TODAY, 9:55pm: Other clubs have also made offers to the Phillies for Utley, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports, though he notes that it does not appear any trade is imminent. It’s not yet known which other specific clubs have formally offered up packages for the second baseman.
8:21pm:Â San Francisco has made an offer for Utley and is “just waiting to hear” whether it will be accepted, GM Bobby Evans tells Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Evans said that he doubts a deal will be completed tonight.
We heard earlier this evening that Utley wants certain assurances regarding playing time before he’ll waive his no-trade rights. It’s not clear what Utley is seeking or what the Giants would be willing to do in that regard, though Evans has seemingly suggested that he is looking more for a part-time addition.
YESTERDAY: The Phillies and Giants are discussing a trade that would send Chase Utley to San Francisco, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports (on Twitter). The two teams are discussing specific names of prospects, which is an indication that the talks are at least fairly advanced.
Utley cleared waivers yesterday, and can now be freely traded to any club he wishes, provided he okays the move by waiving his no-trade protection. It has been suggested that Utley could be particularly open to coming to San Francisco given that his family’s offseason home is in the Bay Area, not to mention the more obvious fact that he’d be joining the defending World Series champions in a pennant race.
The Giants’ interest in Utley surfaced when Joe Panik hit the DL with an ongoing back problem. Utley could fill in at second and then, once Panik returns, shift into either a bench role or a part-time role at first base (though since both Utley and Brandon Belt are left-handed hitters, it wouldn’t be a perfect fit).
While a very small sample size, Utley has hit .412/.389/.588 over 18 plate appearances since his return from the disabled list. Despite the very poor numbers Utley posted over the season’s first few months, the longtime Phillie’s apparent health and his career track record has generated trade interest from the Giants, Yankees, Cubs and Angels.
I really don’t want to cheer for the Giants, but with Pence and Utley, its gonna be hard not to. Utley’s career is getting close to over, so it’d be nice to see him leave in a nice playoff run.
ot: Not tonight though, considering Franco is out for tonight, and the Phils don’t have a backup infielder because Blanco is playing 3B.
The Phillies do still have Asche and Herrera though, both of whom played IF positions in the minors (and Asche did so in the majors, too). I don’t think a lack of reserve infielder would stop the Phils from making a trade during the game.
Get it done, Giants. Haven’t had any bench depth all year. Gotta think that someone of Utley’s pedigree doesn’t fall off the table as bad as he did before he came off the DL unless something was seriously hampering his swing mechanics.
His bat is quick. Giants fans will be pleasantly surprised if the trade goes thru. He’s been on just about every pitch since his rehab stint began. He claims his ankle injury caused a glitch in his mechanics which he says has been corrected.
His ankle is no longer causing problems/pain. Huge addition imo.No problem with Giant fan buut Personally Id have rather seen Utley go to LA and help them win a championship,its been awhile for them.
Yeah there’s no way I can root for a team with a $300+ million payroll. I don’t like the Giants either, but have a lot of respect for their organization and would much rather see Chase end up there.
I assume you were referring to the Dodgers when you said LA since you said it’s been a while for them and the Angels won the World Series more recently in 2002. If you meant the Angels, ignore my comment.
The longer he plays, the worse it gets. His pedigree of today is not his pedigree of 5 years ago. Agents will throw “swing mechanics” out there to suggest there was a reason why he was horrible before.
I would be shocked if they platoon Brandon Belt anymore, and Bochy’s pretty much said the same thing
Belt is their scariest hitter right now
I would love to see Utley go to SF and come back to Philadelphia in a coaching capacity down the road. I just don’t think his career is as over as everyone thinks it is. The Phillies have a capable replacement on the team right now in Hernandez, so Utley is an overpriced utility player on a rebuilding team.
I think he could contribute as a platoon infielder/DH in the AL, maybe even play 3-4 days a week. Whatever team he plays for next year needs to do a much better job of managing his health than the Phillies have. You can’t run him out there every day and expect him to stay healthy.
With Utley, it’s a combination of him being his own worst enemy and the team’s mishandling of some of his injuries. At least twice over the past few seasons and most recently with his ankle injury last month, Utley hasn’t told anyone about it and has tried to fight through it because that’s just the way he is. The guy is a warrior, but doing so was doing himself nor the team any favors. But I’d also argue the team and it’s training staff should have been able to figure this out.
“The team and its training staff should have been able to figure this out”
Really?
Exhibit A:
Ryan Howard ‘s cortisone shot for his ankle, then tearing his Achilles a month later, then getting rushed back the next season and hurting his knee.
Exhibit B:
Jonathan Papelbon asking for Toradol in his first season here and being refused – isn’t that something that should have been discussed pre-signing?
Exhibit C:
Utley showing up to spring training with a bum knee, which apparently came as a surprise to everyone. Then he shows up the next season with his other knee affected.
Exhibit D:
Freddy Garcia
I rest my case.
Meh.. Dont think thats the answer to them topping the Dodgers.
You mean a bench move won’t move the team into first place? That’s news to me
Panik actually had a surprising problem with his back, he’s never had any back problems before. It was not on-going at the time he went on the DL, though it can be termed that now that it looks like he won’t be returning after 15 days.
I think Utley’s numbers lately represents what he can do when healthy. In spite of his problems in recent years, he has consistently produced 3 WAR and higher every season per baseball-reference.com even in the past four seasons. He would be a great addition (depending on the cost to get him) to the Giants lineup, and Bochy has been saying that he will need to rest guys, so he could mix and match with Panik and Belt, maybe even play some 3B, he played there long ago in minors.
Plus, with Utley in place, the Giants can wait until Panik is fully healthy to bring him back, particularly if Utley is hitting well enough (or better), whereas right now there might be some pressure to bring him back once he seems healthy enough. But the back is a weird thing, and giving it more rest and treatment is better than pushing the envelope.
I like the sample slash line they used. Not often you see someone with a high BA then OBP.
Philly: Do you want Chase Utley?
Giants: Sure, why not?
Philly: Deal, I don’t care what you send back. Would you like Ryan Howard too?
Giants: Don’t push it.
Calling 18 PAs a very small sample size is like calling an amoeba a very small organism, it’s a bit of an understatement
Heres a bigger sample size. Utleys career.
6600 plate appearances.
.366 OBP
.846 OPS.
61 WAR
46 Playoff Games
38 R
10 HR
.902 OPS
True, but when is the last time he posted those averages? Hes valuable at the right price…especially with the vesting option pretty much moot
Jim Bowden on Baseball Tonight just said he would expect a return of a Kyle Crick-type prospect for Utley + his salary for this year.
For you Giants fans, has Crick’s stock dropped a ton, or is Utley still have a good amount of value?
Crick has dropped a ton in value. Most likely gonna end up being a reliever due to the fact that he can’t last long in games. Throws way too many balls and walks way too many guys. He’s gotten better lately but still has to work on his pitching a lot more.
Looking at his stats this year, I’m impressed he has somehow managed a 3.02 ERA despite averaging 9.7 BB/9 with a 1.84 WHIP. That’s a crazy amount of baserunners.
I would assume that is around what is going to happen. Crick is a reliever going forward or maybe the Phillies try and fix him for a year. But I assume they get back a good relief prospect from someone.
No thank you.