JUNE 1: Philadelphia has announced Sizemore’s release.
MAY 29: The Phillies announced today that they have designated veteran outfielder Grady Sizemore for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for Cody Asche, who will return from Triple-A and presumably see the bulk of playing time in left field as he transitions away from third base.
The 32-year-old Sizemore returned to baseball last season after missing two full seasons due to knee and back injuries. After a slow start with Boston got him released, Sizemore latched on with the Phillies and hit well enough in 60 contests — .253/.313/.389 with three homers — that Philadelphia re-signed him to a one-year, $2MM extension back in October.
The early returns on Sizemore’s second season in Philly haven’t been pretty, however, as he’s batted just .245/.288/.296 and displayed questionable defensive skills in the outfield corners — perhaps to be expected after enduring the type of injuries that he’s dealt with since 2010.
Sizemore, of course, was one of the game’s truly elite players early in his career Cleveland. From 2005-09, he batted .276/.368/.488, averaging 25 homers and 28 steals per season to go along with a penchant for highlight-reel catches in center field. Baseball-Reference pegs him at 26.8 wins above replacement in that stretch, whereas Fangraphs was even more bullish, crediting him with 29.4 WAR.
Injuries have derailed what looked to be one of the game’s most promising young talents, however, and he’ll now step aside in large part so that the Phillies can give extended tryouts to two young talents of their own. Asche’s move from third base to left field was necessitated by the emergence of Maikel Franco as an option at third base, and Philadelphia will hope that both can settle in as regulars and contribute for years to come.
Well, that escalated quickly. Sorry Grady, maybe you’ll get another shot on a minor league deal somewhere.
Maybe playing every day could help. He seemed to lack power, perhaps trying to make contact and hit for average, rarely driving the ball in the gap. In 104 PA, only 5 2B, no 3B or HR. His defense wasn’t aggressive or close to replacement level. Phillies fans didn’t see him as an upgrade over the struggling Dom Brown, and he didn’t even legitimately win the job out of spring training. So, I’m not optimistic for a big rebound by Sizemore.
He’s gone full jason bay, steroid testing starts, and the numbers vanish…
The Phils need to begin the massive rebuild NOW..difficult with Utley & Howard I understand…but anybody 30 or over should be moved for prospects.
Both have 10-5 rights and I’m pretty certain Utley has said he is not leaving Philly. Also, neither player is going to bring back significant prospects, especially Howard, regardless of how much salary the Phillies eat.
Phillies started there build last off season, now its just waiting and continuing to sell of pieces .The only current pieces that are gonna be worth anything are papelbon,hamels,harang and maybe revere.
Ruiz to Altana , Howard to Rays, Utley to Yankees !
Atlanta is rebuilding, the Rays have Jaso and Utley isn’t any better than Drew right now
They have been, Houston and Chicago didn’t move everybody immediately.
Rouscher…good analogy, the Phils as we’ve stated have the disadvantage of the high salaries, so it’s a little trickier. Hamels as terrific as he is, mayn’t get the prospects, the Phils might ordinarily garner, as other teams know, there is a partial salary dump involved.
To the Nats maybe?
Also, random note – I like that the # of comments a topic has is showing up again on the main page (maybe I’m the only one who just liked it, don’t ask why LOL)
Why would the Nationals want him?
To fill in for Bryce Harper the next time their Playing the Reds.
The Indians absolutely ruined this guy. Still only 32 years-old.
Let him run into fences to make Sportscenter; diving constantly in the OF to try to cut off meaningless singles – often playing them into doubles and triples; batting him leadoff while allowing him to swing as hard as he could and try to pull every pitch with power instead of learning to use the entire filed and take advantage of his speed (he never scared any opposing team on the bathpaths – was fast, but a terrible baserunner); constantly among the league leaders in K’s – not something you want from a leadoff hitter; and pretty much allowing him to do whatever felt good. I’ve often wondered what he would have been playing in the Cardinals organization with Tony La Russa, or anyone of another half-dozen quality baseball organizations. This young man could have been a borderline Hall Of Famer.
I hope the Brewers pick him up. We need new players and I’ve always liked Grady as a player
Reminds you of why we shouldn’t blame players who look for long-term contracts. You never know when injuries will cut you down.
Conversely it also reminds you of why we shouldn’t blame owners for not wanting to give those long-term deals as well. Arte Moreno excluded of course.
It’s simply business. If you want a top-tier player, you have to bid for him. In the case of really talented players, you have to pay a lot for a long time. I don’t blame owners who want to be frugal/prudent. They have to run a different type of organization that is able to sign younger players and take the most out of them when they are still cost controlled. The only team ownership that really troubles me are the teams that deliberately tank to get better draft picks, those who tank and collect a lot of revenue sharing, and those who fail to make enough efforts to be competitive, while taking free and subsidized stadiums from the taxpayers. I think teams have an obligation to try to be successful on the field.
Good Guy, wish him well when he not playing against Boston.Value as 4th outfielders in Question now!
cubs could use him.
Huh? How and why? Their starting OF is not great but good. In the wings they have Szczur at Iowa, and Denorfia coming off the DL, and Almora up by 2016 or 2017.
Sizemore is still better than most of the outfielders on the Mariners
Had to look. Outside of Cruz, some anemic looking batting averages, there
Time to go back to Washington to start enjoying your civilian life.
He’ll have to wait to clear waivers to get another job. Phillies had him on $2M guaranteed plus $3M in Plate Appearance incentives. No team is likely to pick up that contract, so he and the Phillies have to hope he gets a ML minimum gig somewhere, afterwards.
Grady, good luck in finding another MLB team to join this year. It is a shame that injuries messed up your career.
I think it’s time Mr. Sizemore hung up the cleats. But, damn, was he ever fun to watch in his prime.
Could the Astros take grady
Can Sizemore play 3B or SS? Maybe the Indians can get him back.
Hes lefthanded, so no. Hes an outfielder his entire career.
Ha. It was sarcasm.