The Angels thought they were close to acquiring Phillies second baseman Chase Utley yesterday, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The club still hopes to add the veteran second baseman per Gonzalez although the team is more pessimistic than yesterday per reports. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal points out that it’s a complicated trade (via Twitter). The Phillies have to agree on a prospect, the two sides have to work out the roughly $6MM guaranteed left on his contract, and Utley has full no-trade protection. He plans to use it to ensure he’ll have an active role on his new club.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times adds (tweet) that Utley is also considering the 2016 season with regard to his no-trade rights. Since his $16MM vesting option is out of reach, Utley will have a club option valued between $5MM and $11MM based on time spent on the disabled list. This is my speculation, but it’s possible Utley may ask to have the option guaranteed.
While many assume an acquiring team will opt to use his $2MM buyout, the 2014 version of Utley was well worth a one-year deal of no more than $11MM. Per FanGraphs’ WAR metric, Utley was worth 4.5 wins last season. While his 2015 numbers are obviously miserable, Utley reportedly made a mechanical fix related to his injured ankle. FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan has the details with some video. As of this writing, Utley is 13-for-25 since returning from the disabled list with six extra base hits (including a double and a home run tonight). For now, it’s believable that he’s reverted to his previous talent level.
Utley knows nobody is going to pick up the 2016 option. It’s too high a risk. That is one reason he is asking for playing time. He wants to show he is healthy and productive, which will lead to a better free agent deal.
Completely unnecessary! Johnny G is doing a really good job at 2B, and the team has been solid with him leading off. Unless one of them can play 3B or LF, this makes no sense.
If the Phillies can get a decent piece for the future no reason not to move him. I wonder what teams are offering for him.
Very little. Not hitting well, no trade clause, free agent in 2 months. Phillies should hope to get even a C level guy back
Missed this part didja?
As of this writing, Utley is 13-for-25 since returning from the disabled list with six extra base hits (including a double and a home run tonight)
Small sample. But he is HEALTHY. He hurt his ankle in the offseason and reinjured it but continued to play on it. It affected his approach at the plate as he tried to compensate.
Utley just needs an offday to stay healthy but he is showing top ten 2b offense which he was showing last season before he wore down.
So what was the excuse from April-May?
Excuse me for caring about the 250 PA from April-May rather than the 25 from Aug 7th-Aug14th.
More importantly, you don’t really expect guys to return to their previous level at age 36.
Utley is expected to hit .248/.318/.387 rest of the season (per Fangraphs). That’s roughly what Wilmer Flores has done this year except Flores is 13 years younger.
I think you are off if you think Utley is going to get anyone of note in return.
Here’s what Utley has done recently:
2nd half of 2014: .235/.323/.350
1st half of 2015: .179/.257/.275
1 calendar year: .210/.279/.307
Good luck, Chase
Chase hurt his ankle in January and was stupidly trying to play through it. The bad ankle caused him to make a change his batting stance which he has since corrected. As far as last year Chase started the year really good and than tired in the second half. Chase played in 155 games last year. He needs to play in about 135 games a year to stay effective.
It looks like you have to make excuses to explain a 36 year old players poor performances over 365 days, spanning two different seasons. That doesn’t seem like a good thing.
Its common sense that a player in his mid 30’s is going to need more rest than a 25 year old. Even with his sub par 2nd half Chase still managed to be top 10 in WAR for 2B last year.
Call me crazy but I think he already explained it. lol
LOL. Acacaia Stick to Oprah or The View my man.
A C level player is at least something for the future.
I would take Utley’s career numbers over what he has done in the first half this year.. Utley is pretty much Philly’s version of Jeter.. There is no way a solid producer like Utley is going to just fall off a shelf.. He will finish this year strong and will produce decent numbers for the next couple of years.. You can be negative and talk all of the smack that you want but his name alone is worth more than a C prospect. Fans like you with your what have you done for me lately approach to the game are ruining these boards for the rest of us.. I am a Yankee fan myself (grew up on Long Island) and I would gladly have Cashman give up anyone except for Severino, Judge, Bird or Mateo for him.. That includes Refsnyder, Clarkin or Sanchez.. The Phillies could even have a couple of them if it helps speed things along..
How was jeters stat line in his last year? I mean people get old
This is unbelievable. Dont haggle about the money Angels just pay it all. And give the Phillies the prospect they want.
You have control of Utley until the end of the 2018 season. Utley is 13-25 since his return from the DL. He was working on his timing the first week or so, timing is down, now watch the power return. HR + 2B tonight.
You should be thanking the he heaven + tstars that no one claimed him. He is still there now give it up fools.
Because if there was enough skepticism for a player to get through waivers it would be a good trade to spend a prospect AND take his contract.
As a big market ball club the Phillies need to do what it takes to get a high return for Utley. I’m thinking even if they need to offer him the club option then try and trade him this off season.
People laughed at me a week ago for telling the Dbacks,Nats,Padres to claim Utley with a longer term approach, claim him + pitch their organization to him .As Utley even at 36 has the potential to be a top 5 2B in baseball.
Who’s laughing now? I tried to tell you Utley hasnt hit a wall, this isnt some aging fat slob thats thrown in the towel. Utley is in incredible physical condition and has 2-3 solid years left if managed properly- some games off here and there.
Top five? Pd, Altuive, Dozier, Cano, Gordon,Kipnis, Kinsler Etc…. There is no way he is a top 5 guy. No one claimed him and a 25 at bat turn around is not really much to brag about.
Panik 🙂
I knew there was someone I wanted to add!
LeMahieu.
I don’t know about Gordon.. Let’s see if he can keep the production up for a few years.. Cano is having an awful year but he is definitely still top 5 until he has a few consecutively bad season.. Kinsler and a healthy Utley are about on the same level.. Altuve, Kipnis and Dozier, are definitely top 3.. The next 4-5 are interchangeable with LeMahieu, Pedroia, Panik and Kendrick being left out of your list.. Peterson might be heading to the top 10 in a year or two as well.. Utley although he isn’t top 5 anymore he is still in the conversation of top 10 unless he has a couple of consecutive down years.. If we went off of this years production alone Cano wouldn’t be anywhere near the top 10..
It’s really all up to Chase and the Phillies. If a team wants to give a lesser prospect the Phillies will likely say no. A “c” prospect doesn’t get it done. If you are a team that Chase doesn’t think is good enough don’t bother calling. He has a job. It’s not as if he needs to get dealt. It will be interesting to see what he tells teams they have to do to get him.
A c prospect gets it done….Utley is 36 and has hit 200 over the last year. Its up to him really but the Phillies would be much better off if they trade Utley, Howard, Ruiz, Harang, and Francorer.
There’s no way a C level prospect gets it done. Any team trading for Utley isn’t trading for someone who has hit .200 the last year (Utley is at .213 this year and was .235 the second half of last year, so even he isn’t that.) If they think Utley is a .200 hitter he can’t help their team and they’re not calling the Phillies. Utley is hitting .500 since returning from the DL and comes with a reasonable option. The Phillies are likely going to pick up all his remaining money.
The Red Sox were willing to dump their players for nothing. The Phillies don’t see the value in that.
What are you even talking about? .213 and .235 is nothing special. He is a 36 year old second baseman. He is not going to get back a big prospect. He is hitting ,500 in his last 25 abs, thats not much of a sample size compared to the last year.. Victerino and Napoli were not going to get good prospects back. They, like Utley have very low value.
No that isn’t anything special, but your proclamation that he’s a .200 hitter is inaccurate. You also said he’d bring back a “c” prospect. In my view that’s someone who is a longshot to make the majors, similar to the players the Angels traded for Dejesus and Murphy.
You may believe that Utley has similar value, but it’s unlikely that Major League teams do. Reportedly, six teams are after Utley. So he clearly is more in demand than someone worth a “c” prospect. Likewise if you look at who the Phillies have traded and who they haven’t traded you’ll see that they held onto players who might’ve only netted them a “c” prospect. Your hypothesis that a c prospect gets it done with the Phillies is unlikely to be true.
He is not an elite hitter at this point. Just because a lot of teams have some interest in him is not a big point. They should get rid of those guys not because they are worth much, but to save a little money and let younger guys play. Those guys will not be around when the Phillies are good. Utley is not going to get a top prospect. He is going to get throw in type guy. Utley is 36 and ether a rental or will cost decent money. Utley is a clubhouse leader type of guy who will be nice. He has a no trade clause so that makes him harder to trade. What kind of guy do you think he will get? Its likely to be someone who helps the Phillies very little.
There’s a big difference between a “top prospect” and a “c prospect.” A top prospect is one of a team’s top 3-5 and a “c prospect” is outside their top 30.
Trades are about supply and demand. There are no other similar players on the market and 6 teams want him. They have to know that if they offer a “c prospect” he’ll go elsewhere.
The Phillies aren’t interested in saving money. They are $30 million below budget this year and look to be more than $75 million below next year. They paid the rest of Papelbon and Revere’s contracts in trades and paid part of next year’s Hamels’ deal as well as taking Harrison’s $30 million+ contract. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Phillies took back CJ Wilson in this deal. And the Phillies aren’t blocking younger players by keeping the few vets they have left.
The Phillies aren’t operating the way the Red Sox are. The Red Sox are getting rid of players who aren’t part of the future and willing to take little in return. You may question the wisdom of the Phillies not following the same strategy but until Andy MacPhail hires you, you shouldn’t assume they will.
If the Phillies were being offered someone who who’ll help them very little there wouldn’t be so many stories out there. The Phillies would’ve shut things down.
Thats just conventional wisdom. The only reason the Phillies have not parted with those guys is because they probably like those guys ability to mentor and wouldn’t get anything in return. Once the Phillies top prospects are ready those guys will be mostly DFA or what not. The Red Sox are in a different postion in that they have a ton of MLB ready guys who they want to get MLB time. I think you are over thinking this trade when you get Wilson involved. It is very unlikey that Utley will return a big building piece for the future. Utley Is not the only hitter on the market…
Harang and Williams are up at the end of the year and Ruiz and Howard are up next year. They can ride out the contracts if there’s no return in a trade. They won’t DFA longtime players like Howard or Ruiz.
I’m not overthinking the trade. I’m trying to think like they do. Hamels had a reasonable contract and yet the Phillies gave the Rangers $9.5 million and took back Matt Harrison and his $32 million left. Clearly, the Phillies have made themselves a dumping ground for albatross deals. It’d be a similar trade if Stoneman wants to get out of Wilson’s deal.
You say Utley isn’t the only player on the market but I’m going back several days and the first name I found was Jose Reyes from 2 days ago and he’s someone with $50 million+ left on his deal. If I go back 3 days I see that the Marlins are willing to deal Martin Prado for a “big return.” I don’t know what a “big return” is but I’m guessing it’s probably 2 players in a team’s top 10 prospects. That’s a ton more than you think Utley is worth and more than I think the Phillies are asking for.
Wilson just doesnt make sense. He had a pretty decent year and his contract is bigger then Utley and its unlikely he will be traded while hurt. The Phillies took on Harrison and money because they got a nice deal for Hamels, they were never getting Betts or Seeger. Prado is also alot younger then Utley and not in a steep decline. Its a well known fact that a lot of names on waivers are not known to the public right away or ever so that doesn’t support anything.
First off the letter system is pretty arbitrary. There are very many c/c+ players in teams top 30’s.
What do you mean no similar players? You bring up for supply & demand for a guy who passed unclaimed…Not very logical.
Of course they are blocking younger players! Howard, Utley, Ruiz are taking up spots. Thats how you rebuild. Get rid of players who wont be around to help you contend.
Chase Utley is a 36 year old second baseman who is coming off injury. He is not worth that much.
Utley should return a B+ level prospect to the Phillies.. He is going to bring back a top 3 from any org except maybe the Blue Jays and that is because they have already unloaded their top prospects.. There is no way he is only worth a C level low minors prospect.. He is still Chase Utley and has great career stats and was overall pretty solid last year.. To say he returns something along the lines of what Ackley brought the Mariners is a joke..
A top three from every org? That is insane.
If you read his next sentence, he clearly had a typo and meant he ISN’T going to bring back a top 3 from any organization. That’s why he added except maybe the Blue Jays because they unloaded most of their top ones.
You’re ether inferring wrongly or he is unsure what a top prospect is. A B+ prospect is a top prospect. Thats like someone just out side the elite level. I read it as that he thought the Jays didnt have anyone the Phillies would want.
I think he’s just unsure of what a top prospect is. It sounds like he thinks the top guys are all A’s, whereas B’s are middle of the road, and C’s are guys that are just organizational depth. That’s my guess on how he thinks prospects are graded.
And I interpreted the Blue Jays comment as saying, the Phillies won’t be able to get a top-3 prospect back from any organization (if it was a typo like I think it is) except for the Blue Jays because in his opinion since they traded their top prospects, then their former let’s say #5-8 prospects are now their #1-4. I don’t think he thinks the Phillies wouldn’t want them, just that their top prospects are no longer elite and untouchable like the other teams. I would disagree with this, but that’s what I think he’s getting at.
But it would definitely be easier if he just clarified it himself so we didn’t have to dig in to it haha
Because we definitely agree that a B+ prospect is a top guy and worth more than Utley.
Yea what you said makes sense haha. Getting a C prospect with some potential for Utley and saving some money would be a win.
Agreed. Utley is my all-time favorite Phillie, but if you can get a decent prospect back for him and give him chance at another ring, you have to do it. I’m not willing to give him away for nothing, but a decent prospect with some upside will work.
Dude. Hes 36 on a one and a half month rental. You trade for him and hope he can return to form for one run. But in no way do you COUNT on him being the old utley.
Right? This is the most absurd thread I’ve ever read.
I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here…….
The Angels have a high winning percentage when Johnny Giavotella starts. He plays a decent major league 2B. Additionally, his .273 / .321 /.680 offensive stat line is one of the better ones of starting 2B’s – and far better then anything Utley has done in 2 years, minus these past 25 PA’s (and what hitter in MLB has produced to that leve in his last 25 AB’s?).
So Utley wants guaranteed playing time? Where? In addition to moving out Giavotella at 2B, he might move Albert out at 1B. Interesting. Albert is an above average defensive 1B. OK. So they fiddle around and one of those guy’s DH’s. Fair enough. So that means they either sit down David Murphy whose stat line this year is .290 / .332 / .756 along with one of the best BA’s with RISP in the AL. OK, maybe they play Murphy more in LF – a position he can no longer play very well.
It appears the area the Angels can improve in is at 3B with Freese out. But he is expected back any day. And is there any evidence at all that Utley or Giavotella can play 3B? It is a position where the player doesn’t see the ball leave the pitchers hand as at 2B – a total reaction position that demands a strong arm (which neitehr player has). They’re going to learn the position at the ML level in the stretch run of a pennant race? Or maybe Albert is moved over to 3B part-time to open up 1B for Utley……and Cron.
The Angels have a lot of players that seem to produce to about the same degree. Utley is just one more to throw into the mix and ruin the timing of players that are not getting enough AB’s now. I don’t understand this fixation with him at all.
This is going to be a lot of tire-spinning here. I’d put money on a team overpaying for Utley, only to have him end the year on the DL.
Also, “As of this writing, Utley is 13-for-25 since returning from the disabled list with six extra base hits (including a double and a home run tonight). For now, it’s believable that he’s reverted to his previous talent level.”
What? Utley fell off a cliff in 2010 and hasn’t sniffed his “previous talent level” since. He trended upward in 2013, but it’s clear that any power he once had, is gone. All of his stats (as they pertain to offense, which is what this article is implying) have diminished drastically.
It would be more prudent to say “As of this writing, Utley is 60% of his previous talent”, as most of his numbers have fallen by 40% or more from his prime years of 2005-2009.
I just want him out of Philadelphia before the Mets play the Phillies again.
As with many of these veterans it comes down to money. How much is Phili willing to eat to ensure the better prospect. Chase holds the leverage with the NTC, he could insist his option get picked up…
Haha don’t blame you. Gotta love Utley’s Corner.
He is the Phillie that I have enjoyed rooting against. Liked as a foe.
There are few players who garner that respect from opposing fans. As a Met fan the list is headed by Chipper, with Jeter, (pre-love fest), and Utley
Absolutely. I’ve always felt the same way about David Wright and I hate having to see him deal with all of these injuries.
I think that’s unlikely. His option is relatively low. He thinks he can play at a high level, and if he does he’ll get a 2 year deal for a higher AAV than his option is. He’d also get to choose his team and be able to negotiate some form of a no trade clause. Right now he’s limited to teams that want a short term fix and he loses his NTC when traded.
I wonder if the Reds had put Phillips on waivers. He would fit here and on the yankees. Although I like Phillips the Reds are rebuilding and already have his replacement.