Phillies Acquire Tadahito Iguchi

According to WSCR 670 out of Chicago, the Phillies have acquired second baseman Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox for 21 year-old Low A ball reliever Mike Dubee.  Dubee, son of Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, was originally drafted by the White Sox in 2004 but did not sign.  Here's the press release for the trade, if you're interested.

You really can't fault the Phils for making the move; they had to bring someone in to man second base.  They didn't give up much in Dubee, and they could snag some draft picks for Iguchi after the season.  [Correction: Sounds like the Phils won't get draft picks for him.  I suppose if that was possible the Sox would've just kept him.]

The move leaves Mark Loretta, Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Castillo, Rich Aurilia, Ray Durham, Ty Wigginton, and maybe Luis Castillo as the available second baseman if the Padres or Mets are interested.  Plenty of options, really.

Comments

[HaegerChamp]

Good news for the 'Stros. Now the Padres might have to overpay for Loretta.

[Kramerica Industries]

were does Tadahito play when Utley comes back????

[HaegerChamp]

he rides pine

[Aduncaroo]

Does it matter?

[bigbaddbobbyjenks]

who cares. you only had to give up a low A pitcher for him. thats a steal. if we were gonna get a A player for him, at least have him be one of the top guys on the team....jeez. this doesn't look good from the surface for the sox. ur telling me THATS the best they could get for him?

[jza1218]

Could this possibly be a hint that Utley's worse off than we first thought?

[beauhoopman]

a .250 hitter with little power and mediocre range, for 2 months of ball. thats about all he's worth.

[Bosox4416]

I actually know Mike Dubee. He is probably really pissed haha. No offense to him, but couldn't the White Sox have gotten alot more? Steal for the Phils IMO

[tinathemetsgrl]

not a bad move and gave up nothing really for iguchi. too bad the mets & omar are too lazy to make a deal for 2nd base or some pitching. :(

[Dom]

Mike Dubee is the son of Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, and I am happy that we got this guy. We will probably make him ride the pine after the year though. He is just a fill-in for Utley I suppose.

[SBE]

If this was the best Kenny Williams could get for Iguchi, why not just keep him the rest of the season and then recoup a draft pick or two?

Dumb move, IMO.

[slider]

who steps in at 2b for the palehose?

[JerseyMetFan]

Sorry Tina, but Omar not making a move for 2B or SP doesn't make him lazy. An upgrade at 2B is not going to be substantial. I'd rather finish the year with a Gotay/Easley platoon than give away anything of value to obtain a guy like Iguchi . As far as a SP goes, there isn't much there. Someone is going to overpay for a mediocre arm like Jennings, Contreras.

No move is sometimes, and in this case probably, a good move.

[bigbaddbobbyjenks]

i heard that one of the conditions of iguchi's contract is that if he's not resigned, draft picks cant be received for him. i dont know if that was just for the sox or any team he plays for in his last yr. i guess theres always a chance their going to attempt to resign him after the yr for a decent prize since he said he likes it in chicago and philly cant have a desire to resign him...

[SBE]

How could that be a condition in his contract? The picks are awarded by MLB based on whether a player is a Type A, B, or C.

[astralpanda]

Man, I hope KW has a plan for 2B in 08. Iguchi's having an off season so far, I think he'll benefit from the NL style of play and the White Sox just got absolutely robbed. Roll us a "Dubee" cause we're smoked.

[mymrbig]

Great move by the Phillies. Plus, seems likely they get a draft pick who can be an a-ball reliever. Shockingly good move.

Iguchi might not be great, but he's solid enough and they didn't have to give up anything (other then the happiness of their pitching coach) to get him.

Didn't realize there were so many available 2nd baseman, than certainly makes it harder for the Astros to get much for Loretta (unless they package him with a pitcher).

[bigbaddbobbyjenks]

i've heard that condition about his contract several times from several different ppl, so i'm guessing theres some truth to it. maybe cuz he came from japan? i dunno. i just heard that was one of the motivations for trading him cuz if he didnt resign, they wouldnt get any picks for him...

[SoxWin]

Probably more of a 'salary' dump than anything for the Sox, and an attempt to probably get Richar up to see what he's got.

Those who are knocking Iguchi are giving him less credit than he deserves. He is having a down year compared to his first 2, and since 2005 he is 2nd among AL 2B in most offensive catagories. Keep in mind also that he usually hit 2nd in the lineup too so he sacrificed himself quite a bit in that role.

[SBE]

Which 2nd baseman are available now? Loretta, Grudz....who else?

[tinathemetsgrl]

JerseyMetFan, I'm not talking starting pitching. I think the rotation is fine, and if Pedro comes back (healthy and some what of the old Pedro we know of) then we're good. I love Maine/Perez/Duque/Glavine/Sosa rotation, no complaints. It's def. one of the most underrated rotations in the national league.

And I wouldn't mind an Easley/Gotay/Hernandez platoon at 2nd. I like Gotay, a lot, but I wish we'd make a move for either someone on the bench or even a 2nd basemen or even left field. Who knows who in the world is going on with Moises Alou.

Main concern is bullpen. Scho's gotta go, Smith was demoted last night, and Mota is a mess. Omar can work a little harder to get some relievers to NY, it may be a lot to get Marte, but I'm sure there's something out there that's an improvement to some of the guys in there.

Got me going off topic, my bad.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

"i heard that one of the conditions of iguchi's contract is that if he's not resigned, draft picks cant be received for him"

"How could that be a condition in his contract? The picks are awarded by MLB based on whether a player is a Type A, B, or C. "

The way that works is you write into a contract that a team cannot offer you arbitration. Scott Boras worked that into the JD Drew deal thats why the dodgers got nothing for him.

Iguchi's clause says that the White Sox had to resign him to an extension before the '07 season ended, or release him. It doesn't say that they couldnt offer him arbitration, just that they had to allow him to become a free agent after 3 years of service time. So he can net a draft pick.

There was some confusion as to whether A-rod had the no arbitration clause in his contract, but it turns out he doesn't. The yanks can get picks for him if he bolts.

[Tim Dierkes]

Thanks for the clarification ARodSucksAtLife.

Also props to the guy who made the "roll a Dubee" pun.

[George Purcell]

Actually, to answer the poster above, I read this that the Phillies think Utley will be back sooner rather than later.

[usctrojans31]

Kenny Williams just felt guilty about fleecing the Phillies for Freddy Garcia

[darkstar1661]

Hahaha, the ChiSox actually make a deal and they get hosed? I can't believe they couldn't get more than a Low-A RP... Hahaha, I just love it...

[darkstar1661]

Hahaha, the ChiSox actually make a deal and they get hosed? I can't believe they couldn't get more than a Low-A RP... Hahaha, I just love it...

[tsizzle]

No, the Phillies cannot get draft picks for Iguchi.

[tsizzle]

ArodSucksAtLife said:
"Iguchi's clause says that the White Sox had to resign him to an extension before the '07 season ended, or release him. It doesn't say that they couldnt offer him arbitration, just that they had to allow him to become a free agent after 3 years of service time. So he can net a draft pick."

This is not true. The Phillies cannot get compensation picks.

[lih]

Yeah, if they release him, then they can't offer him arbitration and won't get draft picks.

[Ryhawk]

WSCR 670 in chicago reported that there would be no draft picks regardless of where Tad ended the season. With his contract the sox would not have even received draft picks if he stayed with them, and philly will not either.

They also had a sound byte from williams. He said that there was absolutely no market out there for Iguchi, and as soon as he heard about Utley, he called the phillies to make the deal happen. He said the reason for the trade was not to get anything in return, he didnt care about that, it was to trade tad so they could get Danny Richar up and see what he can do in that position.

So much for Ozzie saying last week that the sox will not be playing young guys.

Im fine with the move. Richar is tearing it up batting .346 in AAA and the season is lost, why not bring him up now to see what he can do, and if he can be an everyday player next year.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

Did KW say there would no compensation? I've read differently somewhere. I'll try and find it. He would know better obviously. If he isn't signed to an extension he becomes a free agent. Free agents can be offered arbitration unless its written into their contract that they cant be. To the best of my knowledge he doesn't have that clause. Unless the radio station assumes he wont qualify for an A or B ranking, I dont see how thats true.

[lih]

No, since he doesn't have the major league service time, he won't just become a free agent, the contract clause says they must release him. Then they won't be able to offer arbitration.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

You know what your right. I forgot about the rule that says you have to release a player to remove him from the 40 man roster. Then can't resign him till May 15th or whatever date it is. Ex. Clemens

I wasn't sure that he had to be by definition "released" I thought the contract clause just kicked in at seasons end and made him a MLB Free Agent. Not that he gained that right by a release.

[lih]

Yeah, I think the rules should be modified for the Japanese free agents. It's crazy that a guy like Saito is basically locked in with the Dodgers for the rest of his career just because he signed a one year deal with them. Imagine what he'd have made on the open market compared to the 1 million the Dodgers gave him for this year. I mean, I'm a dodgers fan, but I'd rather the players get the money than the owners...if they deserve it, I mean.