Trade Bait: Fielders
The previous post took a look at pitchers the Phils might deal at the deadline. Now let's look at the rest of the lineup.
Chase Utley
Do not trade Utley. I know, I know. We need to rebuild and Utley is probably the best trade bait we have. But he is Philadelphia. If Utley is traded, I can guarantee a 10% drop in attendance and a 5% drop in viewership. But fine, let's play this out. He's a left-handed bat with pop. He's a gamer. Typically a secondbaseman, he's also capable of playing first, and he hits well enough for an AL team to DH him. A lot of teams would want him, but here are a few that come to mind:
Los Angeles (NL): The theory goes: The Dodgers don't need Utley, but they need to keep him away from the Giants. I don't see that happening unless Dee Gordon (who can also play shortstop), Hanley Ramirez, or Adrian Gonzalez have a season-ending injury. I'm not going to bother looking at potential pieces until that happens.
Oakland: The A's probably need Utley the most for several reasons: They need a secondbaseman, they need someone who can hit for average, and they need someone with playoff experience. The A's are notoriously cheap (hey Sabermetric nerds, how many pennants has Billy Beane won?) and will have to both pay Utley and give up a lot to get him.
Possible pieces: RHP Raul Alcantara (AA, recently had Tommy John surgery), 1B Max Muncy (AA), 2B Chad Pinder (A), OF Josh Whitaker (AA), OF D'Arby Myers (AA), 2B Colin Walsh (AAA)
San Francisco: The Giants are running away with the division behind stellar pitching and despite mediocre hitting. Specifically, they are getting no production out of their secondbasemen; Brandon Hicks is batting .185 and Joaquin Arias is hitting .176.
Possible pieces: RHP Kyle Crick (AA), LHP Ty Blach (AA), RHP Chris Stratton (A), OF Mac Williamson (A), RHP Derek Law (AA), 2B/SS Joe Panik (AAA), OF Gary Brown (AAA)
Seattle: The Mariners obviously don't need a secondbasemen, but Utley would be an immediate upgrade over anyone else at DH and could even see playing time at first. Seattle is right in the mix for the division and currently holds the second spot for the wild card. Their team average is .238, so, you know, they might want to address that.
Possible pieces: 3B D.J. Peterson (A), LHP James Paxton (MLB), RHP Edwin Diaz (A), OF Gabriel Guerrero (A), OF Austin Wilson (A)
Final thoughts: The Phillies are not trading Chase Utley. Shut up! They aren't!
Okay, given that it's not unlike the nature of the current Phillies management to give the finger to the fanbase, I'll say there is a 10% chance Utley gets traded. If he is traded, I'm saying the Giants pull it off, though the A's would be the better fit. The Giants will overwhelm the Phillies by offering Crick, Stratton and either Panik or Brown.
Jimmy Rollins
There is no player that embodies the Phillies over the past ten years more than Jimmy Rollins. Rollins at his best was unbelievable, at his worst an overpaid prima donna, and oftentimes someone who didn't quite live up to his potential. Once he passes Mike Schmidt for the all time hits record in a Phillies uniform, I think he'll be willing to waive his no-trade clause. J-Roll will be owed $11
million next year if he meets certain plate appearance requirements, and the Phils will probably have to eat some of that salary.
Oakland: Since the A's will miss out on Utley, they will still be in need of some middle infield help. Jed Lowrie isn't getting it done, and besides, wouldn't that make for a great homecoming for J-Roll? Rollins won't demand the trade value as Utley, but here are a few names...
Possible pieces: Alcantara, Pinder, Whitaker, Myers, OF Billy Burns (AA), RHP Jeremy McBryde (AAA), LHP Jeff Urlaub (AAA)
Seattle: Also missing out on Utley, the Mariners will look to improve at shortstop (which shouldn't be too difficult).
Possible pieces: Diaz, Guerrero, Wilson, RHP Stephen Shackleford (AA), RHP Mayckol Guaipe (AA), RHP Stephen Kohlscheen, RHP David Colvin
Final thoughts: Ultimately, Rollins will need to veto a trade and has been very clear he isn't interested in doing that...at least not until he breaks a record or two in Philly. I think once he puts his name at the top of a couple lists he'll waive the clause and Rollins will head home to Oakland at the deadline, getting the Phils either Pinder, McBryde, and Urlaub.
Domonic Brown
We should have traded him at the deadline last year when he had value. No one wants him now.
Ben Revere
It's hard to see a market for Revere right now, and since he wouldn't return much and the Phils need MLB level bodies to put jerseys on, he's not going anywhere.
Marlon Byrd
You can pretty much guarantee that Byrd will be traded. Although he's going through a bit of a slump right now, he has decent numbers on the season and has a little pop. He has another $8 million owed to him next year, and possibly (but doubtfully, if he's traded) another $8 million in 2016.
New York (AL): The Yankees are back in third but may be capable of a push. They lack power and may find a spot somewhere in the outfield or at DH as a platoon situation if they acquire Byrd. We probably wouldn't get much in return, but Byrd is the type of player you don't hang on to when rebuilding; may as well find an arm or two in a trade.
Possible pieces: LHP Ian Clarkin (A), RHP Luis Severino (A), LHP Manny Banuelos (AA), RHP Bryan Mitchell (AA), RHP Rafael De Paula (A), OF Peter O'Brien (AA), LHP Pat Venditte (AAA), RHP Taylor Garrison (AA)
San Francisco: Picking up Byrd would allow them to keep Morse at first more regularly.
Possible pieces: Blach, Williamson, Law, Panik, LHP Jake Snodgrass (AA), RHP Edwin Quirarte (AA)
Seattle: Is it just me, or have I listed them for every possible hitter available? They need hitting. Have I mentioned that?
Possible pieces: Wilson, Shackleford, Guaipe, Kohlscheen, Colvin
Final thought: The Mariners need Byrd more than the Giants, given that they can't hit and aren't 8.5 games up in the division. At the trade deadline Byrd will be shipped to Seattle for relievers Shackleford and Guaipe.
Chase Utley
Do not trade Utley. I know, I know. We need to rebuild and Utley is probably the best trade bait we have. But he is Philadelphia. If Utley is traded, I can guarantee a 10% drop in attendance and a 5% drop in viewership. But fine, let's play this out. He's a left-handed bat with pop. He's a gamer. Typically a secondbaseman, he's also capable of playing first, and he hits well enough for an AL team to DH him. A lot of teams would want him, but here are a few that come to mind:
Los Angeles (NL): The theory goes: The Dodgers don't need Utley, but they need to keep him away from the Giants. I don't see that happening unless Dee Gordon (who can also play shortstop), Hanley Ramirez, or Adrian Gonzalez have a season-ending injury. I'm not going to bother looking at potential pieces until that happens.
Oakland: The A's probably need Utley the most for several reasons: They need a secondbaseman, they need someone who can hit for average, and they need someone with playoff experience. The A's are notoriously cheap (hey Sabermetric nerds, how many pennants has Billy Beane won?) and will have to both pay Utley and give up a lot to get him.
Possible pieces: RHP Raul Alcantara (AA, recently had Tommy John surgery), 1B Max Muncy (AA), 2B Chad Pinder (A), OF Josh Whitaker (AA), OF D'Arby Myers (AA), 2B Colin Walsh (AAA)
San Francisco: The Giants are running away with the division behind stellar pitching and despite mediocre hitting. Specifically, they are getting no production out of their secondbasemen; Brandon Hicks is batting .185 and Joaquin Arias is hitting .176.
Possible pieces: RHP Kyle Crick (AA), LHP Ty Blach (AA), RHP Chris Stratton (A), OF Mac Williamson (A), RHP Derek Law (AA), 2B/SS Joe Panik (AAA), OF Gary Brown (AAA)
Seattle: The Mariners obviously don't need a secondbasemen, but Utley would be an immediate upgrade over anyone else at DH and could even see playing time at first. Seattle is right in the mix for the division and currently holds the second spot for the wild card. Their team average is .238, so, you know, they might want to address that.
Possible pieces: 3B D.J. Peterson (A), LHP James Paxton (MLB), RHP Edwin Diaz (A), OF Gabriel Guerrero (A), OF Austin Wilson (A)
Final thoughts: The Phillies are not trading Chase Utley. Shut up! They aren't!
Okay, given that it's not unlike the nature of the current Phillies management to give the finger to the fanbase, I'll say there is a 10% chance Utley gets traded. If he is traded, I'm saying the Giants pull it off, though the A's would be the better fit. The Giants will overwhelm the Phillies by offering Crick, Stratton and either Panik or Brown.
Jimmy Rollins
There is no player that embodies the Phillies over the past ten years more than Jimmy Rollins. Rollins at his best was unbelievable, at his worst an overpaid prima donna, and oftentimes someone who didn't quite live up to his potential. Once he passes Mike Schmidt for the all time hits record in a Phillies uniform, I think he'll be willing to waive his no-trade clause. J-Roll will be owed $11
million next year if he meets certain plate appearance requirements, and the Phils will probably have to eat some of that salary.
Oakland: Since the A's will miss out on Utley, they will still be in need of some middle infield help. Jed Lowrie isn't getting it done, and besides, wouldn't that make for a great homecoming for J-Roll? Rollins won't demand the trade value as Utley, but here are a few names...
Possible pieces: Alcantara, Pinder, Whitaker, Myers, OF Billy Burns (AA), RHP Jeremy McBryde (AAA), LHP Jeff Urlaub (AAA)
Seattle: Also missing out on Utley, the Mariners will look to improve at shortstop (which shouldn't be too difficult).
Possible pieces: Diaz, Guerrero, Wilson, RHP Stephen Shackleford (AA), RHP Mayckol Guaipe (AA), RHP Stephen Kohlscheen, RHP David Colvin
Final thoughts: Ultimately, Rollins will need to veto a trade and has been very clear he isn't interested in doing that...at least not until he breaks a record or two in Philly. I think once he puts his name at the top of a couple lists he'll waive the clause and Rollins will head home to Oakland at the deadline, getting the Phils either Pinder, McBryde, and Urlaub.
 |
| No one wants him. |
Domonic Brown
We should have traded him at the deadline last year when he had value. No one wants him now.
Ben Revere
It's hard to see a market for Revere right now, and since he wouldn't return much and the Phils need MLB level bodies to put jerseys on, he's not going anywhere.
Marlon Byrd
You can pretty much guarantee that Byrd will be traded. Although he's going through a bit of a slump right now, he has decent numbers on the season and has a little pop. He has another $8 million owed to him next year, and possibly (but doubtfully, if he's traded) another $8 million in 2016.
New York (AL): The Yankees are back in third but may be capable of a push. They lack power and may find a spot somewhere in the outfield or at DH as a platoon situation if they acquire Byrd. We probably wouldn't get much in return, but Byrd is the type of player you don't hang on to when rebuilding; may as well find an arm or two in a trade.
Possible pieces: LHP Ian Clarkin (A), RHP Luis Severino (A), LHP Manny Banuelos (AA), RHP Bryan Mitchell (AA), RHP Rafael De Paula (A), OF Peter O'Brien (AA), LHP Pat Venditte (AAA), RHP Taylor Garrison (AA)
San Francisco: Picking up Byrd would allow them to keep Morse at first more regularly.
Possible pieces: Blach, Williamson, Law, Panik, LHP Jake Snodgrass (AA), RHP Edwin Quirarte (AA)
Seattle: Is it just me, or have I listed them for every possible hitter available? They need hitting. Have I mentioned that?
Possible pieces: Wilson, Shackleford, Guaipe, Kohlscheen, Colvin
Final thought: The Mariners need Byrd more than the Giants, given that they can't hit and aren't 8.5 games up in the division. At the trade deadline Byrd will be shipped to Seattle for relievers Shackleford and Guaipe.
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