TUESDAY, 2:19pm: Phillies advisor Pat Gillick met with Ramirez last month in the Dominican Republic, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Gillick also scouted Yoenis Cespedes on the trip, though the Phillies are unlikely to bid.
MONDAY, 9:32am: The Phillies are strong players for free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez, tweets Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki confirmed the interest, and guesses Ramirez is a backup plan for Jimmy Rollins.
A week ago, Ramirez's agent Paul Kinzer named the Angels as one of four or five teams with serious interest in his client, and an offer from the Halos seems likely after Ramirez visited the club. The Brewers are also in the mix. Kinzer said in November that Ramirez seeks a four-year deal or three-year contract with an option.
The Phillies have third baseman Placido Polanco under contract for 2012, though the 36-year-old had double hernia surgery in October.
Who plays short? Don’t say Polanco.
Can Aramis Ramirez play first until Ryan Howard comes back?
It’d have to be Polly. If Aram is 3b… Utley at 2b… That’s the only spot for him
Chase is a pretty good defensive first baseman.
Mayberry and Wigginton can both play first base and there’s still a chance Thome can log some innings if necessary before Howard returns. Mayberry and Nix can platoon at LF until Howard is healthy as well.
Polanco can’t play SS. They’d trade him or sit him and he could super-sub. Rollins would most likely be out as an option at SS from a $$ perspective, so it would be Martinez, Valdez, or Galvis. Unless they bid on that Japanese SS, which seems unlikely.
Guess they would trade Polanco? No real reason to have him AND Wigginton. There’s plenty of teams that need a 2nd base upgrade.
Maybe he ends up back with the Tigers?
Your 2012 Philadelphia Phillies, sponsored by Ben-Gay and AARP…
apparently we can’t say viagra?
Not an outrageous upgrade from a healthy Placido Polanco, but could be a good buy low with a reasonably high reward.
Keep on spending 8) I can’t wait until the inevitable demise of the Phillies in a few years.
Going to be a lot of 1-0 games versus lefty pitching.
Flags fly forever…I’d rather be terrible for 5 years because we went for it, rather than succumb to mediocrity by mismanagement.
Well said.
those are the only two choices?
I like it but hate it at the same time. Phillies could go from one of the best defensive teams to a mediocre one with losing Rollins and a possible loss or relegation of Polanco.
He is a strong bat though that knows how to get on base
Ruben Amaro thinks he’s playing with monopoly money.
Not really sure if I like this. I’m just assuming he’s their plan B if they miss out on Rollins.
I like the Aramis Ramirez talk, but lets not stop there! Let’s trade Ryan Howard, Dom Brown and Trevor May for Hanley Ramirez and Gabby Sanchez…Howard has a castle in Florida and when he heals, he can be their replacement for Pujols…
No team is going to take on Ryan Howard’s huge new contract, especially before they see how he responds to the achilles injury.
especially when they realize how much overpaid ryan howard is. $25M for a player who’s not even worth 3 WAR. sucks to be you for next 6 years phillies.
WAR, huh, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!!! YEAH!
If the Phillies have so many bad WAR players, how come they won the most games in baseball the last two years?
i named one, not many. there will be a black hole in offense at 1B for the phillies. that means once howard completely falls off, they’ll have much less room for error when in comes to filling other positions.
Yep, it sucks to be a perennial contender with deep pockets who has shown it will spend to overcome shortcomings, yet still has a quality scouting department that has stocked the lower minors with tons of talent. Yep, sucks to be the Phillies.
as far as position players, they have absolutely nothing in terms of prospects at the AAA level, and their AA appears nearly as barren. which means there’s nothing on the horizon for them as far as significant turnover. their offense has been declining annually and will continue to at least for a few years before it gets any better. which means to fill their lineup they’ll need free agency, and there’s never a ‘sure-thing’ as far as free agent signings.
…and the “sure-thing” rate on prospects is better? What sport are you watching?
no but it comes at an exponentially cheaper cost. there’s a reason many big free agent deals are busts. that’s because by the time most players reach free agency they’re worn out, but that’s when their paychecks reach their max. it’s much more team efficient to attempt to grow your own because if you fail, you still have plenty of payroll space to try to fix that. it’s not rocket surgery.
Dislike. I would much rather the Phillies re-up Rollins and keep Polanco at 3rd next season than Sign Ramirez and play merry-go-round at SS. Rollins may have lost a step in his early 30s, but he is still capable of turning a game around with his defensive prowess.
Except that Polanco just had double hernia surgery and is questionable at best for a healthy return, let alone a healthy year and Rollins is a fast aging, numbers slipping SS who wants too many years to be prudent to resign.
I love how the phillies always say they dont have money then go out and do moves or get linked to moves. I mean remember when they couldnt add to the cap and went out and got lee and then pence?
agreed… Ramirez turned down his side of the 1 year $16M option from the Cubs, so you gotta figure he expects at least that much.
Or he wants a multi-year deal and realizes he just had a great year and its his last best chance to cash in on it. Thus, he might take a lower AAV as long as he gets 4-5 years.
…or he wants a chance to win.
They aren’t going to win like this. I’m a Yankee fan, and the Steinbrenners are just now figuring out this kind of buying doesn’t work. You need a core of young guys.
NO CAPS?!?!
I have a hard time believing this will actually happen. It sounds good on paper, however this will severely hurt them if they need to add talent/payroll at the deadline next year. They do have a spending limit and Ramirez will get multiple offers. I just don’t see him turning down more money to play in Philly.
The problem is Aramis is a big injury risk himself. He’s always nicked up, playing through something or on the DL. Plus he’s terrible on defense and would certainly want a long term contract. If he were looking for a 2-3 year deal, I might consider him. But otherwise I think he’s too much of a risk.
Clearly, the Phillies are just one accomplished veteran away from the ring. Put some mustard on that Ruben!
And jealousy.
i have to say…jealous of what…one world series win thus far. Lots of wins but not where it counts the most. With all these old players, phillie is a team thats facing decline in the face soon.
what are you talking about? the phillies have been defending champs since ’08.
at least that’s what philly fans make it sound like.
Unless you’re a Yankees, Cardinals, or Giants fan you don’t really have a lot of room to speak. If you are, go right ahead.
No, that’s San Francisco Giants. I STILL hear Giants fans say “WHO WON THE WORLD SERIES?” and call themselves “The World Champion” San Francisco Giants.