Break up the Phillies? With today’s victory over the Padres, the Phils improved to 16-5 over their last 21 games, a stunning hot streak from a club that was at or near the bottom of the league standings for virtually the entire first half. Here’s the latest from Philly…
- Chase Utley reiterated on Saturday that he “would be more than happy to listen to” the team if they presented him with a trade scenario, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “I do love Philadelphia. I’ve had a great time playing here, but out of respect for them, I would definitely listen to them,” Utley said. The second baseman had always been firm about not waiving his no-trade clause to accommodate a deal, but as Zolecki notes, Utley’s stance softened a bit during Spring Training when he said he’d listen to the team’s proposal if other veterans were dealt. This is exactly what has come to pass this summer, as Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon and Ben Revere were all traded.
- In another Zolecki piece, Utley said “I think that’s a little too far to look ahead” when asked if he’d still be a Phillie on September 1, and said “who knows?” when asked if he’d expected to finish the season in Philadelphia.
- Odubel Herrera has been a solid contributor for the Phillies and is earning himself consideration as a long-term building block, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jake Kaplan writes. Taken from the Rangers in the Rule 5 draft last winter, Herrera boasted a .289/.320/.422 slash line over 343 plate appearances as the Phils’ regular center fielder prior to Sunday’s action.
- The Phillies should stick to short-term contracts for veterans over the next season or two when filling out roster depth, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, particularly in the starting rotation. “There is no sense for them to start digging another financial hole like the one they are almost finished climbing out of,” Murphy writes, arguing that the Phils need to keep payroll flexibility for around 2018 when they’re ready to contend again.
Phillies 16-5 is great. Flip side is the Twins at 6-16 since the All-Star break.
I think the Phillies should put Utley on waivers and I think the Giants will win the claim – at which point the Phillies should let him go and save the nearly $5 million.
No one is going to claim him over 3 good games. With that said, The Giants have 4 great infielders already in Belt, Crawford, Panik and Duffy.
Panik is on the DL.
Giles, Franco, Herrera, Hernandez, Crawford, Nola, Thompson, Knapp, Quinn, Williams, Alfaro, Randolph, Eflin, Morgan, Garcia and Gomez surely look like a good set for the rebuild, plus they have a ton other B level guys to go along with that.
Oh, and a top 2 pitch in the draft next year and a market that can support a 200M+ payroll makes an even better rebuild.
Phillies only have about 50M in guaranteed contracts next year before you file in pre-arb and arb guys.
1. Crawford SS
2. Quinn RF
3. Franco 1B
4. Alfaro C
5. Williams LF
6. Herrera CF
7. Hernandez 2B
8. Randolph/Galvis/Kingery 3B
9. Nola, Thompson, Morgan, Elfin, Lively, Eickoff, Asher, Buch/FA.
SU: Araujo
SU: Garcia/Gomez
CL: Giles
Not a bad 2017 Phillies right there.
You can’t expect all of them to be everyday major league players. In a perfect world, yes, that would be awesome. They need to sign a corner OF this offseason (Heyward would be my pick). They also are going to need an ace. I’m not sure if you get him this offseason, but there are options.
They could be a good club as early as 2017, but they will definitely need to flex their financial resources to do so.
I don’t see any major FA signing this offseason but possibly heading into 2017.
I would prefer Franco stay at third and find a power 1B like Adam Lind and definitely need one very strong SP to top the above list as co-ace with Nola. Also not sure Roman Quinn will be more than a utility player – that position could use an upgrade too.
Nola isn’t going to be an ace (at least he doesn’t look like it): probably a number 2/3. This 2017 class is stacked in corner OF and TOR SP, the two things Phillies desperately need.
Don’t know if you’re grading the definition of ace harshly or grading Nola harshly.
I think Nola compares favorably with Syndergaard and Glasnow as an example.
Would be a stretch to say Gerrit Cole or Carlos Martinez bc he’s a few years behind them and doesn’t have the stuff.
But how many of those guys are there? Not one per team in mlb, that’s for sure…
Gordon, Céspedes, or Upton could also make sense for them. Céspedes wouldn’t cost a draft pick, either. Other, cheaper options include Gerardo Parra and Ben Zobrist, neither of whom would cost a pick.
The farm system is looking more promising than it did 3 years ago, but I’m also excited to see what they do on the international market in 2016.
Absolutely. Tales of the Phillies’ demise have been absurd, especially due to how much money the team is still sitting on. With Franco, Crawford, and Quinn, especially, you have three young guys with loud tools, high floors, and All-Star upside at critical positions. Herrera’s also been a revelation – he’s got surprising power for a CF that he’s starting to tap into, and once he develops more as a player, I think the Rangers are going to regret not having protected him.
It would be funny if the Phillies, using a bunch of players from the Rangers and their deep pockets, wound up trading back for Cole Hamels in his walk year
It’s so rare players start and finish their careers with one team. Would love to see Utley, one of the Philly greats finish there. Of course, if he wants to play past this year, another ballgame. The Phils won’t pick up the option on his contract.
I think Utley thinks he can be an everyday player and as such he will test the market to see if he can land anything bigger than a bench role for 2016. If that’s not possible, he’ll have to decide between a bench role and retirement.
It’s not entirely up to him. If the Phillies exercise his team option, he doesn’t get to test any market until 2017.
No, it’s a series of 3 more vesting options at $15 million per season based on 500 plate appearances.
Ruben is turning cartwheels that the Phillies will soon be off that self-inflicted merry-go-round
I stand corrected…the contract is so convoluted that baseball reference doesn’t even have the full details…still the option figures to be either at 7 or 9 million (based on days on the active roster) or a 2 million buyout.
Don’t see the Phillies exercising the option if they see Utley as a bench player behind Cesar Hernandez…so in a sense we’re back to the same place bc they can’t exercise the option and then trade him without his consent
Last 28 games Odubel Herrera is hitting .377 .415 OBP .525 slg. .940 ops.
Smart, havoc, heady player who looks like a potential all-star to me. Rube fell into something with Herrera.
With Phils revenue sources/shrinking payroll they should have put a claim in for James Shields . He would have looked great at the top of Phils rotation heading into next season.