After today's embarrassing 6-2 defeat, the Phillies will now undoubtedly be sellers at the deadline. The Phillies have approximately 48 hours between now and Tuesday night to trade Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Juan Piere, and possibly Hunter Pence. Let's go through each player to see where he could be playing come August 1st.
Shane Victorino
The Pirates seemed to be the front runners for Victorino initially but have fallen off since. While I think Pittsburgh would be a great fit for Shane, unfortunately I don't think the Pirates are willing to part with enough talent to land the All-Star center fielder. The Pirates have a lot of young pitching talent but they simply aren't willing to trade any of their young arms.
I think Victorino could end up in San Francisco. The Giants desperately need another bat, and Shaner could help spark their lineup. The Giants have a top outfielder prospect Gary Brown who could be ready for the majors as early as next year. The 23 year old Brown is hitting .293 with 7 hr and 37 rbi's this year with the Giants' AA affiliate.
Where ever Victorino ends up, the Phillies are sure to get some good value in return. Although Victorino is only hitting .261 on the year, since the All-Star break he is hitting .360 with 1 hr, and 3 rbi's.
Joe Blanton
Blanton is a free agent after this year and is another guy who will most likely be traded. Blanton has pitched extremely well in his last few outings, and as a result his trade value has definitely gone up. The Phillies probably won't get too much in return for Blanton, but they could get a few young arms to help replenish their bullpen.
Juan Pierre
Pierre was arguably the best pick up by the Phillies during the off season. But with playoff chances extremely slim, the Phils have no use for Pierre on the field and could get value if they elect to trade him. Pierre is hitting .305 this year and I think could end up in Pittsburgh. The Pirates seem unwilling to trade away the talent required to land Victorino, so Pierre could be a good backup option for them.
Hunter Pence
The Phillies certainly want to part ways with Pence who is slotted to make 11-13 million in arbitration in 2013. Having said that, I don't think the Phillies are in any rush to move Pence. They still have him under contract for next year, and I think they will probably wait until the off season to make a trade.
The basic sentiment right now is that the Phillies asking price for Pence is extremely high. And teams that do try and trade for him have to take into account the fact that Pence will be slotted to make so much money next season. Many teams, including the Giants, have backed out due to Pence's contract status. The Los Angeles Dodgers could afford him, but again the Phillies would have to be wowed by an offer.
Overall the Phillies can't afford to stand pat at the deadline. They need to bite the bullet this year and prepare for the future by being sellers come July 31st.
Rollins, Utley, Victorino, and Blanton are very expendable if we get infield prospects in return. Enough with dealing for pitchers; the farm system is loaded with arms already but lacking in position talent. If this is to be a total rebuild then we should do Halladay a favor and deal him either to the Yankees or Angels so he can get a WS ring before he retires. Hate to see Doc go, but this team is a long way from contending again.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about needing more position talent, we definitely need infield prospects for the future. But I disagree about the Phils being a long way from contending. We will have Hamels, Halladay, and Lee back as well as Utley, Howard, and Rollins for 2013. I honestly think the Phils have at least one more run left in them with this team.
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