If the Phillies fall from contention, they could sell, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. acknowledged to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 43-38 Phillies are in the race now, but a lot depends on how the team plays over the course of the coming weeks.
“I could be buying and selling,” Amaro told FOX Sports, without naming specific players.
If the Phillies are buyers, they could add Ty Wigginton, Miguel Tejada or one of the other infielders they have expressed interest in. Rival teams are demanding substantial returns for their infielders, since Chase Utley and Placido Polanco are on the DL, so the Phils are in a vulnerable position. Amaro could also pursue a pitcher like Cliff Lee or Pedro Martinez, two major pieces of last year’s NL Championship team.
Sources tell FOX Sports that the Phillies would likely consider trading Jayson Werth if they fall from contention. The right fielder hits free agency after the season and would instantly become one of the top hitters available. For now the Phillies are buyers, but that won’t necessarily be the case at the deadline.
RAJ is an idiot
Never ever thought I would see Phils may be sellers in July. I still dont believe they will sell with that being said though.
This isn’t the same club that we saw last year.. Utley and Rollins, two huge parts of their offense can’t stay in the lineup. Now Polanco is on the DL. When you’ve got people like Greg Dobbs in your starting lineup, it’s tough to overcome. Ibanez is having a rather unproductive season, just to top things off. That being said, they still have Howard, Werth, and Victorino leading their offense. Not too shabby. Couple that with the likes of Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, and I don’t see why they can’t at least contend for the wild card. I don’t see them selling.
Well, I know they’d sell Ibanez if they had the chance, but I wouldn’t say that would make them “sellers”. It would be a little odd if they traded Werth, but I think there’s some chance that they would. The team can still be good next season with a core of Utley, Rollins, Howard, Victorino, Polanco, and Brown playing in the outfield full time.
I’d imagine they are very pissed off about extending Blanton’s contract, but he certainly has a lot of room for improvement. He’s been a consistent pitcher throughout his career, never an ace but a good mid-rotation innings eater.
seriously the phillies have accomplished so much in 4 years time. to complain about us not being #1 is a bit crazy. we cant expect to go to the WS every year. This year may not be our year. if it is not, we come back stronger next year with all the kinks worked out.
As crazy as it sounds, if they Phillies are not in contention, maybe it would not be the worst thing to sell off Werth, if the Phillies are not going to bring him back anyway. I am sure they could score a Catching prospect, a 3B prospect and a pitching prospect at least.
Doc is happy in Philadelphia I am sure. The Phillies have a chance at least to make the playoffs for the next few years compared to the Toronto where it would be a long shot even with them playing very well this year.
The odds that RAJ is actually considering punting on the season and trading Werth have to be similar to the odds that he was actually considering offering Howard for Pujols. He’s just trying to motivate the team to stay focused and not rest on its past success. The Phils record at the midway mark is exactly what it was in 2008 and 2009, so they’re far from having a lost season. The one interesting bit in this news item is that RAJ is using the media to send a message to the players, which doesn’t seem to fit his usual MO of keeping things pretty discrete and out of the papers.
I find it hard to believe that the Phils will be sellers by the deadline. I mean if they go on to lose 20 of the next 23 then sure, but does anyone really think this is likely? Given all of their injuries they are 2 games out of the wild card. If they weather the storm and stay within 4 or 5 by early August and get everyone back save for Utley who will take a bit longer I would be shocked if they don’t make a run for the division.
The way it usually works, bflaff is that the GM from another team who heard Werth could be available is the one speaking to the media. If Werth is truly in play, it’s not known from Amaro talking to the media. Now if it’s Carlos Zambrano, that’s another question, because he is a clubhouse cancer and the fact that he could be had at a discount is not a surprise to anyone.
“Buy and sell” = shop Werth for a top prospect (a la Holliday-Wallace), add said prospect to a couple of their best Lakewood teens, and go get Haren?
If I remember correctly, around this time last year the Phillies were coming off a mediocre June. They started a homestand by sweeping the Mets, went 20-7 in July, and never looked back. There’s no reason to think they’re out of it yet. If they take at least 2 of 3 from the braves then 2 or 3 of 4 from the modern incarnation of the Big Red Machine, they should be right there. And call me crazy, but even if they lose Werth, the way their pitching has been they could go get maybe a few good relievers and become a pitching based team. They have a lot of control pitcher who give up very few walks, which means playing in CBP doesn’t hurt them that much.
I don’t see them either buying or selling anything major. They won’t put Brown on the market and their other talent (Singleton, Gose etc) are too far down to warrant much. They also don’t have the ability to take on payroll. Blanton was a huge mistake. He’d better turn it around and at least be a solid 4. If Happ comes back (talking like he’ll be optioned out to get more time) and fits in nicely and they stay within 5-7 games of the Braves then they’ll be fine. Utley and Polanco coming back along with Happ and Brown for a Sept callup means playoff baseball in Philly once again and I don’t know any NL team that wants to face them especially if Doc can go 1, 4 and 7.
*homer alert* *homer alert*
i think il take the chances of my cardinals going against the phillies especially with us throwing an ace that can go 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
I can see lee coming back, it’s not totally out of the question. they have the $ but I’m just afraid it may cost us werth. Correct me if I’m wrong but couldn’t they kept lee for what they paid lidge???? He’s spent the most time on the dl this year than anyone, and he lost his lights out status once again.
im sure Doc understands that there is no guarantee in going to the WS every year and winning it every year. it takes time. and for the phillies to have gones two years in a row is AMAZING! stats are against us in even getting back there this year. not many teams make it 3in a row.
all these new fans that the phillies have now are annoying and complain way to much.
its sorta ironic, if the jays acquired an outfielder last year like holliday and kept halladay, they might be on top of the AL east. but he ends up leaving because of playoff aspirations and ends up on a team that doesn’t seem like are making the play off this year.
i wonder what the taxes are like for playing in toronto…
i would imagine roy would have to pay some sort of income tax up there…plus federal tax here…plus property tax of any home he lives in….not sure what PA is like in terms of state income taxes…
i believe roy’s deal carries him til age 36…and with the way he pitches, i can see him going another 4 years after that ( pitching effectively )…
Actually, there is. It’s called control. Roy Halladay has it. Jamie Moyer has it. Cole Hamels has it on good days, and so does Joe Blanton. Giving up home runs is only a big problem when there are runners on base. If you don’t walk anyone, you limit baserunners and pitches. I could honestly care less if a pitcher gives up a few solo homers. With an average offense he’ll still get the job done most of the time if he doesn’t give up anything else. The only thing the ballpark really affects is home runs. If you’re a good pitcher, you can pitch anyway. Look at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. Those are two of the most hitter friendly parks in the MLB, and yet pitchers like Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, David Cone, etc. pitched phenominally well in those places.