Phillies Rumors and Speculation: Fact or Fiction on the Hottest Talk

The Philadelphia Phillies had clear needs coming into the offseason. But anyone who laid out a detailed outline of how they would meet them has already hit the shredder.

Those plans are better served as celebratory confetti once the offseason ends and spring training begins. 

The Phillies’ biggest need this winter was a center fielder, and with at least five good free-agent options available, many believed they would go that route. Instead, Ruben Amaro Jr. and company swung a trade, sending a member of their starting rotation, Vance Worley, to the Minnesota Twins for Ben Revere. 

That’s one need filled, one created. After acquiring third baseman Michael Young from the Texas Rangers, the Phillies finally dove into the free agent pool and came up with a pair of pitchers, John Lannan and Mike Adams, to bolster their starting rotation and bullpen, respectively. 

But the one player that those without faith in Domonic Brown and Darin Ruf have coveted is still missing—a right-handed, power-hitting corner outfielder. Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly passed along a few quotes from Amaro that leads one to believe that void could close soon. 

Will the Phillies add an outfielder? Will they add more minor league depth? Here is a fact-or-fiction roundup of this week’s hottest rumors and speculation.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ 5 Most Expendable Players

“Most expendable” here does not mean “worst.”

If it did, this would be a slideshow about John Lannan, Laynce Nix, Freddy Galvis, Erik Kratz and one of the many middle relievers who struggled for the Phillies so much in 2012.

Instead, “most expendable” in this context is closer to its dictionary meaning. Per merriam-webster.com, “more easily or economically replaced than rescued, salvaged, or protected.”

The Phillies certainly, by that definition, have some expendable players on the roster.

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Creating Each Phillies Player’s To-Do List to Win the 2013 World Series

In case you weren’t aware, winning a World Series is not an easy thing to accomplish. We’re talking about a sport where in any given season a team can make the postseason by the skin of their teeth, get hot at the right time and stun the world. 

So how do you best position yourself to win a World Series? Is it some kind of advanced science? Do you work on developing young talent through the draft, or throw millions of dollars at free agents? The truth is that there is no right answer. 

It’s never easy to look at a club’s roster and narrow down exactly what it is that they need to do to win the World Series, but a quick look at the Philadelphia Phillies roster turns up some obvious answers. For example, they need to stay healthy and have their younger players produce. 

But this isn’t a game where one man can realistically change the landscape of a team’s hopes. It’s a team sport, and luckily for the Phillies, I’ve created a to-do list for each player on their active roster. Following it to the letter should put this team on course for a parade in October. 

Now, can it actually be done? Let’s find out.

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Which Phillies Superstar Has the Best Chance of Dominant Bounce-Back Year?

It’s safe to say that the Philadelphia Phillies had a boatload of obstacles in their way during the 2012 season. Despite the All-Star caliber play of guys like Carlos Ruiz, Jonathan Papelbon and Cole Hamels, and the success of Jimmy Rollins and Cliff Lee (win total not included), wins eluded this Phillies squad for a majority of the season.

One of the biggest reasons why the Phillies failed to defend their five consecutive NL East division titles was due to the health of some of their key players.

Chase Utley sat out the second straight spring training and most of the first half of the season due to his patellar tendinitis and chrondromalacia, while Ryan Howard lost a little over half of 2012 due to his infamous torn Achilles tendon in the final at-bat of the 2011 NLDS.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all, though, was the injury which afflicted Roy Halladay. Doc had been coming off a 2011 season which saw him place second in the NL Cy Young Award voting only to Triple Crown winner Clayton Kershaw and a 2010 season that saw him win the award.

Heading into 2012, the last thing anybody expected was for Doc to start the season off injured. In spring training, rumors surfaced that Halladay’s fastball velocity had dropped significantly from 2011, and while it wasn’t a huge issue at the beginning of spring training, Doc’s lack of success in Clearwater prior to the season was a bit alarming.

He seemingly put the commotion to rest after a stellar April that saw him go 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA. However, May was much, much worse for Halladay, and by the end of the month he hit the DL for the first time in four years due to a shoulder strain. He didn’t return until just after the All-Star break.

These three players, Utley, Howard and Halladay, have made up the core of the Phillies’ roster for the past three years (in Doc’s case) and even longer for the former two.

Utley was once the undisputed best second baseman in baseball. Howard was once a feared home-run hitter who had the potential to smack a pitch out of the ballpark at any given time.

And even less long ago, Doc was considered one of baseball’s most intimidating pitchers with an intellect for his repertoire that could fool you despite not having strikeout stuff all the time.

However, with age comes wear and tear, and that’s certainly been the case for these three players. Utley’s knee tendinitis and chrondromalacia (worn down cartilage) are issues that can only be temporarily remedied. Surgery doesn’t even provide a full guarantee, and it would sideline the now-34-year-old for most, if not all of a season.

Howard has had issues ever since twisting and spraining his ankle on a slide back to second base in 2010. After receiving multiple cortisone shots in the ankle, there’s a possibility that the cortisone weakened his Achilles tendon, allowing it to tear in his final at-bat against St. Louis in the 2011 NLDS.

Of course, I’m not a doctor, so I won’t speculate on the chances that that was the reason behind the injury, but it’s come up before as a reason why Howard may have injured himself that day.

Halladay’s cause for his shoulder strain has been thought to be the result of years and years of innings logged up on it without any significant problems beforehand.

Until 2012, the last time Doc hadn’t reached 200 innings in a season was 2005, and from 2007 through 2011, he pitched at least seven complete games in each of those seasons.

After a certain point it’s going to take its toll, and unfortunately for the 35-year-old Halladay and the Phillies, that time may have been 2012.

The good news is that there’s hope for all three of these players to find a resurgence and get back on track. Granted, the chances that any of or all Utley, Howard and Halladay will return to All-Star caliber play are not necessarily in their favor, but to think that each of the three can’t at least be above average at their respective positions is not out of the question. The only problem is that it revolves around a lot of “ifs” as opposed to guarantees.

First of all, Utley has the chance to come back as close to full strength as possible if he can play the majority of spring training. Fortunately, that may not be a hard obstacle for Utley to overcome, as he’s “doing very, very well” with his workouts in California, according to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro.

Considering it’s been since 2010 that Utley’s played in a single spring training game, seeing him in action in Clearwater would be extremely encouraging.

Howard, per Amaro at the beginning of the offseason, said that Howard’s “already lost a significant amount of weight.” Whether that means anything or not in terms of how mobile he’ll be remains to be seen, but it’s certainly not a bad thing when he’s already somewhat limited by his ailing Achilles.

If Howard has or does strengthen himself up to the point where he can hit 35 or even 40 home runs again on the season, Phillies brass and fans alike would be thrilled.

As for Halladay, he’s got a reputation as one of the hardest-working players. His work ethic is unparalleled and the amount of time (in addition to time of day, at around five in the morning) he takes out to focus on his workouts every day is incredible.

And this offseason, in order to rebound from his disastrous 2012, Doc has been working out with Kyle Kendrick and has been strengthening his arm in addition to tinkering with his mechanics. Should they return to form, Doc should find himself back at the pinnacle of pitching in 2013.

Now let’s make things interesting. Given the status of these three players, which one has the highest potential of bouncing back from 2012?

The name I’m going to cross off the list immediately is Howard. I don’t think that the Big Piece is not going to bounce back, but I think his chances of well-rounded success aren’t especially good.

Whether it’s his batting average, home run count or OBP, Howard doesn’t have the same presence nor same bat since he returned in 2012, and from an unprofessional view (again, I’m not a doctor), I don’t think that a repaired Achilles will bring that back for him.

That leaves us with Utley and Halladay, and I’ll be honest, it’s not an easy decision. Utley plays hard every time he takes the field, which is also a potential reason for his ailments. And with Doc being such a determined worker, it’s an even split. But a decision will be made.

Utley certainly has more to overcome than Halladay does, in my opinion. He hasn’t played in a spring training game in three years and has not taken the field for an April game in three years as well. The earliest he’s played in either of 2011 or 2013 was May 23.

The good news is that, at least for now, Utley looks like he’s on track to play in spring training and open the season with the Phillies. But until he does, I’m reserving judgment on him. After all, his injury concerns have been withheld in the past from the media and public. How do we know that isn’t happening again? Heck, we don’t even know if Cole Hamels is fully healthy, thanks to Amaro.

In Halladay’s case, he has more to prove in 2012. Utley’s being held to a lower standard since he’s had these issues for quite some time now. But for Doc, he’s out there to prove that 2012 was a fluke and that he’s still the same pitcher who took home the hardware as recently as 2010.

Knowing that a World Series ring has continued to evade him, Doc will be more motivated than ever to earn one as the Phillies’ possibly final chance at winning it all stands before them in 2013.

Due to the nature of Utley’s injuries as opposed to Halladay’s, Doc’s well-established track record of determination and his desire to still win the World Series, I think that Halladay will have the biggest bounce-back year of this group of players.

He’s still got a chance at a ring, but unlike Utley and Howard, he still has yet to be doused with victory champagne at the end of October.

Having said that, in the final guaranteed year of his contract, Doc will want to prove that he’s worthy of another deal in addition to worthy of remaining the Phillies’ ace. He’s got a lot on his shoulders, but if he can brush off the 2012 season, little prevents Halladay from rebounding in 2013.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

The One Thing Each Phillies Player Hopefully Improved This Offseason

It’s easy to look back over the 2012 season and assume that there are a lot of drastic changes and improvements to be made for the Philadelphia Phillies, and while there are certainly plenty of question marks, that isn’t necessarily the case. 

After all, this is a club that addressed a few major concerns this winter by adding players like Ben Revere, Michael Young, Mike Adams and John Lannan. They’re looking to keep players like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay healthy, which should help them improve.

But this is a game where there is always room for improvement, whether it’s a minor tweak to a great player or a huge change for a struggling performer, anyone without an aspect of their game to improve upon is either a legend or a fool. 

So as we begin to look ahead to spring training, this slideshow will focus on a specific area of each player’s game that could use an improvement in 2013. 

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5 Offseason Moves Philadelphia Phillies Should Have Made

At this point in the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies, like all teams, are finalizing their roster and checking to see whether more competition can be added to create position battles in spring training.

With the exception of an additional corner outfielder, the Phillies hit all of their needs this offseason, although just how well they filled each hole cannot be determined until the season begins.

In the meantime, however, we can review an offseason’s worth of transactions to see which moves the Phillies could have made, but decided to go in a different direction.

These players did not receive an offer from the Phils, chose a different deal instead or were dealt to another team. Regardless, each player fills a need that could have helped to further improve the team heading into next season.

Here are five offseason moves the Phillies should have made.

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Phillies Rumors and Speculation: Fact or Fiction on the Hottest Talk

It can be difficult to let the following fact sink in during the thick of a dreary, chilly day in the middle of January, but spring training is right around the corner, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp about a month from now. 

And while there is an air of excitement among baseball fans everywhere, clubs with front offices still trying to upgrade their rosters are starting to feel the heat. The Philadelphia Phillies addressed most of their needs earlier this winter, but still have small tweaks to be made. 

The Phillies came into the offseason with a few obvious needs before swinging trades for center fielder Ben Revere and third baseman Michael Young. At that moment, their needs changed, and Ruben Amaro Jr. signed Mike Adams and John Lannan to address their bullpen and starting rotation concerns, respectively. 

Now, the Phillies are left with no obvious holes in the roster, but the desire to add depth both in the starting rotation and the outfield is noticeably strong. 

So as we take a look at some of the items still burning on the offseason rumor mill, keep in mind that the Phillies are looking to make more of a subtle addition than a huge splash in the month of January. 

Remember, labeling a rumor / speculation as “fact” does not mean that said player will join the Phillies. It means that there is a realistic possibility of a deal happening. On the inverse, “fiction” means that there is little to no chance that a player joins the Phillies.

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Philadelphia Phillies: What Every Fan Needs to Know About the 2013 Team

More than anything, what fans need to know about the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies is that, for the first time in six years, they enter the season as decided underdogs in their own division.

Bovada.lv did the honors recently by releasing its World Series futures. The Philadelphia Phillies are not a darling of the book entering 2013.

The good news is that, per Bovada, the Phillies, at 16/1, have an equal chance to win the World Series as their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves (who unlike the Phillies made the playoffs last season).

The bad news is that Bovada presently projects the Washington Nationals as the National League East’s most likely World Series winner at 9/1.

In a related story, the Phillies will need a number of unlikely occurrences to happen simultaneously to have a reasonable hope of making the playoffs.

It was more fun for Phillies fans to watch the team open the season as defending National League East champion for five years running.

On and on the good times went.

The good times, though, are over.

Coming in 2013 are, at best, nervous nights, as the Phillies try to push a roster that is both too old and too young at the same time across the line to a playoff berth—most likely as a wild card.

At worst, the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves (winners of 98 and 94 games, respectively) will continue to drive the Phillies down the standings like a stray nail into a board as they did in 2012.

As indicated above, the Phillies have an odd blend of established veterans (some nearing or in the downside of their careers) and young, untested players. The team will need both of those contingents to produce at good to great levels 

For the veterans, Roy Halladay will have to bounce back from a pretty poor 2012.

Fresh off winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2010 and finishing runner-up in that voting in 2011, Doc posted this line in 2012: 11-8, 4.49 ERA, a half-dozen starts missed and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.67, his worst since 2007.

New third baseman Michael Young is 36 years of age (one year older than Halladay) and coming off a poor season with the Texas Rangers in 2012.

Young hit .277 (with only eight home runs) on a playoff team in a hitters’ park surrounded by offensive superstars (Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler). Texas was eager enough to move Young that the Rangers are paying $10 million of Young’s $16 million salary in 2013.

Halladay and Young will both have to come closer to their career averages than last year’s forgettable stat lines if the Phillies are to have a reasonable chance to thrive in 2013.

Ultimately, though, if the Phillies cannot get fully healthy, productive seasons from Howard and Utley, all the RBI doubles Young can muster will never be enough.

As far as the younger players go, the outfield that boasted Victorino, Hunter Pence and Juan Pierre to begin the 2012 season is gone.

And the Phillies are relying heavily on three young, unproven players to put up numbers in their places.

The Phillies gave up Vance Worley and highly regarded pitching prospect Trevor May to pry Revere from the Minnesota Twins. Revere will start in center field for the Phillies in 2013.

Manuel needs to figure out what to do with a player like Revere—74 career stolen bases, zero career home runs—in a lineup already a bit starved for the long ball.

Darin Ruf is likely to start the season in a platoon in left field. That is a significant jump in level of play for a guy who spent most of 2012 at Double-A Reading.

Finally, there is Domonic Brown. The Phillies are, by necessity, likely to give Brown one last chance to show that he can hit major league pitching and be an effective player at the highest level.

The addition of Mike Adams to the bullpen will take a lot of the onus off the less-reliable relief pitchers behind him, which should keep the Phillies from blowing as many late leads as they did in 2012.

The known quantities are Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Jonathan Papelbon.  All of them did their jobs well in 2012; despite that, the Phillies only won half of their games.

For the 2013 Phillies to reverse the trend and get back to the playoffs, the unknown quantities will have do much more than they did last season.

But maybe don’t bet on it.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

MLB Trade Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies Must Acquire Alfonso Soriano

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lack of talent in both corner outfield positions and could easily solve this problem by trading for Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano.

Philadelphia currently has John Mayberry and Domonic Brown slated to start in left and right field this season, but neither had an OPS of higher than .725 last season and both project as platoon players.

MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is definitely seeking an outfielder to help Philadelphia become more of a contender in 2013:

“We’ve had several talks with free agents, although they’re limited now,” Amaro said Friday. “We’ve also talked about some possibly trades. We’re staying active as far as that is concerned. We’re still trying to improve, depth-wise, in our outfield, if we can. We don’t have proven everyday Major League players on our corners right now. If we can create some depth there, if we can create some competition, I would like to do that.”

Soriano would not only create depth and competition with the Phillies, but he’s good enough to be the everyday starting left fielder. The 37-year-old former second baseman hit .262/.322/.499 with 32 home runs and 108 RBI in his sixth season with the Cubs last season. Soriano is a seven-time All-Star and has received MVP votes five times—including 2012 when he finished in 20th place.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that Soriano is a guy that the Phillies have their eyes on:

Most of the heavy lifting is done, but the Phils continue to look for a right-handed hitting outfielder. Manager Charlie Manuel likes Darin Ruf, and the team has discussed doing with platoons in both left and right, incorporating Domonic Brown, John Mayberry and possibly Laynce Nix.

The Phillies, sources say, continue to look at all options, including the signing of free agent Scott Hairston and trades for the Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano and Los Angeles Angels’ Vernon Wells.

Acquiring Soriano makes the most sense since he continues to be productive for an underachieving team year after year. He’s hit at least 20 home runs for 11 consecutive seasons has never had his OPS drop below .726 over that span.

Soriano is owed $36 million over the next two years, but that shouldn’t deter Philadelphia, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:

 

#cubs are willing to pay about $26M of soriano’s $36M if they get right prospect back. seems reasonable. 30/100 last yr

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 13, 2012

 

Paying Soriano just $5 million per year for the next pair of seasons is a bargain. Soriano would solve a major void—for lack of a better term—at one of the corner outfield positions and could likely hit fifth in the lineup behind Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

The Phillies have a couple of top pitching prospects that would likely interest the Cubs and for what Soriano brings to the table in 2013 and 2014, it would be well worth it to give one of them up.

Soriano is the answer to Philadelphia’s problems. 

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Best and Worst-Case Scenarios for Every Philadelphia Phillies Player in 2013

The Philadelphia Phillies approach each and every season as though anything short of a World Series title will be a bust. Given the high pressure environment that Philadelphia sports fans bring to the table, that isn’t a bad philosophy to have. 

Over the last couple of seasons, that seemed like a realistic goal. The Phillies had one of the best starting rotations in baseball, a solid bullpen and an offense that could score some runs—if they could stay healthy. The best and worst case scenarios were fairly easy to determine. 

Moving into the 2013 season, those scenarios have become a bit more clouded. Given all of the variables that stand between this club and a potential parade at the end of October, calling the ’13 campaign “World Series or bust” may not be fair to any party involved. 

But the one thing that remains constant through all of those variables—this season more than ever for the Phillies—is that this club is going to have to stave off some of their worst case scenarios if they want to be successful. 

This slideshow will serve as a primer for the upcoming season, outlining each player’s best and worst case scenarios in an attempt to determine what needs to go right and what can’t go wrong if the Phillies want to contend—and win—a World Series title this year.

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