MLB Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Tricks Ruben Amaro Jr. Still Has Up His Sleeve

As the Major League Baseball offseason hits its midway point, just before taking flight at the annual Winter Meetings, a calm has settled over the free agency period. With a little more than two months before conversations about spring training begin, the bulk of the signings around the league have yet to occur.

The Philadelphia Phillies entered the market by making a splash through their acquisition of star closer Jonathan Papelbon but have remained relatively quiet since the deal was finalized. Aside from bringing in a few bats to retool the bench, the club has slowed their approach, along with many other teams around the league.

However, after years of making franchise-defining moves, Phillies fans can rest assured that General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has yet to finish dealing. After watching him lure Cliff Lee away from the big spenders last season and plug holes in the lineup with fan-favorites like Hunter Pence, it’s hard not expect Amaro to be ready to pull the trigger.

So as free agency seems to run into doldrums before the league spurs back to life in just over a week, there is a legitimate chance the Phillies’ front office already has something in the works. Whether it is signing a upper-echelon free agent or making another blockbuster trade, here are five moves that Amaro could still have up his sleeve.

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MLB Free Agents 2012: Is Jimmy Rollins Still Worth a Long-Term Deal?

Jimmy Rollins, long-time shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies, is currently a free agent, and due to the relatively shallow depth of the player market, is considered one of the premier talents available.

The problem is that he hasn’t been an elite player for several years, and he just celebrated his 33rd birthday over the weekend.

Various reports have indicated that Rollins is seeking a five-year deal, a lengthy contract that would keep him under team control beyond his 38th birthday.

Such a significant commitment to a player on the wrong end of his prime years—and with declining production since his MVP season of 2007—should scare off most clubs with interest in Rollins.

However, with limited quality options available after the marquee attraction Jose Reyes, Rollins just may get his wish for a five-year deal.

With the pool of available shortstops leaning heavily toward veteran players beyond their prime years, Rollins stands out slightly from a less than impressive class. Players like Rafael Furcal, Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Orlando Cabrera, Yuniesky Betancourt and others round out the group, each with plenty of wear on them as well as deficiencies of their own.

Of course, Rollins is clearly better than that crop, but is he “five-year deal” better?

Back in 2007, Rollins won the National League MVP award with a statistically impressive season in which he played 162 games, led the league with 139 runs scored and joined the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club. Along with Curtis Granderson, who also accomplished the feat in 2007, Rollins joined Frank Schulte and Willie Mays as the only players in MLB history to surpass 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season.

That year, Rollins produced career highs in nearly every category, including batting average (.296), OPS (.875), OPS+ (119), runs (139), hits (212), triples (20), home runs (30), RBI (94) and wRC+ (123).

He also played solid defense, for which he was awarded his first career Gold Glove.

Only 28 years old that season, he appeared to be entering his prime on a high, sure to be an elite performer for several more big league campaigns.

Something happened over the course of the next few seasons, however, and rather than maintaining the production he had tantalized with in ’07, Rollins experienced three consecutive seasons of significantly declining production.

In 2008, the Phillies won the franchise’s first World Series since 1980, but Rollins couldn’t duplicate his brilliance of 2007, dropping off considerably in the follow-up to his MVP season.

An early-season sprained ankle derailed him slightly, but he still stole 47 bases in 50 attempts, so it can’t be fully blamed for his drop-off. He hit .277 with 11 home runs, 59 RBI, a .786 OPS and a 103 OPS+. His wRC+ declined to 114, but that still placed him 14 percent above league average.

Despite the reduction in his offensive value, he played excellent defense at short, posting a career-high 15.2 UZR per 150 games, and winning a Fielding Bible Award as a result.

Rollins continued his decline the next season, as he hit only .250 with a putrid on-base percentage of .296. His counting stats rebounded, as he scored 100 runs, hit 21 home runs and drove in 77, but his OPS (.719), OPS+ (87) and wRC+ (88) all represented significant drop-offs, continuing the disturbing new trend.

He still stole 31 bases and again played excellent defense, allowing him to delay the whispers of his decline that had begun to surface.

Unfortunately, the 2010 season was another disappointing one for Rollins, who missed significant portions of the season due to a calf injury and other ailments, limiting him to a career-low 88 games.

He hit only .243, also a new career low, as his OPS dropped to .694, his OPS+ to 85 and his wRC+ was a less-than-league-average 93. Again, he played great defense at short, posting his second-highest UZR per 150 games of his career (12.3), but his injuries robbed him of playing time and a chance at a fourth consecutive Gold Glove.

Mercifully, Rollins’ downward spiral subsided somewhat in 2011, as he remained mostly healthy and rebounded offensively from the disappointing 2009-10 seasons.

He hit .268 with 16 home runs, 63 RBI, a .736 OPS, and he boosted both his OPS+ (101) and wRC+ (106) back above league average. Rollins also stole 30 bases again and played his customarily fine defense at short.

Just in time for his free agency, Rollins restored some of the luster that had faded since his MVP season of 2007.

Will it be enough for him to tempt some team into giving him a four-year commitment, or even the five-year contract he craves?

Considering the dearth of quality free agent options available both this year and next, it might not be terribly surprising to see Rollins extract a longer commitment from a team than it feels comfortable with.

Rollins will hope that the highly-sought Jose Reyes signs his expected mega-deal soon, leaving him as the only shortstop with star power left on the free-agent market. The disappearance of Reyes from the pool would greatly increase the chances of a team overpaying and overcommitting to Rollins in order to avoid being left with scraps to choose from.

Though Rollins does offer great defense, as well as dynamic speed for the time being, his power has become inconsistent, and his meager .316 on-base percentage over the last three seasons is far more Yuniesky Betancourt than Hanley Ramirez.

While Rollins has always been a fantastic base stealer, swiping 373 bags in 451 attempts for an 83 percent career success rate, the leg injuries in recent seasons have to be a concern when looking four or five years into the future.

What will a 37-year-old Jimmy Rollins be worth if he’s no longer the base-stealing, Gold Glove-caliber defender he once was? Five years is a long time in the life of any ballplayer, but far more so for one already beyond his 33rd birthday.

As far as comparable MLB shortstops who have recently signed deals, there are two players that immediately stand out as points of reference for a potential Rollins contract.

J.J. Hardy signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles midway through 2011, following a strong first half with the club. Though younger than Rollins at only 29, and clearly not a speedster, Hardy is an apt comparison on several levels. 

Hardy, like Rollins, has been one of the elite defensive shortstops in baseball from 2008 to 2011. His 9.8 UZR per 150 games ranks him just above Rollins, who checks in at 8.4 per 150.

Over the last four seasons, the two have been remarkably similar in several aspects. Both produced strong 2007 and 2008 seasons, before injuries and declining production derailed their 2009 and 2010 seasons. Within the four-season span, Rollins played 522 games to the 491 Hardy participated in. 

From 2008 to 2011, Hardy hit .264 to Rollins’ .261. In on-base percentage, Rollins’ .325 edged out Hardy’s .320 mark. Rollins drove in 240 runs to Hardy’s 239 RBI. 

Fangraphs estimated Rollins’ WAR from 2008 to 2011 at 14.9 to Hardy’s mark of 13.4. Rollins’ weighted on-base average or wOBA was .330, while Hardy produced a .329 wOBA. If you look into wRC+, Hardy’s 101 barely surpasses Rollins’ 100.

It’s rather amazing how similar the two players have performed over the last several seasons.

Of course, Rollins’ base-stealing ability and thrilling triples totals would likely cause most to assume that the comparison would heavily favor the Philly shortstop, but Hardy holds his own under closer inspection.

Late in the season, SI.com’s Jon Heyman reported that a few rival GMs had estimated that Rollins might command a deal in the three-to-four-year range for $12-14 million per season.

Additionally, Rollins is designated as one of the few Type-A free agents, which will require the forfeiture of a top draft pick as compensation, making his signing even more costly for a team other than the Phillies.

Interested parties might do themselves a favor using Hardy’s deal as a starting point, rather than falling victim to overpaying for Rollins simply because the other options are underwhelming. 

Another potential point of comparison is the contract of Alexei Ramirez, shortstop for the Chicago White Sox. The 30-year-old Ramirez signed an extension in February, which will pay him $32.5 million from 2012 to 2015. 

In his four-year career, which began in 2008, Ramirez has hit .279 to Rollins’ .261, owns a similar OBP at .323 to Rollins’ .325 and owns the edge in OPS at .745 to .737. His adjusted OPS+ of 96 edges out Rollins’ mark of 94 during the four-year span. Rollins wins the wOBA comparison, .330 to .324, and the wRC+ battle, 100 to 94. 

Defensively, the two are close competitors as well, with Rollins’ 8.4 UZR/150 edging out the rangy Ramirez’s UZR/150 of 7.8. Fangraphs gives the edge in WAR to Rollins at 14.9 to Ramirez’s 12.7.

As far as Hardy and Ramirez are concerned, their contracts both average nearly $8 million per year for three and four years respectively. 

Neither has the cache Rollins possesses in Philly, nor the MVP award or World Series ring, but Hardy is nearly four years younger and Ramirez three, so the likelihood of each living up to the value of their contract is probably greater than Rollins doing so.

If Jimmy Rollins is rewarded with a three- or four-year contract worth approximately $10 million per year, I could see the speedy defensive whiz living up to such a deal. 

But, if the deal approaches Rollins’ requested five years and the $12-14 million annual value speculated by the rival GMs mentioned previously, there is a great chance that whichever club signs him will regret it significantly after a couple seasons. 

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Realistic Offseason Moves the Phillies Should Consider

Ruben Amaro is known for making great deals for the Phillies.  But does he have enough left in his tank to get the key players the Phillies need?  With the NL East getting more and more competitive, the Phillies need to make some moves to maintain their dominance in the National League.  

They obviously have a few holes in their roster that need to be addressed.  Here are some offseason moves the Phils should make.  

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Philadelphia Phillies: 6 Bold Predictions for Phils’ 2012 Season

Can the Fightin’s muster up enough strength this upcoming season to return to glory?  Do they have enough depth to withstand a 162-game season?  Are they too old to be great on a day-to-day basis?

These are the questions Phillies fans have been asking themselves since the 2011 season came to an abrupt end.  Follow along to see what will happen this upcoming 2012 season.

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The Deserving Dozen: Ranking Philly’s Top 12 Pro Athletes

So, who would you choose as Philadelphia‘s Top 12 pro athletes? Who is your No. 1?

Indeed, how does one choose the best of the best who represent this sports-crazed town on our fields, rinks and courts? It is not an exact science, but I mostly considered the following three factors:

1) Current performance level

2) Overall contribution here

3) Popularity and/or buzz generated

After mulling it over, I decided on what I will call The Deserving Dozen—12 athletes who combine enough of the above criteria to compete for the title as Philly’s best.

In so doing, I was careful to have at least one representative of each of the four teams. Philadelphia Union fans, please accept my apologies.

As this is not an exact science, I have not shown the “scores” I tabulated for each.

So, feel free to similarly agree or disagree at its conclusion, even if you don’t show your work.

Let us begin.

One note: The pitcher (pictured) above made the list, but how high does Cliff Lee rank?

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Philadelphia Phillies: All 25 Players Ranked by Providing Bang for Their Buck

Two things are inherently true about the Philadelphia Phillies: The roster is full of talent and that talent is being paid a ton of money.

We live in an era and love a game in which getting a good deal is vastly important, and when the Phillies have nearly $200 million invested into the payroll, one can only wonder whether or not that money is being spent wisely.

Are two, possibly three by the end of this off-season, starting pitchers truly worth $20 million a season? If the Phillies were to ink Cole Hamels to a lucrative contract extension, it would be the first time in history a team housed three pitchers that expensive.

What about Ryan Howard? Was that huge contract extension worth it?

In this slideshow, we will take a look back at the 2011 season, comparing each player’s performance to the money he made, ranking who provided the biggest bang for the Phillies’ buck, and how that will be impacted on the 2012 roster.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking the 25 Greatest Leaders in Franchise History

When an organization has existed for 128 years, it is bound to have a few great leaders pass through its ranks. The Philadelphia Phillies are certainly no different, and be it a lead-by-example kind of guy, a vocal presence, or the perfect blend of leadership qualities, the Phils have had their fair share of candidates.

Every successful team has its leader, or leaders, for that matter. Whether that leader is an on-the-field general, a leader from the dugout, or a presence that simply inspires those that wear the uniform, the Phillies preach the importance of “clubhouse characters” for a reason.

The following slide show will examine the 25 greatest leaders the Phillies have ever had, and their importance to the teams that they’ve inspired.

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5 Signs the Philadelphia Phillies Are the New New York Yankees

Despite what may be said about the Philadelphia Phillies‘ performance in the postseason the last few seasons, it is difficult to dispute that the Phillies have been one of baseball’s hottest teams over the last five seasons or so. Since they made the playoffs in 2007 for the first time since 1993, they have been to two World Series, winning one in 2008. They’ve proven that they’re a force to be reckoned with in the National League, if not the entire majors, and they continue to make the necessary moves to remain at the top.

On the other hand, one could argue that the Phillies have become successful primarily because they, behind GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., have brought in a slew of All Star-caliber players through trades and free agency, namely Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence and most recently, Jonathan Papelbon. Although their infield and bullpen have, for the most part, remained intact with farm-raised players, their outfield and starting rotation are almost solely comprised of acquired players.

The Phillies have, in recent years, traded their top prospects for fantastic players. And while it’s helped them maintain a perennially contending team, they have failed to win it all since 2008, when their team mainly consisted of players they drafted.

Because of their recent success due to their high-profile acquisitions, the Phillies have drawn comparisons to the New York Yankees. The Yankees, considered the top American League power, have been able to sign and trade for practically any player they desire throughout their franchise’s history. Since the NL has not had a team like that before, the Phillies have been called “the Yankees of the NL” because of their Yankee-like tendencies—signing top-tier free agents to long-term, lucrative contracts, and trading top prospects for top names available on the trade block.

Whether the Phillies are the new Yankees is a debatable topic—one that I heavily disagree with—but it is a topic worth thinking about, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in this slideshow.

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2012 MLB Free Agency: 25 Players Philadelphia Phillies Absolutely WON’T Chase

To quote one of the greatest Presidents in the history of the United States of America, “The buck stops here.” Harry S. Truman knew a thing or two about connecting with the American people, telling the situation like it was and putting an end to the outlandish rumors widely circulated during the time period.

While baseball certainly can’t measure up to the scale of importance of the issues that Roosevelt faced, fans spend most of the offseason facing the same sort of speculation. With obvious holes to fix and money to spend, the Philadelphia Phillies have become one of those teams vulnerable to absurd speculation.

The Phillies are looking for an offensive upgrade at third base. That doesn’t mean that they’ll be bringing Albert Pujols to town because he’s spent some time at the hot corner in the past. That rumored contract eclipsing $200 million would have the Phillies shaking in their boots.

This slideshow will look to dispel some of those crazy rumors, listing the top 25 free agents that the Phillies will have minimal interest in bringing to Philadelphia.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 20 Most Emotional Players in Franchise History

Philly fans and the word emotional are one in the same. It’s common belief in the City of Brotherly Love that the fans care more about the outcome of a game than the players.

The most passionate sports fans in America obsess over the Philadelphia Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers 365 days a year. Any athlete that is blue-collar and leaves it all on the field/rink/court will forever endear themselves to Philly Nation.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a long and rich history and have been fortunate (and unfortunate) enough to have some really emotional players wear the red pinstripes. Locker room leaders, on-field generals, a temper tantrum waiting to happen are all fair game in this list.

Here are the 20 most emotional players in Philadelphia Phillies history.

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