Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has drawn interest on the trade market after clearing revocable waivers, making him eligible to be dealt to any team. But he does possess full no-trade protection by way of ten-and-five rights, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that Utley will only authorize a deal if he receives certain assurances of playing time. (Links to Twitter.)
In part, it seems, that preference is motivated by the fact that Utley is planning to play in 2016, per the report. It’s likely that he’ll be looking for a new deal as a free agent. Utley’s deal includes a vesting option for next year, but he will almost certainly not meet the plate appearance threshold required for the option to vest. And it’s unlikely that Philadelphia or an acquiring team will pick up the club option (which has a floating value depending upon how much time he spends on the DL).
With a $2MM buyout on next year’s option and about $4.5MM to go the rest of the way in 2015, it’s expected that the Phillies will need to pay down a good portion of the contract to facilitate a trade. Of course, that’s strongly implied by the fact that Utley was not claimed on waivers.
Several clubs are reportedly interested in the veteran second baseman, who has turned things on at the plate since coming off the DL. Olney notes that the Cubs have had conversations about Utley with the Phils for some time. And he observes that Chicago would conceivably be able to slot Utley into a regular role, though one wonders whether the team would still prefer some kind of time-share. (It’s not clear exactly what kind of situation would hold appeal to the 36-year-old.)
The Giants, meanwhile, are also interested, but may have a harder time promising playing time. Incumbent Joe Panik is expected to return from the DL before the end of the regular season. While acknowledging his team’s interest, San Francisco GM Bobby Evans noted that it may be difficult to add a player of Utley’s stature for part-time work, as Carl Seward of the Bay Area News Group tweeted yesterday, seemingly hinting at the issue raised by Olney.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams polled readers earlier today about Utley’s likely destination. You can head over to the poll to participate.
Angels can offer Utley a full time role if he can keep hitting.
Well, if he would consider playing Left Field and could do it, he can come the Charm City.
Giants can still play Utley most days if Aoki stays on the DL. Put Panik at 2B, Utley at 1B, and Belt in LF. Once Aoki comes back, we might do the same alignment and just put Aoki in CF because Pagan has been having knee troubles all year.
Aoki makes me nervous on about 25% of fly balls to left. I don’t think he has the route running ability to handle center in ATT.
Aoki in CF?
That will sell tickets!
Hahaha. Maybe to Dodgers fans. I certainly wouldn’t pay to watch that train wreck.
I think if his intentions are to play in 2016, he is not going to want to play a full time role somewhere other than 2b, split with some 1b and 3b. He is still more than capable of playing 2nd base.
Perfect time for the Yankees to make this deal happen. Shouldn’t cost much and can definitely offer him full-time play.
Perfect time for Brian cashman to make this kinda deal happen and can also offer full-time play.
depending how long howie out for utley could see alot of playing time with the dodgers. but once howie back his playing time up in the air. dodgers could bring in a guy like utley and pretty much shut down howie for the rest of the season and rest him up for a playoff push,
Dodgers don’t need a 2B, they need a new BP. Peraza will do fine at 2B. Kike and Guerrero can play second, if they have to. Turner will be back soon also, and he can also play 2B, if Callaspo starts at 3rd.
forgot turner not just a 3rd baseman. im use to him playing 3rd i forgot he can play other spots. plus they do have defense first barney in the minors i think
Utley doesn’t have a $15 million team option. He has a $15 million vesting option that’s now moot because it won’t vest. He has a team option that is for $5-$11 million based on days on the DL. He also has a $2 million buyout. So anyone acquiring Utley could pay, for example, $8 million to keep him for 2015 or $2 million to let him go. The actual cost would be $6 million.
Correct. Big difference.
The Phils imo are looking for a teams Top 10 prospect + . If they dont get it he wont be traded.Utley will be back next year with the Phillies on a team friendly contract.
Utley is an enigma.He is in freakish shape for a 37 y.o. but for whatever reason can not stay healthy as far back back as his early 30’s.
Phillies looking for a top 10 prospect ? Good luck with that…
Top 10 prospect +….lolz. This isn’t 2009 Utley, this is can’t crack .200 Utley of 2015. Veteran leadership…blah blah blah…a contending team will need him to fill a hole and/or add depth, which is tough to do w. his slash line from this yr. Injury is a part of it, but at the end of the day, a team needs a player not a guy trying to live off of his reputation.
He obviously meant a teams system top 10. So in a teams top 30… could easily be a relief pitcher in a system like the Giants or Yankees.
Yeah, I forgot the floating value on the option. It’s been corrected.
The buyout money will be worked out as part of any trade. Conceivably it could be conditionally paid for by the Phillies, as occurred in the Broxton deal.
The man is hitting .196 with a .266 OBP, has slowed down at 2B, and he wants assurances of playing time?
Might that be a bit much to request of teams trying to play it to the playoffs and beyond?
He’ll likley get as much playing time if he’s moved as he would in Philly. Can’t say I necessarily blame a guy at 36 who doesn’t have incentive to waive his no trade. I don’t know Utleys personal info… But a guy that age might have his family fairly well settled and doesn’t want to cause stress just to go ride the pine somewhere
I would argue that the majority of his poor play is due to injuries. A Phillies fan could provide more insight, but I know he was dealing with injuries well before they DL’ed him. While it’s a small sample size, he has 7 hits in 18 ABs since coming back. He was still a ~4 WAR player last year. I think everyone has been writing him off way too soon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him rebound next year.
Certainly a chance he rebounds, and the risk is less financially now even on a player that will be 37…that vesting option was the hangup. Really depends on what he’ll play for.
Since the end of May 2014, Utley is hitting under .200. His problem isn’t just injuries, it’s Father Time.
I’m glad he rebounds next year.
But if he can’t play this year, does a contending team guarantee him a job during the stretch run and playoffs? What is more important – Chase Utley’s agenda or a billion dollar baseball franchise with probably over $100M in payroll this year succeeding?
For Utley? His agenda. He’s the one with the power in this situation. In general, I agree that franchises are more important, but this is all about pleasing Utley at this point. If a team wants him enough to trade for him, they probably think he’s still capable and would promise him playing time, anyway.
You are definitely correct. He was a 4 win player and then suddenly dropped off. He obviously had something going on with his ankle and that was compounded with a ridiculously unlucky BABIP. His K rate and walk rate remained identical to the previous season. He is certainly not out of his mind to show he can still play full time, because some one is going to sign him to a one year deal next year hoping for some production. Utley more than likely is going to be a Yankee in 2016. An AL team can give him some time off at DH and split him to play some above average 1b, even though he still will probably only be a slightly below average defensive 2b now.
He looked healthy IMO, but he was absolutely squaring balls up at times and hitting them directly at players. His hard contact rate dipped 6 percent, but his K rate and Walk rate, GB/FB all were in line with his career average. The one thing that wasnt in line with the career average was the BABIP that was 100 points below his career average. Any team with a rudimentary analytics department can figure out he is much better than the numbers on the board.
It might be but Chase has all the power. If a team wants him it will be on his terms. The receiving team has very little power here.
He has the power up front to demand assurances or seek other inducements, but you can’t put that in a contract. Once he’s there the team can do what it wants.
Clubs try to treat veterans well for many reasons, not least of which because there are reputational considerations, and I doubt anyone would make false promises to a guy like Utley. But I also doubt any contending team would feel compelled to stick with him through thick and thin if he was awful.
Wouldn’t he be better off playing for a high-profile team down the stretch if he wants to increase his earnings in 2016?
Even if he does well for the Phillies, he’s not really proving all that much playing out the string.
That’s not how “increasing your value” works. If he hits well, fields well and continues to steal bases at an 87% success rate, plus stays healthy, his value will shoot up quickly regardless of what team’s uniform he’s wearing.
No team is going to base his impending contract value on how many wins the team got.
I’ve haven’t seen it clarified what Utley considers appropriate playing time. Very big difference between demanding to start 6 days a week and asking for a few starts a week. I completely understand that he might not want to be traded just to essentially be a veteran bench coach…..just a lot of ground there in playing time expectations I haven’t heard Utley address.
Go to a team that wants him, play decent ball, get playing time. Why does he need assurances if he believes he can still play well enough to deserve the time?
If the Phillies were paying the bill…many teams would take him and potentially hardly use him after the roster expansion. Can’t really blame a guy who’s built a life and career in a city from wanting to play
Wanting to play, NP. Insisting on playing in case he doesn’t play well enough to get playing time on merit isn’t the same thing.
It’s fair for Utley to ask how teams will use him. He can’t demand playing time once he’s traded, but he has the negotiating power at this point to ask how he’ll be used… and I think teams can reasonably tell him how they view his use. Any team wanting him has an idea in mind. Team A says they really just want him to be a veteran bench coach and an occasional pinch hitter…maybe he says no…Team B says they want him to start 3-4 times a week….he probably goes with team B. Sounds like he wants to play next season, so he wants to build value and show he’s healthy.
Fair to ask, NP. Whether it’s fair to demand is a different question, one where it appears we’ll have to agree to disagree.
Arjon…I’m not trying to disagree…but Utley can basically demand to play prior to waiving his 10-5 rights. If a team agreed to that prior to the deal and then reneged they’d have some PR issues to deal with with players around the league.
Utley wants to play next year. He needs playing time to prove he is healthy. Plus no one knows how much playing time he is asking for. It could be full time or it could be 2 or 3 starts a week.
Most if not all of the teams thinking about trading for him will play him now. They’re looking at him because they have an immediate need at 2B. If he plays well, he’ll continue to get time. And beyond that, how hard is show he’s healthy by taking physicals and/or working our for teams during the off-season?
Staying healthy in a scout showcase is much different than showing you can hold up over the last 6 weeks of a season in live game action.
Different, yes. How different is a matter for each team to assess on a case by case basis.
He gets a job over the winter whether he goes to another team now or not. He has that legacy built now
“if option does not vest, it becomes a club option valued between $5M & $11M, based on days on disabled list in previous season.”
Since it won’t vest and he spent time on the DL, I’m thinking the club option will be about $10 million or less. If he’s healthy, that’s a one year deal that may be worth taking for a team.
Utley should take a deep breath and realize that the more he gets rested in August, the more days on the active roster he is likely to spend (as opposed to finding himself on the DL; there is no DL for guys who injure themselves in September).
More days on the active roster leads to a higher figure on the team option.
Or is he afraid of getting bought out, especially if he lands on a new team which only wants him for 2015?
How bad can it get if he gets bought out? Will no one give him a major league deal?
It’s turning into a soap opera…
Or, you know, maybe, just maybe, a guy who’s already made enough money to be set for life, but has a tremendous level of pride in his abilities as a player, and perhaps the strongest work ethic of just about anybody in baseball, has some kind of vested interest in wanting to actually play the sport?
Unless he absolutely explodes on the field, he’s going to get bought out, by virtue of his performance thus far this year. Nobody is going to pay him $8-10MM to be a bench player for a year, except maybe the Phillies due to legacy considerations. The only way he gets anything better than a 1-year deal in the $3MM range is if he gets enough time on the field to prove that his previous poor play was indeed due to injury. Not something he can do, with the time left, unless he starts.
I think the best thing that could happen would be for Utley to go play for a contender now…go for another ring…have the team decline..and then have him return to Philadelphia on a one year part time deal. I think that’s classy and it keeps him a Phillie. When all of this late career downward slope is a thing of the past he can go retire and be a legend. It’s just odd to see players that have made a name for themselves in one uniform go to another to finish out. Ron Santo in a White Sox uniform…etc
Do the Phillies owe him the chance to re-establish his value compensation-wise if indeed he will be bought out of the current contract and its future options?
I think him facing AAA pitchers in meaningless September games against other also rans proves very little.
Sending him elsewhere now is a win-win for the Phillies and for Utley.
Oh, I agree…but next season is a separate scenario. It’d have to be on the teams terms and not just to carry an ego.
He kicked your behinds in the 2009 WS and would have been MVP if Hamels and Lidge hadn’t taken the year off after their great 2008
A_Roid was in full cycle during that series. It was a crock.
I wouldnt write the Royals off in this situation. Even when Gordon comes back, Utley and Zobrist can find time. Infante certainly not worth a lot to the Royals currently.
I wouldn’t count the Royals out, but Utley can essentially pick his team with his 10-5 rights. If he wants to play and SF or LAA offer a starting slot…he might do that. Teams are negotiating with Utley as much as they are Philly