The Phillies are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (7)
- Raul Ibanez will probably be allowed to leave, freeing up some cash and leaving an opening in left field for the Phillies.
- Shortstop Jimmy Rollins hasn't been a power guy for several years, but he is sporting a career-best walk rate currently. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, but Rollins, 33 in November, could be the cheaper free agent alternative to Jose Reyes. The Phils don't have an obvious replacement for Rollins.
- Ryan Madson, a Scott Boras client, is four-for-four in save opportunities this year with Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras out. Madson wants to finish his career with the Phillies and be a closer. The team could let Lidge go and sign Madson for something like three years and $18MM.
- Danys Baez, Brian Schneider, Ross Gload, and J.C. Romero will also be eligible for free agency.
Contract Options (2)
- Roy Oswalt: $16MM mutual option with a $2MM buyout. Oswalt is undecided on whether to play next year. He's currently on the DL with back pain, so the option seems up in the air for both sides.
- Brad Lidge: $12.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. Lidge is recovering from a shoulder injury; it's tough to see the Phillies picking this one up.
Arbitration Eligible (6)
- First time: Wilson Valdez, Scott Mathieson
- Second time: Kyle Kendrick, Ben Francisco, Pete Orr
- Third time: None
- Fourth time: Cole Hamels
Not all of these players will make it to the point of being tendered contracts. The only lock is Hamels, who signed an extension in January of '09 but left his fourth arbitration year open. He's working from a $9.5MM salary and having a strong year so far. The arbitration cases of Tim Lincecum and Jered Weaver could be factors (more on those here and here), if one or both of them settles first. $15MM is a reasonable estimate for Hamels, though. Hamels wants to stay, but the team has yet to approach him about an extension.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Phillies' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $112.903MM including buyouts for Oswalt and Lidge. If another $15MM goes to Hamels, they're at $128MM, about $38MM shy of this year's $166MM high water mark. A lot of that money could be eaten up if Rollins, Madson, Oswalt, Kendrick, and Francisco are retained, which are open questions at this point. The Phillies have flexibility if they maintain their payroll, but also have several crucial free agents and one huge arbitration case.
I bet the Phillies will sign Pujols and CC this offseason.
Keep dreaming…………….
It’s true – they’ll sign CC. They need to upgrade that shaky rotation of theirs.
yes..i see Pujols played 3rd base the other day…hmmmm…”…ground ball, third-base side, Pujols dives, gloves it, from his knees, across the diamond…….scooped up by the Big Man at first base and OUT by half a step is Jayson Werth!!! terrific defensive play by Albert and Ryan…” ….I can see it…..
Im calling the July trade deadline move for the phillies–they will send a prospect package to the White Sox for Carlos Quentin. He will be another arbitration case for 2012, I’m guessing about 8mil to add in…I know there is not going to be a lot of payroll flexibility here, but with the Phillies built as a ‘win now’ kind of team, there needs to be some sort of upgrade to the RF position for 2012..The fans realize this and I’m sure Ruben will be calling the South Side if they are still at the bottom of the AL Central come July…Carlos would give the Phillies a right-handed power hitter in the middle of the lineup, providing the potential for back-to-back lefty/righty power with Ryan Howard, and would be a cost-effective alternative to a multi-year FA signing. Speaking of which, personally I cannot find any outfielder on this year’s FA class that would be worth spending the money to bring in on a multi-year deal..Hopefully Ruben sees this as well, and has the ability to pick up where he left off in December–talking to Chicago about Carlos Quentin
Hunter Pence is another nice option
Ed Wade does like collecting Phillies pitchers, so that might be a match.
He’s the only guy I’d give up decent prospects to get.
I wonder if the Cubs would try to grab Jimmy Rollins as a FA. Their 2B situation isn’t very good, as Baker and DeWitt suck, and Barney is likely better off as a bench guy.
They could slide Castro to 2B or get Rollins to switch, and they might be able to do it on a discount if they act quickly while others duel for Reyes’ services.
No one wants to go to the Cubs. Jimmy is from California, if he doesn’t stay in Philly, he is going back home.
I must say, that’s just a generally stupid statement.
No, the team’s not on a high right now. But when it comes right down to it, Jim Hendry’s a spend happy dope, and he’d likely throw more money at Rollins than any other GM.
And, let’s be real–players are money-hungry, same as anyone. CC said he wasn’t, and look at him. Teix said he wasn’t, and look at him. Crawford sort of said he wasn’t, and look at him. Adrian Gonzalez said he wanted fair money, but look at how he held out. Look at Fielder. They’re all going to go where the money is, with Cliff Lee the lone exception in recent memory.
So to just flatly say, “no one wants to go to the Cubs,” is a completely misguided statement. The fans are great (if you produce, or at least try), and 99% of players will say that they loved playing in Chicago.
When you have money and a big fan base, you’re going to attract players. It’s the reason the Cubs come up in the Pujols and Fielder discussions, and it’s why Rollins would likely listen if Hendry came knocking.
You just keep preferring to bash to look cool, though.
Last note: CC said the same thing you’re saying about Rollins. Where is he? NEW YORK CITY, California?
Agree with garettf, if Jimmy doesn’t sign in Philly (and I fully expect him to), I see him going to the Giants or Dodgers (Furcal FA after this season, and unless they get Reyes the Giants will probably view Rollins as the best SS on the market).
I like Jimmy but anything more than 3/30 for him doesn’t sit well with me. I’d like to see what Galvis can do. I know people question his offense but I think he was rushed a bit. I mean he was looking at double A pitching at the age of 19. So far this season in double A his offense is looking pretty good and he’s still really young, only 21. I think this season and the next in AA/AAA will show us what he can do with the bat. We already know he’s a wiz with his glove.
Jimmy’s been my favorite player, and even though hes not quite as electric and clutch as he was 07/08 (and the 09 clutch smash off Broxton, best moment in his career) I’m still stickin’ with him and I’d like to see the phils re-sign him. I do think the phils will give him (although begrudgingly) at least 3/36, though. The weak SS market behind Reyes will likely drive his FA market value to about 3/36, especially if he plays out the rest of this season as he has been playing lately (minus the crucial error tonight and his lingering inability to take pitches)..Even with the phillies payroll issues, I do think this will be a case of Ruben’s generous rewards to the longest tenured Phillie on the roster..Its tough though, because I would be interested in seeing what Galvis can do also for obviously millions of dollars cheaper. If the Phils are able to grab a solid, dependable R-handed bat to strengthen the OF with Brown and Victorino for 2012, the lack of production between Rollins and Galvis may not be such a big deal. Nobody says Galvis would have to hit leadoff either–Charlie can put him at the bottom where many other offensively-lacking shortstops hit anyway….tough decisions here coming up considering Rollins and a possible extension for Hamels???
Rollins is going to be back if he maintains his current performance for the rest of the year.
His error tonight sucked. Hung an L on Halladay even though he outpitched JJ.
Phillies have a lot of good prospects in the lower minors.
They have a ton of talent in high-A (the low-A team last season, featuring the same players, was called the most talented A-ball team in history by scouts), so they have the pieces it just depends if the Sox would be looking for guys closer to MLB-ready. They’re thin in AAA, couple decent guys at AA but no blue-chips.
I mean, personally, I think the Phils should explore the Twins’ Delmon Young, who is in a similar contract/arbitration case/FA after 2012 scenario as Carlos Quentin…I only mentioned Quentin as my July prediction because Ruben was already lookin at him in December, and for some reason I think the Twins are going to want to hang on to Young for one more arbitration year with Kubel and Cuddyer already going to FA this season. Carlos seems like the more realistic option…but think of Delmon Young for a minute…25 years old, a career .305 hitter VS lefties and .340 w/RISP. If he really produces early on, the Phils would have the option of extending him to cover a couple FA seasons, as they have no real power OF prospects ready to come up..I think Delmon would be the better option of the two, but Carlos’ slugging pct would definitely bring some power, production, and excitement back into this lineup at an affordable price for 2012 (and possibly beyond)…
…I was wondering the same thing Muggi, if the White Sox are looking for prospects closer to MLB-ready, then the Phils might have a hard time putting together a competitive package. However, if the Sox are out of contention in late July they will likely be looking to deal either Danks or Quentin. There are only going to be about 6-8 teams max that are contending in 2011 AND could give up 2-3 prospects AND could use an OF upgrade…the phils are one of them