Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 16

Following June’s First-Year Player Draft and the first half of a majority of minor league seasons, we now have an updated ranking of the Philadelphia Phillies’ top 10 prospects.

The new ranking, according to Bob Brookover, Matt Gelb and Marc Narducci on Philly.com, sees both new names and some shuffling of previously highly ranked prospects.

Between Jonathan Pettibone losing his prospect status, Darin Ruf’s first taste of Triple-A and the Phillies having a first-round draft choice for the first time since 2010, the updated rankings feature three new names.

Additionally, between injuries and outstanding seasons so far, some players’ rankings have either increased or decreased since prior to the season.

Which players are now considered top 10 prospects? Which players have seen their ranking improve based on their first-half performances?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up, whose stock is down and who is new to the list following Week 16.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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3 Creative Ways Ruben Amaro Can Fix Broken Phillies Bullpen

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered another setback on their way to winning the 2013 NL East crown, as relievers Mike Adams and Jeremy Horst are both done for the year.

According to Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via NBC Sports), Adams and Horst are both going to miss the remainder of the season.

Mike Adams did not respond to the conservative treatment for numerous tears in his shoulder. He will likely undergo surgery that could sideline him for the beginning of 2014. Adams is owed $7 million next season.

Lefthander Jeremy Horst’s season is likely over. Soreness in his elbow recurred during a rehab stint at triple-A Lehigh Valley. He visited noted orthopedist James Andrews for a second opinion and was injected with a platelet-rich plasma shot. He will not throw for at least six weeks.

These recent injuries come while Michael Stutes is still on the disabled list with a shoulder problem.

The Phillies now have a very weak bullpen after losing three key pieces, and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will have to get creative in order to fix the issue and work around expensive contracts like Ryan Howard’s.

Assuming that the Phillies are buyers at the deadline, here’s how Amaro can rebuild the bullpen.

 

Acquiring Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler

The Milwaukee Brewers have relievers, and they are looking to deal them.

According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford are both on the trading block. However, both of those guys are too expensive for the Phillies, and Amaro would have to give up serious prospects and have the Brewers eat some of the salary to acquire them.

There are cheaper options in Milwaukee, however, as the 30-year-old Henderson and the 28-year-old Kintzler are making a combined $983,000 this season.

The problem with this trade is that both Henderson and Kintzler are under team control until 2018 or later. The Brewers are not going to part with these guys easily, but the fact that they have such small salaries could entice Amaro into giving up high-level prospects to acquire them.

This won’t be a cheap trade. Elite prospects will have to be dealt in order to get this done, and even then, it still might not happen. However, this is exactly the move a desperate Philadelphia team could try to make if it runs out of options.

 

Cutting a Deal With the Marlins

It’s never easy to trade between divisional rivals, but the Miami Marlins have become such a joke that they should be trying to build for the future at all costs.

The Marlins have plenty of bullpen talent with minimal salaries (since they can’t afford to pay anyone well), which will certainly interest the Phillies.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has listed Steve Cishek, Mike Dunn and Ryan Webb as those who could be on the move. Amaro will likely inquire about all three of these guys, and depending on the prospects the Marlins are interested in, one or two could be headed to Philly.

None of those guys are free agents before 2016, however, which could drive up the price.

Another guy that could be dealt is Chad Qualls, who is making $1 million this year and is only under team control through 2014. His price could be much lower, and the Phillies wouldn’t mind bringing him back.

 

Trading for Nate Jones and Addison Reed

The Phillies don’t have the money and prospects to put together a package for the Chicago White Sox‘s top relievers like Jesse Crain, but the team can go after cheaper guys.

Nate Jones and Addison Reed are on the trading block, and Jon Heyman reported that everyone other than Chris Sale and Paul Konerko is available for the ChiSox.

Jones and Reed are owed a combined $1.3 million this year, which is cheap enough to interest Amaro. However, they are both under team control until 2018, which is long enough that Chicago will ask for some talented prospects.

The asking price won’t be cheap, but at this point, Amaro needs to do something. If he isn’t selling, then Jones and Reed might be his best bet.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Pros and Cons of Dealing Cliff Lee Before Trade Deadline

Know this straight away: In my opinion, the Phillies should not trade Cliff Lee. Not this season, not next season and preferably not ever.

But there is little use in going over the pros and cons of trading the likes of Michael Young, Carlos Ruiz or even Jonathan Papelbon.

Young is a subpar defensive third baseman who hits for a decent average but little power. Substitute defensive prowess for an ability to stay healthy, and Young is basically doing a Placido Polanco impression.

If anyone wants to give the Phillies a useful major league-ready bullpen arm or a solid prospect for Young, Ruben Amaro Jr. should fax the paperwork to the other club while he has that opposing general manager on the line.

That goes double for Carlos Ruiz. Everyone loves Chooch. His contributions to the greatest era in Phillies baseball from 2007-2011 will never be forgotten. 

For that matter, his yeoman efforts to drag an injury-riddled club to a .500 finish last season—his greatest statistical season by far—were remarkable to watch.

Too bad it seems now to have been a lot of mirage and little real water.

So if Ruiz has to go to a contender, well, goodbyes are hard but they are usually unavoidable.

As for Papelbon, that signing was a mistake when it happened. Didn’t Ruben read Moneyball? You know what usually wins the game when you have a lead going into the ninth inning? The fact that you have the lead going into the ninth inning.

All three of these players are expendable now. Papelbon, particularly, is a Corvette parked outside of a modest apartment complex.

The idea of trading Chase Utley is intriguing, but until an offer commensurate with his value appears, the Phillies will probably cling to Utley like a drowning man hanging onto a splintering piece of driftwood.

Not one of the aforementioned players would bring the haul that Cliff Lee is likely to bring back to the Phillies if they deal him. As such, the pros and cons of trading Lee are the weightiest of any current member of the Phillies.

Per my disclaimer up front, to my mind, there are two pros and more cons to trading Lee.

The pros are very simple:

1. The chance to restock the farm system in a meaningful way via prospects coming back in the deal
2. The clearing of at least $50 million from the books.

The cons, though, are really significant.

The biggest downside to trading Lee would be that with him goes any pretense of contending in either 2013 or 2014.

The Phillies are a .500 club right now instead of a real contender for at least a Wild Card largely because their franchise first baseman hit like a fourth outfielder, their bullpen is an atrocity, and Utley missed a month.

But even if the Phillies’ quest to return to the postseason dies young this season, the thought of bringing back a core of Lee, Cole Hamels, Domonic Brown and Ben Revere is suddenly very attractive.

How many other teams can say they have their center fielder, their power bat, and two aces in the rotation in place?

As for the money, a lot of people might look at Lee’s $25 million per year contract and gasp that it is too much. If anything, though, Lee is a little bit underpaid.

If Lee were to hit the free-agent market this winter, his .625 career winning percentage and the supporting peripherals would probably get him that money for at least four more years.

Finally, there is that bit about needing to sell tickets.

Even if the Phillies retain Lee at the expense of splurging in the free-agent market this offseason (doubtful), keeping Lee and Hamels for 2014 gives fans a subtle peace of mind about buying tickets to Phillies games.

Specifically, it means that fans can justify their ticket purchases by saying to themselves that they have a 40 percent chance of seeing an ace pitch every time they go to Citizens Bank Park.

Boar’s Head had a terrific campaign touting its delicatessen products a while back, and their tagline was perfect: “Compromise Elsewhere.”

That would be my message to the Phillies about trading Cliff Lee.

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Phillies Trade Rumors: Team Should Consider Trading Michael Young at Deadline

When the Philadelphia Phillies begin play Friday evening at Citi Field, they’ll be embarking on an 11-day, 10-game journey that could fundamentally alter the state of their franchise.

The Phillies went into the All-Star Break 48-48, a perfect 25-man representation of the word “meh.” They are a half-game behind the Washington Nationals for second place in the National League East, six games behind the Atlanta Braves for the lead in the division and 5.5 out of the one-game wild-card rodeo.

Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love and the home of the shruggable losers. At least it is for now.

With boundless injuries and an overwhelming sense of mediocrity from the roster, the Phillies are teetering on the edge of buyer and seller at the July 31 trade deadline.

Ryan Howard was placed on the disabled list earlier this month and is expected to be out six to eight weeks with a torn meniscus, his contract becoming more Procellariidic by the moment. Considering Howard’s injury history and what knee problems can do to a power hitter, the latter seems like it’s painting a rosy picture at this point.

Outfielder Ben Revere breaking his foot (h/t USA Today) after hitting it with a foul ball only added to the team’s chaos. Revere is the only Phillies regular hitting above the .300 mark and is the team’s only baserunner that’s a step up from passable.

Those injuries leave Philadelphia’s lineup with a core of Domonic Brown, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Michael Young. While those last three have all been stars, past injuries have sucked Utley from the ranks of the elite, and Rollins has a WAR of 0.8 and has been a minus defensively for the first time since his second full major league season.

Couple that with a mediocre rotation outside of Cliff Lee—their starters rank 11th in WAR and 15th in xFIP—and a wretched bullpen, and the Phillies’ playoff push isn’t exactly flowing. 

With 10 games to go until the deadline, Philadelphia will have some time to see where it stands and assess the best course of action. 

“Everybody acts like it is tomorrow but it is two weeks away,” Phillies CEO David Montgomery said in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News’ Marc Narducci, alluding to the team’s deadline plans.

Mitigating circumstances point to the team being closer to seller than buyer.

Rival teams will certainly hope that’s the case. The Phillies became a deadline seller a year ago, shipping Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, respectively. Both became key pieces for contending National League clubs, brought back prospect help to a Phillies system in desperate need and were overall fair trades.

With an abundance of similar players on Philly’s roster—guys who can help a contender but not create one—it’s thought to be a perfect seller candidate.

The name that keeps popping up is Young, the Phillies’ major acquisition last winter. Young came over after playing parts of 13 seasons with the Texas Rangers, waiving his no-trade clause to have a more defined role.

While some saw the move as another example of shortsighted thinking—the Phillies adding another aging veteran past his prime, one who wouldn’t push them to the top—the move might wind up working out in the long term.

As pointed out by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, about a dozen teams have inquired about Young’s availability.

The 36-year-old third baseman has returned to slightly above replacement level after a dreadful 2012, hitting .288 with six home runs and 28 RBI. He’s also been a steadying veteran presence in the clubhouse, buoying the reputation he garnered in Texas as a consummate professional.

That’s all well and good.

But the true impetus for teams looking to acquire Young is more about the lack of right-handed bats on the market. Outside of South Florida, rampant fire sales have become less and less prevalent throughout Major League Baseball, with teams choosing to jettison their assets in a more piece-by-piece fashion. 

Massive deals like the Boston Red Sox trading their whole team to the Dodgers last August will still happen every once in a while, but those mega-deals are always more anomaly than a sign of rampant impending chaos.

Philadelphia moving Young would be one of those small moves as part of a larger movement. Young is a free agent after this season, and while he has a no-trade clause, it’s one he would likely waive in order to play for a contender. 

What’s more, the Phillies stand to lose Young without compensation this offseason. It’s unlikely they would tender Young a qualifying offer worth the average of this year’s top 125 salaries, which the new collective bargaining agreement requires them to if they want draft-pick compensation.

The Yankees and Red Sox have both expressed interest in Young, each looking to add a veteran for their playoff push.

Boston sent vice president of player personnel Allard Baird to watch the Phillies play before the All-Star Break, per Rosenthal. New York and Boston are the type of media markets that could appeal to Young and allow him to return to the American League. Mark Feinstand of the New York Daily News noted the Yankees may try enticing the Phillies with a package centered around Joba Chamberlain. 

Rosenthal did not disclose the other 10 or so teams that had interest.

The rub that comes with trading Young is finding a replacement. The Phillies’ farm system is one of the worst five to 10 in the game depending on which expert you want to cite—Baseball Prospectus had them 24th in spring training—and they have no immediate fit at third base unless they plan on bringing up a prospect before he’s ready.

That matters if Philly is still in the playoff hunt in a week-and-a-half. If the team manages to gain a game or two on the NL Central mob, then it might be smart to hold onto Young and move a surplus player for some bullpen help.

But considering the Nationals’ prodigious talent makes them a constant contender and none of the NL Central clubs look primed for a downfall—no, not even the Pittsburgh Pirates—finding October will be awfully difficult.

This short sample size for the Phillies will tell a ton about their immediate future—Young’s included. But if things go as expected, standing pat shouldn’t be an option.

 

All advanced metrics are courtesy of FanGraphs.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Untouchable List at the 2013 MLB Trade Deadline

While the baseball world is still in the midst of the All-Star break, the conclusion of the festivities means one thing: It’s the peak of trading season. Teams around the majors will be dealing for or trading away players based upon their standings and future potential.

Such a position isn’t always clear-cut, and for the Philadelphia Phillies, this could not be any truer in 2013. Their prospect depth isn’t ideal for the future by any means, but their recent winning ways have them slated toward making one final push for October.

Even though there still remain just under two weeks until the July 31 trade deadline, things still can change. The Phillies could move into first place in the division, or they could fall flat on their faces into the cellar of the division. Right now, they’re leaning toward buying, but as is always the case with baseball, anything can happen.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has admitted that nobody on the Phillies is untouchable, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, but it’s hard to imagine that there aren’t some players about whom the Phillies would hang up the phone immediately if they received calls for them. Here’s a run-through of the Phillies who will definitely be here to stay through the trade deadline and beyond because the team will refuse to even listen to offers about them.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Hottest and Coldest Players Heading into the Second Half

In the baseball season, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish. And for the Philadelphia Phillies, this will be very important, as top-level performance in the second half will be required if the team hopes to complete the improbable task of earning a playoff spot.

In order to do this, the Phillies will rely on their veteran stars to provide the experience and leadership needed by a team in a playoff stretch run. Of course, they will also hope that certain players will get hot at just the right time.

Entering the All-Star break, there were a handful of players who were doing just that and heating up at the perfect time. However, there were also guys who had been cooling off.

The Phillies will need all of their players to perform at top level and to keep their momentum. They will need their hot guys to stay hot in the summer months and the cold guys to heat up quickly.

Until the second half begins though, here are four of the team’s hottest players and four of the coldest players entering the grind of the second half.

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MLB Trade Deadline: Should Philadelphia Phillies Be Buyers or Sellers?

As the 2013 MLB season is at its midway point, teams are now being clearly defined as contenders and pretenders. However, one of the teams in between these points is the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s about this time of year when fans around the league start to examine whether their team will be buyers or sellers come the trade deadline at the end of July.

While many teams will be looking to add the missing piece to their roster for a deep playoff run come the fall, others will be looking to offload hefty contracts and aging players in return for up-and-coming farm league talent. 

With a record of 48-48, the Phillies are the definition of a league-average team. Sitting 6.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, as well as 5.5 games behind in the Wild Card race, the Phillies face quite the predicament this season. 

While some would look at the massive contracts of superstars like Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon and the ages of core players such as Chase Utley, others would see these same players as a solid foundation that could help Philadelphia make a playoff push in the second half of the season.

That is where the debate begins. 

On one hand, many critics of the Phillies would call Philadelphia a team on the decline. First baseman Ryan Howard is out for six to eight weeks with a knee injury. Center fielder Ben Revere is also set to miss six to eight weeks due to a broken foot.

Those two injuries may prove to be costly for the Phillies’ chances in the second half, and that doesn’t even include the injury to Roy Halladay, the pitching ace for Philadelphia who has been out since May with a shoulder injury. 

Furthermore, the Phillies have several contract issues that they may want to address come the deadline.

One of those issues involves superstar pitcher Cliff Lee, who is 34 years old and set to earn $75 million over the next three seasons. 

Not to mention, the Phillies have several key players over the age of 30, including Halladay, Lee, Papelbon, Utley, Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young. 

If general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. wants an opportunity to become younger and stock the farm system, this may be a great time to do so, especially with Young, Utley, Ruiz and Halladay (assuming his option is declined) set to become free agents after this season.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Ford, the Phillies should stick to being sellers at the trade deadline despite their recent success.

Ford’s argument is an interesting one. Ford cites the injuries to Howard and Halladay as a crippling blow to the Phillies’ playoff chances. However, Ford goes on to say that if the prognosis of Halladay’s injury and recovery is promising, then the Phillies have a chance to turn into buyers, although he doesn’t see that happening. 

With all that said, this team is right in the thick of the playoff race. As this team has shown us, like they did in 2007 when they came back to steal the division title away from the New York Mets after being seven games behind with 17 remaining, anything can happen.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, Amaro Jr. has said that his team will in fact be buyers at the deadline. 

Believers in the Phillies would look at the team’s recent form. Yes, they’re a .500 team, but they have won their last four series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox. Three of those teams (Pirates, Braves and Nationals) have better records than that of the Phillies. 

Believers would say that players such as Utley, Lee and Rollins have the experience and potential to lead the team in a second-half push. Believers and optimists would say that Halladay may be ready to pitch in late-August, which would only help the starting rotation. Believers would look at Cole Hamels’ recent form, and say that he is finally returning to his game that made him a NLCS and World Series MVP in 2008.

Also, the Phillies schedule favors them. There is no West Coast trip left on their schedule, the longest road trip remaining for the team this seasons is nine games, and the Phils have 12 games remaining with the Braves, as well as nine with the Nationals, making for a great opportunity to make up games in the standings. 

When all is said and done, it is not an easy question. Only one man, Amaro Jr., can answer the question of whether the Phillies should be buyers or sellers come the MLB Trade Deadline, and yet he still might not even know. 

It is an answer that will not be decided until right up against the deadline. While the Phillies have an aging and injury-plagued roster that may need to be overhauled, there is no doubting the potential is there for the Phillies to make a serious playoff push in the second half of the season. 

What do you think? Should the Phillies be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline on July 31st? Share your opinions and predictions for what the Phillies will do in the comment thread below! 

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Stock Up, Stock Down for Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 10 Prospects for Week 15

The Philadelphia Phillies may be heading into their All-Star break this week, but the majority of their minor league teams will continue on with their respective seasons.

The Phillies have reached the All-Star break with a record of 48-48, adding to the mystery of whether the team will buy, sell or do a little of both with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching.

What’s more certain, however, is that a number of prospects may see their futures with the team impacted depending on what the Phillies decide to do.

While general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. and the front office decide whether to add to the farm system or use current minor leaguers as trade pieces, the team’s prospects must continue progressing and try to follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Pettibone and Darin Ruf.

One prospect who is not ranked in the top 10 but who has had an outstanding season so far is Severino Gonzalez.

In the South Atlantic League, Gonzalez has 31 strikeouts to just three walks in 21.1 innings and, combined with his numbers from the Florida State League, has 64 strikeouts and has walked just six batters this season.

But how did the rest of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, fare this week? Did Jesse Biddle and Maikel Franco shine at the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game?

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose is down following Week 15.

 

*All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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5 Lessons Learned from Cliff Lee’s 1st Half

After a stellar start to the season, Cliff Lee is headed to New York to represent the  Philadelphia Phillies in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game. Owner of a 10-3 record and a 2.86 ERA, Lee has been Philadelphia’s best player so far this season and continues to be one of the best pitchers in the game.

But there’s more to Lee than wins and losses. He’s the team’s ace, their workhorse, and if the Phillies are smart, the key piece that will keep them in the hunt for October.

Lee’s first 19 starts tell us a lot about the player and about this Phillies team moving forward.

 

Cliff Lee is not Roy Halladay

Phillies fans watched in horror as the once mighty Roy Halladay became a shell of his former self this year, posting an ERA of 8.65 before hitting the disabled list in early May.

Halladay is only 15 months older than Lee, but fans should not expect the same rapid decline out of the veteran left-hander.

Like Halladay, Lee’s fastball velocity has declined this year. The difference is Lee’s heater has actually become more effective according to Fangraphs.

With a Pitch Value of 23.6, Lee’s fastball is more than six points from last season. PITCHf/x calculates that per every 100 pitches, Lee’s fastball is saving 2.82 runs more than an average pitch and twice as effective as it has been at any other point in his career.

When he is on his game, Lee paints the corners with a variety of fastballs, most of which are coming in between 89-91 mph. Yet he is able to keep hitters off-balance in a way that Halladay could not.

Watch the footage from Lee’s stellar performance against the Minnesota Twins from June 13th to see how effective he is at locating his fastball to get hitters out.

It’s not an overpowering pitch, but mixed with his good curveball and changeup, it’s an effective pitch that will keep him producing for years to come.

 

Cliff Lee is unbeatable with run support

Cliff Lee is the same pitcher he was last year, but the difference between 2012 and 2013 has come down to run support.

In 14 of his 19 starts this year, the Phillies’ offense has scored at least three runs, according to data from baseball-reference.com. In his three losses combined, he has received exactly one run in support.

There is a big difference between pitching with a lead and pitching to keep the game close, and Lee is much better when pitching with a lead. 

Watch the highlights from the team’s loss to the Indians from May 1. More than once the offense comes up empty with runners in scoring position, and as a result, Lee is pitching from behind the whole game and ends up leaving pitches out over the plate as he tries to overcompensate by making perfect pitches.

If the offense is there, it takes the pressure off Lee and completely changes the way he approaches a hitter.

 

The Phillies need Lee to be a workhorse

Cliff Lee has been brilliant all season, but the rest of the pitching staff leaves a lot to be desired. Six other starting pitchers and a rotating cast of characters in the bullpen have combined to go 36-44 with a 4.38 ERA, according to numbers from baseball-reference.com

Because the bullpen has been such a question mark, and because the team’s other starting pitchers have struggled with inconsistency, the Phillies need Lee to pitch deep into every game he starts.

In his 19 starts this year, Lee is averaging about 7.1 innings. Only three times has he failed to make it seven full innings, and only once has been pulled before completing six. Lee’s longevity might be the only thing saving the otherwise mediocre pitching staff.

According to baseball-reference.com, Phillies starters are averaging just 5.2 innings the day before Lee starts. The night after Lee pitches, starters are averaging 6.2 innings per game.

If you do the math, that means Lee has saved the bullpen nearly 50 innings of work compared to those starting around him. That is a big deal for a team that is still searching for answers at the back end of the bullpen.

 

Lee throws too many strikes

Every pitcher wants to throw strikes, but Cliff Lee takes that to another level, and sometimes it is too his detriment.

As ESPN’s Jayson Stark pointed out, Lee pounded the strike zone in Wednesday night’s loss to the Washington Nationals.

The problem is he lost.

In his last two starts Lee is 0-1 with a no decision. He did not allow a walk in either game, but he was knocked around for 17 hits. Opponents were batting more than .300 against him in those two starts, according to baseball-reference.com.

Lee’s best game of the season was his nine-inning shutout against the Marlins on May 22. He was not perfect that night, allowing a pair of walks and even hitting a batter. But by keeping pitches out of the strike zone, he kept hitters off-balance and only gave up three hits.

In his three losses, Lee has given up an average of 8.3 hits compared to just 5.1 in his wins. Walking dangerous hitters takes the bat out of their hands and limits the damage they can do. Lee gave up four home runs on Wednesday night. By walking just one of those hitters he could have changed the course of the game.

 

Philadelphia can’t compete without him

This should go without saying, but the Phillies need Cliff Lee on the roster to be competitive. Yet many fans and experts assume Lee will be gone before the trade deadline.

Unless the Phillies get genuine major league talent in return, trading him makes no sense.

According to FanGraphs.com, Lee has a WAR of 3.1 this season. Both ZiPS and Steamer project him to finish the year with a WAR over 5.0, meaning the Phillies would be five games worse at the end of the season than they would with him.

If the Phillies are going to make a playoff run this year, Lee is too valuable to give up. The two victories he is worth between now and the end of the season could be the difference between playing in October and missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reported, Lee is not on the market, no matter how badly other teams want him.

That should not change going forward because Cliff Lee is the key to the Phillies future.

 

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MLB Picks: Chicago White Sox vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are hitting just .228 at home against left-handed starters this season, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Friday, as they open up a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park.

Courtesy of SBR Forum, the Phillies are minus-118 favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the total sitting at eight in the market.

Let’s take a closer look at this interleague matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up a prediction along the way.

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