Philadelphia Phillies: Why They Should Wait to Pursue Another Outfielder

The Philadelphia Phillies have an outfield full of talented yet inexperienced players, and many fans want to see the club sign or trade for a proven veteran in order to balance the roster.

But would this be a smart move?

First, let’s look at the talent still available in the market. According to MLBtraderumors, there are still a decent number of outfielders unsigned, but only a few could offer value to the Phillies.

Scott Hairston, Austin Kearns, Delmon Young and Kosuke Fukudome are left in the free-agent pool and might offer the team some limited help. But with this group of available talent, the Phillies should slowly tiptoe away from any deals.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported Ruben Amaro Jr. is looking for a potential outfielder to sign in order to stir competition among players, much like restaurant owners who overstaff servers.  The better server earns more shifts.

Now this is not a bad theory, but it is an unnecessary one. Philadelphia has a nice foundation of young players in the outfield, who may be successful for many seasons.

The Phils should also stay away from trades before the season begins. Yes, there are big names  mentioned like Justin Upton, but the club would have to give up a lot of talent for a player of his caliber—talent the team cannot afford to lose.

The club could potentially look at another reliever, but overall, the roster should be set for spring training. It’s time to let the kids run out and enjoy a major league season at full speed. With the youth in the outfield and aging veterans manning the infield, the Phillies have a nice balance in the lineup.

Darin Ruf, Domonic Brown and newcomer Ben Revere all have potential to be big players in the league, but need to take their games to the next level and own their positions.

Now, if at midseason the Phillies are terrible, mediocre or pushing for the playoffs, that would be the time for a trade.  Under those circumstances, at least the youngsters would be given a chance to prove their abilities—and the club would be able to properly evaluate their talents. 

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Does Chase Utley Have a Future with the Philadelphia Phillies?

Chase Utley has been a Philadelphia Phillie since 2003. He was 24 when he made his debut with the Phillies, and over the next 10 seasons, fans got to see one of the best second basemen to ever lace up his cleats.

Utley plays the game like everyone should: hard, fast and with grit. 

If injuries were not an issue, Utley was on the fast track to a Hall of Fame career.

He was consistently among the top players in baseball from 2005-2009, but then the chronic knee issues began to surface. Since 2009, Utley has not played in over 115 games due to his chronic knee problems, and some are questioning just how long he has left in his baseball career.

At the end of the 2013 season, Utley’s current contract will expire and he will become a free agent. He will also turn 35 in December.

Will the Phillies re-sign Utley to a short-term deal, or will they move in another direction and let Freddy Galvis or an outside candidate take over at second base?

I see this playing out in one of three scenarios.

One, Utley gets his knee issues under control and is able to play in 140 or more games in 2013. He posts above-average numbers and returns to the All-Star game. As a result, the Phillies decide to offer Utley a one- to two-year extension, which he accepts at a significant pay cut from the $15 million he made in 2013.

Two, Utley’s season is again cut short by injuries. He plays in only 50-70 games and struggles to find any consistency. As a result, Kevin Frandsen and Freddy Galvis take over the majority of his playing time and show they can contribute.

This forces the Phillies to let Utley walk in free agency and look elsewhere for their 2014 second baseman.

Three, Utley finishes somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, as his career averages, age and injury history suggest he will. He plays 90-115 games, bats around .270 and hits anywhere from 10-15 home runs.

Unfortunately for Utley, this is not enough for Ruben Amaro Jr. to seriously consider bringing him back to Philadelphia. The Utley era in Philadelphia ends, and we see him sign with an American League team in the offseason.

In order for the Phillies to bring back Utley past the 2013 season, he must produce at least 80-90 percent of what he has in the past over a 140-plus-game season. 

Bringing back Utley will cost the Phillies a lot more money than letting a younger player like Galvis take over. For this reason, along with his age and injury history, it will be very difficult for the Phillies to want to bring back Utley after his contract expires.

If the Phillies do not see improvement in Utley’s health and production, we will see him play his last game as No. 26 for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2013. 

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Who Will Emerge as the Philadelphia Phillies’ Key Outfielders in 2013?

Upgrading the outfield has been the main objective for Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. this offseason. However, that project hasn’t been entirely completed yet.

Amaro placed a priority on getting a center fielder, and he accomplished that goal by acquiring Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for pitchers Vance Worley and Trevor May.

But the Phillies still have question marks in their corner outfield spots.

Will 2013 be the year that Domonic Brown finally emerges as a productive major league outfielder? He hit .235 with a .712 OPS in 56 games with Philadelphia last season, and at 25 years old, this could be the proverbial make-or-break season for him.

According to CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury, the Phillies want to give Darin Ruf a shot at winning the job in left field.

Ruf had a tremendous 2012 season with Double-A Reading, hitting .317 with a 1.028 OPS, 38 home runs and 104 RBI. In 37 plate appearances in the majors, he batted .333 with a 1.079 OPS, three homers and 10 RBI.

Yet is it too much to expect a player to make the jump from Double-A to the majors in one season? Despite Ruf‘s success in Reading, would he ultimately benefit from more plate appearances in Triple-A Lehigh Valley to begin the year? 

Amaro likely can’t afford to bring in new players at all three outfield positions, so someone from within the organization will have to provide some production—at least early in the season. Based on Salisbury’s report, it appears that Ruf will be that player. 

Obviously, that still leaves right field to be filled.  

Even if Brown gets an opportunity there, will the Phillies add a right-handed hitter to platoon with him? For that matter, could Brown platoon with Ruf in left field?

As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes in a mailbag column, the best candidate if Amaro were decide to go the free agent route would be Scott Hairston

Hairston hit 20 home runs with 87 RBI in 398 plate appearances for the New York Mets last season. More importantly for the Phillies’ purposes, he batted .286 with an .867 OPS against left-handed pitching. 

However, Hairston is surely seeking a significant raise over the $1.1 million that he made last season after his success with the Mets. That might put him out of the Phillies’ range.

The remaining right-handed bats on the free agent market are the likes of Juan Rivera, Ryan Raburn and Delmon Young. In that case, Amaro is better off just pairing John Mayberry, Jr. with Brown in right field.

Regardless, it seems to be apparent that the Phillies will have to bring in outside help for that position. Unfortunately, the Josh Hamiltons and Nick Swishers of the world have signed elsewhere. So in order to get the “difference-maker” that Amaro seeks, he’ll need to make a trade. 

The first name that will surely be mentioned is Justin Upton, whom the Arizona Diamondbacks are reportedly putting back on the trade block, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. 

Upton would be an impact player in right field for the Phillies, capable of 30 home runs, 85 RBI and 20 stolen bases. In other words, he could provide Philadelphia with MVP-caliber production—exactly what Amaro is looking for from his outfield. 

But what would the Phillies have to trade to get Upton from the D-Backs?

Could Amaro come up with a package of starting pitching and perhaps even include one of the organization’s young catchers, such as Sebastian Valle, that would interest Arizona GM Kevin Towers? Third-base prospect Cody Asche might be a player Towers would like as well. 

Another potential trade target could be Andre Ethier, though he wouldn’t be the right-handed bat that the Phillies likely prefer. Ethier would also be expensive, as he is beginning a five-year, $85 million contract this season and Amaro has concerns about staying under the $178 million luxury tax threshold for this year. 

However, the Los Angeles Dodgers are presumably more interested in dumping Ethier‘s contract—perhaps to clear room for signing Michael Bourn—than receiving top prospects in return. That might help Amaro in terms of putting together a potential trade package. 

The same circumstances would likely apply to the Chicago Cubs‘ Alfonso Soriano or Vernon Wells of the Los Angeles Angels.

The Cubs would probably want more for Soriano, since he hit 32 homers with 108 RBI last season. If they have to eat a big chunk of the $36 million remaining on Soriano’s contract, the Cubs will surely ask for better prospects in return. 

For the Angels, Wells would be a straight salary dump. He’s still owed $42 million, but he isn’t coming off a productive season like Soriano is. However, the Phillies would likely have to either trade top prospects to get the Angels to cover most of that money or they would have to add that ridiculous salary to their payroll. 

The guess here is that Amaro will make a play for Upton if he feels the Phillies still need to add an impact outfielder.

Upton is the best player available with the most upside. He is also the most affordable in terms of salary, slotted to make $38.5 million over the next three years. Though Amaro would have to pay a heavy price in a trade for him, the Phillies would get far more from Upton than the other veteran outfielders that are available. 

Philadelphia could go into the upcoming season with an outfield of Ruf, Revere and Brown, but that would be a tough sell to fans, and it’s difficult to believe that trio would help the Phillies compete in the NL East with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves. 

 

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4 Wishes for Charlie Manuel and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2013

Christmas may be over, but it’s never too late to start compiling a list of things you’d like in 2013.  My list includes some changes I’d like to see Charlie Manuel make this year for the Phillies.

Manuel is facing a unique situation in his ninth season as manager.  When Charlie first became skipper of the club in 2005, he had a boatload of young, talented players who were just coming into their potential.  Now, however, he is in the exact opposite situation.  While talented, the Phillies are an aging, past-their-prime team that has maybe a year or two left to really compete. 

This team will require Manuel to make some changes, something he has been reluctant to do in the past.

Here is a list of four things I would like to see the Phillies’ skipper do differently in the New Year.

*All statistics and figures taken from baseball-reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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2013 End-Year Stat Projections for Every Phillie If They Make No Impact Moves

It may not have gone as planned, but the Philadelphia Phillies spent the offseason addressing most of their major concerns. They overhauled the coaching staff and added several key roster pieces, including Ben Revere, Mike Adams, Michael Young and John Lannan. 

With a corner outfield that represents an obvious upgrade over what the Phillies already have in-house proving to be elusive, the roster that you see today is likely to be what the Phils march out on Opening Day. 

So, now that most of the questions about who will make up the 2013 Phillies have been addressed, it’s time to take a look at whether this club is going to be able to keep pace with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves.

This list, which will attempt to be as accurate as possible in projecting statistics, is not going to be a wish list of unreachable plateaus for members of this roster. If a bold number is thrown up there, it will be with indication and good reason. 

So without any further ado, here are the numbers you can expect out of this Phillies club, assuming they don’t make any major moves through the rest of the offseason.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Biggest Winners and Losers of the Offseason So Far

While the MLB offseason may still be in media res, it looks as though the Philadelphia Phillies‘ offseason is winding down. They acquired a center fielder in Ben Revere, a third baseman in Michael Young, and signed a veteran set-up man in Mike Adams and a fifth starter in John Lannan.

Aside from picking up Mauricio Robles off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and signing catcher Humberto Quintero to a minor-league contract, the Phillies’ offseason consists solely of the aforementioned moves without any big-name free agent signings. Considering that the Phillies’ past three offseasons have each consisted of a major move in Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon, the lack of a marquee move comes as a bit of surprise.

Nevertheless, as a result of these moves, some players have gained the edge for roster consideration that they may not have otherwise had. Conversely, other players now stand at a disadvantage following the Phillies’ offseason moves. And though the offseason is far from over—there’s still just over a month until the start of spring training—the implications of the Phillies’ moves are pretty clear.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the Phillies’ offseason so far.

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Contingency Plans for the Phillies If Roy Halladay Never Returns to Dominance

Regardless of the additions general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. made to the Philadelphia Phillies roster during the offseason, starting pitching was going to be the strength of the team in 2013.

With Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels topping the rotation, Philadelphia has a chance of competing for an NL East title and wild-card playoff spot. But Amaro had to make the necessary improvements on offense to make sure his team’s strong pitching wouldn’t be wasted.

However, that’s presuming that Halladay, Lee and Hamels are all healthy. In 2012, rumors and concerns over injuries followed Halladay throughout spring training as he showed diminished velocity. In June, Halladay went on the disabled list with a strained shoulder and eventually missed nearly eight weeks of the season. 

Though Halladay made 14 starts after returning from the DL, there is understandably some concern as to whether or not he can make it through a full season healthy again. He’s 35 years old with nearly 2,700 innings on his odometer. 

In his latest mailbag column for MLB.com, Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki was asked about Halladay’s health and what sort of offseason conditioning he was working through to prevent a repeat of 2012. 

According to Amaro, Halladay’s offseason is going according to plan and he’ll begin throwing off a mound in the very near future. However, there was one part of Amaro‘s remarks that might seem a bit cryptic to Phillies fans. 

“He’s doing well,” said Amaro, “but we don’t know what kind of Doc we’re going to get until Doc’s down firing in Spring Training. But he’s feeling pretty good so far.”

To be fair, that’s probably the most honest answer Amaro could give.

If he said Halladay looks great and was popping catchers’ mitts in Clearwater, Fla., while the right-hander was really trying to build strength in his shoulder and didn’t have his full velocity yet, fans, reporters and analysts would hit the panic button and Amaro would look foolish.

Halladay would also surely be upset that reports of his progress were misleading and Amaro didn’t manage expectations properly. 

Instead, Amaro said everything was proceeding as planned. But until Halladay starts throwing to catchers off a mound and faces live competition, it’s impossible to say that his shoulder looks stronger than it was last year and that he should be fine for next season.

However, the words “we don’t know what kind of Doc we’re going to get” does leave an opening for some doubt to creep in.

What if Halladay won’t be the pitcher we’re accustomed to seeing, the ace who won 40 games in his first two seasons with the Phillies? Is he capable of pitching more than 240 innings and averaging 220 strikeouts again? 

According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, Philadelphia was ready to talk about a contract extension before Halladay was injured. Those plans have probably been ditched. 

Obviously, the Phillies are hoping Halladay will be able to earn his $20 million salary for 2013 and pitch well enough for the team to pick up his option for 2014 (also worth $20 million). If age and workload have finally caught up with him, however, devising a contingency plan might be in order for Amaro and manager Charlie Manuel. 

Fortunately, the Phillies have two other ace-level starters ready to take over the No. 1 spot in the rotation if Halladay suffers any setbacks. 

Though Lee compiled a 6-9 record last season, he finished among the National League’s top 10 starters with a 3.16 ERA. His 207 strikeouts and 1.11 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) both ranked in the league’s top five. 

Hamels’ 17 wins were the fifth-highest total in the NL. His 216 strikeouts ranked third among the league’s starting pitchers, while his 1.12 WHIP was right behind Lee. Opposing batters hit .237 against Hamels, one of the 10 best marks in the NL. 

Both pitchers exceeded 200 innings for the season, the sort of workload expected from a top-of-the-rotation starter. 

Losing Halladay would affect the depth of the starting rotation, of course. With Vance Worley and Trevor May going to the Minnesota Twins in a trade for outfielder Ben Revere, there was already less to work with. 

Rather than three elite pitchers, the Phillies would have two. Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan would fill the next two spots, leaving the fifth starter a question mark. Tyler Cloyd, who made six starts last season, would probably be the favorite for that role.

Jesse Biddle is the Phillies’ top prospect, according to Baseball America. But he pitched in Single-A last season and is realistically at least another year from appearing in the major leagues. 

Jonathan Pettibone could be a possibility to join the Phillies rotation in 2013. He finished last year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and looked impressive in his seven starts. Overall, Pettibone went 13-8 with a 3.10 ERA, striking out 113 batters in 159.2 innings. 

The Phillies and Amaro would probably have to go with what’s already on hand in Halladay’s absence. What’s available to trade might have to be used to fill the team’s opening in right field, unless Amaro and Manuel believe Domonic Brown is the answer at that position. The front office likely wants a better run producer there, however. 

Phillies fans are surely tired of hearing such rumors and speculation, but if Halladay can’t go, rumblings about the team trading Cliff Lee will start up again. While the left-hander would surely help the Phillies compete for a playoff spot and division title, he’s also Amaro‘s most tradeable asset.

Lee is the team’s best chance to fetch a blockbuster return and help the Phillies return to contention faster if their starting rotation can’t feature the three studs that were supposed to set them apart from the competition in 2013. But that might be a “Break glass in case of emergency” situation. 

If Halladay suffers from shoulder fatigue and diminished velocity again, however, it might be an emergency scenario at Citizens Bank Park. Under those circumstances, glass probably won’t be the only thing that Amaro breaks in his office this year. 

 

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Top Moments for Every Phillies Player Voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot is one that has been five years in the making and a hotbed of discussion, but still hit the voters, fans and other baseball folks like a ton of bricks, the elephant in the room being, “Do players who have been caught or accused of ‘cheating’ have a right to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?” 

Now, that’s a long discussion for a different day. When you sit and think back on some of these careers, however, it’s easy to make a case for their inclusion. No man in history has more home runs than Barry Bonds. Roger Clemens won the Cy Young Award seven different times. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

Luckily for the Phillies, this isn’t a debate that is going to rage in their inner circle. The Phillies haven’t had a player inducted into Cooperstown since Jim Bunning finally got the call in 1996, and probably won’t see another one any time soon. 

But it does get one to thinking, what was the greatest moment of each member of the Phillies in the Hall of Fame? This slideshow will take a look back at the careers of some of baseball’s all-time greats.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Missing Free-Agent Pieces Phils Could Still Land

At the MLB Free Agent Bar and Night Club, it is 1:50 a.m. The bartender rang the bell for last call 20 minutes ago, and the “ugly lights” just came up. For Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Philadelphia Phillies, there is still time to leave with someone…but the clock is ticking.

Most of the really prime targets have gone home with someone else.

Josh Hamilton took generational money to hit behind (or ahead of) Albert Pujols in Los Angeles. B.J. Upton got five years and $75 million from the Atlanta Braves to try to beat the Phillies 19 times a year. Nick Swisher is apparently content to play the rest of his career out of contention in Cleveland.

Zack Greinke got a contract from the loose-walleted Los Angeles Dodgers that beat even Cole Hamels’ epic free-agent deal. Anibal Sanchez somehow pried $80 million from the Detroit Tigers even though his career record is 48-51.

The big names, per this very handy cbssports.com free-agent tracker, have for the most part settled on partners.

So who’s left?

Michael Bourn is the biggest name unsigned, but he does not figure to fit in the Phillies’ plans after they traded for Ben Revere. Bourn and Revere in the same lineup would never work, as neither one hits for power.

The name the Phillies need to look at again is Delmon Young.

Young hit .267 with 18 home runs and 74 runs batted in for the Detroit Tigers in 2012. Young is a right-handed hitter; he is only 27 years old, and he’s coming off ankle surgery. He could be signed for short years and/or short money.

For weeks, Phillies fans were hearing that the Phillies were interested in signing right-handed outfielder Cody Ross, who instead went to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Here is the thing, though—Young might actually be a better player. Ross’ 2012 slash line of .267/22/81 is not much different from Young’s 2012 slash line of .267/18/74. And Ross is four years older.

The knock on Young is that he supposedly cannot play left field (or perhaps any position) adequately, and thus he is best suited for the American League.

But the 2008 Phillies won the World Series with a decomposing Pat Burrell chipping home runs into the short porch in left field. The 1993 Phillies won a pennant with Pete Incaviglia staggering around the AstroTurf at Veterans’ Stadium. Neither of them could catch a cold. It didn’t matter, because they hit.

Young could do something very similar for the Phillies in 2013.

The Phillies could also use one more starting pitcher. Everyone loves Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, but that leaves nearly 70 starts for the likes of Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan to cover.

Wouldn’t Shaun Marcum or Joe Saunders fit neatly in that No. 4 slot in the rotation?

And since Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Valverde, Matt Capps and Kyle Farnsworth are all still unsigned, it appears that the market for their specific services (late-inning pitchers with experience closing games) is glutted. The Phillies could definitely afford one of them on a one-year or even a two-year deal.

If the Phillies are really serious about winning in 2013, another wave of free-agent signings even this late in the process is in order.

Leaving the scene alone as the barkeep locks the door should not be an option.

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