TODAY, 2:02pm: A source “close to Utley” tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that the second baseman will likely either be dealt today or remain in Philadelphia. (Twitter link.)
1:12pm: In spite of yesterday’s comments, there is a possibility that Utley will be dealt today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The “situation” is “coming to a head,” sources tell FOX.
YESTERDAY, 3:27pm: Team president Pat Gillick echoed Amaro’s sentiments in a radio appearance with Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto today. Philadelphia.com’s Matt Rappa has transcribed Gillick’s comments (which cover many other elements of the team in addition to Utley). Said Gillick:
“There’s been a lot of conversation about Chase leaving Philadelphia. At this point, he’s still a Phillie and it appears that he’s going to be a Phillie until the end of the season at least.”
9:28am: Veteran second baseman Chase Utley is “likely” to remain with the club for the remainder of the season, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said this morning in an appearance on Philadelphia’s Sports Radio 94 WIP (via Howard Eskin, on Twitter).
Utley, 36, has drawn fairly wide interest from teams looking to fill out their rosters through the August trade market. He has cleared waivers, making him eligible to be dealt to any club, but retains full no-trade protection. Utley reportedly is interested in assurances of playing time and has a geographic preference for Southern California.
While Amaro’s comments certainly validate the possibility that Utley will remain in Philadelphia the rest of the way, as some recent reports have also suggested, there’s still plenty of time for something to come together. On the other hand, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki explains, while there is surprise in some quarters that a deal has yet to go down, Utley could well end up preferring to finish out what is likely his last season with the Phils.
So in other words the Phillies need to get to 50 wins and Chase Utley is going to be a big part of that!
Marvelous!
More likely is that Chase just doesn’t want to leave. It could also be some kind of negotiating ploy too.
@Matt – I can see it being a trade ploy as well, but I’m more inclined to say he wants to say, I don’t really get it, but… I think he wants to ride out the year and see if the Phillies will Dump howard and he will become the everyday 1st basemen. I think he thinks he can still play, they will just platoon him with a cheap salary, well a cheap “Utley salary”. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
The cost of dumping Howard is about 20 times higher than the cost of using Utley’s buyout.
If Utley is getting dealt anywhere it’ll be on his terms and he’s being rather picky. He wants someone to pick up next years salary, along with being someone’s every day 2B, a membership to all the country clubs in the area, a lambo, 7 wives, 19 houses, free gas and a charter plane any time he wants….lol
And that was him lowering his demands…
Funny how they’ll likely play the same number of playoff games as the Orioles this year, isn’t it?
The Orioles win more than less lose, at least. Unlike a lot of teams this year.
Certainly true, and more than the Phillies as well.
Amaro said the same thing about Cole Hamels just before he was traded to Texas.
Er, no, no he didn’t. He said that the team didn’t have to trade him, but that’s a big difference.
At this point, everything is contradictory. It’s difficult to witness all of this as a Phillies fan, and is sad because it’s just dragging everyone along. Either Chase can’t make up his own mind, or there’s a lot of road-blocking going on by the front office to make a deal happen. I mean, I understand: he wants to win, but he does love Philly. However, a world in which both of those co-exist simply isn’t going to happen any time soon. I feel for the guy, but he needs to make up his mind, let the front office know, and go with whatever his decision is.
No matter what, he’ll always be the greatest Phillies 2B I’ve ever watched in my short 29 year life!
There are a large amount of obstacles to overcome in an Utley deal, so I’m not surprised we are where we are right now. In no order:
1. 10/5 no trade clause
2. Money owed for the rest of this year and the $2 mil buyout/team option next year.
3. Utley’s desire to get regular playing time on a contender
4. Location of said contender
5. Whether Utley truly wants to leave Philadelphia
6. And finally, the Phillies getting back a decent prospect that makes it worth parting with a fan favorite. They aren’t getting a top prospect back, but I don’t see management dealing him for a AAAA guy either. They’ll have to get a prospect back that has at least some upside even if it’s a middle relief type.
(And I’m sure I missed some more obstacles)
This is far from an easy trade like moving a Ben Revere for the best package offered.
Much like what happened to Rollins last year declining possible trades so he could obtain the records for most hits by a Phillie, Utley will be vilified by the fan base because they are ready for him to move on and the rebuilding to continue.
What I don’t understand, if winning is so important to Utley, why stay on this team. Go chase another ring, solidify your legacy by being the difference for a team to win the world series. Play meaningful games again in September and October.
Unless it is not about winning anymore
I wonder if he isn’t at least considering retiring after the year and just wants to retire a Phillie.
he doesnt seem like a guy who will admit he’s done until he cant get out of bed in the morning.
If he retires, it’ll be with plenty left in the tank. His awful numbers for the first half of the season were largely the result of injuries.
He’d also be leaving a lot of money on the table, as someone will undoubtedly give him a decent contract next season. Even though he’s made a lot already, he could still score a good deal next year.
There’s also the possibility that Utley would like to strengthen his Hall of Fame case.
No chance Utley gets vilified by the fan base. If he was like Hamels and could bring back a huge return to help the rebuild, then yes, I could see them turning on him. But the majority of the fan base knows he isn’t bringing back a top prospect let alone a package like Hamels did. The fans won’t crucify him or the team for keeping Utley around and missing out on a middle of the road relief prospect.
And Utley isn’t exactly blocking a top prospect either. Hernandez is a nice player and I’d like to see him play every day to see if he keeps this up, but he’s nothing special. A good player, but not a star.
But yeah, if I was Utley, I’d want a deal to a contender. Even if I loved living and playing Philadelphia, I could survive 2-3 months away from my family to play for a contender potentially one last time.
Maybe he is enjoying the role of being a mentor for all the kids.
It’s certainly possible and he seems to really love Philadelphia. His personality and attitude are the main reasons he will never be vilified here if he chooses to stay.
They’re not going to get anything for him, so what’s the point. The only reason to trade him would be to save a few million (not a huge deal to the Phils at this point), or if he wants to be traded to a contender. Apparently the latter is not in play.
Also just to give playing time to younger guys.
Eh, not really that much. At the moment he’s getting semi-frequent days off and cycling between 2B and 1B, with the other 2B (Cesar Hernandez) getting reps at SS or a day off when he’s there. Howard is only technically younger, so him at first doesn’t have much of an effect, and Galvis (SS) pretty much is what he is, and regression should probably be expected more than improvement.
Playing Howard or Galvis doesn’t mean much. Galvis doesn’t hit enough to play 2B/3B long term, so when Crawford and/or Quinn makes to the big club (possibly next year), Galvis is back to a utility man.
The problem is getting Hernandez everyday playing time without killing his value by forcing him to play SS.
What I would do it go with
1B: Utley
2B: Hernandez
SS: Galvis/Blanco (Blanco is a better hitter)
3B: Franco
Howard isn’t going to get you anything on the trade market, he doesn’t play passable defense and he doesn’t hit. Whats the value of keeping him on the roster?
Galvis is only 25. Blanco has been a decent bench bat this year, but this year has been an anomaly in his career. He’s a 31 year old known commodity, no way should he take AB’s away from Galvis outside of normal days off/rest.
Galvis is only 25 and has never been particularly good with the bat. He had a huge BABIP boost to start this season, then tanked spectacularly. His D at 2nd is amazing, but his D at SS is merely on the average side.
He’s young enough that I guess he could improve, but he’s been so consistently “what he is” for the last 3 years that it’s difficult to see much room for improvement.
What an awful infield lol
they looked pretty good sweeping the cubs last month lol
Really gonna go there? a 3 game sample size?
And are you really going to defend the Phillies infield?
it was a joke…because Jorge Soler Powered is a cubs fan
Okay good haha. I knew you brought up the Cubs because he’s a Cubs fan, but didn’t know if it was said more in jest or serious.
I’d like to thank the Cubs for helping Cole get his no-no.
true, but in 2017 it will be franco, crawford, kingery and a first baseman to be named later.
Yeah, the future infield looks promising, but the current group..not so much. Rhys Hoskins is an interesting name to keep an eye on for 1B
Howard actually does play passable D, just not very good D. He also, this year, has hit significantly better than Utley.
Is he going to net you much in trade? Of course not. However, that doesn’t make a ~100 OPS+ (complete with .210 ISO) “not hitting.”
Were he platooned, more, he’s posting an .808 OPS against RHP, which is good for a 122 OPS+.
If Amaro had just told the radio station, “Utley isn’t good enough anymore to justify all this hype so I’m not going to bother,” then I would like him more.
I’m sure that your opinion is more important to him than Utley’s?
It has been ridiculous. When he got to the point where he wanted guaranteed playing time I think he lost a lot of teams that were looking at him. If they bring him in and he doesn’t hit in the stretch run and/or playoffs, are the teams supposed to continue to play him when they have guys sitting on the bench that could well do a better job?
I think it would be nice to see Utley finish his career with the Phillies. It’s been great see him hitting again since he’s come back from the DL. Whatever he repaired to get back to the player he is, it’s ashame he didn’t do it sooner!
You never know if this is just a negotiating ploy or reality. From a business perspective, you can see why Utley might not want to leave. He’s not vesting anywhere, and the Phillies will pay him a $2M buyout for next year. He can then sign where there’s a need. For the Phillies, I think I’d try to trade him–I don’t see him at 1B, because I can’t see Howard being traded to make room for Utley–Howard is basically the same (sub-replacement level) player he’s been for the past 4 years, and so his value would be fairly negligible. Utley is more versatile, but how much are you willing to spend to get rid of Howard, and pay Utley? That being said, Alomar only wants to sell high, so it wouldn’t shock me if he’d rather keep the sunk costs (and maybe a “Chase Utley Day” and move on.
i dont think the phillies would bother to make a ploy in this situation; no reason they wouldnt accomodate utley if he wants to go.
Yeah, the smoke on this rumor has died long ago, it is just a smoldering mess now. If there was a deal to be made, it would have been made already, I think, time’s a-wasting.
My guess would that the Phillies most probably have seen deals that they would take but that Utley has been the gatekeeper. Most probably he was looking to hook up with one of the LA teams, since he grew up in that area (and was drafted by one, when in HS), and has no interest in the Giants, even with a chance to be part of something big again. I guess he’s been there, done that, he’s not interested in, as Latos once called it long ago, a “mercenary” dropping in and helping. But both LA teams are unwilling to give up much to get Utley, apparently, and/or unwilling to promise much playing time (much like the Giants, who were looking for a part-time player). And so he continues to block any trade.
And that’s fine, he’s earned that right being a 10&5 player. With the deadline approaching for being able to add him to the playoff roster, at which point, his value should drop drastically for any teams still interested in adding him, maybe that will get one of the LA teams moving.
He has been rumored to have turned down 3 trades already.
where did you see this and did they say what teams? I saw the Angels thought they had a deal done, but that story didn’t specify why it didn’t get done.
it doesn’t make sense…. because if he is “healthy” again, and believes his ankle has turned the corner, then he probably believes he can play next year… thats whats complicated the deal imo. He should just go play for a contender and sign with the Phillies in the offseason, but he may not be getting the reassurance that they won”t low ball him in FA… something is going on… or he maybe considering retirement… it probably takes a lot of effort to get ready for the season and he just keeps breaking down anyways. l
Ruben Amaro has a tendency to never say the right thing and often alienates his players-like Utley.
Utley may as well wait out Amaros firing this winter and rework a deal with the Phillies new GM , going forward. Cesar Hernandez is not the Phillies answer at 2B.
Bring back Utley.
Amaro isn’t going to get fired, because his contract ends after this season. He’ll likely end up with a “Special Assistant” position next year, but it’s possible that MacPhail has liked what he’s seen from Amaro on the baseball side this year (solid trades of Rollins, Byrd, Bastardo, Hamels and – to a lesser extent – Revere). Their drafting has also seemingly improved significantly over the last few years.
if you believe Amaro actually made the Hamels trade, ok….
If you believe that one person makes a trade of that magnitude in a vacuum, ok…..
for the time being, Chase has some control over any trade and where he wants to go. Obviously, the Phils are not going to exercise the option on him so then the ball will be in Chase’s court as to where he wants to play IF he wants to continue to play. Unless he’s willing to give the Phils a huge break and play for a small sum, there’s no real option for him to continue his career except somewhere else.
Hey Ruben, I’ve got a proposition for you. I’m selling my truck. It’s got 150,000miles, but it sure was great in its hey day. Sure it’s been in the shop a lot, several times this year in fact, but it’s been driving better of late. Why don’t you give me $2m as a down payment and you guarantee $11m next year while also guarantee you won’t drive anything else. Deal? Ruben. Ruben? Hello?
That depends. Was your particular truck among the best-performing trucks both in most years over the last decade, as well as over the last decade combined? To the extent that when it was out of the shop, it more than made up for the time it spent in the shop?
doubt he’s going anywhere
so i guess that update means that if not traded today he wont be traded.
reads at first that the source says he will or wont be traded today.
Does anyone ever believe anything a Front Office says these days? It wasn’t even 24 hours after the Phillies GM and Team President said that Utley wasn’t going anywhere, and then he’s off to the other side of the country.
At least for me, I’m not ever falling for anything a team says anymore. It’s always done for self-serving reasons to increase the trade price, which I completely understand and endorse. At the same time, I feel like it sends the wrong message by a franchise to be so completely non-transparent. #DoubleEdgedSword