Here are some notes out of Philadelphia…
- The Phillies are willing to give a setup man a three-year contract, Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The club is looking hard for setup help and Edward Mujica is one of the Phillies' targets. Mujica worked in middle relief before stepping up as the Cardinals' closer for most of 2013. MLBTR's Steve Adams projected Mujica would find a three-year, $21MM deal in free agency but you'd think that number would be a bit less in this case since the Phils wouldn't be using him as a closer. Relievers Joaquin Benoit and Joe Smith have also been linked to the Phillies this winter.
- "A Phillies-[Carlos] Ruiz reunion still seems likely," MLB.com's Todd Zolecki writes. Zolecki wonders if it was the Phillies who made Ruiz the two-year, $20MM offer the catcher reportedly has on the table. The Phils are known to have put early offers out to several free agents already and GM Ruben Amaro recently made a point of saying that the team wouldn't wait long for Ruiz to decide.
- Amaro may be on the hot seat if the team disappoints again but Amaro tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he isn't putting a priority on short-term success to save his job at the expense of the team's future. "My job, our job, is to be contenders every year….That's why young players are important to us. That's why keeping that depth is important to us," Amaro said.
- Marlon Byrd jumped when the Phillies made him a two-year, $16MM offer, the outfielder told reporters (including CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury). “I didn’t want to wait around,” Byrd said. “The Phillies were aggressive with an amazing offer. I didn’t want to wait to see how much money I could get. I have friends on that team, my wife (Andrea) is from there. It’s definitely a blessing.”
Again, my job, our job, is to be contenders every year. That’s the process. that’s why young players are important to us. That's why keeping that depth is important to us.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Can-Ruben-Amaro-Jr-balance-future-with-now.html#VjusSjWfxJ3vlZHL.99Again, my job, our job, is to be contenders every year. That’s the process. that’s why young players are important to us. That's why keeping that depth is important to us.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Can-Ruben-Amaro-Jr-balance-future-with-now.html#VjusSjWfxJ3vlZHL.99 - Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer isn't a fan of the Byrd signing, believing that the Phillies made too big a commitment to a player with a PED suspension on his record and whose career seemed virtually over less than a year ago.