At the moment, the Phillies have more important things to worry about than Pedro Feliz's option. Like scoring some runs and shutting down the Yankees. But once the season ends, they'll have to decide whether to pick up their third baseman's 2010 option.
The defending World Champions can choose to pay Feliz $5MM in 2010 or buy him out for $500K. According to FanGraphs, Feliz has been worth $5-7MM each of the last two seasons, largely because of his defense. Though he has never won a Gold Glove, the Dominican is widely considered an elite defender. UZR/150 still likes his defense, though the metric suggests Feliz isn't nearly as skilled with the glove as he was a few seasons ago.
But Feliz doesn't add much value offensively. In fact, he hasn't had an OPS higher than .717 since 2004. He hit .266/.308/.386 this season with 12 homers and 44 extra base hits. Give Feliz credit for his durability, though – he's played at least 130 games for each of the last six seasons.
If the Phillies decide to turn down Feliz's option, they could try to trade for Dan Uggla, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Garrett Atkins, or one of the other third basemen who could hit the trade market. Free agents like Adrian Beltre and Chone Figgins could appeal to GM Ruben Amaro Jr., and so could more affordable players like Juan Uribe.
Tonight's discussion question is a simple one: should the Phillies pick up Feliz's option? Or should they spend the money elsewhere and let the third baseman walk?
