7:30pm: According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, the Phillies haven't talked to the Nationals about Kennedy.
1:31pm: The Phillies learned today that Chase Utley will be out for several weeks due to thumb surgery, and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com chimes in with some possible replacement options. He notes that the replacement doesn't necessary have to be a second baseman (Twitter link), because the team can use Placido Polanco at that position once he's healthy. That opens up the possibility of a trade for a third baseman.
Rosenthal says that former Phillie Pedro Feliz is an unlikely target, citing a scout who says his bat speed is "gone." Feliz has hit just .229/.255/.317 in 255 plate appearances this year, and his trademark defense has declined back to a -4.3 UZR this season. The Fox Sports scribe throws the names of Miguel Tejada, Ty Wigginton, Jhonny Peralta, Adam Kennedy, and Jose Lopez into the mix (Twitter links). The Mariners are actively trying to move Lopez, according to Rosenthal.
For the now, Philadelphia will try to tread water with the combination of Wilson Valdez and Greg Dobbs at second and third, respectively. They've combined to hit just .222/.252/.338 in 222 plate appearances this season, and Jack Moore at FanGraphs chronicled just how big of a downgrade this is for the Phillies.
Lopez to the Phillies would be a good fit. Safeco depresses his numbers since he’s a righty who likes to pull the ball (he’s also been having a horribly unlucky year). Plus, Citizen’s Bank is a bit of a bandbox, right? He hits short homers, so long fly balls in Safeco might turn into homers there.
I don’t think Seattle could ask for much in return – maybe just a relief arm that’s close to the majors. Lopez has very little trade value since he’s off to such a poor start. But, over the past few years he’s been a 2 win player, so he has the potential to help.
Lowell to Phils rumors should start any minute now
I don’t like seeing anyone get hurt, but I’m glad Martin Prado will get to start for the NL at 2B. He really deserves it.
Just because Prado is having a career first half, doesn’t make him more deserving to start than Utley.
Prado deserves to start because he’s having a better year than Utley.
That’s just like your opion, man. As far as overall metrics, WAR still has Utley ahead by .3 of a win.
I’ll take the guy leading the league in hits, doubles, batting average and total bases, and has made 1/5th the amount of errors. The fact that Utley has a .3 WAR advantage over Prado this year just show that the WAR system isn’t always perfect.
There’s a reason Utley is not only the second leading NL vote-getter, overall (behind Albert Pujols), but leads Martin Prado by more than a million votes at second base: With homefield advantage on the line in the World Series, NL fans would rather have Utley on their team.
Where Martin Prado had a good first half, Chase Utley has consistently been the best second baseman in the national league, and arguably, in baseball. His injury is a major blow to the National League.
“With homefield advantage on the line in the World Series, NL fans would rather have Utley on their team.”
So by that logic, you’re saying that NL fans would rather have Placido Polanco than David Wright, Scott Rolen, or Ryan Zimmerman? LOL. The truth is that there are a ton of Philly fans out there, proportionately more than other clubs, that vote for their home team players regardless of whether or not they deserve it.
This.
Philly fans deserve to be publicly lambasted if Polanco pushes Rolen or Zimmerman off the roster. Given his recent slump, I’ve got to believe that would be Zimmerman who gets the short straw, despite his far superior defense.
I can agree to an extent. I think it’s painfully obvious that popularity in large markets has guys that shouldn’t be on the team there, and guys who should have made the team left at home. It’ll never be a truly competitive game until voting is taken out of the voters hand. Think about it though. A guy doesn’t get over 2 million votes by being popular to one team’s fans. You get over 2 million votes when you’ve garnered a certain amount of respect by being a player who is constantly able to produce over a full season, and especially, in big games. Has Martin Prado been able to do so in either? No. Has Chase Utley? Yes.
The system is far from perfect, so I agree with what you’re saying. For the same reasons that so many Yankees make All Stars every year, they get major support from their fans. Is that wrong? Yes. Is that something that Major League Baseball should look into changing? Probably. Does it help to put the best thing on the field? No.
In regards to that “logic”, I don’t think what I meant came across well. I meant that it was obvious that Utley was the favorite to start at second base, based off of his commanding lead in votes at Second Base. On the other hand, why do you think the race at Third Base is so close? Because of a said flaw in the system. I personally voted for Scott Rolen to start the All Star game, but I’m not convinced that Polanco should be left off. He’s having a pretty good year. In a contact situation late in a game, I’d much rather have Polanco coming off the bench than Ryan Zimmerman.
Wigginton would be ideal. Can play 2nd and 3rd and when the team is healthy, will be a great RH addition to the bench.
What about exploring an Alex Gordon trade the Royals have all but given up on the kid maybe a change of scenery would do wonders for him and they probably wouldn’t have to give up too much for him.
Seeing the Phillies fall apart brings warm feelings to my heart. This is our year. Go Mets!
The Phillies could probably get Adam Kennedy for a bag of balls. The Nats wish they could get them to take Guzman, though.
Werth to the Red Sox for prospects.
Prospects from the Red Sox and such to Arizona for Haren and Kelly Johnson
They get a starter, 2B, and Dominic Brown in the OF
I’m a Met fan and I feel bad for the Phillies. So much, that I would happily give them Luis Castillo for free.
I am a Phillies fan, and I dont feel sorry for my team. I certainly wish they were healthy, the Phillies are certainly a lot better with them, but this team still has 5 All Stars (Rollins, Victorino, Howard, Werth, and Ibanez) who should be able to keep this team in contention until these two get healthy. If those 5 guys cant keep the Phillies about 5 GB or better by September, then thats just pathetic. Ruiz is coming back soon, and right now Schneider and Valdez are playing way better than anyone thought they would.
Its time for Ruben Amaro to show us what hes got. The city of Philadelphia let out a loud groan the day he was hired (because Mike Arbukel was more deserving) and fans already have a problem with him regarding the whole Cliff Lee fiasco. Amaro has a chance to help this team by adding a Wigginton or someone of that ilk. He also has a chance to help this team acquire another impact starter (not Jeremy Guthrie) if they believe that Happ wont be able to contribute effectively this year. If Amaro cant fix a team that already has 2 MVP’s, 8 All Stars, and a former Cy Young winner, then all hell will break loose.
Werth isn’t going anywhere, especially with Utley and Polanco out of the lineup. The Phillies are still contending, and like Frank says it shouldn’t be too hard to keep them in contention for the rest of the year. But trading Jayson Werth for prospects? Seriously? You expect us to give up? The Phillies are not rebuilding. Even if they get squeezed out of the playoff picture this year, they are still not rebuilding. This team will be built to win as long as Halladay, Howard, Utley, Rollins etc. stick around. I know there are a lot of other teams who would love to get Werth as a rental player, but you’re all going to have to wait a few months until he hits free agency.
Werth isn’t going anywhere, especially with Utley and Polanco out of the lineup. The Phillies are still contending, and like Frank says it shouldn’t be too hard to keep them in contention for the rest of the year. But trading Jayson Werth for prospects? Seriously? You expect us to give up? The Phillies are not rebuilding. Even if they get squeezed out of the playoff picture this year, they are still not rebuilding. This team will be built to win as long as Halladay, Howard, Utley, Rollins etc. stick around. I know there are a lot of other teams who would love to get Werth as a rental player, but you’re all going to have to wait a few months until he hits free agency.