Twitter Reacts to Philadelphia Phillies’ Lack of 2013 MLB Trade Deadline Deals
August 1, 2013 by Zach Brown
Filed under Fan News
The 2013 MLB trade deadline has passed, and the Philadelphia Phillies look very much like they did in the days before as general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. failed to pull the trigger on any deals.
With the Phillies in the midst of a slump that has them seven games below .500, fans were expecting—if not demanding—that the team begin its rebuilding process.
Instead, Amaro chose to stand pat, and Phillies fans took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the decision.
The Phillies missed out on a golden opportunity to kick-start the rebuilding process.
The disconcerting part for Phillies fans is that there were trade options available up until the deadline.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the New York Yankees were interested in third baseman Michael Young and catcher Carlos Ruiz but were turned away because, “Amaro didn’t feel like he had an adequate replacement to start at catcher for the Phillies.”
If true, that statement suggests that the Phillies could be looking to re-sign Ruiz in the offseason. It also suggests that the organization is not ready to call on either of its highly touted catching prospects in Tommy Joseph and Sebastian Valle.
With Ruiz, the team knows what it has: an aging catcher—Ruiz turns 35 in January—who has lost nearly all of his power. Ruiz has just one home run this season, and according to baseball-reference.com, his slugging percentage has dropped from a career-best .540 last year to just .293 this season.
Amaro may be right in that there were no other options at catcher for this season.
Joseph hasn’t played a game since July 11 as he deals with nagging injuries, and Valle is hitting just .211 in 72 games at AA Reading, according to baseball-reference.com.
But what does it matter? The team has no chance of competing this year no matter who sets up behind home plate.
Getting a prospect—even a marginal one—seems like a better option than hanging on to Ruiz.
Erik Kratz would be an acceptable replacement for the rest of this year, and if the team has to sign a catcher on a one-year deal for 2014, it is still a better option than locking up Ruiz to an extension.
Not trading Ruiz was a mistake, but not trading Young was even worse. One fan went so far as to call it an “embarassment.”
Cody Asche, who got his first career major league start for the Phillies on Thursday night, is ready to become the team’s everyday third baseman. He has hit at every level of the minor leagues, including hitting .295 with 15 home runs at AAA Lehigh Valley this year, per baseball-reference.com.
Asche is also a better defensive option than Young, who according to baseball-reference.com, has allowed 16 runs above average with his poor defense at the hot corner.
There is no need for Young in 2014. He will turn 37 years old this year, and no major league team is going to bring him in as anything other than a platoon player or veteran pinch hitter.
The Phillies, according to Heyman‘s piece, had an opportunity to rid themselves of his contract and get a prospect in return. Instead, the team will get nothing for him when he walks away at the end of his contract.
Amaro Jr. is overvaluing his current roster, just as he did before the season began. When he should be looking towards the future, Amaro continues to look towards his players’ past performances, leaving fans with very little hope for the club’s future.
It’s that kind of thinking that put the Phillies into the position to be sellers in the first place, and it’s that kind of thinking that will keep the team from contending for the foreseeable future.
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