Jayson Werth Returns to Philadelphia: To Boo or Not to Boo?

Notorious former Philadelphia Phillies J.D. Drew and Scott Rolen are already on par with Benedict Arnold in this city, and Jayson Werth is the most likely candidate to join that list.

Drew and Rolen are reminded of their betrayal by 45,000 boos every time they take the field in Philadelphia, but does Werth deserve the same stadium-wide onslaught of displeasure when he steps into Citizenss Bank Park tonight?  

In 1997, Talented prospect J.D. Drew (and his agent, Scott Boras) turned down the Phillies’ initial contract offer and re-entered the draft the following year.

Scott Rolen demanded a trade in 2002 after declaring that the Phillies’ organization wasn’t doing enough to win.

And this past summer Jayson Werth signed that astronomical contract with the cellar-dwelling Washington Nationals.

Was leaving Philadelphia for $126 million enough of an infidelity to be etched as an unpardonable sin?

Before Werth came to Philadelphia, he was a virtual nobody, playing partial seasons in Toronto and Los Angeles.

After a wrist injury in Los Angeles, Werth sat out of the MLB in 2006 and was given a chance to revitalize his career in four seasons with Philadelphia. Did he do enough to earn a free pass in Philadelphia?

Here are some highlights from his tenure with the Phillies:

• In those four seasons, Werth batted .282, hit 95 home runs and 300 RBI, stole 60 bases, and threw out 37 batters from the outfield.
• He helped the Phillies win the World Series in 2008 and get back to the Fall Classic the following year. He batted 8-for-18 against the Rays in 2008 and hit seven postseason home runs in 2009.
• He tied a Phillies’ record for recording eight RBI in one game against the Blue Jays in 2008. That game he hit a solo home run, a two-run bomb, and a grand slam.
• In 2009 against the Dodgers, Werth stole four bases, including consecutive steals of second, third and home.
• He had one of the most iconic beards in Philadelphia history.
• His rejection of Philadelphia’s contract offer allowed the Phillies to sign Cliff Lee again.
• At least he didn’t join the New York Yankees.

But then again,

• He did bat a miserable .186 average with runners in scoring position last season.
• He didn’t have the best postseason last year, going 6-for-30.
• He did sign that bloated contract with a division opponent.
• He did try to blame Ruben Amaro Jr.  for not keeping him and Cliff Lee.
• He agreed with Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo about hating the Phillies this offseason, even though I think he said that just to get his new team riled up and attempt to spark some kind of rivalry.

Other members of the beloved 2008 World Series team have received a warm welcome on their return to Philadelphia, namely Pat Burrell and Matt Stairs.

However, as I watched the Phillies play the Marlins last month, I realized that World Series contributions do not guarantee an exemption from the boos when former Phillies’ utility player Greg Dobbs came in to pinch hit and received a hardy booing.

We’ve already seen that the Phillies’ fans that made the trip to Nationals Park in April gave Werth a decent smattering of boos, so who knows what kind of welcome he’ll receive tonight.

My guess is that there will be some cheers, but the majority of the fans will be reminding him that if you spurn the City of Brotherly Love, you’ll never be able to live it down.

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Jayson Werth Returns to Philadelphia to Take on Phillies and Their Fans

What does a seven-year $126 million contract get you these days? Apparently it gets a .233 batting average with four home runs and seven RBI through the season’s first month. 

This works out to roughly $214,285 per RBI. These are the numbers of high-priced free agent Jayson Werth. To state that Werth is off to a slow start is an understatement 

To state that things will get easier for Werth beginning tonight is a colossal understatement. 

Beginning tonight, Werth and the Washington Nationals begin a three-game series in Citizen’s Bank Park, Werth’s former home. These next three games have been circled on every Phillies fans magnetic giveaway calendar since Werth signed that monstrous deal in December of last year. 

To put it mildly, Phillies fans are passionate. Consider the chorus of boos that Werth heard when he took his usual place in right field for the Nationals in Nationals Park just three weeks ago. 

Those boos had nothing to do with his production on the the field, though it would be warranted, and everything to do with the thousands of Phillies fans that were in attendance. 

Considering tonight will be yet another sell out for the Phillies, this means that there will be 45,000+ in attendance ready to greet Werth with the same sort of gusto when he bats in the top of the first inning and then again in the bottom of the inning when he takes his position a mere 50 feet from the fans seated in right field. 

The same fans who once adored him and signed on to Facebook pages dedicated in both his honor and his beard’s honor. Fans who cheered his every success. Fans who have not forgotten his past accomplishments.

Please don’t misunderstand, Phillies fans are knowledgeable and understand that Werth was a key cog in the team’s success over the last several years and that during those postseason run’s, he has climbed atop the Phillies all-time postseason homer run list. 

However, the dynamic has changed.  Werth spurned an entire city this offseason when he bolted down the I-95 corridor for Washington D.C. and greener pastures. No, Werth will not be playing for a contender this year, nor will he be playing for a contender next year. He will however, be making a boatload of money. 

Tonight, Jayson Werth will be reminded of what he gave up for all of those dollar bills and of what he left behind. Tonight, at the ballpark in South Philly, he will be wearing a slightly different shade of red and in Philadelphia, that makes all the difference. 

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The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies: Not One of the Greatest Phillies’ Teams

1964 had been an almost magical year for the Philadelphia Phillies.

They acquired Jim Bunning from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Don Demeter to complement lefty ace Chris Short. On Father’s Day, Bunning hurled a perfect game against the New York Mets.

In the all-star game, Phillies’ outfielder Johnny Callison hit a ninth inning, game-winning home run off Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Dick “the Monster” Radatz.

Rookie Richie Allen, along with Callison, provided clutch offense until the last 12 days of the season..

There have been many fine first place teams that had seemingly “safe” leads late in the season only to be overtaken, but almost nothing compares to what happened to the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies.

At the height of the pennant race, the Phillies lost 10 consecutive games before finally getting a win. Some blamed manager Gene Mauch for starting Bunning and Short several times on only two days’ rest.

At the end of play on September 20, 1964, the Phillies led both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, who were tied for second place, by six and one-half games.

It only took seven days for things to change radically.

At the end of play on September 27, the Reds led the second place Phillies by a full game. The Phillies lost a six and one-half game lead and were never again in first place.

On September 28, the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the Reds while the Cardinals beat the Phillies. The Cardinals and Reds were tied for the top spot with the reeling Phillies trailing each of them by one and one-half games.

The next day, the Pirates beat the Reds in sixteen innings, 1-0. Once the Reds reached first place, they didn’t score again until they were out of first place.

The Phillies weren’t the only team feeling the pressure.

The Cardinals beat the Phillies again, to take over first place from the Reds.

On October 1, the Cardinals weren’t scheduled. The Reds finally scored as they beat the Pirates to pull within one half game of the Cardinals, who would be at home for the final three games of the season to face New York’s most beloved team, the Mets, losers of 108 games.

The Phillies trailed the Cards by two and one-half games and were basically out of it.

Mets’ broadcaster Lindsey Nelson often told his viewers that late in the season, teams that are out of the pennant race can be extremely dangerous since they have nothing to lose and are loose.

How right he was.

The Cardinals ace, Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, faced the Mets’ little lefty, Al Jackson, in what seemed to be a mismatch. Jackson was 10-16. Gibson was 18-11.

The Mets scored a run in the third inning when Ed Kranepool singled home George Altman with two outs. That turned out to be the game’s only run, as Jackson blanked the Cardinals on five hits.

The Phillies beat the Reds, so the Cardinals still led the Reds by one-half game and the Phillies by one and one-half games.

On the next to last day of the season, Cards 20 game winner Ray Sadecki faced Mets’ 17 game loser Jack Fisher. It was no contest as the Mets scored four times in the first inning and slowly pulled away for a 15-5 victory.

The Reds, who were idle, were again tied with the Cards for first place. The Phillies, surprisingly, were still in it, trailing by a mere game going into the last day of the season.

The Phillies won again behind Bunning’s shut out, 10-0, but they needed help they would never receive.

The Cardinals sent Curt Simmons to face the Mets’ 18 game loser, Galen Cisco, in a game they had to win in order to avoid a three team tie for the pennant.

The Mets took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth, knocking out Simmons.

Manager Johnny Keane brought in Bob Gibson, who had pitched eight innings on Friday. The Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and went on to an 11-5 win to become National League champions.

The Phillies, the Cardinals and the Reds all felt the pressure. It is often easier to withstand pressure when trying to get something than when trying to defend it.

When each of the three teams reached first place, they faltered. The Cardinals were fortunate that after they beat the Mets and the Phillies beat the Reds, the season ended.

The 1964 Phillies were an excellent team. Third baseman Richie Allen hit .318 with 29 home runs, outfielder Johnny Callison hit .274 with 31 home runs, Bunning won 19 games, and Short won 17.

The problem was that the team lacked pitching depth, which explains why Mauch started Bunning and Short on two days rest.

It is ironic, but the only way the 1964 Phillies could be ranked among the best Philies’ teams would have been if they had not lost 10 consecutive games near the end of the season and had merely finished a consistent second or third.

References:

Retrosheet

Sports Illustrated

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Philadelphia Phillies: Is Jayson “Werth” Fans’ Praise or Derision?

To boo, or not to boo, that is the question

Whether ’tis nobler in the park to cheer

A player who left for such outrageous fortune

Or to vent lungs against a former hero

To boo, or perchance to applaud—ay, there’s the rub

When Jayson Werth steps into the batter’s box this evening—in his first appearance at Citizens Bank Park in a Washington Nationals uniform—what will the reaction be?

Will there be rousing cheers for a former fan favorite (if one of many here) who contributed greatly to the success of the 2007-10 Philadelphia Phillies?

Will Philly fans boo a player who left for huge money ($126 million over seven years) offered by a division rival?

Will the South Philly faithful have a dilemma of Shakespearean proportions (Hamlet, to be exact) and end up sitting on their hands while ruminating over it?

Not knowing what to do, will fans play it safe and break into another chorus of U-S-A, U-S-A?

Taking off my journalist’s hat for a moment—and this is at least a form of journalism, right?—I am now wearing my red cap with the oversized P while pondering what I would do at the ballpark as a longtime Philly fan. 

Do I cheer a fine player who enabled my team to make the postseason in each of his four years in red pinstripes? Of course—those four years included two World Series appearances and one championship. 

Do I do my part to preserve this town’s fine tradition of venting displeasure by booing a player who left my team to grab more money elsewhere?

 

THE CASE FOR BOOING JAYSON WERTH

I’ve been known to occasionally jeer an opponent or two, but I don’t consider myself a major boo-bird. There are players that do arouse such primal compulsions; is JW is one of them?

Let me re-frame the question:

Do fans boo a guy who left for a bigger paycheck, as many of us would have done in similar circumstances?

Simply put, Jayson Werth had every right to take the bigger payday, and fans have every right to boo him for not choosing team loyalty over his own financial aspirations.

It would be easy to say that I would have taken less cash to play for a rabid fanbase and with a team considered to be the National League front runners again. It would also be easy to say that I would have taken the most money. I may have done either.

Of course, Werth went with the cash, and one of the consequences of doing so is (potentially) being subject to a chorus of boos from fans who used to cheer his every move. That is fair, in a sense.

While the bearded right fielder was certainly a popular player here, he was never the most warm-and-fuzzy guy with the media or the fans. Well, his face may have looked warm and fuzzy, but…

Some may recall his allegedly throwing an F-bomb at a fan (who was in the stands with his young son) who did not move out of Werth’s way when he reached into the stands for a foul ball. It certainly was not a Hallmark moment—and one wonders what Jayson might have spewed to the fan if he truly pulled a Steve Bartman—but should there still be any negative carryover from one moment of boorishness?

As a Phillie, Werth never went out of his way to endear himself to the fans, and perhaps that was a part of his rakish charm. He seemed to be even surlier last year with the added pressure of playing for a huge payday (somewhere).

One wished he had given the fans and media more than he did, but it is also hard to find fault with how hard or how well he played.

Since leaving town, he has not lobbed any explosive grenades or flowery bouquets at the team or its fans. Hmmm…

 

THE CASE FOR CHEERING JAYSON WERTH

Let us get the negatives out of the way.

In 2010, Werth struggled mightily batting with runners in scoring position (RISP). He hit just .186 and plummeted to an unsightly .139 with RISP and two outs.

Despite those struggles, he was still able to bat .296 (second on the team) with 27 homers (second), 85 RBI (second) and 106 runs (tied for fourth in the NL).

At his best, Werth gave Philly fans most of the elements of a five-tool player who could do everything well. Indeed, he was probably the best pure jock on the team, if not quite as productive as Ryan Howard or Chase Utley.

Werth never became an everyday player until his age-29 season in 2008, which culminated in a major parade on Broad Street.

It would be a distortion to say that he was the major reason for the championship; it would also be an understatement to say that he was a minor contributor.

Only Werth can say whether he would have been happier staying in Philly for big money or playing in the nation’s capital for enormous coin. Perhaps even he is not sure if he made the right choice.

It would be nice to see Jayson find a way to literally or figuratively tip his cap to the Philly fans who supported him during the four best years (by far) of his baseball career. They, and the franchise, enabled him to have a choice between playing for the best team (on paper) or the most money.

Werth made his choice, and Philly fans can make theirs tonight.

To boo, or not to boo—that is the question.

 

GOLD NOTES

Cole Hamels is scheduled to face Werth (who will man the No. 3 hole with the absence of franchise third baseman Ryan Zimmerman) and the pesky Nats this evening.

Since April 2, 2008, Hamels is 5-0 with a 3.04 ERA in eight starts versus the division rival.

Opposing Hamels is the ageless, 36-year-old veteran Livan Hernandez (3-2, 3.23), who seems to be in his forties.

 

For more information on Matt Goldberg’s new books, as well as writing, speaking and interview requests, please e-mail: matt@tipofthegoldberg.com or contact him via his Bleacher Report homepage.

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MLB Power Rankings: Who’s the New No. 1 Team After Week 5?

With just over four weeks of baseball in the books, we are beginning to get a sense of how the 2011 season will play out.

But of course, 25-29 games is just a small fraction of the regular season (15.4 to 17.9 percent to be exact). A lot can change in the next five months. As recently as two years ago, the Los Angeles Angels had a record of just 9-13 on May 2nd, but went on to finish the regular season with a record of 97-65. That season also consisted of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer earning MVP honors, despite missing the entire month of April.

Similarly, as excited as I was to look at the newspaper this morning and see Matt Holiday’s batting average at .418, I know in the back of my mind that it is bound to slip under .400 sooner or later.

Either way, last week was as important of a regular season week as any.

The surprising Cleveland Indians continue to play well. They went 6-0 last week, extending their lead to 4.5 games in the A.L. Central. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers went 0-6 last week and suddenly find themselves four games under .500.

The week was another small step in the countdown to 162. Here are the MLB Power Rankings after Week 5.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Is It Now Mayberry Time in Left Field for the Phillies?

I’m not sure if there is a Raul Ibanez bobblehead night coming up anytime soon at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, but if there is, the Phillies might want to consider cancelling that event.

The Phillies have the second-best record in Major League Baseball at 18-9, and their vaunted starting pitching has been as advertised, with their top four of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels posting a combined record of 12-5 with a 2.99 ERA.

Despite the absence of slugging second baseman Chase Utley, the offense has not been as anemic as feared. Ryan Howard certainly did his part, with six homers and a league-leading 28 runs batted in, and Placido Polanco is third in the National League with a .385 average.

Their biggest issue right now is in left field, where Ibanez is currently mired in a terrible 0-for-34 slump, and his batting average has dipped to .156, about 70 points under his playing weight.

Recently, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has given reserve outfielder John Mayberry at-bats against left-handed pitchers in four of the last five opportunities, and has indicated that Mayberry will continue to receive more at-bats. However, with Ibanez’s current slump, shouldn’t Mayberry be getting ALL the at-bats?

Mayberry has done well with the opportunities presented to him, currently hitting .313 on the season with a .874 OPS.

As it stands right now, Ibanez has the ninth-worst slump in the major leagues over the last 20 seasons among regular position players, and stands just 12 at-bats away from the worst slump in history, suffered by Bill Bergen of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1909.

That is an anchor on the lineup that the Phillies must let go of before it sinks the lineup.

While there are those in baseball that are big believers in letting veterans work out of their slumps, this is certainly NOT one of those cases. At 38 years of age, Ibanez saw his power numbers shrink across the board last season, and with his current slide there appears to be no upside whatsoever in continuing to pencil his name into the lineup.

So, that begs the question: What should the Phillies do about left field?

One of the bigger schools of thought among writers, experts, fans and fantasy baseball freaks is to immediately start the Domonic Brown era in Philadelphia, and move Ben Francisco to left field.

By all accounts, Brown would have had an excellent shot at doing that at the start of the 2011 season, but Brown broke his hamate bone, landing him on the DL. Today, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. made the decision to activate Brown from the disabled list, and then assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

With Ibanez currently locked in his horrific slump, the move was a bit of a surprise. Amaro Jr. could have elected to keep Brown on the DL and allow him to continue his rehab, with the possibility of activation from the DL straight to the Phillies within the next two weeks. But Amaro Jr. was not of that school of thought.

“I’m not going to bring Domonic Brown just to bring Domonic Brown,” Amaro Jr. told Bob Putnam of Philly.com. “We’re going to bring Domonic Brown when he’s ready to play in the big leagues and contribute here.”

Um, Ruben, do you mean contribute more than Ibanez is now?

Another school of thought is to have John Mayberry playing in left field full-time.

As mentioned earlier, Mayberry has done quite well with the opportunities presented to him, hitting .313 on the young season—albeit against mainly left-handed pitchers.

However, can he REALLY hit as badly as .156 against right-handed pitchers? With no specific timetable set for Utley’s return, there is no need to keep putting a position player out on the field and sacrificing an automatic out every time up.

The pitching staff has been terrific, but even they need a pickup from time to time. Having Ibanez in the lineup is a rally-killer that isn’t necessary.

By all accounts, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is a players’ manager, with a tendency to give players the benefit of the doubt. However, how much rope do you want to continue giving Ibanez? With his 39th birthday coming up in June, Ibanez is not going to be finding a power source anytime soon. That ship has sailed.

The Phillies are off to a great start, they’re pitching well, and their offense hasn’t yet sunk the team. If there was ever a time to make a move, that time is now.

For continuing coverage of Major League Baseball, follow Doug on Twitter @Sports_A_Holic.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Bin Laden’s Death Brings Back Memories from 2001 Season

Usually nothing gets in between the bitter rivalry of the Mets in Phillies, but last night, Osama Bin Laden’s death was another prime example of why baseball is still just a game.

In a city that gets a lot of negativity from the outside world, the Phillies fans exhibited nothing but class and patriotism when the news of Bin Laden’s death spread quickly throughout Citizens Bank Park.

Suddenly eyes turned from the action on the field to mobile devices as the social networking services blew up with Bin Laden information.

With the game tied at one in the ninth inning, a Phillies win didn’t matter so much.

As the game went on long into the night, memories of the patriotism demonstrated after the 9/11 attacks by Major League Baseball quickly entered my mind. 

Jack Buck’s tribute to America poem, George Bush throwing out the first pitch of the 2001 World Series, and the Mets and Yankees wearing FDNY and NYPD hats were a few of many post-9/11 memories from the game.

It contributed to the healing process of an entire nation.  2001 was a year where it was okay to root for a New York team. 

It’s fitting that the Mets were in action last night when the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced.

New York finally took the game 2-1 in 14 innings, but last night was a celebration for the United States. 

Bin Laden’s death doesn’t end the war on terror, and the families affected by the 9/11 attacks will never forget what happened. However, his death brings a psychological victory to the nation.

May 1, 2011 will never be forgotten in United States history.

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America’s Grandest Moment Reaches America’s Grandest Game, Fans Chant USA!

Sometime yesterday in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a bullet left the barrel of the gun of an unknown US Navy Seal and embedded in the head of the globe’s most evil, most hunted man, instantly killing him. The effect of that gunshot rippled through the world.

The ripples started to reach the US news, and then to fans in Philadelphia—where they were hosting the Mets—who started to receive text messages and confirm reports on their smart phones. The news ran like a wave through the stadium until, as though by decree, the fans begin to chant.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Among all the images that will no doubt remain from this historic day, this one is perhaps the most apt.

After 9/11 one of the first causalities were our sporting events. Baseball games were canceled across the country. Football was not played that weekend. Fear and uncertainty regarding more attacks prevented that from happening. 

Slowly though, we as Americans resolved that this was not going to change our way of life. We went back to our sports and to our games. We crowned Super Bowl champions, World Series Champions, NHL Champions and NBA Champions. 

We fought our war on terror, toppling two dictators. We stopped terrorist attacks. 

We remembered our troops at our sporting events as God Bless America was sung at our baseball games and hockey games. 

It wasn’t that we forgot about Osama Bin Laden. It’s that we weren’t going to allow him to change our life. With every cheer for every catch made, shot sunk, goal scored or touchdown spiked, we told him, we are not afraid! We will not be terrorized!

At the same time we wanted him to know. We will not forget and we will not give up. Yes, it took 10 years to find him. Over those 10 years though our will did not wane, our resolve did not relent. Until, finally, last night, it was rewarded. 

Then last night as not mere baseball fans, but American baseball fans received the news, in a game ironically featuring a team from New York, we found the thing we had been seeking: Closure. 

Osama Bin Laden won’t be killing anyone else. We didn’t have revenge, we had justice. So we cheered. We cheered not for death, but for more noble things. 

Our cheers were for our troops, for our nation and most importantly for ourselves as we proved to the world that we are, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

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MLB Power Rankings 2011 Weeks 4-5: Reasoning on the River About the Royals

To start the season, the Texas Rangers sat atop my first two weeks of power rankings, but Kansas city ranked in the top five.  Since then in my power ranking system, they’ve faded along with the chat about the royal wedding. 

The Lake Power Index (LPI) is a system for ranking teams based on points earned for strength of schedule, strength of division, margin of victory, winning percentage, winning streaks and division lead.

Who is No. 1 this week?  Start the show to find out…

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking the Phillies’ Organizational Depth by Position

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the midst of the greatest era of baseball in their entire 121-year history—a history that includes more losses than any other team in Major League Baseball.

Phillies fans have sold out over 140 consecutive games at Citizens Bank Park and they are more than deserving to finally have a consistent winner.

The Philly faithful had to watch slop like the Robert Persons and Omar Daals for far too long. They now have one of the greatest rotations ever assembled (albeit on paper) and a lineup that has a ton of postseason experience.

While Philadelphia sits back and enjoys a top-20 pitcher in baseball start 80 percent of their games, the national media and fans’ perspective is that the Phillies better enjoy their success now because their window is almost closed.

After all, bringing in the top pitcher in the game in Roy Halladay does not come cheaply. Couple that with the fact that the core of this Phillies team (Utley, Howard, Rollins) are not getting any younger and maybe the national audience has a point. The Phillies’ average age last season was 31.9 years of age, by far the oldest in the league.

Are the Phillies the Boston Celtics of the NBA? No, of course not (I HATE the Celtics and Boston for that matter, Go Flyers!).

The Halladay trade continued the Phillies’ recent habit of sending away prospects for elite pitching help; while it looks terrific on the surface, how much do these type of moves deplete the farm system?

The Phillies were gift-wrapped Roy Oswalt last season from the Astros in July, in exchange for J.A. Happ and minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar.

Even smaller deals, (Joe Blanton in 2008) sent away a significant amount of young talent, but accomplished the goal of keeping the team on top while its nucleus of everyday players is at its peak.

Is the cupboard bare? Absolutely not. In fact, the Phillies have a substantial amount of talent in the minors, especially at the lower levels.

Class A Lakewood has won back-to-back titles, and many players have turned themselves into legitimate prospects over the past two seasons.

It has been mentioned by scouts throughout baseball, “no team has more talent in A-ball than the Phillies.”

How does the future look for the Phillies? In this list, we will take a look at how set the Phil’s are at each position by evaluating their current players and prospects down on the farm.

Which positions need to be addressed via trade or through the draft? Which current players on the Phillies have their position locked down for the next five to 10 years?

Which positions are in good shape for years to come? Here is a ranking of the Phillies’ organizational depth by position.

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