In the 2006-07 offseason, Wes Helms had just finished his best year (in terms of rate stats, at least). He hit .329/.390/.575 for the ’06 Marlins, facing a disproportionate number of lefties.
David Bell and Abraham Nunez had combined for an OPS under .700 at the hot corner for the ’06 Phillies, so they figured Helms would be an upgrade even stretched as a full-timer. They gave him a two-year, $5.45MM deal with a $3.75MM club option for ’09. Part of the motivation was to save money for an Alfonso Soriano bid. Plus, Mark DeRosa had already signed with the Cubs.
The signing did not go as planned, as Helms hit just .246/.297/.368 and lost full-time status quickly. The Phils gave third base time to Nunez and Greg Dobbs, once again generating subpar results. They signed Pedro Feliz to a two-year deal this winter.
The Phils would like to trade Helms now, and David Murphy suggests swapping him with Steve Kline could make sense. The Giants aren’t interested though. Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Phils indeed desire a southpaw reliever for Helms, who is drawing interest from the Braves and Marlins (both clubs he’s played for previously).
