Philadelphia Phillies: Would Cliff Lee-Matt Kemp Trade Make Sense?

Now that baseball is in the thick of the winter meetings, rumors and potential signings and trades will be heard out the wazoo. Plenty will be going around throughout the next two days or so, and Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells has done a fantastic job of keeping track of them so far.

Among the rumors involving the Philadelphia Phillies are that closer Jonathan Papelbon is being shopped, as is young outfielder Domonic Brown. These came to light thanks to tweets from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan, respectively.

However, the most intriguing Phillies rumor emerged on Tuesday when ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted the following concerning the Phillies’ pitching staff:

 

The Phillies have indicated to other teams they are ready and willing to talk about Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in trades.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 10, 2013

Considering that the Phillies are still seemingly immersed in a “win-now” mode, it’s strange that they’re contemplating trading the two most reliable cogs of the team, let alone the rotation. What makes this even weirder is that it completely contradicts the signings of Marlon Byrd and Carlos Ruiz. Then again, so does the notion that Domonic Brown could be dealt. So what is the Phillies’ strategy, exactly?

It’s becoming more and more apparent that the Phillies may not have one. But they’re not wrong for listening to potential deals. It’s simply due diligence, though ESPN’s Jayson Stark provided an interesting update on the Lee/Hamels front not too long after Olney‘s tweet: 

Team that talked to #Phillies reports only way they’d trade Lee/Hamels is in “win-win” scenario. Take none of $. Get huge return. Unlikely

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 10, 2013

The prospects of a deal under those circumstances are slim to none. It’s pretty clear that that’s the case. But have the Phillies considered a deal in which established major leaguers, not minor league prospects, are the return?

That possibility lingers in only a few instances. It would involve two high-priced stars being swapped for one another, with each filling holes for the two teams involved. That’s not so easy to find.

However, one instance in which this is a possibility is with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers, who have been connected to Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, are hesitant to trade away top prospects in their barren farm system to get him. This tidbit comes from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Where does that leave the Dodgers? It means that they’re still likely interested in acquiring an ace starter, though they would prefer to give up pieces on the major league team as opposed to within the minors. This is where they could match up in a trade with the Phillies.

Hernandez of the L.A. Times provides even more information, this time coming from Kemp’s agent, Dave Stewart. Stewart believes that Kemp is likely to be traded, even with six years and $130 million remaining on Kemp’s extension signed before the 2012 season.

That’s a hefty price to pay for Kemp, who’s been meddled with injury woes since signing the deal. Such a drawback may not appeal to the Phillies. But the ability to upgrade at a position of need while dealing away another large contract? It’s at least thought-provoking.

The Dodgers want Price, a left-handed ace with two years of team control left. Is Cliff Lee not the same caliber of a pitcher, with two guaranteed years left on his deal and is a southpaw ace?

There is a difference, and that’s cost. Price is still arbitration-eligible, so his salaries will spike from year to year, yet still remain below those of Lee. Lee has two years and $62.5 million guaranteed on his contract, though he could earn $15 million more if his 2016 vesting option kicks in.

The perk to Lee, though, is knowing his cost and knowing that he’s got that potential third year of control left. That may be appealing to the Dodgers if they seek longer commitment than two years, since Price will more likely than not pursue free agency as one of the top starters on the market after the 2015 season.

Kemp appeals to Philadelphia because he’s still a top-flight player when he’s healthy. He’s right-handed and has power, which would be even greater at Citizens Bank Park. His defense is extraordinary. And he’s flashed speed on the basepaths to the point that he nearly achieved a 40-40 season in 2011.

But the kicker? Kemp’s only 29 years old. Lee is 35. For a Phillies team looking to get younger, it doesn’t get any better than this.

The good news with Kemp’s deal as well is that it’s not back-loaded like Lee’s. According to Cot’s, Kemp makes a consistent $21.5 million for each of the last four years of his deal, whereas Lee makes $25 million in 2014 and 2015, with the potential to make $27.5 million as a 37-year-old in 2016.

Per season, Kemp’s average annual value would actually be $4 million less on the Phillies’ payroll than Lee’s, providing some slight wiggle room under the luxury tax. The Phillies wouldn’t have to eat any of Lee’s contract, which is what they’re looking for in any deal involving him. And they’d be receiving an All-Star center fielder who’s a game-changer when on the field.

This trade would have some ramifications on the rest of the Phillies’ outfield, of course. It would mean that Ben Revere would likely be a fourth outfielder, a role which doesn’t utilize his speed enough. In that regard, it isn’t the most practical trade, unless Revere was shipped off with Lee. Given that the Dodgers have an outfield conundrum as well, though, that’s unlikely to happen.

Such matters can be resolved later, though. In many ways, a Lee-Kemp swap makes a ton of sense. But will it happen? Probably not, unless Phillies and Dodgers general managers Ruben Amaro Jr. and Ned Colletti get creative. But given that Prince Fielder and Ian Kinsler were traded for one another this offseason, nothing can be ruled out.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Weaknesses and Quick Trade Fixes for Philadelphia Phillies

While most of Major League Baseball’s free agent activity generally doesn’t occur until after Thanksgiving or even until the winter meetings, which start on December 9, the Philadelphia Phillies have been active nonetheless in the open market thus far. They’ve inked outfielder Marlon Byrd to a two-year, $16 million contract and also re-signed catcher Carlos Ruiz to a three-year, $26 million deal.

Where does that leave the Phillies? At the moment, their starting lineup is practically set, barring any other moves yet to come. Byrd is likely to start in right field, and the only way that changes is if the Phillies felt comfortable that Byrd could start in center and they sign another right fielder, or if a center fielder himself is signed. Regardless, that could potentially bode poorly for incumbent center fielder Ben Revere.

As it stands, the Phillies are likely not playoff contenders, and the signings they’ve made will not bring them any closer to the promised land that is October baseball. But they still need a veteran reliever or two and possibly a starting pitcher as well. Simply put, pitching is now the priority.

But who’s out there? The starting pitching market is flush with options, but this being free agency, said options won’t come cheap. And when the best starting pitcher available isn’t even found stateside yet, you know you’re dealing with a weak market.

Concerning the relievers, one of the top options in Joe Smith recently signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, while Lynn Henning of The Detroit News reported that the Detroit Tigers were moving closer to a deal with reliever and former closer Brian Wilson.

If the Phillies still believe that delving into free agency is their best fit, their options are limited at best. Most of the starting pitchers left require the surrender of a draft pick. For the Phillies, the good news is that their first-round pick is protected, so they would only lose their second-rounder should they sign someone attached to draft pick compensation.

However, Matt Garza lacks the qualifying offer attached to the aforementioned compensation, so in that regard he could be attractive to the Phillies. And if the Phillies are willing to spend a little extra, Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka could be posted for and signed at some point. Going the route of relievers, Edward Mujica, Joaquin Benoit and Grant Balfour remain as the top setup men, though all three closed last year and could be seeking closer roles and corresponding money.

Considering that the Phillies have already handed out $42 million to two players this offseason and just over $16 million per season for luxury tax purposes, their payroll remains sky-high without a full roster to complement it. This scenario may force the Phillies to dip their toes into the trade market, which is much more flush with talent but also has a higher premium to obtain it.

That doesn’t mean that there are some options out there for the Phillies, though. If the Phillies want to go all-in, they could try to acquire left-handed ace David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays, though it would require the Phillies to trade their top two or three prospects and then some. That means that Maikel Franco, Jesse Biddle and possibly J.P. Crawford would be on the move in addition to some of the Phillies’ other top prospects.

Chances are that other teams can best the Phillies’ prospect package for Price, meaning that the Phillies should and would likely look a little further down the ladder. But who might that include?

From a rotation standpoint, names like Brett Anderson of the Oakland A’s, Brandon McCarthy of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs‘ Carlos Villanueva could all make sense. Each would come at different prices and the most expensive would likely be Anderson, who’s younger than the other two and also has a club option for 2015. The other two would be free agents after 2014, which would give the Phillies some rotation flexibility in the future as their prospects get closer to reaching the majors.

Yovani Gallardo could also be a possibility, though his reputation might be more valuable than his production at this stage of his career. Although he’ll turn just 28 years old in February, he could require a hefty prospect package in return for his services. Especially considering that the team trading him away is the Milwaukee Brewers, who lack a deep farm system, the return could be even higher.

From a reliever standpoint, Matt Belisle of the Colorado Rockies and Luke Gregerson of the San Diego Padres could make sense from the right side, while Joe Thatcher could be a solid southpaw option. All would also be free agents after 2015, though, so while that aspect would appeal to the Phillies from a rotation standpoint due to prospect depth, the same can’t be said for the bullpen. The Phillies need more plausible depth since most of the younger relievers have not panned out.

Thus, relievers like Casey Fien of the Minnesota Twins and Mike Dunn of the Miami Marlins could make more sense. Both are under team control for at least three years, with Fien under team control through 2018. Their returns could be slightly costly, but neither should command anything inconceivable.

In brief, the trade market is in flux and more will be clear at and after the winter meetings. For now, we can only speculate, but the above options all would make sense in some regards if the Phillies don’t make any moves in free agency. As we’ve seen in the past with general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., though, we just don’t know what he’ll do, good or bad.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies Rumors: Pros and Cons of Top Offseason Targets

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies jump-started both their offseason and that of the entire major leagues, striking first to sign outfielder and former Phillie Marlon Byrd to a two-year, $16 million contract. Byrd, who hit 24 home runs in 2013, is one of the less expensive sources of right-handed power, and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. felt compelled to sign him quickly for that reason.

What Amaro may not have considered as much was that Byrd is 36 years old and is coming off a season that is hard-pressed not to be deemed an anomaly at this point. Given that Byrd was terrible in 2012 and was suspended 50 games for a banned substance, $8 million a year for two seasons—with a third-year option—is a bit excessive, to say the least.

Each free agent has his pros and cons, and it’s Amaro’s job to judge them before pursing a player extensively. Whether he did that with Byrd is immaterial now, but he can make sure that he does his due diligence before signing any more free agents to major contracts.

With that in mind, here are the pros and cons of five top offseason targets for the Phillies.

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5 Dream Free-Agent Pickups for Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are headed for a critical offseason. With holes in the bullpen, rotation, at right field and at catcher, the Phillies will have some work to do this offseason if they plan on fielding a contender in 2014.

Even if the Phillies can’t realistically expect to contend for the postseason in 2014, they can still do more than just patchwork. While this year’s free-agent crop is thin, it’s headlined by its fair share of stars who could make an impact on any of MLB‘s 30 teams.

Given the Phillies’ already hefty payroll and likely unwillingness to exceed the $189 million luxury tax, they will only be able to do so much with their vacant dollars on the free-agency front. While it’s not far-fetched to think that the Phillies could sign a top free agent, the chances that they will sign three or four are probably slim to none.

With free agency officially starting at 12:01 a.m. EST Tuesday, November 5, the clock is ticking for general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and Co. to determine which positions should be prioritized and who to sign to fill them. If he had his way, chances are that Amaro would sign the top free agents at each necessary position.

Today, that’s what we’re going to consider.

Amaro has the resources to sign at least one of the five players to be mentioned in this slideshow. Here are five dream free-agent pickups the Phillies would want to (and could) make.

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5 Realistic Moves Philadelphia Phillies Should Consider

The offseason ahead will potentially be one of immense surprise for the Philadelphia Phillies, for a few reasons. First and foremost, the oft-mentioned television contract situation will near its climax, as the Phillies are expected to sign their new, multi-billion dollar TV deal within the next month, according to CBS Philly.

In addition, the Phillies are close to hiring a much-needed statistician, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. While that alone is unlikely to alter the dynamic of the Phillies front office, it should influence future contracts and trades, at least to some extent.

Third, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. always has some tricks up his sleeve. Just how he plans on utilizing them this offseason remains to be seen, and whether or not they make sense will depend just on how he restructures his philosophy of signing and acquiring players, if at all.

In the following slides, five realistic moves independent of one another will be presented. Again, this slideshow does not and will not suggest that all five moves be made; rather, any of the five moves could come to fruition this winter and at least should be considered.

Here are five realistic moves the Phillies should consider in the coming offseason.

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5 Relievers Philadelphia Phillies Should Pursue This Winter

Man, does the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen need help.

Over the last two seasons, the Phillies have seen their once-stellar relief corps turn into a nightmare of a situation. As older veterans like Ryan Madson and Brett Myers left the team, the Phillies relied internally on replacements. While that strategy worked in the past, it has predominantly failed since.

In 2013, the Phillies’ bullpen ERA was 4.23. That figure was good for second-worst in the National League only to the Colorado Rockies, and fourth-worst in all of baseball. That’s not exactly the kind of news you like to hear, but is it really news anymore?

That’s where things have to change this offseason, and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will have his hands full in determining who to sign to fill that role. Mike Adams was supposed to be that guy almost a year ago, but as his performance rapidly declined, so did the health of his shoulder.

The Phillies bullpen needs someone, almost anyone…good, that is. Here are five relievers the Phillies should pursue this year on the open market.

*All player statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and/or FanGraphs.com.

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Predicting Philadelphia Phillies’ Starting Lineup Next Season

For still-new manager Ryne Sandberg and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies, 2014 will bring some changes but also many struggles. Coming off a 2013 season which saw the team score the third-fewest runs in the National League and tied for fourth-fewest in all of baseball, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. will have to get extra creative this offseason in filling the holes in the lineup, namely a right-handed power bat in the likely form of a corner outfielder.

Catcher is also a priority for the Phillies, though there’s a good chance that Carlos Ruiz could be re-signed somewhat easily. He’d like to return and the Phillies would like to have him back, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reported late last month that there’s mutual interest to strike a new deal.

The starting rotation and bullpen also have their fair share of issues, but for the sake of this piece, I’ll stick strictly to the everyday starting lineup. It’s not exactly clear what moves will shape up this offseason and it’s definitely a question as to how Sandberg will pencil in his lineup on a day-to-day basis. For now, I’ll hazard a guess. Here’s a prediction of the Phillies’ starting lineup in 2014.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Has Ruben Amaro Jr. Traded Away Too Much Pitching Depth?

“You can never have too much pitching.”

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

The aforementioned old adage is well-known to be a favorite of Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

It rang true come playoff time in 2009, 2010 and especially 2011, when the Phillies rotation was headed by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. Throw then-solid fifth starter Vance Worley into the mix and you’ve got a starting rotation that pitched to a 2.86 ERA in the regular season, best in the majors that year.

As Phillies fans and the baseball world have come to know, the rotation monster known colloquially as the Four Aces didn’t matter come the NLDS against the eventual champions, the St. Louis Cardinals.

With a Phillies offense that could barely hold its own despite the team having the majors’ best record at 102-60, the City of Brotherly Love saw what would be its baseball team’s most recent postseason appearance come to an untimely close.

And let’s not forget Ryan Howard tearing his Achilles tendon on the final play.

In the playoffs, the pitching was as much to blame as the offense. Although the offense provided minimal run support in those crucial games, there were a couple instances when the rotation was at fault.

Lee couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead. Oswalt blew up and blamed a squirrel. And from the Cardinals’ standpoint, the pitching was to be credited for its successes, as Chris Carpenter tossed a complete-game shutout on short rest in the decisive Game 5.

Fast-forward to present day. The Phillies are wrapping up the 2013 season, which will likely end with them placed fourth in the NL East and with their first losing record since 2002. This follows a 2012 season in which the team, coming off five consecutive NL East titles, finished the season at .500, going 81-81 and not even winning one of two Wild Card spots, let alone the division.

Even though the last two seasons have shown decline for the Phillies, the root of it comes from different aspects of the team.

In 2012, cornerstones Chase Utley and Howard missed more than half the season. The indestructible Halladay finally showed that he was human, landing on the disabled list for roughly two months due to a shoulder ailment. The offense was anemic, and it was most notable in Cliff Lee’s win-loss record, which stood at a jaw-dropping 6-9 despite his good numbers overall. 

But in 2013, the dynamic was different.

Sure, the offense wasn’t spectacular behind Utley and breakout All-Star Domonic Brown, but it held its own enough of the time. No, the problem was the unexpected: the starting rotation and bullpen. In short, the pitching.

“You can never have too much pitching.”

This was most definitely true in 2013. In the first half of the season, Opening Day starter Hamels struggled to gain control of his pitches and his head. He will have a losing record at the end of the season in spite of a fantastic second half. Lee’s record on the season is 14-8, with one of the many losses a 1-0 tough-luck defeat against Kris Medlen and the Atlanta Braves on September 27.

Baseball isn’t always fair. Ask Lee after 2012, and ask the 8-14 Hamels of 2013, if they think that their records reflect their performance. Lee’s 3.16 ERA and Hamels’ 3.60 ERA show just how good they were in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Shave down the latter’s ERA to after the All-Star Break and you have a 2.97 figure.

What’s more are the injuries and maladies that afflicted the Phillies throughout 2013.

Due to the continued shoulder woes of Halladay, Kyle Kendrick’s season-ending shutdown and rookie Jonathan Pettibone‘s shoulder inflammation, 10 pitchers started at least one game for the Phillies this year.

Add in the oft-injured bullpen headlined by offseason signee Mike Adams as well as suspended Antonio Bastardo, and you have a total of 25 pitchers on the season in addition to two position players pitching in relief. 

Twenty-five pitchers. That alone makes up a season’s active roster.

“You can never have too much pitching.”

No, I suppose you can’t. That’s been evidenced by the 27 players who have set foot on the mound this year in a Phillies uniform. But does pitching mean good pitching?

Since Amaro took over the reins as Phillies GM following the 2008 World Series win, he’s made a plethora of trades in an effort to boost the major league team.

In 2009, he dealt four prospects, including two pitchers, to the Cleveland Indians for Lee, a deal that paid off for the Phillies. Amaro then proceeded to deal Lee to the Seattle Mariners for three prospects—two of them pitching prospects—whilst trading away another three prospects, bona fide pitching prospect Kyle Drabek and superstar catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, to the Toronto Blue Jays for Halladay.

In 2010, due to the void left by trading Lee, Amaro traded away 2009 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up J.A. Happ and two prospects to the Houston Astros for Oswalt. And in the offseason, Amaro notably re-signed Lee, bringing back the pitcher the fans so loved and vindicating himself for dealing Lee in the first place.

Or so it seemed.

2011 saw the Phillies trade away four prospects, including pitching prospect Jarred Cosart, for Astros right fielder Hunter Pence. And 2012 saw pinch-hitter Jim Thome, center fielder Shane Victorino, starting pitcher Joe Blanton and Pence traded for reliever Josh Lindblom and, otherwise, prospects.

Finally, the 2012 offseason saw Amaro trade Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Ben Revere, and deal another two pitchers, including Lindblom, for Texas Rangers third baseman Michael Young.

Have you noticed a trend here?

I’ve tried to emphasize the amount of pitching dealt by Amaro to make these trades, many of which had minimal impact and others that ultimately didn’t result in any World Series runs, Lee in 2009 aside.

The list of Phillies pitchers and pitching prospects traded away in these deals is seemingly endless. Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp. Drabek. Happ. Cosart and Josh Zeid. Blanton. Worley and May. Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla. And in minor player swaps, Julio Rodriguez and Michael Schwimer.

It’s also worth mentioning the pitching names the Phillies received in return over the years. Jack Taschner. Phillippe Aumont and J.C. Ramirez. Jeremy Horst. Kyle Simon. Seth Rosin. Lindblom, Ethan Martin and Ryan O’Sullivan. Frank Gailey. Rob Rasmussen and Nefi Ogando in August of this year. And that’s it.

“You can never have too much pitching.”

Funny how much shorter the second list is compared to the first, isn’t it? Amaro has traded away 14 pitchers in major deals throughout his tenure compared to acquiring just 12. One, Lindblom, isn’t even with the Phillies anymore. And Aumont could be on his way out soon as well.

The trades have worked out well for the Phillies in some instances and not so well in others.

Players like May, Rodriguez and Bonilla have yet to make the majors. Schwimer has yet to resurface in the bigs. Happ, Drabek, Carrasco and Knapp have dealt with injury, Knapp to the point that the Indians released him. Blanton was far from great as a Los Angeles Dodger. Worley struggled upon his trade and has been stashed in the minors for most of the year.

However, Happ—aside from being hit in the head by a comebacker earlier this year—has shown mild success after being traded from Houston to Toronto. Cosart has started off his career with a bang, and Zeid has made it to the majors as well. May has struggled in the minors this year but is still in the Twins’ future plans. And Carrasco and Drabek, despite injuries, have rehabbed or are in the process of doing so.

Meanwhile, the Phillies’ acquisitions have primarily fizzled.

Taschner was awful. Aumont and Ramirez have failed to establish themselves. Horst was good for a stretch but has since struggled or been injured. Martin is still a question mark. And Simon, Rosin, O’Sullivan, Gailey, Rasmussen and Ogando have yet to make the majors. Many of them never will.

While the trades the Phillies have made have their successes and failures, it’s worth noting that their acquisitions in these deals have been far worse than the talent traded away.

“You can never have too much pitching.”

In 2013, the starting rotation suffered. When John Lannan got hurt, there was a contingency plan in Jonathan Pettibone. When Halladay got hurt, Lannan returned and Martin burst onto the scene. When Pettibone got hurt and Martin had to be moved to the bullpen, Tyler Cloyd and Zach Miner stepped up. And both of them have struggled.

The bullpen also dealt with its fair share of injuries and issues. Adams dealt with various bicep and shoulder problems. Horst and Michael Stutes were also hurt, and Chad Durbin was terrible and subsequently released. Bastardo was involved in Biogenesis and suspended for 50 games. Aumont likely lost favor within the organization after command problems and a hissy fit of sorts upon being demoted. 

The bullpen replacements were mediocre at best, save for a few like Jake Diekman, Justin De Fratus and B.J. Rosenberg of late. The others, like Cesar Jimenez, Luis Garcia, J.C. Ramirez, Joe Savery, Raul Valdes, Miner and potentially Mauricio Robles, wouldn’t even be major leaguers on other teams.

My point is this: The Phillies have a ton of pitching. That’s not a bad thing.

But the quality of the pitching they have? Pathetic. Abominable. Abhorrent. Atrocious. 

What was once considered an unstoppable rotation behind the Four Aces and Blanton, then Worley, is a distant memory. Now, all that’s left are deep scars in what was once a stockpiled organization in both the majors and minors.

The Phillies will have to see players like Cosart and Happ succeed elsewhere as a result of trades later rendered obsolete and unnecessary. It’s still too early to rule out successes from Carrasco and Drabek, at least in some capacity. Zeid could be a decent bullpen option for the Astros, while May will likely make the majors and thrive in some role.

Other teams aren’t having trouble sleeping at night from their side of trades with the Phillies.

Halladay netted the Blue Jays Drabek and d’Arnaud, the latter of whom later turned into R.A. Dickey. Lee gave Seattle Justin Smoak in a later trade. Revere gave the Twins much-needed pitching depth, even if it’s still a work in progress. 

But the big problem here is the Phillies’ lack of pitching depth.

When you realize that the Phillies had to rely on a pitcher who can’t top 90 miles per hour in Cloyd and a journeyman in Miner as consistent starting pitcher options, even for a short time, you know that the team is in trouble. And if the Phillies haven’t realized it yet, they will.

Yes, you could argue that some of the Phillies’ pitchers traded elsewhere haven’t done well since their trades. But that point’s irrelevant when you realize that they were good as Phillies, and nothing suggests that they would have necessarily flopped if not traded away.

Carrasco was the team’s top prospect when traded and Knapp was a top 10 guy. Drabek was a No. 1 as well at the time of his trade. Happ had been good in a Phillies uniform, as was Worley. And Cosart and May were on the fast track to be key contributors for the Phillies, most likely now or in the near future.

Instead, the Phillies have to make some additional moves this offseason to patch up a leaky rotation and bullpen.

In brief, these guys were successful as Phillies and, in the case of prospects, likely would have been had they remained with the organization.

The thing with trades is that players and prospects are appealing but never guaranteed successes. Other teams learned that with Happ when he was an Astro and Worley with the Twins.

However, what the Phillies ignored is that they had two talented rotation arms. They would have had more with Cosart and May. But they don’t, so now the Phillies have to be even more creative to fix a broken team and farm system.

I’m not saying the Phillies shouldn’t have made the trades they did. At the time, the trades for Lee, Halladay, Oswalt, Pence and Revere were justified. In the case of the first four names, the Phillies were a piece away from being serious World Series contenders, and the Phillies did make the playoffs with each of them in tow. With Revere, the Phillies needed a center fielder, and they got a young, controllable, solid option.

But shouldn’t the Phillies have considered not trading away pitching in most, if not all, of these deals without replenishing the team and farm system with equivalent talent?

It’s not the trades that hurt. It’s the fact that the Phillies have no Commissioner’s Trophies to show for them, nor any imminent minor league top prospect call-ups.

“You can never have too much pitching.”

Ruben Amaro Jr., I do not criticize you for making the trades you did. But I do hold you accountable for hypocritically sacrificing much-needed pitching depth in order to facilitate them without the end results paying necessary dividends. There have not been any more World Series titles, and there are not any reliable internal options for the rotation and bullpen.

And you are to blame for that.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

5 Players Philadelphia Phillies Can Sign If They Let Roy Halladay Walk

For the Philadelphia Phillies, a tough decision awaits on the fate of former ace Roy Halladay. As most Phillies and baseball fans know, Halladay was the best pitcher in the National League as recently as two years ago and arguably the best in the majors, both then and for a few years before that.

However, Halladay has perhaps taken one of the biggest falls from grace in the one of the shortest amounts of time of anyone in recent baseball history. Going from an ace to throwing the shortest start of his career back in his final start of the season on September 23, which lasted for just 16 pitches according to Walter Villa of MCall.com. On the season, Halladay made just 13 starts due to his shoulder injury and surgery, culminating in an unsightly 6.82 ERA.

There has been little to no precedent for such circumstances in which an ace hitting free agency isn’t just an ace, but a question mark entirely. For all we know, Halladay could be back—Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. admitted that he might bring Halladay back in 2014, according to Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News.

In the event that he doesn’t, though, here are five other players who the Phillies could sign if they do in fact let Doc Halladay walk this coming offseason.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Grading Ruben Amaro Jr.’s Performance in 2013

With the Philadelphia Phillies‘ 2013 season mercifully winding down, different questions and conversations aside from the performances of players start to arise—most concerning the offseason ahead. Is Ryne Sandberg going to stick around as manager? Will the Phillies make any big moves this offseason? Do the Phillies have a shot at contending in 2014 with the roster they have right now?

Some of those questions can be answered more easily than others. However, there is a question that’s just as important as the rest, yet it involves a reflection of what has happened already:

How has Ruben Amaro Jr. done as general manager of the Phillies in 2013?

While the average Phillies fan would likely want to jump to the conclusion of “horribly,” there are many aspects by which Amaro‘s performance can be examined. Have his offseason contracts worked out in the Phillies’ favor? Did he make any trades at the deadline, and if so, did they benefit the Phillies? Has he handled prospect promotions accordingly and maintained a competitive team throughout the process?

Those questions will all be answered in this slideshow. And since Amaro won’t be fired this offseason, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it’s worthwhile to determine whether or not Amaro‘s decisions in 2013 will carry over into 2014. 

Without further ado, it’s time to slap a grade on Amaro for the 2013 season.

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