Headlines

  • Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves
  • Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
  • Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
  • Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals
  • Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson
  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Phillies Will Prioritize Catching This Offseason

By Steve Adams | August 12, 2013 at 4:55pm CDT

The Phillies locked up one 35-year-old last week when they signed Chase Utley to a two-year extension with three vesting options, but they appear set to let Carlos Ruiz test the open market, writes Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Ruiz is hitting .257/.307/.322 with a pair of homers in 203 plate appearances this season. His playing time has been limited by a 25-game suspension he served after testing positive for amphetamines and a hamstring injury that landed him on the disabled list for a month. His 2013 numbers are clearly a far cry from the .325/.394/.540 batting line and 16 homers he posted in 2012.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Lawrence that catching will be one of his top priorities this offseason, if not his No. 1 priority:

"Catching is going to a very big priority for us – maybe the biggest. There are some players out there. But there's not a lot of catching in the industry. It's going to be a tough decision for us. We might have to look to try to acquire it via trade. Or we could be looking right here at Chooch [Ruiz]."

Ruiz voiced his desire to stay in Philadelphia to Lawrence, calling it his home. He is earning $5MM in 2013 after the club exercised an option at the end of his three-year, $8.85MM extension from the 2010-11 offseason.

As Lawrence notes, Brian McCann will headline this year's crop of free agent catchers. While he would represent a significant upgrade behind the dish, Lawrence writes that McCann is a tough fit in Philadelphia because he is a left-handed bat. The Phillies will routinely deploy Utley,  Domonic Brown, Ryan Howard, Ben Revere and Cody Asche in 2014, and adding McCann to that mix would give the Phils six lefties in their everyday lineup.

Injuries to top Phillies prospect Tommy Joseph have increased the need for the team to acquire catching, as Joseph won't be ready for the Majors next spring. He hit just .179/.229/.285 and battled persistent concussion-like symptoms. As Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out last week, Joseph has had three concussions in his career and may ultimately be forced to change positions.

Share 0 Retweet 19 Send via email0

Philadelphia Phillies Brian McCann Carlos Ruiz Tommy Joseph

Phillies Release Laynce Nix
Main
Rosenthal On Trout, Angels
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement

    Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller

    Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

    Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Recent

    Mets Interested In Danny Coulombe

    Rangers Select Cody Freeman

    Diamondbacks Sign Sergio Alcántara, Place Ketel Marte On Restricted List Due To Personal Matter

    Fantasy Baseball: Anticipating Bullpen Holes

    Rockies Place Thairo Estrada On IL With Thumb Sprain

    Ryan Burr To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

    Max Kranick To Undergo Elbow Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Minnesota Twins

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Orioles Re-Sign Corbin Martin To Major League Deal

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version