Roy Oswalt is making the most of his no-trade clause and it's slowing the Phillies down as they attempt to acquire him. Two people familiar with the discussions tell ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that Oswalt is asking that his 2012 option be picked up by any team that trades for him. The Phillies don't mind the idea of paying Oswalt $6MM this year and $16MM next year, but they are not comfortable guaranteeing the right-hander $16MM in 2012.
J.A. Happ would likely head to Houston in an Oswalt trade, probably along with some prospects from the lower minors. For now, the Phillies are pursuing Dan Haren and Ben Sheets, but are not actively pursuing Jeremy Guthrie, Fausto Carmona or Ricky Nolasco.
The Phillies are talking to a number of teams about Jayson Werth, but are demanding a lot in return. They asked the Rays for B.J. Upton or Wade Davis, and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is not willing to take on any of the $2.8MM remaining on Werth's deal.
I have a feeling this falls through
Even if it goes through, who becomes the fifth starter now? ugh….
Well they’re giving one of the kids a shot it appears…Phils just called up Vance Worley from AA. 3.20era and around a 2.5 K/BB ratio in 100ish IP so far. He’s 22.
I think he has a shot to be a decent middle to bottom of the order type guy. Any upgrade over Kendrick is a plus. Too bad the really talented kids are still a couple years away. (May, Cosart, etc)
if they get wade davis for werth thats a definate canidate but i doubt they get him
Oswalt sounds like a giant douche… let him rot away in Houston
He has a family and doesn’t want to move them a lot…how is that being a douche?
so the fact that he would be looking at significantly less than the 16M he would be making in his option year has nothing to do with it… If you buy that I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell ya real cheap.
He asked for a trade to a contender…. now is using his no trade clause to get himself more money…. sounds like he never wanted to be on a contender he just wanted that 2012, 16 mill option. that is huge douche as no team wants that scrub for 38 mill for 2 and 1/3rd years
He’s not a douche, and he’s not a scrub. Everyone is bitching about how he’s too old etc, but throughout his career he’s been consistently better than halladay or lee, who instead have shown flashes of brilliance recently. I’ll take a sure thing anyday.
2008-present
Lee: 80 GS, 2.82 ERA, 1.127 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 576.2 IP
Oswalt: 81 GS, 3.64 ERA, 1.175 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 514.0 IP
Halladay: 85 GS, 2.69 ERA, 1.081 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 639.0 IP
There’s little arguement Oswalt is the best pitcher left on the market. But please don’t say you would honestly rather have him in your rotation then those 2 right now.
i didn’t say they weren’t very good, but not as consistently. For the last two seasons, fine, but oswalt’s done it for 10 years. roy has never been anything less than what he is now, for better or worse, but lee, like jamie moyer, is pitching much better in his own twilight years than he did in his “prime years” and the same argument could be made for halladay, who is already in philly so it’s a non-point. And yes, I would prefer roy over doc or cliff, though i admit to some bias as I’m an astros fan, but again, consistency is everything, and roy has been consistently an ace, even when, or maybe because of, his time with clemens and pettite.
Lee has been inconsistent, but Halladay has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball for the past 7-8 years.
Fair enough, and maybe I’m being too defensive, but while Doc has been good, great even, and in a tough division, he’s been as good as, not markedly better, than Roy-O, and when Halladay had a bad 04 Campaign with injuries and such no one said, “He’s done, washed up!” but Roy has one bad year, and not even bad, just not Ace, and he’s over the hill, but the same people are clamoring for Halladay and Lee, when they’re the same age, and statistically equal within a negligible realm of difference, to what Roy is doing. He’s worth all he’s getting now, he’ll be worth all he gets next year, and while 16mil might be pushing it, 1 is definitely doable, and he may be a steal at that, or he may never get over that ball off the ankle because it’s more serious than anyone knew. Who’s to say?
hes not a douche but dont bitch and complain about winning and than when a contender steps up and try make something happen turn around and force their hand. yes i understand that he holds all of the eggs but dont complain when your in the rebuilding process.
Because HE DEMANDED A TRADE, and its hardly becauseof his Family,he is tied for the all time Astros win record, he wants another start so he can be Houstons all time win leader, but I too say why demand then say hold on ??
ReverendBlack is that you?
You sound like a typical Phillies fan. Oswalt is not a douche. However I might consider saying that former philly (now Houston) pitcher Brett Myers is a douche if the allegations that he allegedly beat his wife are true. That is a douche. Oswalt is not. You are forgetting that baseball is a business. Besides it is probably his agent who is likely trying to get his option picked up by whoever trades for him.
You sound like a true Philly fan. Oswalt is not a douche. I might consider saying however that former Philly (now Houston) pitcher Brett Myers is a douche if the allegations are true that he allegedly beat his wife. That is a douche. Oswalt is not a douche. You are forgetting that baseball is a business, and it is probably Oswalt’s agent who is tryign to get his option picked up by whoever trades for him.
I wish the phils would keep happ instead of trading him for a year and a half of owsalt. He was there most consistent pitcher last year until he got injured in September.
J.A. Happ is one of the luckiest pitchers in baseball. His FIP and xFIP last year were 4.33 and 4.49 respectively. He is bound to blow up, and if the Astros want him plus some prospects (of course you don’t let them touch Brown or anyone of significance), that’s a trade one does in a heart beat.
However, Amaro has decided he wants to do his best impersonation of Omar Minaya, so I won’t bet on Oswalt wearing a Phillie uniform this year.
I can’t believe Philly fans are still so high on Happ… dude is a #4 starter in the NL at best. He got so lucky last year
The thing is, we’re not really that high on Happ anymore. He was so unimpressive in his rehab AA starts that they kept him down there indefinitely. I would gladly trade Happ for Oswalt, Haren or Myers at this point.
Happ is a decent prospect,but if they do make this trade it should defintley not include dom. brown in it the Phillies would be foolish to make this trade.
This will last about 2 hours.
why arn’t the yankees trying to aquire him since they lost out on cliff lee.
Because we already have a solid rotation, sure Pettitte is out for a few weeks, but we still have 2 all-stars and a solid Javy Vazquez, along with AJ Burnett who is due to have a hot streak. Plus the asking price would probably include Montero, and Cashman already said that Montero wouldn’t be moving anywhere, because Cliff Lee was “a special case”
Im sure the Yankees wil be all in on Oswalt.I worry about that rotation now,5 weeks isnt a few weeks.And can pettite be pettite when he returns who knows.At his age I wouldnt rely that Pettite can be magic.Burnett is iffy and I know vasquez has been good but I stil dont trust him in the playoffs along with hughes even though hughes has been specatular so far.The Yankees should deal montero + for oswalt hes not a rental and then they could trade vasquez for werth.That Prevents the Rays from getting him and strengthening their lineup.Then they an call up a 5th starter to replace pettite until he gets off the DL.They would have Sabathia-Oswalt-Hughes-Burnett-Mitre.Which is a good rotation.
Good luck getting Upton and Davis for Werth.
It clearly says ‘OR’ there.
They want BJ Upton or Davis for Werth? What are they smoking?
BJ Upton is awful
BJ Upton is controlled for like 3 more years and has the potential to bring a ton of value back.
If they got Upton they should ship him to Arizona in a deal for Haren
Probably one of those “we don’t REALLY want to trade him, but if someone is stupid enough to overpay, ok” situations.
You have to be realistic Roy. No one will do that and if they want 2 and a half years out of someone they will go get Haren, who will probably be better than Oswalt. It doesn’t make sense, and you have to be flexible to get a chance at a ring. Look at Schilling, Pettite, R. Johnson, etc.
If theres any chance of Getting Davis for Werth, I’d do the deal, and engage Arizona on Haren with a package centered around Happ. I don’t like guaranteeing Oswalts third year.
What i do not understand is why didnt Philly keep Lee?
Lee is:
1. He is cheaper
2. At the moment better
3. A lefty
4. You could have had him all year
5. You will probably have to give up better prospects to get Oswalt then what you got for Lee.
6. Younger
7. Had an amazing playoff last year
Those are only some reasons to keep Lee. I really think Philly dropped the ball on that one. Have Halladay, Lee, and Hamels in your rotation would have been dynamite.
With the way they team is playing, where is the guarantee that they would make the playoffs anyway? And guess what – Lee is GONE after 2010. The pitchers they are trying to acquire (Haren, Oswalt) are signed for 1 or 2 more years. Not to mention they got Blanton signed up using Lee’s money and although he has sucked so far this year (injuries, bad luck, etc), he’s proven to be a solid #3 guy – the type that don’t just grow on trees.
Blanton is making a grand total of 1MM this season so there goes that theory.
And are you seriously attempting to defend the Cliff Lee trade? No, there is no guarantee that they would make the playoffs, but I can guarantee that the team would be in a better position to make the playoffs, and if they had Lee they could focus on needs other than SP.
They also used a ton of Lee’s money on Ryan Howard. Lee is making $8 mil this year, while Ryan Howard will be making $25M in 2016 when he is 36 years old. They definitely should have kept Cliff Lee.
i hate cliff lee now because of all the “we should of kept lee crap”… HELLO, halladay has a lower ERA and is 10-8, so i dont know if lee was the issue, now if they had lee they wouldnt be going after oswalt. So lets say they trade 3 months of lee, and ja happ, for 2.5 years of roy oswalt… how is that a loss ?
If any of this crap is true and they get oswalt without dealing werth, then ruben is a god.
You used a win-loss record to justify your point, and that is just a horrible idea. And HELLO….Halladay + Lee >>>>>>>>>> Halladay + prospects received for Lee/salary relief.
And, I should point it out to you that it would not be a straight up Happ for Oswalt trade, so it would be 3 months of Lee (while he’s pitching the best he’s ever pitched in his life) + Happ + prospects + taking on major salary for Roy O. Also, you don’t want Roy for 2.5 years, you want him for 1.5 because it is very very unlikely that he is worth 16MM in 2012.
See, the way I read that comment, Mike is saying that Halladay is pitching better than Lee is and is still 10-8, meaning that Halladay is pitching like the ace he is and the Phillies are still only a little above .500 in his starts. Hence, the point is that even if they had kept Lee they might not be any better, because who’s to say their disappointing offense would score a plural amount of runs when Lee is pitching? An entirely valid point, in my opinion. The Phillies’ problem is that the OFFENSE has let them down, not the pitching.
Except the Phillies rank 5th in runs scored in the NL and 10th in SP ERA in the NL, so…..And of Halladay’s 8 losses, I’d say that he deserves 4 of them, so the offense has really only let him down in 5 starts (the one ND that they lost, Halladay gave a QS)Plus, it’s not like you’d be replacing Halladay with Lee, you’d be replacing Kendrick/other 5th starter with him, which would undoubtedly improve their record.
BJ Upton for Werth?? Has Werth’s value diminshed that bad?
Dude BJ Upton is 25 I’d take that deal
Houston can keep Oswalt. The Phillies club house is a good one filled with unselfish players, so clearly Oswalt doesnt fit that bill.
Tampa Bay can keep Upton. The Phillies dont need an underachieving baby who doesnt hustle.
I love it when fans pretend to know what goes on in a team’s clubhouse…
Upton’s a good player, he’d be great to have for us. But If we keep Upton for 2011, we’d have an outfield of Ibanez, Upton, and Victorino… where does Dominic Brown fit into all this?
Ever hear of trading players?
No. never. what is that?
Haha, good sense of humor. But seriously, if the Phillies traded for Upton it’s not like it would be difficult to deal either him or Victorino.
Ideally it would good to move Ibanez, but he has negative value right now, terrible signing.
Yeah, that’s why I didn’t include him on my short list of easy-to-trade-outfielders. Things would sure look a lot different for the Phillies future if Ibanez had agreed to a 2 year deal.
Upton,is a decent player.He doesnt hsutle all of the time he jogs after balls in center he is not that good.Grant it he does have the talent,but he doesnt use it.Now he would be an upgrade over ibanez.The Phillies should sign crawford in the offseason.Just Imagine Rollins-Crawford-Utley-Howard-Werth-Polanco-Victorino-Ruiz-Pitcher.That lineup would score now if the Philies would make moves to sign both werth and crawford
You do realize, that what looks like Upton jogging, is actually Upton running at full speed. He’s got one of the best ranges for a CF, which is where a large part of his value comes from. If only you could look as lazy/graceful when running. That’s not lazy, that’s just pure athleticism. You’re like criticizing Usain Bolt for jogging in the 100m. Yes, it DOES look that effortless.
You don’t know what you are talking about. Oswalt is a good guy. You’re just upset that your GM is an idiot and traded away Cliff Lee in the offseason for no reason.
We couldn’t afford him, and he was gone after 2010. Halladay is obviously a better pitcher who we got for less money. Instead of keeping two number 1 starters on a team, we trade lee and restock the farm
Shouldn’t they have gotten atleast one guy who would be considered a good prospect?? Restocking isn’t trading 7 top 10 prospects and getting 3 25 – 30 prospects back.
I can’t think of 1 reason Amaro made the trade in December. Lee doesn’t get paid until April. Lee at $9 mil, when Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis etc were signed in the same price range, should have gotten a much better return than Aumont, Gillies and JC Ramirez…
well they are our 2,7,11 prospects…the Phillies ownership told Amaro he had to trade Lee as soon as he acquired Halladay, because he didn’t want fans thinking that both guys would be on the same pitching staff. If this happened, then Amaro wouldn’t have been able to shop Lee around on the open market, because again it would have created negative fanbase reactions. So, presumably the Phillies went to a team they were deeply familiar with, the Mariners, and gave them a list of guys they really liked. You don’t want to trade Lee to a team which you feel that you will be competing against, so that eliminates a lot of teams.
The 2, 7, 11 is probably an indication that the farm system is done except for Brown.
Except you didn’t really restock the system. That package that Amaro got for Lee won’t get you Haren or Oswalt. (Maybe if the Phillies picked up Roy’s club option and took on all of his salary Wade would accept those prospects, but it’s still a maybe imo, and who wants Oswalts next 2 seasons at 32MM?)
I highly doubt that Roy Oswalt would hurt the Phillies clubhouse more than Jayson Werth has.
I highly doubt you know what you’re spewing, since by all accounts Werth is a good teammate. Cliff Lee still talks to Werth on a regular basis.
I think he might be referring to that rumor about Werth having an affair with Utley’s wife, I read about it a couple weeks ago and haven’t heard anything since, so I just assumed it was bs.
Yeah, unselfish players…totally, they may bang each other’s wife, but they are still unselfish!
there is no proof to that rumor. its one thing if the rumor comes from a credited source, but it came from an amateur fan site.
On the mlbtraderumors home page, the previous post says that Oswalt has not been contacted regarding a trade. This post says that he is holding up the trade because of his demands. Those 2 statements don’t seem to jive…
I’d do happ for oswalt in a millisecond – happ is just not very good and he is fairly old for a “prospect”
Wonder why a team would prefer 2 months of Werth(2.8 million) over a year and 2 months of Corey Hart(at around 2.4 million now and about 5 million next year in arbitration)? Both might end up costing the same amount in talent going back.
because Werth is a legitimate CF, and has a much better chance to not turn into a pumpkin as a hitter.
With all due respect, Hart is a legitimate RF’er too.
BTW..Werth is 31 and his career yearly average is 24 HR’s ..85 RBI’s BA 267 with a .473 Slug and .834 OPs
Hart is 28 with a career yearly average of 24 HR’s..88 RBI’s..BA .276 with a .484 Slug and .813 OPS.
Seems they are almost equal hitting in bandboxes.
You are missing my point I think. Slugging CFs are much harder to find than slugging RFs. Scarcity drives market value. QED, a slugging CF (Werth) is worth more than a slugging RF (Hart)
One question to all of you Roy O doubters. What kind of Deal would Oswalt command as a free agent this winter?
Depends on who signs him. I could see Oswalt getting 3/45. I wouldn’t give him more years or more per year. Someone else might. Personally, I wouldn’t sign Oswalt for more than 3/40.
Roy Oswalt’s new trade value is 0. Shiny numbers this year aside, his last few years clearly demonstrate a declining veteran pitcher who is slightly overpaid by his contract. I pray that someone tells Amaro that. Doesn’t he notice how no one else at all is in on Oswalt? I wonder why?
I don’t follow your logic. In a reply above you say he would get 3/45 on the open market. But in this posting he is a declining veteran who is overpaid?
Sure. I believe 16 Million a year is overpaying him but 15 isn’t. I’m kidding of course. He asked what he’d be given in the open market. I think it’s 15 a year. Like I said, I wouldn’t pay him more than 3/40. I think Oswalt is still worth 12-13 million a year given the resurgence he showed this year. Before this year, I would’ve gone 3/32.
Roy Oswalt is a better pitcher than John Lackey. Lackey is making $82.5M over 5 years, which is $16.5M on average per season.
Agreed.
Last year was no doubt a off year for Roy ( 4.12 ERA, 1.24 Whip, 6.85 K/9) but that is still a pretty good year with the back issues. Not to mention that was the only time in his career that he sported an ERA over 3.54. I cannot agree with your statement. He is one of the most proven starters in the bigs and certianly on the market.
I like WAR. Not as an exact science but as a general ruler for the way a player’s career is going.
Roy Oswalt
2004: 6.4 WAR
2005: 6.1 WAR
2006: 5.7 WAR
2007: 4.6 WAR
2008: 3.6 WAR
2009: 3.1 WAR
Declining veteran. I’m not willing to bet that his resurgence this year is real.
Oswalt’s FIP
03: 3.67
04: 3.17
05: 3.16
06: 3.30
07: 3.59
08: 3.80
09: 3.76
10: 3.23
Don’t see much of a decline there.
You don’t see how 3.59, 3.80, 3.76 are higher than 3.16, 3.17, 3.3?
Resurgent 2010. I’ve been saying that.
No one said he suddenly became a bum who can’t pitch. I’m saying he’s no where near a bargain at 16 million dollars a year.
Reading Comprehension, friend. I don’t see “much of a decline there.” A sub 4 FIP still puts him among the top 30 SP in baseball, and the 3.80 was right in line with Hamels, Santana, Beckett, and Lackey last year.
Besides there’s a difference between being slightly past your prime and declining. In the last 3 years he hasn’t declined from year to year, even though his numbers are generally down from his early 2000s prime.
I get the feeling Oswalt wants no part of a pennant race. Pitching in obscurity in Houston, never pitching an important game, seems pretty good to him…
Dude…That is the exact reason he requested a trade over a month ago!!! He knows the end of his career is near and he wants another shot at the post-season. Roy is a big game pitcher – never has lost a game in the playoffs. Also look at his second half stats – he always pitches better down the stretch – He is a big reason the Astros made the miracle runs in 2004 and 2005.
He won game 6 of the 2005 NLCS. I guess it wasn’t important though.
Wait a minute, you contradict yourself. He has great numbers this year (Highest K/9 since his rookie year, FIP on par with his career numbers, WAR is very good), but he is a declining pitcher? What the hell are you looking at? His W/L numbers?
His trade value is not zero. He’s an ace, and they don’t happen to be freely available. Should the Astros back off of their ridiculous demands (I don’t think Ed Wade is that stupid to demand 3 major league prospects without paying any salary through the trade deadline), a number of teams will be interested.
Upton or Davis for Werth is too much IMO.
Oswalt also is not being a “selfish” player or a “deuche” here he loves where he is and doesn’t want to be moving his family around a lot. I really think he makes more sense for a team like the Angels or Dodgers.
Lee is a free agent after this season, yes. He would have netted two picks when he left, one being a first rounder and one a “sandwich”, if I am not mistaken. Instead they traded Lee for two guys that are going backwards in the minors. Backwards!!!
Blanton is terrible. They signed him to his new deal before the Lee trade, even though they also tried to trade him and had no takers. Blanton is a dime a dozen, not sure why you think he is special.
A first rounder outside the top 15 at best. They could just as easily end up with a sandwich and a 2nd rounder.
They traded Lee for three guys, and they’re not all going backwards. Aumont is, after being re-re-adjusted in his delivery. Ramirez has been very good the last month. Gillies is on track, not good but not awful.
JC Ramirez has been sitting at 95 mph and lookin real good in double A. Could make a push for the roster in 2011 if he continues growing the rest of the year.
John those rankings are old.
it was three guys, and they are our 2,7,11 top prospects now, and Blanton is a durable innings eater. He’ll have a good second half
calling someone an innings eater, a workhorse, or “wily and crafty” is basically saying they don’t have what it takes to get the job done, but they get most of the way there before falling apart, or they don’t have any major blowups, but the little blowups every couple of innings are effectively disabling unless you have a yankees-esque offense
Blanton is terrible. His ERA is 6.03 and his WHIP is 1.457. Throw in his awesome 5.9 K/9 and you have a real winner here. Keep defending Blanton all you want, but he is a highly overpaid 4th starter at best. Oh, he “eats innings” does he? Ok, fine, how is that working out for you this season?
I apologize for forgetting it was a 3 player deal. Nevertheless, the Phillies were still fleeced in that trade as exhibited by Seattle getting a nice package of players for Lee from Texas.
The fact is they should have kept Lee. Even after trading for Halladay (which they were two separate deals and they could have kept both) they should have kept Lee. All this talk about Halladay versus Lee is irrelevant. The two are not supposed to be compared, because it was not one or the other. Both were possible, and the Phillies are kicking themselves right now.
Seth Everett just on local Philly sportstalk:
-Oswalt deal close to dead, as Astro’s are demanding Dom Brown in exchange for them paying any salary. Phils need them to pay some as they’re getting very close to the luxury tax. Amaro absolutely will not trade Brown.
-Haren will no be traded because of the interim GM
-Phils do not like Carmona or Westbrook. Says it looks like they’ll end up getting Sheets for a minimal prospect price.
atta boy Ed Wade get nothing for Oswalt.
Sheets is crap this year, they might as well not even bother. Plus he’ll leave after the season anyway. Phillies ownership is cheap as hell, no wonder they won’t win.
Guaranteeing an aging pitcher 16 million dollars in 2 years is just bad business.
Oswalt is the best option out there if they want to win this year. Haren probably isn’t going anywhere and costs just as much, if not more if they pick up his 2013 option, and he’s only 3 years younger. No one else will make a big enough difference to get them in the playoffs. They can try, but I won’t be holding my breath with these 2nd/3rd tier guys.
Haren is ONLY 3 years younger? That’s a lot IMO. I don’t think Haren is the answer, though. He’s not having a great year, he struggles in the second half of the season.
Oswalt is well within his rights to ask for that. He’s the one who has to waive the NTC. Other players have gone this route before.
I agree with the other poster, Oswalt could get his option if the Astros eat some salary.
Is there a dislike button? What a dumb comment to make.
We are 4th in payroll, how is the ownership cheap? and we don’t want to do anymore dumb signings like the Ibanez signing (hoperfully the polanco and blanton will work out well)
Okay, maybe not cheap, but they manage their money poorly. <– understatement of the millennium
Well they aren’t as bad as the cubs, mariners, and mets
How can an ownership be cheap when their payroll is 140 and attempting to add a pitcher who makes 15 million plus for the next two years. if you havent noticed that the past two years they were in the world series winning one? people like you should be barred from posting
If they weren’t cheap, they would have Oswalt by now, that’s the whole point, silly. Spending when needed is where it really counts; they have a fixed budget, managed it poorly, and now can’t acquire what they need. They’re not willing to break their budget, therefore = cheap.
I think its more Domonic Brown than not willing to do the money…
managed it poorly yes cheap no. they are at 140 million dollar payroll right now. every team can not be the yankees red sox and mets here. you need to wake up and realize that his ownership group isnt cheap.
this isn’t looking good eh??
if this trade goes through here is what i see happening
phils get: oswalt and upton
astros get: happ and a few prospects from the rays
rays get: werth and scott mathieson
may i add i dont see this happening anymore….but RAJ always says the deal is dead(see roy halladay deal)…i see ben sheets more likely
How long would Upton be under contract?
2 more years I believe
If the Phillies pick up the 2012 option, they will have $103 mil committed to 8 players and that does not include Hamels who will be eligible for his final arbitration or Rollins. So think close to $120 mil before Rollins or another SS. Not going to happen.
I love how it’s a moral dilemma for the GM to pick up the option.
Nobody is factoring in the fact that Lee has been pitching well in a pitcher’s park with the Mariners…In his first start with the Rangers he gave up 6 runs.
morningjournal.com/articles/2010/07/18/sports/doc4…
and the next start in Bos he gave up 2 in 9 innings…Small Sample Size much? Let me go out and get you your jump to conclusions mat while I’m at it…
jayson stark just said on ESPN the deal is dead…but the phils are still trying hard to trade werth
Wouldn’t it be nice for the Phillies to have Gavin Floyd, Gio Gonzalez or even Brett Myers now instead of Moyer, Blanton and Kendrick?
Blanton is doing fine againl. Putting together another quality start. His command is coming around since being on the DL. Happ will be the 4th starter and your guess is as good as mine for what they do with the 5th.
The Rays would be stupid to include Wade Davis in a trade for Werth. The Phillies are seriously overvaluing Werth’s…ummmm….worth right now. They are treating Upton and Davis as if they are prospects who’ve never experienced mlb success.
The Phillies have made so many mistakes and have dug a deep hole. Not keeping Lee. Signing Blanton to a 3/$24 ext and bringing back Moyer for a $6.5 mil. The money they gave to Moyer alone would’ve offset what was owed to Lee if they kept him. This idea of them replenishing their minor system doesn’t hold water either. They could’ve easily have gotten Type comp from Lee after this season because there’s no way he was going to accept arbitration as opposed to testing FA.
Moyer signed a two year deal after the Phils won the World Series in ’08, so they didn’t “bring him back”….