the truth, I'd rather stay here. I like this place. I've got a chance at the big leagues. There's a great opportunity here, and I want to take advantage of it.

"There's a long line over there [with the Angels] as a starter. I was fifth or sixth in line over there. Here, I'm fighting for a spot."