Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that right field, the bullpen and the bench are areas his team could potentially improve upon before the season starts. “I'm looking forward to seeing some competition in all three of those areas," Amaro said. Here are more Phillies-related notes from Zolecki:
- The Phillies don’t have to clear payroll, but they could explore deals that create flexibility for later on in the season. The team is still open to moving Joe Blanton, who will earn a total of $17MM in 2011-12. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently listed some potential destinations for the right-hander.
- Philadelphia hasn’t ruled out a reunion with Chad Durbin. The sides exchanged offers last week.
- The Phils would “obviously” like to extend their relationship with manager Charlie Manuel, Amaro said. Manuel is in the final year of his contract, but the sides won’t necessarily reach an agreement before the regular season begins. For a comprehensive look at 'lame duck' managers and GMs, check out this piece by MLBTR's Mark Polishuk.
In an effort to make things easier for Philadelphia, Charlie Manuel has agreed to be paid in doughnuts.
Would have been funny two years ago, but the man is in great shape now.
I don’t know how Amaro expects his club to compete with a rotation completely in shambles. Phillies better pray for that .01% chance that Pedro doesn’t retire….
Surprised there aren’t Blanton to Yanks rumors. He’d help them out and they have the means to take on his salary.
The Yanks have probably seen his AL East splits and backed away slowly.
Yeah, Chuck is looking in the low 200’s these days.
Does anyone want to know why the Braves will win the NL East next year? Look no further than the fan projections for players on Fangraphs….
Jason Heyward: .309, .419, .569, 31 HR, 26 SB, 7.9 WAR(2nd to Pujols)
Brian McCann: .293, .382, .505, 24 HR, 6.0 WAR
Dan Uggla: .278, .372, .510, 33 HR, 4.9 WAR
Chipper Jones: .295, .408, .488, 18 HR, 4.6 WAR
Martin Prado: .314, .372, .484, 18 HR, 4.3 WAR
Nate McLouth: .277, .373, .489, 21 HR, 24 SB, 4.0 WAR
Freddie Freeman: .289, .366, .486, 21 HR, 3.3 WAR
Alex Gonzalez: .270, .323, .469, 22 HR, 3.8 WAR
Tommy Hanson: 7.8 WAR(Best in MLB by 1 WAR)
Tim Hudson: 5.0 WAR
Derek Lowe: 4.9 WAR
Jair Jurrjens: 4.4 WAR
Mike Minor: 3.9 WAR
Good luck, rest of the NL East….
Seriously though, Fangraphs must be full of Braves fans….
Nate McClouth worth 4 WAR… I lol’d.
just wondering Anthony, but did the Phillies get moved out of the NL East? If so, then you might be right about the Braves. Otherwise, they’ll be lucky to earn a wildcard.
Tell me, John……You expect the Phillies to finish ahead of the Braves when the Braves worst hitter is worth 3+ WAR and their worst starter is worth 4 WAR? I mean, according to those projections they’ll have the 2nd best hitter in baseball and the best starting pitcher in the game.
Seriously though, it was a joke.
I agree about fangraphs, and sorry I missed the last line of your post, Anthony. As far as who finishes first, it’ll be interesting to see who can stay the healthiest, and who can improve their team at the deadline the best.
I’ve got the Phillies winning the division by at least 6 games. The Phillies can get hit with the injury bug again on offense, but as long as that starting staff stays healthy(and there’s no reason to believe they won’t), I don’t see anyone passing them.
I do think the Braves will be better next year and they are my WC pick though.
Being a Braves fan, how could Dan Uggla have a WAR of 4.9?? His defense is one step above Brooks Conrad–who almost single-handedly cost the Braves their postseason series vs SF
Well, his defense home/away splits seem to indicate that he’s a plus defender away from Miami, but well in the negative in Miami. So I’m guessing projections are expecting him to be better with the glove, as Sun Life really does have the worst infield in baseball.
But according to Fangraphs, Uggla was worth 5.1 WAR last year. I don’t think Uggla’s defense is as good as his away numbers indicate, but I also don’t think he’s as bad as his home defensive stats suggest. He’s not a good fielder, but his defense(or lack of) is overblown sometimes.
LOL, yeah, there’s optimism and then there’s “OMG how high were these people?”
You didn’t wait for the reply before answering. NO!
It doesnt take a lot for a couple homers to skew the stats
do they go undefeated too?
Twenty two homers for Alex Gonzalez? Based on that I think maybe those projections are off…
as a Braves fan, there’s no way i could do enough coke to come up with those numbers.
Haha, I couldn’t believe it. How can ANYONE project those numbers for McLouth? But the one that sticks out the most is Hanson being leaps and bounds better than every other starting pitcher in baseball. How random is that?
But as a Braves fan, I can assure that I can do enough coke to come up with numbers a lot worse than that.
Well not with that attitude you certainly won’t. What happened to the American spirit of adventurism? Now you stick your head in a Scarface-sized pile of coke over there and just start sniffing.
That sounds like a challenge to me…
If I were Amaro, I would keep Blanton as my 5th starter to start the season and wait til the trade deadline for these reasons.
1) Blanton is an innings eater, and stays healthy
2) Starting Pitchers usually command more at the deadline than in winter (everyone remembers Jeff Suppan from a few years ago)
3) Injuries will happen to staffs whose teams are in contention (and teams like the Yankees will be much more desperate)
4) Blanton’s 2011 salary isn’t all that high (5.8 million)
You transposed his salary. It’s $8.5MM. He’s actually owed $2MM above that due to his signing bonus, which is paid yearly (according to Cot’s Contracts).
On the bright side of things, Blanton only made $3MM including his signing bonus last season. Unfortunately, they still owe him $21MM of that $24MM deal…
-C
Hmmm…How about Kosuke Fukudome? I am pretty sure he is owed about $8 mil this season and that is it. Throw Gorzelanny in on the Cubs side to give Philly a bullpen/long reliever and a mid grade prospect on the Phillies side at say 2nd base, and call this an even deal.
What about it guys? I know the Cubs aren’t in terrible need of another starter, but, given the teams history with injury, it can’t hurt. I think this makes sense for both teams.
Opinions?
Philles receive- Fukudome and Gorzellany
Cubs Receive- Blanton and a 2nd base prospect (not sure what Phils have maybe a b- or C+ prospect)
I guess Harold Garcia might meet the qualifications for a 2nd base prospect on the Phils side. But I don’t know if Fukudome is much better than Ben Francisco who’s already under contract and a whole lot cheaper and younger.
You raise a good point. But, Fukudome in a healthy Phillies line-up could be a lot different than Fukudome in an oft-injured over rated/paid Cubs line-up. He was a dang good hitter in Japan.
Fair enough. I’ve probably seen about 10 Fukudome at-bats in my life so I just have the MLB stats to go on. Its probably a fair trade value wise. Is he better at the top of the lineup or do you think he could be as effective in 6-7 spot in the order?
Just read that his salary is 13.5m. Thats a deal killer, methinks.
Fukudome makes $13.5MM in 2011. The Phillies are looking to dump salary, not pick up even worse 2011 contracts than they currently have. I’d call the difference of bad contracts to be a wash, considering Blanton has another bloated season salary of $10.5MM (that includes his yearly signing bonus amount). While Fukudome’s $13.5MM is bad, it’s not as bad as having Blanton for 2 @ $10.5MM.
I would evaluate the trade, but because of the big difference in Fukudome’s salary vs. your perceived amount, there doesn’t really seem to be much reason to. The deal’s not really that good a fit for either team, given actualities.
-C
Blanton makes 8.5 per year…not really a bad contract, just not needed for the Phils anymore…
+2MM/year for his signing bonus, which is paid yearly (echo??).
It’s not a bad contract like Kenshin Kawakami’s $6.67MM is not a bad contract. Teams wouldn’t mind having the player, but not at that price.
-C
I wonder if the responsibility of the signing bonus would stay with Philly…
Just a guess, but the Phillies would probably have to pay it in full immediately upon trading him, unless it’s part of the trade stipulations that it goes this way or that.
-C
Phils should have no problem pawning off Blanton at pretty much his full salary.
8.5 mill for a work horse is too much? Bonderman was paid 12.5 m last year. He recieved his contract after posting a 4.08 ERA in 2006….Blanton would be a bargain. He is younger and has better career numbers than Pavano, I think.
You are right, I am pretty far off, it is $14.5 mil. But, as the article says “…right field, the bullpen and the bench are areas his team could potentially improve upon before the season starts”, it could fill all 3 of those voids with one trade for the Phillies. And another starting pitcher on the Cubs and a young second baseman are actually a pretty good fit for the Cubs as well. Cubs have had interest in the past in Blanton as he has a ground ball to fly ball ratio that the Cubs tend to look for.
Last I looked, $17 million was more than $14.5 million, but who knows, I have been around awhile maybe that’s changed. So, they would be “dumping salary”,
which the article states, “The Phillies don’t have to clear payroll, but they could explore deals that create flexibility for later on in the season.” But again, I’m sure you are right.
It makes no sense because Fukudome is a lefty. Dom Brown and Raul Ibanez are their corner OF’s against righties. I’ll take my chance with Dom Brown for pennies and hold on to Blanton as my 5th starter before taking on ANOTHER left handed outfielder with a bloated contract (Ibanez).
We don’t need another Lefty, but if Fukudome was a righty, that would work
Fukudome isnt a fit for Philly. As much as I would love to move him out of Chicago I just dont see the fit. Personally I think that Chicago should use one of their surplus guys (either Gorzelanny or Wells) and try to revive the deal with Texas for O’Day and Chris Davis.
As far as Blanton goes what about a deal with Colorado? Perhaps Blanton and either 3M cash OR a B grade prospect for Aaron Cook and Ryan Spilborghs.
The money is close for 2011 with Blanton set to make 10.5 this year (salary+bonus) and Cook and Spilborghs combine to make 11.2 this year. The additional money or prospect would be for year 2 on Blantons deal assuming that PHI would pay the bonus portion of 2012 if they dont then adjust the money a little bit.
It gets Colorado a durable mid-rotation starter for a low monetary investment and Philadelphia gets a 5th starter who has been good (former all star) who has just 1 year left on his deal plus a right handed compliment to their lefties in the OF.
might be better for phils if fukudome was a righty
It would be interesting if someone did research on how a manager performed in the last last of his contract. On the one hand, the players know he a lame duck. On the other, you would think he would be desperate to win.
what? I really hope you’re not implying that Chollie isn’t a good manager.
Where did you interpret that bobbybaseball implied anything close to Manuel being a bad manager?
Misread the original post…my bad.