Philadelphia Phillies’ 5 Most Tradeable Assets for the 2013-14 Offseason

Philadelphia Phillies fans who watched the Boston Red Sox, American League Eastern Division laughingstocks in 2012, win the 2013 World Series cannot help but think, “Hey, that could be us next year!”

David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News doesn’t think so:

The Phillies situation is less promising than the Red Sox: First, the guys they are counting on to improve are in their mid-30’s while the guys the Red Sox were counting on were in their late-20’s. Second, they need to make wise choices in free agency, something that has not been their forte as of late.

What a wet blanket, right? What do you think Red Sox fans were saying in 2012, anyway? I’ll tell you: They were saying that the Sox were finished.

Andrew Cohen’s April 22, 2012 piece in The Atlantic declared last rites over the Red Sox: “Brothers and sisters of Red Sox Nation, it is time. And someone’s got to say it. So I come before you today to bury a particularly notable version of our beloved team.”

Cohen was right about 2012, but a year later the Red Sox had won another title.

So the Phillies can mope around and curse others’ luck, or they can get put a proper plan together and do something about the franchise’s fortunes.

Here are five pieces the Phillies could move to turn the team’s momentum forward again.

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