10:24pm: Morosi clarifies that Utley was actually placed on waivers on Sunday (via Twitter). That means that his claim period will expire tomorrow.
11:32am: The Phillies placed second baseman Chase Utley on revocable trade waivers on Saturday, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That waiver period would expire today if Utley goes unclaimed, at which point he’d be eligible to be traded to any team. (For those who are unfamiliar with revocable waivers, MLBTR has already posted a more in-depth look at how August trades work.) Utley, of course, still has 10-and-5 rights and could veto any trade of which he does not approve.
The 36-year-old Utley was activated from the disabled list after a lengthy absence due to a sprained right ankle. He batted just .179/.257/.275 in 65 games before landing on the DL, though he’s given interested teams at least a flicker of reason for optimism; Utley has four hits (three doubles) in 10 plate appearances since being activated and also went 6-for-11 in a brief, three-game rehab assignment in the minors.
That minuscule sample size does little to mask the reasons that make it difficult to trade Utley. In addition to his dismal first-half production and no-trade protection, Utley is also an expensive asset. He’s earning $15MM this season, of which about $4.59MM remains. The Phillies would almost certainly have to include some form of cash considerations in order to facilitate a deal.
Utley’s injury may have helped the Phillies improve their chances of trading him in another way, though, as he’s still 241 plate appearances shy of triggering a $15MM vesting option for the 2016 season. With about two thirds of the season in the books, Utley would need to average 4.6 to 4.7 plate appearances per game to trigger the option — an unattainable rate even if he were to play every day.
Utley has been connected to a number of teams despite his struggles. The Giants are the most recent team that have been linked to him, but the Cubs, Angels, Dodgers and Yankees have also been tied to Utley in various media reports. He’s yet to firmly indicate that he would approve a trade, but he did recently say he would “definitely listen” to a proposed trade scenario if approached by the Phillies’ front office “out of respect” for the team.
Cubs shouldn’t even consider this.
Only way Cubs might touch this is if they are conceivably able to ship Castro to Philadelphia and take Utley on for the remainder of the season. They already have a roster crunch though as it is
Whether you like Castro or not, you don’t trade him for Utley. Castro has more value than that.
Exactly. He is still very young and has time to correct whatever mental or physical mechanics to improve.
Incorrect. In fact, no way the Phillies would touch Castro. Castro will clear waivers because his deal is an albatross. The Cubs got a rude awaking to the value of their players at the deadline. No one wants Castro or Baez. With Castro’s deal, the only way his deal is going somewhere else is if 1.) the Cubs pay all of it or 2.) the ship Kris Bryant with him.
Castro doesn’t just have negative value. He likely has the most negative value of any player in the league right now. He’s got a huge deal, he has regressed to one of the worst hitters in the game, and he can only play shortstop, of which he is the worst defensive shortstop in the game.
Well we can disagree all day, that is fine. If you think Cubs would have to send Bryant with Castro to get rid of him, you are surely mistaken. Talk to the Angels. Hamilton contract was the true definition of an albatross, and I am pretty sure they are just paying him to play for a different team. Castro is still young enough that he could bring in a low level prospect and pay pretty much all of his salary. If they want him gone this offseason, I could name a few teams that would do that deal.
Please don’t talk about albatross contracts. The Phillies have 2 right now they would kill to get rid of
You’ve got blue goggles on if you think Castro isn’t the worst contract in MLB right now. He has zero value on either side of the ball, refuses to change positions (because he feels he’s a starter at short), and has a huge financial commitment remaining. He’s the trifecta of being negative in skill, cost, and attitude.
Its all a matter of opinion. Does Castros salary increase the next 3 years? Yes. He maxes out at 11 million in the final year. He far from the worst contract. You think that Melvin Uptons contract pans out better then Castro? How about Hamilton? Angels are paying him to play for another team (and poorly at that). How about cliff lee who is making 25million this year to sit on the couch while on the DL? Maybe Howard who the Phillies tried to give away, yet he is still on their team? I’m sure I could find more if you insist.
Dont worry Utley wont make it to the Cubs. he will be claimied prior
I feel that Utley would be valuable to any young team lacking veteran leadership and playoff experience, regardless of positional needs.
I’ve always wondered, how do waivers work like from a logistical standpoint? Do they have some kind of fantasy sports type GM site where they claim them or do they call every owner and let them know that a player is on waivers and to claim, you call the Phil’s and say “I claim Chase Utley!”?
The way I see it in my head is sort of like Pokemon. It’s actually a big field they put them in and you catch them with a poke ball…
I would assume each MLB team gets a report each day of players that have been put on waivers, etc.
I think it’s an interesting question, though, that could spur a really interesting MLBTR in-depth report on related MLB logistics. Is there a guy who works for each team that gets emailed a PDF with a list of names on the waiver wire? Is it that simple? How does a GM go from a phone conversation about a trade to an actual completed deal? That sort of thing would be a fun off-season read I think.
I’d like to assume it’s an old stock market type ticker. It better suits my fantasy world
I think he could help some Playoff Teams with his Veteran Leadership and Still Quick bat, Phil’s will have to pick up most if not all his remaining Money to move him for a B- Minus 4th Outfielders type Guy ! Like McKinney of the Cubs.
However,with Ten /Five rights , I don’t know if he approves it , unless it’s to the Dodgers , his Hometown.
McKinney was just named the 37th or 38th best prospect in baseball. I would love to see him on the phillies but that is way too much of a price to pay for 2 plus months of chase utley
A top 40 prospect for 2mon of a <.200 player…yes, that is way too much. Maybe the Phils can get creative.
Trade him to the Yankees for Stephen Drew.. Drew’s entire salary this year wasn’t much more than what is remaining of Utley’s.. I know Drew has the home runs but if Utley has found his stroke again I would really like that trade. Even if he hasn’t I would still rather see someone else brought in to replace Drew. Plus, I am sure they will call Refsnyder back up when rosters expand.. I think he would learn more from a career 2nd bagger than a SS transplant..
Nobody from that family is welcome in Philadelphia
Its not 2 months.The acquiring club would own Utleys rights thru the 2018 season. Contract is structured in a way that it is club favorable.
I dont think th ePhils give Utley away. IMO it would take an organizations top 10 and perhaps as high as a top 6-7 organizational pick.
If that’s what it takes, then enjoy him in Philadelphia.
Now that”s one of the funniest posts i have seen all day lol..If the Phils can get a hot dog and a beer for him they need to jump all over it.
From what I heard he lives in San Fransisco in the offseason.
Correct.His wife is from Bay Area and live there in the offseason. FWIW Utleys have recently built a sizable home in the suburbs of Philly. Wouldnt shock me if Utley becomes part of the Phillies organization after retirement(coaching./front office etc etc)
Mckinny has way more value then Utley..
I think either the Angels or Giants take him. The Cubs just have way too many infield logjams, and that outweighs his leadership/utlility role.
Infield logjams? They are playing Coghlan at second base and he cannot field his way out of a wet paper bag.
Infield logjams? lol
I pegged the giants on a different mlbtr thread before mlbtr broke the story about the giants (presumably Pat Burrell) scouting him over the weekend.
While 4.59 million is hefty, I think the giants should simply claim him if they want him. This would make the no trade clause irrelevant. He can replace Panik for the time being and then who knows – he could be their next Cody Ross type acquisition
Chase actually would still have the ability to block a waiver claim, as part of his no-trade provisions
Thanks for the info – is that universal per mlbpa collective bargaining or negotiated on a contract by contract basis?
It’s universal with 10 and 5 rights.
A player has NO say on a waiver claim if they have ten and five rights or not as long as the original team gets nothing in return. The new team assumes the players contract, incentives and all.
Citation? Because I don’t believe that’s true.
Actually, Pat Burrell has retired from scouting and no longer works for SF. I think he would provide great depth, because Adrianza has been on the team for far too long with his underwhelming ABs.
He’s on the team for his defense, not his at bats. He has been hitting better as of late. As long as he takes more pitches I’m okay with him.
Per Jon Morosi tweet 37 mins. ago, Utley was placed on the waiver wire Sunday, not Saturday (correcting his own earlier report).
Since Devon Travis will be out for an extended period, could the Jays have Utley DH against righties (with EE at first) and play 2B occasionally in Travis’ absence? Having a lefty bat in that lineup would be nice and he’s got playoff experience obviously. On the other hand, he hasn’t shown he can hit yet, wouldn’t want to play on turf, and would be unnecessary disruption to a lineup that is red hot.
I highly doubt Utley clears waivers. I would look for a team like SD,Arizona, or Washington who all still have faint playoff hopes to make a claim and block teams ahead of them. Utley’s incentive based contract would be a good get for SD or Ariz heading into next year.
Utley’s recent career path has been tragic. He can still run like a deer, great bat speed , he’s in Navy Seal shape. If he can stay on the field he probably has a couple more seasons where he can hit .280 /20 Hr/90 RS/85 RBI.
One thing to note about Utley is his defense-l ittle shaky at times.
Utley hasn’t hit 20 HR’s, scored 90 runs or had 85 RBI’s since 2009.
He hast been truly healthy since 2009 unfortunately.Thats why I mentioned if he can stay on the field.
That’s like saying if Cliff Lee could just get healthy he would be go back to being a Cy Young candidate. It’s just not happening.
Cliff Lee is currently on a farm in Arkansas career seemingly over.Utley is in uniform and in tonights starting lineup.between his minor league stint and first 3 games with Phils he is 10 for 21.
I’m well aware of where Cliff Lee and Utley are currently farming or playing, thanks. I love Chase but he hasn’t hit 20 HR, scored 90 runs, or knocked in 85 RBIs since 2009 and has hit .280 only once since then. No one would love to see him get back to that level more than me, but you have to be realistic. It’s not happening.
If you said you thought he could hit .260 with 10 HR and 60 RBI for another season or 2, that would be reasonable. A couple more years of .285 with 20 HR, 90 R, and 85 RBIs? Yeah, I have a nice house on Mars I could sell you if you’re interested.
Both Arizona and San Diego have been trying to dump contracts, taking on nearly 5 million for a guy they don’t need, who would be extremely unlikely to sign an incentive contract with them for the next year seems very unlikely.
Utleys contract calls for a club option in years 16-17-18 if the contract doesnt vest 500 AB”S (it wont ) $5 M-$11 M following year, based on days spent on DL.. $2 M team buyout.
If Utley is traded his new team would have his rights until 2018.
You can say SD/Ariz tried to dump salary but they didnt, maybe they rethink things with Utley becoming a target.
AZ dumped Pennington and Arroyo.. Or did you miss the Toussaint trade and backlash of a couple of weeks ago? Plus I am sure they saved some decent money trading Trumbo for Castillo..
One thing is certain – the Phillies have by far the most convoluted contracts in MLB.
Even baseball reference, which is usually really good, doesn’t list the fallback club option and the discounted levels.
If RAJ spent half as much time evaluating talent that plays elsewhere as he does cooking up all these vesting options, he might actually bring value to the organization
The Utley contract is actually amazingly good for the Phillies, and I’m sure they’re very happy that it’s worded the way it is right now.
To my knowledge the determining factors for the cost of the club options has never been disclosed to the public, so that’s more a matter of not having the information. It’s entirely possible that BBR doesn’t have it on their contract listing because they don’t want to put up “anywhere from $5MM – $11MM based on something we don’t know,” since their business model is built on being an authority on the subject.
Of course, they don’t list the buyout either, so it could just mean that their embedded spreadsheet is too narrow to display the full wording of the option.
He would look pretty good batting 5th for the Jays, assuming Travis is out for an extended period, which is the way it seems.
I highly doubt he makes it to the AL. But yeah great fit in Toronto.
He is a horrible fit for Toronto. His knees would never hold up playing on the turf.
5th for the Jays? With that lineup I would think he would be 7th or perhaps with the Reyes trade maybe hitting 1st.. The Jays just got Pennington though and after their deadline deals I doubt that have any money left. The Phillies would have to pick up almost all of Utley’s salary which would cost the Jays a better prospect (still a middling one but Toussaint was sold for about $10m) and I think the Jays need to hold onto whatever prospects they have left..
What Utley said:
he would “definitely listen” to any trade offers.
What Utley meant:
pick up my option for next year and I’ll play anywhere.
I don’t think Utley is like that. He just wants to win.
If he just wants to win then he would left the Phillies a while ago, or at least last off season like Rollins did.
The Howie Kendrick injury in
my mind increases exponentially the likelihood of a waiver claim by the Giants – yes they risk having to pick up 4.59 million this year and a 2 million buyout if they can’t find a taker for Utley in the off season – but their claim would give them exclusive trade negotiation rights, which keeps the price of acquisition down and keeps Utley off the dodgers
I don’t see any interest from the Dodgers. They called up and started Jose Peraza tonight. He has more potential than a retreaded Utley.
This isn’t a question of potential – the top 50 prospect always has more potential than the 36 year old.
Which guy would you rather have at the plate in the 9th inning with the tying run in scoring position in the 2015 NLDS?
In only that specific situation…? Peraza may well be the better fielder and hitter than Utley at this point in their respective careers, so Peraza has the potential to be a more productive contributor overall. That is what I mean by potential. Peraza also offers a lot more flexibility as a (presumably) temporary replacement for Kendrick.
If Giants put in a claim, I think they win it. Only Nats could block them, but don’t see it.
Of course lesser teams could block, but no real reason to at this point.
Washington was scouting Utley in his minor league rehab games per Philly Inquirer.
I don’t see the Phillies getting much in return for a trade, even if they kick in money. That being said, unless they were blown away, I’d consider holding on to him. Clearly he’s not reaching his vesting option, so he will be much cheaper next year at the discounted team option. It doesn’t seem that he’d be disappointed if they kept him (i.e., he’s not throwing the Phillies under the bus a la Papelbon). I think he’d provide good leadership (if nothing else, setting good examples) for the young guys in the clubhouse. He could still get some playing time next year. If the Phillies were somehow miraculously able to move Howard in the offseason, Utley could play a fair amount at first base. I read somewhere recently that the Phillies only have $63 million in guaranteed salary on the books for next year. I didn’t research to see if that’s true, but if it is, they can certainly afford to keep Utley at his discounted option and still have lots to spend (J. Heyward???). Just my opinion. Now if a team throws a top 100 prospect to the Phillies, then by all means, go ahead and trade him. I just find it unlikely. If someone claims him on the waiver wire, then the Phillies hands are tied to only working with that team, which would make it even more difficult.
Yeah, I don’t see any chance Chase yields a top-100 prospect even if he goes on an absolute tear. If Chase says he would like to go to a contender and you can get a decent but obviously not great piece for him, I’d accommodate his wishes. If I can’t even get back a decent piece, then that’s where I’d be torn about wanting to hold on to him as a lifetime Phillie and as a great mentor for the young guys vs wanting to give him a chance on a contender despite getting nothing in return.
And when it comes to spending in free agency this offseason, Heyward is the only name I would even consider from the Phillies standpoint given his age and skill. I like guys like Upton and Gordon, but being 28 and 32 respectively by the time next season rolls around is a little too old for what I’d be willing to give long-term contracts to given where the Phillies rebuild is at. Heyward at 26 would still fit well, even with a 10 year contract. I don’t love losing the 2nd rounder in signing him, but he’s the only one I’d consider. And I don’t see them going after any of the big SP.
I could actually see them going after Price, as they lack a ToR SP, and certainly a LH one… But I don’t know if they win that bidding war. Especially with the LADs needing someone to replace Greinke (even if it’s just Greinke himself) and the Yankees and Red Sox both needing someone as well. Even the Cubs might be interested.
Zimmerman will certainly have QO-baggage, and Cueto has a not-insignificant injury history, while Shark is making last year look like a fluke… So I don’t think any of them will have enough appeal to a Phillies team that’s currently 1-3 years from contention via rebuild, as things stand.
Exactly. I should clarify my previous statement. I don’t think they get one of the available aces because of a combo of the player’s interest in the team and whether that player fits here.
Like you said, I could see them being interested in Price, but don’t see him being interested in them unless they were the highest bidder by a significant margin. And when teams like the 4 you listed will be involved in the bidding, that margin won’t exist.
And for all of the reasons you listed, I don’t see the Phillies having serious interest in any of the other players especially with the QO attached to them.
Yeah. If Cueto ends up taking a short-term deal (no QO on him either) in the hopes of really jacking up his value for a 5-to-6-year contract in 2017 (language in his deal requiring his release, so no QO possible), then maybe the Phillies try to outbid for his services, in the hopes of trading him mid-season…
But even that seems like a pretty long shot. I’m sure Cueto’s agent will be surreptitiously e-mailing him stories about horrific shoulder injuries all off-season until he signs somewhere.
Interesting scenario. Yeah I just looked up his agent Bryce Dixon and can only find 2 clients listed for him, Ronnie Belliard and Cueto. So that’s no help in seeing what he normally gets his clients to do. But yeah, given his history, I’m guessing he’ll try to get him as much money now as he can.