With second baseman Chase Utley sidelined with no timetable to return, the Phillies plan to start Freddy Galvis and are hoping to bolster their infield depth behind him. With that in mind, General Manager Ruben Amaro & Co. have some interest in Yankees utilityman Ramiro Pena, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
Earlier today, Utley spoke to reporters and insisted that he'll return to action at some point this season. The Royals' Chris Getz was one possible trade target for the Phillies but it's unlikely that he'll be dealt as he has a good chance at opening the season as Kansas City's starting second baseman.
Why?
Like he has a good glove but he’s not even close to being a major league hitter. Maybe they got him confused with Eduardo Nunez. Heck Bill Hall would be a better get than Pena.
” Heck Bill Hall would be a better get than Pena.”
They want someone who can stand at every position like a statue and k very time they come to the plate? the rest of the NL east would like that.
I don’t think you realize how poor of a hitter Pena is. I’m a Yankee fan.. he’s brutal.
Career OPS:
Bill Hall- .743 OPS
Ramiro Pena- .554 OPS
Yes, but he really is a slick defender. I mean he’s got, what, a dozen career errors? A few more? I dunno what his UZR looks like but he certainly passes the eye test with flying colors.
As a Phillies fan, I’d like to see Amaro acquire a good hitting utility infielder for once. We always get solid defenders, but automatic outs. I don’t want another Juan Castro, Wilson Valdez, Eric Bruntlett, or Michael Martinez. Everyone loves Valdez (I do too) but he honestly couldn’t hit worth a lick and was a GIDP machine.
Well, we can’t really help with that unless you feel like prying Nunez from us. That’d be expensive for you I think, but he’s your guy if you’re after a utility man that can hit.
Yes, but he does the little things. He is a good fielder. Albeit he does not have much power, he can bunt, steal, and get some hits.
already have Ty Wiggington
Exactly. Wiggy is one of the best offensive utility people around and he is not the best at the glove, but can at least hit for power and is a threat and has some flashes with the leather, a Bloomfield with no speed, but power and skills in a different area. IMO Wiggy is one of the best utility people in the game, along with Bloomfield and hope Mike Avilles can become one should he stay healthy.
Wrong. He does the little things. Albeit he does not have much power, he can bunt, steal, and get some hits.
Pretty sure the Phillies have interest in every utility infielder at this point.
This.
Pena could very well be the cheapest one. He’s the very definition of depth with MLB experience.
How the mighty have fallen. NL East is going to be a dog fight this year.
for the #2 spot that is.
because games have been played already… Phillies will still win 90+ games
With a rotation of Halladay/Lee/Hamels and a closer like Paps, I’m having trouble envisioning the Phillies struggling this year without a lot more problems.
The concerns are all offense I think. And, just from what I’ve heard, they’re well founded. Pitching wins championships is something I hold to be true, but a lineup of noodle bats and walking wounded won’t get you very far no matter how good your pitching is.
How’s their ‘pen by the way?
The pen is solid but has a few question marks. Bastardo was one of the best lefty relievers in the league last year, hopefully he will be healthy and can return to form. Mike Stutes was one of our better relievers and he will be back. Contreras is still coming back from an injury. Kendrick will have a spot in the BP as a spot starter and long reliever. The rest of the pen will be young guys mostly.
“bunch of noodle bats” is a bit of an exaggeration…even with Utley and Howard out, they’re going to be starting 3 guys that slugged near .500 or over.
Bullpen should be very good.
phillies also added depth to their bench. ty wiggington , jim thome, laynce nix, they can at least fill in in the case of injury unlike entrusting wilson valdez to start 50 gms or more in place of utley again…offense wont be explosive but will still be better than mets, comparable to braves and nats and marlins are only offense that could be better.. but add in pitching and coaching and bullpen phils are just fine
The Giants have shown that a team with some offense but outstanding pitching can win championships, but also that a team with very little offense and outstanding pitching will not get to the playoffs.
Not really… they’re still the best team in the division… they just have less margin for error. I’d take the 2012 opening day line up over the 2011 opening day line up.
He’s a very good fielder, can bunt, has some speed, but dont expect much from the bat. Hes the first one to be called up to fill in Eduardo Nunezs bench spot if anyone gets injured in the infield, so not sure if the Yankees are willing to part with him for nothing.
I have to think we’d make them overpay to get him. Not a ton, but he’s not worth much and I agree that we wouldn’t just give him away.
Still think that the Phillies probably have better internal options though
Let Galvis play.
They’re letting him play. The first sentence of this article reads ”
With second baseman Chase Utley sidelined with no timetable to return, the Phillies plan to start Freddy Galvis and are hoping to bolster their infield depth behind him.”
Regardless of who the Phils are looking at, it is still nice to be in a position to just be looking for a utility infielder even with the injuries to Utley, Howard, and Polanco (because that’s going to happen again at some point). I would have to believe that a Pena-esque move would simply be to build upon depth in the minors.
Blanton for Laird and when Polanco gets back 2B.
Um, not only no, but HELL no.
He’d be our, what, #11 starter? Maybe he’s better than our stockpile of MLB-ready arms in AAA, but I doubt it. Its not that I value Laird enormously (he’s a placeholder until Bitchette and/or Austin advance up the system some more), but we’d need a bit more than a useless pitcher.
Alex Cora is available
cora would be great hes already thought of being a fielding coach postplay so longterm great pick up. hell play flawless defense and hitting equal to valdez almost
How can Phillies fans honestly say their window isn’t closing when the key core(offensively) that brought them post season success is having injury problems out the wazoo
Injuries are survivable and are determined as much by bad luck as by age. Its going to be when all that starting pitching gets old (especially if they don’t resign Hamels) that will crush them. We Yankee fans are well aware of the problems age can bring if you don’t have the means to make up for it elsewhere.
Yes but we Yankees fans still get to see one infielder under 30 And a 1b that is on the field. The rotation is still younger. Halliday will be 35, lee 34.
… because every team has injuries.
Injuries have nothing to do with the window of opportunity. Performance does. They won 102 games with an opening day line up of:
Victorino
Polanco
Rollins
Howard
Fransisco
Ibanez
Ruiz
Valdez
Halladay
There’s no reason to believe they can’t win at least 90 games. Given the 2 wild cards in this league, there’s no way they don’t make the playoffs barring an injury to a starter.
True.. but the offense isn’t the only thing getting older.. can’t really expect Halladay and Lee to put up the numbers they have going into their late 30’s… I’d say the Phillies have between 2-3 years before the youth the Braves, Nationals, and perhaps Marlins have catches up(especially if Hamels isn’t resigned) and puts Phillies in the middle of the pack in terms of the N.L. East
Why can’t I expect Halladay and Lee to put up the same numbers? They’ve shown absolutely no signs of slowing down. I don’t see them falling off drastically… especially Cliff Lee. I could see him being effective ala Andy Pettitte.
The window is closing. Definitely. And if our starting rotation still had guys like Adam Eaton and Jamie Moyer (as much as I love him) instead of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, it would be firmly shut already. Great starting pitching can cover up a lot of other problems.
They’ll need reinforcements, sure, but the “window” isn’t closed/closing because they have the money to pay to compete. It’s the same reason the “window” never really closes on the Yanks or Boston.
The Cubs have a payroll of $140 million, is their window always open also?
I’ve donned my catcher’s mask, shin guards and chest protector, cause I’m going to get pounded, but at the risk of sounding like a real Homer, Pena is a good move compared to many other options out there. Fans that read stats and make judgements solely on that criteria will say the guy stinks. Those of us who see him play and understand the game, see that he does lots of positive things to win games when he plays.( Intangibles, we’re big on that in Yankees Universe)
Granted he’s not a power hitter and hasn’t hit for average, but in his defense, he’s never really played regularly. On a team with A-Rod, Jeter and Cano to replace, it’s a tall order to find playing time for more than a handful of games at a time. On the Phillies, he could do a real good job if given the chance. He’s certainly not any worse than what the Phillies have on hand currently.
Make the trade Ruben!
I like Ramiro Pena. He is well underrated by his team. But, we have plenty of depth. If we can get a good trade, take it. Knowing us, we likely will.
In addition to Papelbon, the bullpen as a whole should be a lot stronger… especially if Diekman makes it. Much better than the opening day bullpen last year.
Papelbon
Bastardo
Contreras
Qualls
Kendrick
Diekman
Stutes
Roy and Cliff have shown to only have gotten better with age. Halladay has only thrown the best back-to-back seasons in his career, and Cliff Lee has only pitched to the tune of a 2.77 ERA with a SO/BB of 7.05 in his last 445 innings. Again, that is a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.05 in TWO FULL SEASONS. Barring injury, there’s no reason to believe these two cannot pitch at their current elite level for a couple more seasons.
You named two guys.
They need guys like JRoll, Victorino, and Pence to have career years, which is not very likely, especially all at once.
They had good pitching last year in the playoffs, when all was said and done, it was the offense that did them in.
Acquiring Papelbon does them no good if they can’t score.
Yeah, you too.
Is there something wrong with looking at your team objectively?
Feels like the 1950’s in here. Are you Senator McCarthy?
Uh, Isn’t that what I just said?
There’s nothing objective about your posts, just like there wasn’t last season. You look for someone saying something positive about the Phillies, and you tell them how wrong they are.
I’ve never seen you say a single positive thing about the team you supposedly root for.
What did I say then?
What is not objective? They are missing their starting 1B, 2B, they have a 3B that is coming off of double hernia surgery, they have a question mark in LF, and the bench has an average age of 35.
Did I miss something?
That’s the closest to objective you’ve ever been. Most posts are “This team is DONE” and “They’ll need career years from everyone on the team”.
The sports books in Vegas are paying 6:1 on the Braves or Marlins winning the East. They’re paying 1:2 on the Phillies.