The Nationals activated Denard Span from the disabled list and inserted him into the starting lineup for this afternoon’s game against the Phillies, reports MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. To make room for Span on the roster, Michael Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse despite slashing .271/.314/.500 in 51 plate appearances this season. “He is one of our future players and needs to play every day,” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said in explaining the reasoning behind Taylor’s demotion. “We got to see Michael Taylor become a player for us right in front of our eyes. I thought he handled himself brilliantly with some youthful mistakes. The ability level is there. The usefulness of putting it to a Major League setting was there and he took to it very well.”
Elsewhere in the NL East:
- The Phillies have told teams over the past year Chase Utley will not waive his no-trade clause, but ESPN’s Buster Olney writes in an Insider piece (subscription required) the second baseman, facing a long rebuild in Philadelphia, may have a change of heart like former teammate Jimmy Rollins. Olney also notes rival evaluators believe Cole Hamels wants out of Philadelphia, as well.
- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez isn’t too concerned with Jim Johnson being roughed up in his last two appearances (four runs, six hits, and two home runs allowed) and will keep the right-hander in the role of the 8th inning setup reliever, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’ll see how it plays out,” said Gonzalez. “But from what I saw in Spring Training, and other than these two outings here, I think he’s been fine. We always have a tendency to say what’s the matter with a guy as soon as he gives up something.“
- Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters, including MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, closer Jeurys Familia will remain in that role when Bobby Parnell and Vic Black join the club after completing their rehab assignments. “Certainly, right now Jeurys Familia has pitched well enough,” Collins said. “He is that guy until those other guys show us they’re ready.” Collins adds, in a perfect world, Parnell would be the closer with Black and Familia slotted for the 8th and 7th innings, respectively. Black’s return may be delayed as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets the right-hander will undergo a MRI of his shoulder/neck area.
Chase Utley has said that he would waive his NTC to a contender on the west coast on Phillies Pregame before.. well.. he said he’d “think about it.”
right now the angels a’s or padres make the most sense
Both of those teams could really use him to push on if they are competitive near the deadline. Will be really interested to see what Chase does. When you think about it, Utley, Hamels and Papelbon all hold some value to a good team, and guys like Harang, Francoeur and
perhaps Billingsley are on the bubble of bringing back a lottery ticket.
Billingsley use to be really good but the injury bug hit him all the time
Aside from Hamels, Harang might be the pick of the litter, this year as far as trade return. As long as he keeps the team in games, and has an ERA under 4, more than one team could be in line for his services.
If Philly would eat money they would surely get some interesting players for Hamels/Papelbon/Utley.
Speaking of Jimmy Rollins, nobody says much about what the future may hold for him after 2015, either.
Doubt he retires. Hes close to HoF numbers. 2-3 more decent years and he could have a strong case.
yea, I always thought he could be a candidate to come back to Phils for a year of part-time play at age 39 or 40, once his playing as a regular days are done.
I feel like jimmy needs about 5 more years like 2014 to really have a shot.
Rollins has more WAR than 5 current HoF shortstops, and could catch another with a solid year this year. Hes the best SS in Philadelphia history, a former MVP, 4 time GG, has a SS and could reach 2500 hits in the next 2 years. He’ll have 500 2B and 500 SB by the time hes done.
Heck of a resume, I wouldn’t say he needs 5 more years. I think 1 year of typical J’Roll, another ‘above average SS’ year, and then a year of a league average SS and he’ll be set to get consideration.
He has 45 rWAR, the average hall of famer has a 65.
I’m not touting WAR as the be-all, but he is well short of that barometer.
agreed…..very close. several GG’s, MVP, by the end of the year, he’s going to be among the top five in runs scored by shortstops and maybe stolen bases, too. might be one of those who has to wait for veterans committee decisions, too like Pee Wee & Rizzuto. He played in an era of great SS’s…..ARod, Jeter, Vizquel, Nomar so he was overlooked a times.
Here’s hoping Familia remains at closer….I just added him on my fantasy team 🙂
Great, I’m sure the Phillies are grateful that Utley waited until now to decide he would waive his no-trade clause. Last season, I’m sure the Yankees would have parted with one or two pretty good prospects. Now….doubtful.
He’ll approve to go West. He’s not going to NY.
Do you know him personally?
Utley likes the east coast.
Doesn’t matter: he’s now 36 and batting .116/.167/.256 in the early going of 2015. The Yankees aren’t going to part with Luis Severino and/or Aaron Judge now for the luxury of having the
the name of Chase Utley on the Yankees roster for possibly 2016-2018. Too many aging, not-what-they-used-to-be-names (Teixeira, A-Rod, Beltran) is what got the Yankees into the situation they’re in in the first place. Plus, why block Rob Refsnyder, who is currently at second base in AAA and like the 8th ranked second base prospect in the game?
Just trade Utley to Seattle for Ackley.
Where would Chase Utley play? The Mariners kind of invested $240,000,000 at 2nd base.
It needs a third team. I’ve thought all along Ackley would be a good fit in Philly. I think he’s best at 2nd.
Now if they can find a third team. Then again, I was browsing fangraphs for the worst 2nd baseman to replace and Utley was 2nd from the bottom. He’s going to have to get productive to be of value.
Not making excuses but the Phillies just ran into a buzzsaw of pitchers. Last 10 games Strasburg,Zimmerman,Scherzer,Fister,Niece,Harvey,DeGrom,Scherzer, Fister,Gio Gonzalez.
If hamels wanted out of philadelphia he shouldn’t have signed a six year contract extension in my mind.
Hamels was sold a bill of goods before he signed. The Phillies told him they would remain competitive and they LIED BIG TIME.
What the Phillies management has done to destroy the Phils the past 3 years is beyond comprehension. Granted They have had some injury issues by my oh my.
2 years ago they were the 5th most valuable franchise in mlb and today they are 10th most valuable franchise despite signing a TV deal worth over $5 B.
Im not denying that the phillies front office has destroyed a baseball powerhouse in record time, but Hamels has to understand that this is part of baseball. If you always want to be a contender, sign a one year deal each offseason with who you see fit. Obviously he would be foolish to do this, but he also has to understand that he made the decision to commit to Philadelphia when he signed that extension. You cant be picky all the time. IMO obviously.
Getting traded to a contender is also no guarantee of the post season, let alone World Series.
Some injury problems? Injuries to Halladay, Lee, Howard and Utley weren’t small losses. PHIL showed they were willing to spend money but stuff happens. Same thing going on in Texas…..Rangers willing to spend money but most of their starting rotation was wiped out by injuries the last couple years. Yu, Holland, Harrison & Perez. Add to that injuries to Fielder, Choo, Profar, Feliz and Sheppers and it’s unreasonable to believe they should be winning.
Taylor looked decent in his chance to start the season, but there’s also the small fact that he is currently leading the NL in strikeouts.
I could see angels making a huge blockbuster at deadline for pap, utley, and hamels.
This involve moving some of the young pitching, probably Lindsey as well…..
If Hamels wants out of Philly then he’d better do something to show other teams why they should want to trade for him. He’s been lousy in two of his three starts. And with a .116 batting average after the first two weeks, why would teams be interested in Utley? He’s 36, has a huge contract and has been just mediocre since turning 30.
You can say he’s 36, has a huge contract, is currently batting .116, and perhaps you can say he has bad knees that will limit his playing time, and maybe his best days are behind him, but mediocre since 30 is just false.
He has a cumulative 27.6 WAR over 6 seasons since turning 30; averaging 4.6 WAR per year, never lower than 3.0 in a single season.
in the years 2006-09, Chase averaged 29HR, 110 runs, 101 rbi and .300. He appeared on his way to Cooperstown. Since 2010, Utley has averaged 13 HR, 64 runs, 48rbi & .269. Last year was the first time he played more than 131 games since 2010. Personally, I would call these last five years average and hardly worth the $15 million a year he’s received. One can argue of course he was underpaid for the previous five years and I wouldn’t diagree. He signed that contract at just the right time. But considering these recent numbers, why would another team be interested in Chase at age 36 as anything more than a backup/pinch hitter….and only if the phillies ate about 90% of his salary?
Utley did not play a full season in those years due to injury; 2010: 1153G, 2011: 103G, 2012; 83G, 2013:131G – average 108G – 2/3 season.
Expecting him to put up full season numbers in injury shortened seasons is ridiculous. Despite his injuries, he managed a minimum of 3.0 WAR every one of those seasons.
You can say he was injury prone in those years, fighting through and returning from injury, but not mediocre. you can say a lot of things about what his value is now.
I don’t disagree that his value right now is not great, and at his age he is a season to season type of player. Nobody can project future production for him, but he could stay a 3.6 WAR player as he was in 2014, or not. I don’t know.
You are entitled to your opinion, but not your own facts. When you distort the facts to make your point, the record needs to be set straight.
the history of baseball is filled with players like Utley who were wonderful in their 20’s but merely average in their 30’s: Eric Davis, Roger Maris, Kirk Gibson, Cesar Cedeno, Vada Pinson come to mind. Injuries also played a factor in their decline from stardom to mediocre as well. The Phills didn’t give Utley $15 mil a year for 13-64 .269. That’s the breaks of the game and a strong reason why teams are foolish to hand out long term big guaranteed money but, that’s another topic. My opinion of Utley is strictly based on the facts/stats….and the facts are, he has NOT been all that productive the last five years. From 06-09, Utley was marvelous. Sorry he got injured. He’s going to be one of those guys we’ll wonder: what if?
None of that really bears on the issue at hand.
You said “has been just mediocre since turning 30.” First of all, the dictionary says mediocre means “barely adequate.” And that is just way overstated.
Second, you include his age 30 season in your before stats where he was #4 in WAR and #8 in MVP voting.
If you wanted to say 31, then you should have said 31.
In 2010 at 31, he missed 6 weeks in July/Aug with a sprained right thumb sliding into second. He finished the year with a 5.8 WAR. So, that’s not being washed up. Maybe you meant 32.
In 2011, he missed the opening 6 weeks of the season with knee pain. Then came back to post a 3.8 WAR, and bat .438 in the NLDS playoffs when Phillies were eliminated. Man, that’s not really barely adequate, but maybe you meant 33.
He did continue to have some injury shortened seasons in 2012 and 2013 but still managed a WAR of 3.0 and 3.2 those years. Maybe that’s what you meant.
The issue at hand is Utley’s last five years of production vs the previous five years of excellence and why his market value now is extremely low. If you think 13-69 .264 is better than mediocre then that’s your opinion. Were injuries a factor? ABSOLUTELY YES! But that’s baseball. If you’re injured, you can’t play as well as you did when you were healthy. Injuries were also a factor in the dramatically reduced production of guys I named before: Maris, Davis, Pinson, Cedeno and Gibson. It’s sad injuries happen but they do which is why Maris and the others are not in the Hall of Fame.
I don’t disagree that Utley had reduced production, injuries, has a high contract, or now has questionable value under the circumstances. I don’t disagree with any of that.
You can have your opinion as well, but you cannot just make generalized arbitrary statements that don’t line up with the facts to exaggerate your opinion.
I made up no facts about Utley’s production the last five years. He has averaged 13HR, 69rbi, .264. Would YOU pay a player $15 million a year for those stats? Neither would I. They are mediocre stats. Hardly the Mendoza line but hardly Utley stats from the previous five years. My opinion is he was once a brilliant player but sadly, injuries reduced him to what he is today just like Maris and the others I mentioned during the last parts of their careers.
Your opinions are fine. Your statement that he is “mediocre since turning 30” is not. You can keep clouding the issue, all you want. But it is up to you to check your facts before you post them and articulate them in a matter that is not in direct conflict with the facts at hand.
According to Baseball Reference Team WAR by position, Phillies were #1 NL team at 2B from 2006-2010 (Utley’s age 31 season) sometimes by a very wide margin. From 2011 through 2014, Phillies were #3 out of 15 teams at team WAR 2B every year.
if it makes you feel better to say you were right and I was wrong…then here you go: I should have said 31 and not 30. But I did NOT make up any facts about Utley’s numbers the last five years: 13-69 .264, Just because other secondbasemen in the NL were less than mediocre is not an issue with me. The fact is Utley was not being paid 15-million for 13-69 .264. He was being paid that amount for hitting 30-100 .300…..great numbers no matter WHAT position he plays. I can think of only a handful of secondbasemen who were in Utley’s hitting class when he was healthy and productive. Soriano, Morgan, Sandberg, Hornsby, Kent & Cano come to mind immediately when talking those numbers consistently. There are literally thousands of players and hundreds of secondbasemen who have delivered 13-69 .264 numbers. That’s how *I* define mediocre. It’s not awful but nothing to get excited about and certainly not worth giving $15 million bucks for.
You may not like his salary, but he is far from the most overpaid player on his own team, let alone the rest of MLB.
His avg stats for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 are;
117.4 Games 13.4 HR 60.2 RBI .270 BA (actually .269986)
Compare to Ben Zobrist same period – Is Ben Zobrist mediocre, also?
153.4 Games 14.4 HR 72.6 RBI .265 average
Utley’s numbers, while certainly not his previous production, are a lot less shabby for a 2B than you make them out to be.
On a team with Cliff Lee & Ryan Howard, yeah….Utley is hardly the most overpaid player on the team. But that’s not setting the bar very high. The Phills handed out huge contracts to a number of players a few years ago and haven’t gotten much in return for that payroll the last three years. Now, they’re in the process of rebuilding. I suspect we’ll see Howard on waivers pretty soon. I doubt Papelbon will be in PHL at the end of the year. Lee’s contract ends at the end of this year with the buyout. Will Utley finish this season with the Phils? Hard to judge after only two weeks. We’ll see. Hamels will be traded but Phillies have to hope he becomes more consistent. He’s had two good outings and two stinkers. Philadelphia bad defense doesn’t help, of course.
Is Zobrist mediocre? The last two years—YES! Ben had some nice seasons in TB before that but they were not as good as Utley’s numbers were from 06-09. BTW, Zobrist is making $7.5 million—half what Utley is making.
I’m not trying to make Chase out to be Pete Kozma or Stephen Drew. But on the other hand, he’s hardly in a class with Cano when he once was. BTW….on the subject of absurd contracts, Seattle is really going to regret that Cano deal one day.