Latest On Ken Giles

Here’s the latest chatter on Phillies’ closer Ken Giles, who has drawn plenty of attention as a possible trade chip after tossing over 100 innings of 1.56 ERA ball in his first two seasons in the majors:

• “We’re trying to add players like Ken Giles, we’re not trying to subtract,” Phillies GM Matt Klentak said today in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio links). “That’s what every team wants,” he said, referring to Giles’ performance, control, and cost. Of course, as he went on to note, there’s a “caveat”: Klentak said that he is open to being “opportunistic” with any player and is listening to any and all proposals from other clubs. “The relief pitcher market this year has been a little different than it is in a lot of offseasons, maybe highlighted by the trade last week,” he noted (apparently referencing the Craig Kimbrel deal).
• The Astros and Marlins are two of several teams that have checked in with Philly on Giles, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. It’s hard to put too much stock in that, of course. Houston has been said to be pursuing a wide variety of power relief arms. And Miami could stand to plug in another late-inning arm, particularly one that won’t occupy much payroll space in the near term. Then, there’s the fact that a number of other teams are (or will likely be) in the mix as well.
• As Rosenthal notes, and as Klentak said himself directly, the club is hardly committed to dealing Giles away right now. Indeed, it would be surprising to learn of such an approach. Philadelphia was comfortable taking some additional risk by waiting to trade Cole Hamels, and that rationale holds weight here as well. Though the risk of an injury or a downturn is always there, and it would obviously behoove the team to see what it can get, that hardly means there’s a rush to cash in the 25-year-old.