Phillies Trade Rumors: Cliff Lee for Mike Olt Trade Is Ideal Deadline Deal
July 31, 2012 by Mike Hoag Jr.
Filed under Fan News
Cliff Lee is back on the trade market according to Monday reporting from ESPN’s Buster Olney. This makes some sense considering the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to shed salary and retool for 2013.
The 33-year-old lefty still has three years remaining of the five-year, $120 million deal he signed before the 2011-12 season. With the Phillies likely eliminated from playoff contention barring a miraculous turnaround, you can see why this is a very appealing option for the Phils.
“If we get swept here, it will be pretty daunting,” Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. said prior to this past weekend’s crushing sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
Trailing by 12.5 games in the wild-card race and getting swept in the midst of trade deadline discussions pretty much speaks for itself, manager Charlie Manuel said.
That brings us to today. The trade deadline is this afternoon at 4 p.m. ET and all eyes will be on the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils have been buyers at this time in recent years but will likely be looking to unload several pieces in order to shed salary and retool for the future.
Cliff Lee may be fading but he’s not gone yet
Lee has not had the year everyone had hoped for. His 1-6 record and heightened 3.95 ERA has been uncharacteristic of the commanding left-hander. But numbers don’t always paint a perfect picture.
Despite his struggles, Lee has posted an excellent 112-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is only allowing 1.8 walks per nine innings and is fanning 8.5 batters per nine in addition to posting a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
At the end of his deal, he will be 38 years old and the win-now-minded Rangers will have gotten the best of what he has left to offer by then. He’s already been paid at that point, he’d probably stick around at a much more economic salary.
Mike Olt is a rising star
Olt was ranked as the 43rd best prospect in the MLB minor leagues heading into 2012, according to Baseball America. In Double-A this season, he’s done nothing but improve his standing.
In 92 games, Olt has hit 27 HR and plated 80 RBI this season, nearly doubling his previous years’ stat lines. His average is respectable at .291 while he maintains a staggering .401 on-base percentage.
Not only is Olt a solid power hitter, he’s also very versatile and could fit in a number of positions at the MLB level, Steve Buechele, RoughRiders’ manager (Rangers’ Double-A affiliate) said.
Outlook
This deal, with cash considerations for Texas, is in the best interest of both teams and would help them both in the long run. With Olt being so young, versatile and promising, it would obviously help the Phillies more as he could help solidify their lineup for the foreseeable future.
Olney tweeted that it will take more than just Olt on the part of the Rangers in order to get a deal done and that this deal will come down to Lee’s contract, cash considerations and which prospects will be included.
As Rangers and Phillies try to work through possible Lee deal, there are lots of complicating factors: His salary, buy down, prospects, etc.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 30, 2012
Hopefully, a deal can be struck and the Phillies can unload Lee now to get as much as possible from the World Series minded Rangers.
I cover all breaking sports news but have a passion for bad Cleveland sports franchises. If you want to talk sports, that’s all I really do on Twitter, and I enjoy constructive banter.
Follow me on Twitter @BigHoagowski
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MLB Trade Rumors: Teams That Must Target Cliff Lee
July 30, 2012 by Mike Hoag Jr.
Filed under Fan News
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee is reportedly back on the trade market with the MLB trade deadline looming less than 24 hours away.
Recent developments may have completely changed the landscape of the free agency market in the waning moments leading up to Tuesday’s deadline. Cliff Lee has become the defacto No. 1 pitching option on the market.
This is due to Josh Johnson being unlikely to be traded because of the asking price and his contract and James Shields likely staying put in Tampa Bay.
Johnson was watched by 15 scouts in his most recent start, in which he recorded six walks and four strikeouts over five innings, while allowing three earned runs. Shields, on the other hand, is likely going to stay put because the Rays have found themselves in a good position to make a playoff run in September. They will need their former ace for that run.
Lee has struggled somewhat in 2012, recording a 1-6 record while posting a 3.95 ERA.
Some of Lee’s struggles are due to run support issues. While not reflected in the W-L column, he has stayed consistent and posted a good 112-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s also only allowing 1.8 walks while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings, according to Baseball-reference.com.
Lee is owed $87 million dollars over the next three seasons, which is left over from his five-year, $120 million contract he signed in 2011 with the Phillies.
The Texas Rangers
The Rangers have a deep and young enough roster to make a move like this. There are a lot of working parts at play in order to get a deal done by tomorrow, but it wouldn’t be impossible.
In Lee, the Rangers know what they’ll be getting. It will be easier for them to gauge how much they should surrender in order to bring him back for a playoff run.
After their divisional rival Anaheim Angels signed Zack Greinke over the weekend, it would be wise for the Rangers to make some type of addition to shore up their rotation as they try to keep the Angels at bay in the division in order to prepare for the playoffs.
Recent tweets from ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jayson Stark indicate that talks may have died between the Rangers and Phillies and that they may again resume during the offseason. Here are those tweets:
Jayson Stark now hearing from a source that PHI’s Lee talks with TEX have all but ended. Complicated, multi-layered, better for offseason.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 30, 2012
One exec who spoke with #Nationals says: “If I looked up and saw that Washington traded for Ryan Demoster it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 30, 2012
The Dodgers may be actively trying to strike a deal for Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, but they have considered other options if they are unable to come to a deal.
The Dodgers SHOULD consider Lee, but they have shown they are rumored to be unwilling to part with their top prospects in the Dempster negotiations to this point, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Kevin Goldstein.
Lee is a premiere talent and worth the price of admission for a Dodger team with World Series aspirations. If they have any hopes, at all, of landing someone like Lee or Dempster, they are going to have to part with a prospect they value.
Outlook
This recent source reporting from ESPN indicates that a trade is more than likely not going to happen. However, if it does, the Rangers, followed by the Dodgers, have the most to gain by acquiring Lee.
Reports change frequently and people change their minds as the deadline nears. One thing is for certain: at this time tomorrow we’ll finally have some closure.
I cover all breaking sports news but have a passion for bad Cleveland sports franchises. If you want to talk sports, that’s all I really do on Twitter, and I enjoy constructive banter.
So, follow me on Twitter @BigHoagowski
Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com
Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: Phillies Smart Not to Trade Cliff Lee
July 27, 2012 by Mike Hoag Jr.
Filed under Fan News
The Philadelphia Phillies are not planning on trading Cliff Lee before the Tuesday trade deadline, according to sources of Jon Heyman, CBS Sports Baseball Insider.
Cliff Lee, the former Cy Young Award winner, is a key to the success of the Philadelphia rotation. Recently, the team committed to Cole Hamels with a six-year, $140 million contract.
In 2011, the team signed Lee, then a free agent, to a contract guaranteeing him about $97 million through 2015. He also has a no-trade clause to 21 teams in the MLB within his contract.
Thus far Lee has been anything but an ace in 2012. However, for having an “off year,” the southpaw hasn’t exactly fallen to pieces. His 3.95 ERA and 119:23 strikeout-to-walk ratio are not awful numbers for a starting MLB pitcher. Much of his struggles have come due to lacking run support from the Phils offense.
The logistics of moving him coupled with the decline in his play this year suggest the Phillies wouldn’t fully benefit from trading the lefty.
There’s also the matter of wild-card contention. The Phillies have seemingly played themselves out of the race for the NL East’s playoff seed, but remain only 10 games back from a wild-card berth. It seems unrealistic because of the poor play of the team thus far, but if they can get hot at the right time, they may be able to make a run at that wild-card spot.
Stranger things have happened in the MLB in September.
If they do make a run, they’re going to need Lee down the stretch. While it may have been a prominent rumor, a trade of Lee just doesn’t fit right now. Heyman’s source indicates the Phillies have no plans to move Lee during the season.
If the Phils are looking to dump salary, it would be wise to move Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence instead of a cornerstone of their pitching rotation. Lee will rebound, there’s no guarantee Victorino (free agent at the end of the year) or Pence (free agent at the end of 2013 season) will be coming back to Philadelphia.
According to these sources and conventional wisdom, they have made the right decision.
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