Philadelphia Phillies: Jonathan Papelbon Should Be Next on Trading Block

It is Jonathan Papelbon, not Cliff Lee, whom the Phillies should be trying to move via waiver trade this month.

All indications now are that Lee is not going anywhere in 2012.  ESPN has reported that waivers on Lee expired over the weekend, and CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that the Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the teams that Lee could block a trade to.

But the Phillies are still eleven games under .500 and on a slow boat to nowhere with a little more than a month and a half to go.  This is not a time for the front office to idly count days passing.  This is a time for creativity, and action. 

The “trade deadline” has passed, but teams are still able to make deals.  The complication for the Phillies in trading Papelbon now (and for any trading partner) would be that Papelbon must clear waivers.  Explanations of the waiver trade process are abundant—a good one was provided recently by FoxSports.com.

Why trade Papelbon?  It is not his fault that his team has not had as many wins to save as anyone expected.  His numbers—3-4, 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 24 saves, three blown saves—are in line with expectations given career marks of 26-23, 2.39 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 243 saves and 32 blown saves.

Which is exactly why the Phillies should try to move Papelbon, now.

It is patently obvious that the forces that convinced the Phillies to sign Papelbon to a four-year, $50M contract this past offseason have proven ephemeral.

Papelbon’s signing, while costly, was justifiable under the assumption that the pitching-rich, hitting-challenged Phillies would be playing a lot of close games and would have many slim leads to protect.

Unfortunately, the hitting turned out to be not just challenged, but largely non-existent—as of this writing, the Phillies are 19th in Major League Baseball in both runs scored and slugging percentage, and they are 21st in on-base percentage.  That kind of production will not normally keep a closer busy…

…unless he is being asked to pitch in non-save situations, which Papelbon has done seventeen times so far in 2012.

The Phillies will need to be open to the idea of paying at least some of Papelbon’s contract if they hope to move him.  But while the idea of paying someone not to pitch for you is never appealing, the truth is that the Phillies as presently constituted are simply not the sort of team that can justify holding onto an eight-figure closer.  The sellout streak is over, you know.

Fortunately for the Phillies, there are some teams with serious postseason hopes, deep pockets…and iffy closer situations.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have settled on Ernesto Frieri as their closer, whose performance thus far has been spectacular.  But he got the job on May 23.  He was in San Diego to start the season.  Is that who the Angels want to take the ball with a playoff series on the line?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have tabbed Kenley Jansen to close their games.  But he has six blown saves so far, compared to 21 games saved.  The Dodgers have made it clear that they will be aggressive and will spend money.  They could decide that Papelbon is the last piece of the puzzle in 2012.

And the Detroit Tigers have walked the high wire with Jose Valverde closing games.  He has 21 saves against four blown saves…but his ERA is 3.63, and he has only 33 strikeouts against 20 walks.  Surely the Tigers would feel more confident giving the ball to Papelbon in a big spot.

At some level, it almost seems unfair to be targeting Papelbon as a player to move.  Like Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino before him, Papelbon would thus be punished for the shortcomings of his teammates, despite having a representative season in his own right.

But if the Phillies are serious about freeing up money to build around Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay in 2013, the time to slip out of the knot that is Papelbon’s contract is now.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Why Philadelphia Phillies Fans Should Look Forward to Tommy Joseph

The Philadelphia Phillies went over a year without having a position player above the Single-A level rank as one of their top prospects.

After sending Jonathan Singleton to the Houston Astros as part of the deal for Hunter Pence, the Phils’ farm system became even more dominated by pitching prospects.

So it’s only fitting that Pence was again part of a deal involving a top position-player prospect for the Phillies.

The Phillies’ haul for Pence at this year’s trade deadline did not match the one they sent to the Astros last year.  However, at least one player involved in their deal this year with the San Francisco Giants has a chance to excite fans as he progresses through the team’s system.

Tommy Joseph not only adds depth to the catcher position in the Phillies’ minor league system, but he also becomes the team’s top position-player prospect following his acquisition from the Giants.

Although the Phils’ return for Pence makes their trade package last season look even more generous, Joseph’s acquisition can have an impact at both the minor and major league level.

Here are five reasons why Phillies fans should look forward to Joseph.

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5 Reasons Dealing Cliff Lee in a Waiver Deadline Deal Would Be Big Mistake

As Cliff Lee took the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, one thing was clear: the Phillies had not traded Lee to the Los Angeles Dodgers. For once, it seemed, GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. had stood by his word.

A day after the August waiver trade period commenced last week, it became known that Lee had been placed on trade waivers by the Phillies. Although it’s a customary procedure done by most teams to gauge potential trade interest in their players, when a player of Lee’s magnitude is placed on trade waivers, it tends to send a shock around the baseball world.

What may have been more shocking, however, was that Lee and the remaining three years and $87.5+ million of his current contract was claimed by the Dodgers. The Dodgers—who had already made a Phillies-related splash twice in almost as many days after acquiring Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton from the team—made the bold move by claiming Lee, putting the Phillies in position to trade Lee and/or dump his remaining contract on the Dodgers and free themselves from the millions still owed to their left-handed ace.

While Lee pitched against the D’Backs, taking yet another no-decision in the Phils’ walk-off win, it signaled that Amaro had not traded Lee before his 1:30 p.m. waiver trade deadline on Sunday. But if Amaro does the unthinkable and puts Lee on trade waivers for a second, irrevocable time, would it be the right move if Lee was claimed?

Here’s five reasons why it wouldn’t behoove the Phillies to let go of Lee on waivers.

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5 Reasons the Phillies Made a Huge Error Pulling Cliff Lee Back off Waivers

It’s no surprise that Cliff Lee was placed on waivers by the Phillies—virtually every player in baseball is placed on waivers at one point or another following the non-waiver trade deadline.

It should also come as no surprise that the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed him.

With new ownership set on taking advantage of the LA market and making the Dodgers the attraction in the city over the summer, adding a big-time pitcher like Lee to pair alongside perennial Cy Young Award contender Clayton Kershaw not only makes baseball sense, but it’s sound business sense as well.

Yet the Phillies, with the chance to remove more than $75 million from their payroll over the next three years, pulled Lee back off of waivers, ending any chance that the Dodgers could work out a deal for him during the season.

They should have let the Dodgers take his bloated deal. Here’s why.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 4 Players Who Should Have Been Traded at the Deadline

Ruben Amaro Jr.’s fire sale of the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies has left them an aging $170 million Triple-A team, a ghost of what once was.

After trading Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence and Joe Blanton, the Phillies find themselves searching for some sort of identity. They also recently released Mike Fontenot, who was replaced by Michael Martinez from Lehigh Valley. 

If Amaro wants to complete the fire sale, there are still several pieces left on the current roster he can try to move. Older players with no upside and bad contracts still plague this team. Hopefully, some more moves will be made, allowing the Phillies to sign some big free agents for 2013.

Here are four players who should have also been moved before the July deadline.

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One Year-End Goal for All 25 Philadelphia Phillies Players

The Philadelphia Phillies are having quite the memorable season, but for all of the wrong reasons.

Coming into the 2012 campaign, you would find few so-called “experts” with the nerve to go against the grain and pick any team but the Phillies to win the National League East. They were carrying that level of expectation.

Of course, fast-forward a couple of months and the Washington Nationals are the talk of the division with the Atlanta Braves right on their doorstep. The Phillies, meanwhile, are battling the Miami Marlins to stay out of last place and looking forward to 2013.

That’s right. How many people would have guessed that, at the beginning of August, the Phillies would be out of the postseason race and looking forward to next season?

With Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton all officially in the books as “former” Phillies, it’s time for their replacements and the rest of the club to start preparing to come back strong next season.

One of the most vital ways to do so is to finish the 2012 season strong. Here’s what each player needs to accomplish by the end of this year, with an eye on the future.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Players the Team Can Build Around Long-Term

Since the Philadelphia Phillies won the National League East in 2007, long-term hasn’t been in the vocabulary of their fans.  Anything less than a World Series win was considered a failure year after year, but it has come time to plan for the future.

Looking at the current Phillies roster, who can they be built around long-term?

Ryan Howard is 32 and has been almost invisible since his return from the DL in early July.  Howard is under contract through 2016 with a club option including a $10 million buyout in 2017.  He is a power bat in the middle of the Phillies lineup, but at this point in his career, he isn’t a player that you build your team around.

Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins used to be considered centerpieces for the Phillies, but that is no longer the case.  Utley can’t seem to stay healthy for an entire season, and Rollins, although solid in the field, is not the type of hitter that can carry a team.

Fan favorite, Carlos Ruiz, is a free agent after the 2013 season and it is unlikely that the Phillies will re-sign him after that.  Ruiz is currently 33 years old and having the best year of his career.  The chances of him replicating these numbers (or anywhere near these numbers) is highly unlikely. 

Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are still aces, but as for long-term, let’s just say they aren’t going to be in Philadelphia after their contracts expire in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The Phillies’ long-term options may not be on their current roster.  

By trading Joe Blanton, Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, the Phillies freed up some cap space for the offseason.  Placido Polanco and Juan Pierre will be gone after this year, freeing up even more room to add pieces to build the franchise around.

These are five players, two currently on the roster, three who may be in the near future, who the Philadelphia Phillies can build their team around.

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The Philadelphia Phillies All-Time Lineup

The end of the most dominant era of Philadelphia baseball is most likely upon us. In the wake of this unfortunate realization, I take solace in pondering the greatness of Phillies teams past. Not only the ones I saw, but also imagining what it would have been like to be a spectator in the stands for those teams which came long before my time.

I have compiled what I believe to be the best lineup one could make, selecting the cream of the crop from every player to ever wear the red pinstripes. Enjoy!

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Cliff Lee: Why Phillies Must Allow the LA Dodgers to Claim Star Pitcher

Cliff Lee has been claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now the Phillies must allow their star lefty to walk for the sake of financial flexibility.  

According to a report from CBS, the Dodgers claimed Lee off of Waivers on Saturday. However, according to Jayson Stark, Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says “he isn’t going anywhere.”

This may sound good to Phillies fans, but it’s terrible for the long term.

A Lee trade would’ve allowed Philadelphia to shed the $95 million remaining on his contract, while also restocking the farm system.

Even if the Dodgers declined to trade for the lefty, just letting him go would’ve allowed the team some much needed financial flexibility—the Phillies have the second highest payroll in MLB.

With the recent re-signing of Cole Hamels, Philadelphia now has four players making over $20 million a season—an outrageous total considering that the Phillies sit 13.5 games behind the first-place Nationals in the NL East.

The Phillies started to reload at the deadline when they dealt the expiring contracts of Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, and it would be in their best interest to continue the firesale.

They are in no position to contend this season, and considering the way their aging high-dollar players are playing on the offensive side of the ball, it’s not likely to get better any time soon.

It may not be the most attractive option, but the Phillies must start to rework their roster to encourage flexibility.

They can’t continue to spend $200 million a year and finish in last place. It’s just not a good business model.

Letting go of a player of Lee’s caliber is tough, but it’s the right move for next season and beyond.  

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

What Waiving Pitcher Cliff Lee Means for the Philadelphia Phillies

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Philadelphia Phillies recently waived starting pitcher Cliff Lee’s contract.

Shortly after these reports were made public, other reports surfaced that Lee had been claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But, what does this mean?

Essentially, Lee was waived to gauge interest from other clubs. In cases like this, the GM who waives a particular player is not necessarily trying to move the player. Rather, he is seeing what he could get for that player if he were to try to move him.

Cliff Lee is owed $85M. From the looks of things, Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. is selling off high-priced players he doesn’t believe can be the contributors they once were, or contributors that he can use to keep the Phillies in contention.

Reportedly, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Cliff Lee. Now, they can work out a trade with the Phillies.

According to ESPNLA, Cliff Lee will not be heading to the Dodgers any time soon.

Reportedly, Amaro is asking too much in return. Amaro probably wants top-tier prospects, and the opposing team to take on the remainder of Lee’s contract. But, what team is simple-minded enough to do that?

What does all of this mean for the Phillies?

It screams that the team is having financial issues. No MLB team has ever had as many starting pitchers as the Phillies making more than $20M (Halladay, Lee and Hamels).

What this also says is that Amaro is probably considering dumping off Lee’s contract so that he can invest that salary into the team’s other needs.

But, Ruben Amaro, Jr. has said that he has no interest in moving Cliff Lee. Truthfully, he probably doesn’t.

This has all been blown out of proportion. Amaro did the right thing. If he wasn’t gauging interest in a 33-year-old starting pitcher with $85M left on his contract, with a record like Lee’s, on a last place team, then fans should call for Amaro’s head.

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