In the days leading up to the trade deadline, the Phillies finally traded ace Cole Hamels, sending him with Jake Diekman and cash to Texas for pitcher Matt Harrison, top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams, and young pitchers Jake Thompson, Alec Asher and Jerad Eickhoff. Here’s a roundup of reactions to one of the week’s biggest deals.
- The Giants came very close to acquring Hamels — so close, in fact, that Hamels waived his no-trade rights to allow the Phillies to trade him to San Francisco, as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets.
- The Phillies got a strong return for Hamels, Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com writes. Alfaro looks like the key to the deal for Philadelphia, but the Phillies also got interesting pieces in Thompson and Williams, and they actually can use Harrison as well, even though he’s in the deal partially to offset Hamels’ salary.
- Philadelphia got “quantity and quality” in the Hamels trade, says MLB.com’s Jim Callis (video link). Callis says Thompson’s slider is, at its best, one of the top sliders in the minors, and Williams has great bat speed and has dramatically improved his plate discipline. Alfaro needs to improve his polish in some areas, but he has terrific tools, including his arm strength.
- The Phillies could continue trading in August, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Chase Utley could be a candidate to be dealt, assuming his injured ankle heals and he waives his no-trade privileges. Aaron Harang and Jeff Francoeur are possibilities as well.
I’m in the acceptance phase…
I’m hoping the Phils and Braves can keep it exciting for each other during the next year. Would be good to have a Phillies/Braves rivalry at the top of the division.
Years*
I’m really loving this trade. I’m so excited, not only for this year, but for the next 3 years. I’m also loving the salary relief that we’ve been mustering up over the last 18 months; nearly $150M worth ($30M for Fielder, $73.5M for Hamilton, $42.3M for Hamels including Harrison’s contract, $4M for Gallardo).
Really find it hard to believe the Giants could come close on Hamels. What would it take? Beede and Susac for starters, since they couldn’t give up Panik or Duffy if they plan on making a run. They’d have to eat all of Hamels’ money and not send some back like in terms of pawning off Harrison’s deal. I just don’t see there being enough there to get it done.
Glad it didn’t go through. Doesn’t make sense to me to move Susac. Posey has a career .356 batting average and .977 OPS when he plays first as opposed to hitting .302 with an .843 OPS when catching.
In my opinion Susac can replace Belt’s offensive production at a much more valuable position. It’s time for Posey to move to first.
Posey hitting better when he’s at first has a lot to do with the fact that he hits there more often when it’s a lefty on the mound cause Belt struggles against lefties. Put Posey at 1st full time and his numbers will start looking more like his numbers as a catcher.
His career splits against lefties are:
.328 BA
.950 OPS
Still an improvement when he plays first.
I’m not expecting him to maintain a .356 average or .977 OPS if he plays 1B regularly, but I do expect a jump in offensive production due to having fresher legs and not having to worry about managing the game… and it will definitely prolong his career and how well he can hit when he gets older.
i tend to agree with you; Beede would have had to have been in it…Susac could have happened maybe if Phils sent Ruiz over?
i dont like the giants but knowing them that Leake move will work out great for them- they always seem to get the right fits, while other teams go for the dramatic additions they dont necessarily bring about the desired results.
Is Duffy legit? Like will he be in the Giants infield for years to come?
I think they’re planning on Duffy as a fixture. What is interesting is that none of Crawford, Panik or Duffy had the expectation as prospects that they would hit this well, so Keith Law has speculated in his chats that maybe Hensley Meulens or the Giants are better able to teach hitting at the major league level, or on the way up.
In my opinion, it’s Posey. Duffy says he tries to model Posey and Meulens was never a great hitter in the big leagues. And, the Giants have never really been this good offensively w/Meulens as their hitting instructor.
I think Posey is rubbing off on the younger guys in the clubhouse and it is paying off big time.
Not sure “never a great hitter in the big leagues” should be the measure of how good someone can be as a teacher. Don Cooper posted a 5.27 career ERA. Mike Maddux had a long career but was no one’s idea of an impact pitcher at the MLB level.
Okay, well then look at the Giants’ offense from 2010-2014. Nothing spectacular and it was always boosted by guys like Scutaro, Ross, and Pence… all players who didn’t have a lot of time to work with Meulens, but gave a huge shot in the arm late in the season that pushed the Giants over the top.
Not sure I understand your point. Yes, there were a ton of veterans on those teams and not a lot of younger, homegrown talent. Who’s a coach going to have the most impact on? Younger guys.
Does Meulens get zero credit for Panda and Posey?
I challenge you to read the quotes in this story and still maintain that Meulens has little to offer. I mean, seriously, don’t you think Buster Posey is a little busy with his own responsibilities?
sfgate.com/giants/jenkins/article/Giants-coach-Hen…
No, Muelens gets little-to-no credit for Posey.
Posey showed up hitting from day one. And Pablo has always underachieved… but I don’t blame that on Meulens, I blame it on Pablo.
The only quotes in that article are from Bam Bam himself. Nobody saying, “Man Meulens is a great hitting instructor.” Although I’m sure everyone would anyways, because nobody is going to say that he sucks.
I’m not even saying that he sucks, just that he probably hasn’t had that much impact in the grand scheme of things.
Read this article:
sacbee.com/sports/mlb/san-francisco-giants/article…
And, this article:
m.mlb.com/news/article/136294896/matt-duffy-succee…
Mainly, in the first article, that Duffy tries to model his swing after Posey, and in the second article, that Posey noticed a flaw in Duffy’s swing, pointed it out, and helped him go on the hot streak he has been on since being slotted into the 3-hole.
While those are only two examples of Duffy crediting Posey, those are two more examples than you will find than him crediting Bam Bam…
Hate to lose the talent we traded away for Hamels but what’s done is done. It was nice to hear that he wants to be here and isn’t afraid of pitching in the heat.
You guys in Philly be good to Harrison. He’s a good dude and has worked his butt off to get back on the mound. I wish him nothing but the best.
Right back at ya, take care of Cole! I definitely viewed this trade as a win-win.
A catching prospect with 28 PASS BALLS ? Hitting .260 ? That’s a top catching prospect ? WHY
He has the strongest arm in the minors as a catcher with a quick release. He is athletic and has decent speed for a catcher. And he has the raw power to eventually hit a lot of HRs.
He does have a lot work to do, his defense is SLOWLY improving year by year, and he swings at everything. At worst, he’s a low low avg catcher that hits for power and at best he’s the top catcher in the league.
He’s extremely raw behind the plate and had been working with Pudge. He’s got the power and hit tool. Almost the opposite of Austin Hedges. Catchers take time to have a complete game. That’s why the Buster Posey’s of the world as so rare and valuable.
You can’t scout a stat line. Derek Jeter made 56, 25 and 29 errors over three minor-league seasons.
@edcl51 Jorge Alfaro is a top prospect because he has 20+ HR power, a cannon of an arm, and is athletic for his size and position. Been a little banged up this season, but has performed well last two full seasons. Also can play 1B, nice if you have a lefty 1B and a good backup catcher. It may take time, as catchers do, but he could be pretty good.
He’s posting the same thing on multiple topics. I’d just ignore him from now on, that’s my plan.