Phillies Trades Breakdown

The Phillies front office is coming off a very busy past few days.  Ruben and the boys were extremely busy as they dealt away Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, and Joe Blanton.  Let's take a look at each trade to see how the Phillies made out.

Trade #1 
Phillies Trade: OF Shane Victorino
Phillies Get: P Josh Lindblom, minor league starting pitcher Ethan Martin, player to be named later or cash

Shane Victorino will forever be remembered for his grand slam against CC Sabathia in the 2008 NLDS.  He will also be remembered for his crucial 2 run homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS that set up Matt Stairs' memorable 2 run moon shot to put the Phillies up 7-5.

Off the field Victorino was an outstanding humanitarian.  He helped build an entire athletic facility in Nicetown, and he did a lot of other work with the Shane Victorino Foundation.  Shaner was great for the city of Philadelphia on and off the field.

But the Phillies knew they probably weren't going to resign Shane at the end of the year so they elected to trade him.  In return they got Josh Lindblom, a right-handed reliever who will bring some much needed help to this Phillies bullpen.  This year Lindblom has a 3.00 ERA over 48 innings.  The 25 year old Lindblom will hopefully help the back end of this bullpen and be a guy that the Phillies can rely on in addition to Jonathan Papelbon.

The Phils also received minor league pitcher Ethan Martin who is 8-6 with a 3.58 ERA this season with AA Chattanooga.  The 23 year old is a good prospect to keep an eye on in the next few years.  Martin will finish out the year with the AA Reading Phillies.

Trade #2
Phillies Trade: OF Hunter Pence
Phillies Get: OF Nate Schierholtz, minor league catcher Tommy Joseph, minor league relief pitcher Seth Rosin

Hunter Pence was so goofy.  The Phillies traded for him at the deadline last year, and the right fielder came in and hit .324 with 11 HR and 35 RBI.  Pence was beloved by the fans, and in a year in which the Phillies won 102 games, Pence's defensive blunders went somewhat under the radar.

But this season the Phillies struggled greatly and Pence's defensive woes came under a great deal of scrutiny. Pence still had a solid year at the plate which enabled the Phillies to get some good value for him at the deadline.

In return for Pence, the Phillies received major league outfielder Nate Schierholtz.  Schierholtz hit .251 with 5 HR and 16 RBI this year with the San Francisco Giants.  In 2 games with the Phillies, Schierholtz is 2-5 with a homer.  Schierholtz is 28 and I think has the ability to be an everyday outfielder for the Phillies.  Schierholtz is under the Phillies control through the 2014 season.

The Phillies also received catching prospect Tommy Joseph.  Joseph hit .260 with 8 HR and 38 RBI for the Giants AA affiliate.  In 2 games so far with the Reading Phillies, Joseph is 4-7 .  The Phillies are preparing for life after Chooch by acquiring this 20 year old catching prospect.

The Phils also received minor league relief pitcher Seth Rosin.  The 23 year old had a 4.31 ERA this year with the Giants A+ affiliate.  Rosin will finish out the year with the Phillies Single A Clearwater Threshers.

Trade #3
Phillies Trade: P Joe Blanton
Phillies Get: Cash and player to be named later

Blanton helped the Phillies win a World Series in 2008 and I will forever remember his home run against the Tampa Rays.  He was a solid fourth starter, and was a pretty dependable starter when he was healthy.

But the contract that the Phillies gave him after the 2009 season was simply ridiculous.  3 years 24 million dollars is simply too much for a number four starter.  This trade will help free up some money for the Phillies.

The Phillies didn't outright trade away Joe Blanton.  They placed him on waivers which is a little different.  If you are unfamiliar with the waiver system, Jim Salisbury of csnphilly.com sums it up perfectly:

"The waiver period begins after July 31. Teams can place players on waivers, with the highest priority going to the team with the worst record in that player's respective league.  In this case, Blanton made it through eight NL teams before being claimed by the Dodgers.  At that point, the Phillies had three options: pull Blanton back off of waivers and keep him, allow the claiming team to simply absorb him and his salary, or work out a trade with the claiming team. The Phils chose Option 3."

Overall the Phillies front office did what they needed to do.  They freed up money for next year and filled some very big holes on this team.  The farm system has been replenished after years of buying at the deadline, and the Phils also got some good major league players in Lindblom and Schierholtz.  The Phillies may not make the playoffs this year, but ultimately they took a step back in order to take a step forward.