The Phillies have acquired infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. First baseman Darin Ruf and second baseman/outfielder Darnell Sweeney will head to Los Angeles in return.
Still, adding the veteran would seem to make it somewhat more likely that the Phils would feel comfortable parting with Cesar Hernandez, the incumbent at second. Hernandez, 26, added on-base ability to his speed and defense in 2016 for a surprisingly excellent campaign. With three years of control remaining, he is a rather appealing potential trade piece — not least of which since he has also spent time at short and center. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that Hernandez drew strong interest at the GM Meetings, and while Kendrick may not currently be slated to step right in to replace him, it remains plausible that the Phillies could look to cash him in at some point over the coming months.
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Regardless of precisely how he fits, Kendrick will provide the Phillies with just the kind of veteran presence they entered the offseason in search of. And he’ll do so without requiring a multi-year commitment. If all goes well, he’ll bounce back after an uncharacteristically poor season at the plate. Kendrick ended with a .255/.326/.366 batting line, with eight home runs and ten steals, over 543 plate appearances. That was easily the worst full-season effort of his career.
If Kendrick can regain his form, he’ll help the team improve its level of play and may even turn into a trade or (perhaps less likely) qualifying offer candidate. There is some reason for hope. He maintained a strong 33.8% hard-hit rate even as his typically high BABIP dipped to .301 — easily a career-low. And Kendrick managed to boost his walk rate to a career-best 9.2% while maintaining his characteristically palatable strikeout numbers (his 17.7% K rate last year landed just north of his 17.2% career rate).
For the Dodgers, the swap was more about clearing payroll and roster space — particularly after Kendrick expressed disappointment with his usage. Now, the team’s needs in the corner outfield, and at second and third base, are all the more pronounced. Already a lefty-leaning club with the bats, Los Angeles seems primed to pursue right-handed hitting in more than one area this winter. But while the return wasn’t the driving force here, there’s reason to believe it could deliver some function, especially for the always-clever Los Angeles front office.
Ruf, 30, is perhaps likeliest to make an impact. He had a short and forgettable MLB stint last year, but raked at Triple-A and owns a .299/.379/.542 lifetime slash against left-handed pitching. True, the right-handed hitter has been sub-par without the platoon advantage, and contributes nothing on the bases or in the field (though he can play some first and, at least in limited doses, the corner outfield). He’s also out of options. But the Dodgers have a number of flexible assets and may like the idea of allowing Ruf to spell Adrian Gonzalez at first base and function as a right-handed bench bat — or, at least, giving him the chance to unseat Scott Van Slyke in such a role in camp.
Sweeney, too, has some potential uses. The 25-year-old switch-hitter, who originally came to Philadelphia from Los Angeles in the Chase Utley deal, is capable of playing all over. He didn’t hit much in a brief MLB debut in 2016, and struggled last year at Triple-A. But he has shown better at times in the past, even flashing double-digit home run power and real stolen base potential in several separate seasons, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if he found his way onto the Dodgers’ roster at some point. Doing so would mean adding him back to the 40-man, as he had been outrighted by the Phils, but that too increases his appeal at this stage since he won’t occupy a roster spot upon his arrival.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I don’t really see how Howie’s situation has improved with this trade. I would think the Phillies would play Hernandez at second over Howie.
They’re going to deal Hernandez.
I’ve heard the Angels are a suitor for Hernandez
I can’t think of anything the Angels could trade to get a guy who posted a 4.4 fWAR last year…besides Mike Trout obviously
it’ll take some serious trading away from their major league club to rebuild that horrid farm system, cuz if they just try to do it from draft and international that’ll take 5+ years. Their farm is just so damn bad.
This has been ran into ground. We all know the state of their farm system. How about we talk about what it would take to get Hernandez?
I think the point is that there really isn’t much that the Angels could give. I mean maybe Tyler Skaggs or Cam Bedrosian would be a good starting point but that would simply solve one hole by creating a bigger one in the rotation or bullpen.
Farms bad but not that bad….
Ward and Thaiss are looking good and there’s a decent handful of RPs in the system. That’s saying nothing of Jones Marsh Williams and the draft class (#10 overall) this yr. Not a “man the battlestations” situation IMO
Either my phone is jacked up or someone erased his 2016 stats from BR.
Anyways, 3.3 WAR on BR so take your pick. Had quite a season at the plate. Seems like Erick Akbar with the ability to take walks at a good rate.
I’m not sure off top of my head who the Angels could deal, but it also depends on how the Phillies view their prospects. They could always like what they see more than many of us here. It happens.
I’m sure the Angels have at least a few prospects who will grab the Phillies attention. Too much is made out of a shallow system. We’re not talking about prospects required to acquire Mike Trout. We’re talking about Cesar Hernandez. I’m down to trade him, I view him as a sell high. The hope is JP Crawford will be ready to man SS soon at which time you can slide Galvis over to 2B. Worse bat than Cesar in terms of avg/OBP, but much better glove..
he had a good year, moving forward Hernandez is basically an average second baseman.
i dont know anything we want from the angels. get trout add 4 or 5 more in a deal.
That seems counterintuitive for a team that isn’t that far off from contending. They have control of Hernandez for the next four seasons so I don’t see any incentive to dealing him unless they’re absolutely blown away with an offer
Tue, altztab. Hernandez will be worth more to PHL in 2018 and probably beyond than anyone LAA is likely to trade for him.
Yes, Hernandez’ value will never be higher. Bet he’s dealt by midnight.
Maybe they move Franco to 1B and play Howie/Cesar at 2B/3B. Joseph would be the odd man out though
Possible that they are looking into dealing Cesar as well
The Phillies need a LF’er as well. He’s an upgrade over anyone that played that position for them last year.
Yeah. The GM of the Phillies said that Kendrick will play LF
Not familiar with either of these guys we got in return. Anyone help me out here? Is this trade even worth it? I loved Howie! He has a rough year learning a new position but he was a gamer. I’m a little confused by this move but I can only trust management knows what they are doing. I’m hoping we are going to go after Kinsler. If that Darren Rud guy the new Van Slyke? Back up first baseman and possible back up outfielder.
Darin Ruf isn’t exactly the world’s greatest player, but he’s an incredible guy and teammate. Knew him in Nebraska. They are getting a good guy for their organization.
Sweeney was in our farm system and was traded for utley. He’s ok I think. Rupp is the new van slyke basically. Decent power that’s about it. Good that we got rid of howie though. I wanna see this kid Calhoun play!
Darnell Sweeney we actually got from the Dodgers for Utley and Ruf when doing good could be a 15 to 20 homer guy and if given playing time.
Both of them are spare parts. Sweeney probably has the higher upside of the two. Ruf has a lot of power, but not really anything else going for him.
Also, Ruf is an absolutely brutal outfielder. Probably best as a backup 1B and PH
He was only put in the outfield as a place to play. He’s actually the only player in history to win 2 gold gloves at first base in college. If he gets consistent at-bats he can be a 20 homer guy. The majority of his time in Philadelphia was spent listening to Ruben Amaro telling anyone who would listen that he’s not a very good player. I was hoping he would be traded and finally get a chance to get some consistent at bats, not likely with the Dodgers unless there is an injury.
Yup, basically a couple of warm bodies with no obvious role on the Dodgers roster. Maybe they get stuffed into another package to return something really needed, like, say, someone to play 2B.
Well, Sweeney isn’t TOTALLY useless…
On this roster, pretty much.
Ruf is likely a semi platoon partner for AGon. Dodgers can’t afford to suck against lefties again.
That be true.
Howie wasn’t to happy with his playing time. while he did appear in a lot of games, his at bats per game went down. He made it known that he wanted a more consistent role.
Don’t know much about Sweeney, but Ruf is a big power guy who has never been given a legit shot at starting because of Ryan Howard. He has 32 homers over parts of four seasons in the majors (about a full season of at-bats). He broke out and smashed 38 homers in 2012 in AA before getting called up, however, he’s not a prospect as he is 29 years old now. He is a first baseman, but can play some left field. He’s not a good fielder, but makes the plays he should.
If on the roster, his value should be at DH in interleague play and providing pop from the bench with an occasional start. Expect about a .240 average and a fairly high amount of strikeouts, but good power with an outside chance of being a late bloomer.
I would say Van Slyke is a reasonable comparison, but he won’t ever play center field…maybe RF occasionally.
The Dodger FO was prepared to let Howie go last year and only took him back when he signed for considerably less then the qualifying offer. I believe they are absolutely determined to re-sign JT and freeing up these dollars just makes that easier to do. I believe they also have plans to upgrade at 2B and this move freeze up roster space and money for that purpose as well.
Alright, now the off-season is heating up!
Let’s keep it going!
Great trade for the Phillies. 2 bench/role players at best for a serviceable starter. I wonder what the Dodgers rational behind the trade is…
Kendrick told the dodgers he wanted to be traded if they couldn’t assure him a starting role next year, he didn’t want to be a super utility man. I still think they could have gotten more but he had to go
they just got rid of 10 million and did a move they were gonna have to make
Because?
Note the Phillies fans who are happy to get Kendrick and rid themselves of a couple of nonentities.
That’s what I’m wondering. Sweeney was traded away for Utley by this FO so it’s hard to think they have high hopes for him. Ruf fills a utility man need, but isn’t anything special. I understand Howie is aging, had a down year, and wanted out, but I would’ve expected a bit more in return. Ruf isn’t a bad addition, but I don’t really see him returning to anything resembling his output in limited PAs in his age 26 and 27 seasons. The offseason tinkering is far from over though, obviously, so I’ll wait and see how everything shapes up.
I’m guessing power depth and HK’s obvious desire to leave LA. Ruf is a serviceable bench player capable of 1st and LF. Phillies may even be eating a portion of Kendrick’s contract.
I love it!! BYE BYE RUF– WE WON”t MISS YOU
I love Kendrick, provides some stability in the line-up
Omg this perfect, thank god rug is gone ! He is a great guy but insufferable to watch. He looks totally over matched in all of his AB’s. and Sweeney was never something I got excited about. I’ll take howie for those two any day!
good for howie, he gets the role he wants. But the angels need to be on the phone rn with the phillies. cesar hernandez should be our main focus, and i have a feeling eppler is trying to get him.
I was thinking the same thing
Actually he won’t. phillies GM said Kendrick will playing LF. At least for now.
They have IF depth, which is why Hernandez was being talked about a lot even before this trade happened.
That’s the key..for now. No GM in his spot would come out and say “yeah Kendrick is going to be our 2B” with Cesar still on the roster. It would kill his trade leverage. I’m sure teams suspect that’s the case, but to admit it publicly would be a bad move.
Precisely. Howie will play 2B, Cesar be gone.
Makes a lot of sense, especially with Jim Salisbury reporting that they’re shopping Hernandez.
Solid bounce back candidate in my mind given our ballpark and our hole in LF and potential hole at 2nd.
Cesar Hernandez not in the deal, I guess he becomes the utility infielder and blanco is not resigned.
Or Hernandez is traded
Ruf – ..920 OPS vs. lefties. Seems like his numbers are meh because he was used wrong.
That’s more promising. Helpful given LA’s struggles against lefties.
Agreed. Ruf was misused and is a good 1B platoon guy. Not sure that works for the Dodgers though.
Bad trade by the Phillies. They better not trade Hernandez away.
I like the trade for the Phillies. Good stop-gap left fielder to give another year of development to Nick Williams and Dylan Cozens.
Assuming Hernandez isn’t traded this offseason and no other big moves are made, we could be looking at a lineup like this.
1. Cesar Hernandez 2B
2. Odubel Herrera CF
3. Maikel Franco 3B
4. Tommy Joseph 1B
5. Cameron Rupp C
6. Howie Kendrick LF
7. Freddy Galvis SS
8. Aaron Altherr RF
I still think the Phillies get another bat to play right field unless they plan on giving Altherr another shot. Either that or they let Roman Quinn play everyday to start the season which has been discussed actually.
quinn in there batting 2nd if hernandez not gone
With the deferred money on the Kendrick deal, do the Dodgers dump $10MM or $15MM?
$10 it’s a base of 5 so they probably be responsible for second installment of the deferment
i expected both Ruf and Sweeney to be released, or Ruf to go to Japan, so this is a no brainer…
Salary dump for the Dodgers.
Kendrick does probably play outfield due to nobody other than Herrera ready just yet.
Or you could eat his salary and trade Kendrick away for a prospect.
Ruf would hit 50 Homers in Japan unless they hide him on the bench or minors. Last 10 mlb at-bats of 2016 – 3 homers. 654 ml at bats 32 homers. Let the guy play somewhere!
Not sure where your numbers are coming from.
He’s got 35 home runs in 737 at-bats. If you weren’t counting his first year, then he’s got 32 home runs, but it’s in 707 at-bats.
He’s averaging 27.5 HR per 650 plate appearances over his career. And those numbers are distorted, because he’s faced lefties A LOT more often than he would if he played everyday (he’s slugging .542 vs. LHP, .369 vs. RHP).
And he’s been helped a little by Citizens Bank Park too, which is pretty home run friendly. At home, he’s averaging 16.45 AB/HR. On the road, it’s 28.85.
Sure, Ruf is a big dude and can for power, but even if he played an entire season as a regular, I wouldn’t expect more than 20-25 home runs. And he’s not playing everyday for a reason. That home run total isn’t bad, but when you combine it with an inability to hit righties, a .235 average, no speed, awful defense, and high strikeout totals, it’s not a great resume.
Personally, I believe that this is a terrible trade for the Phillies because they gave too much for Kendrick.I like Kendrick but, Darin Ruf was impressive hitting a lot of homeruns when he came to the major.I like the Philadelphia Phillies but to me that was bad trade, hopefully I am wrong.
Ruf has home run power, yes, but he has had his share of opportunities since 2012 to grab a job and he could never do it. As a pinch hitter and occasional spot starter at 1B or LF, he can be valuable. As an everyday player, not so much. Obviously won’t happen in LA.
This. Count me in the group that lobbied for a few years that Ruf deserved more at-bats and a real shot. I’ve now seen enough of him to say he got his shot and is what he is. He could still be a solid platoon bat/PH against lefties or go rake in Japan.
some phils fans said Ruf should have been given more of a shot, but it was never going to happen here. not sure how you can call a trade terrible when you traded 2 guys you were never going to use.
Kendrick can be a disciplined veteran hitter that sets an example for the younger players, unlike Ryan Howard.
Hernandez will be dealt to Angels for an Outfielder, Kendrick is a one year deal man for Second base, The Phillies have a Young Second Baseman in the Minors that they drafted named Kingsley, He’s the long term solution at second base or Freddy Gavis will be moved from Shortstop
Phillies have already confirmed Kendrick will be the everyday left fielder. Scott Kingery is still a year or two away. If J.P Crawford comes up at some point next season then Freddy Galvis would get playing time at second base.
I do think Cesar is going to be traded though.
Dodgers cleared roster spot and $10MM for 2 guys who will play at OKC in 2017. Sweeney could some day make his way on to a ML roster as a utility player, but that is about it.
I’m not sure the Dodgers don’t just DFA both guys. I’m guessing it’s a salary dump.
Seems like an awful lot of nothing going in the opposite directions. So the phillies now are in the market for adding salary, for the sake of adding ? You’re saying you’re in a rebuild then go and either trade for/sign 2 mediocre players ? You’re not the 76ers !!!!! You have cash to spend, STOP taking the cheap and using a rebuild as an excuse ! You need at least 2 good starting pitchers. You have, IMO, a question mark still at 3rd base,1st base and mediocrity at SS. Terrible outfield play and questionable manager, but yet you think it’s appropriate to add 2 30 something players to a rebuilding team. SMH. Hire Sam Hinkie already
they added one. player in his 30’s.
you have the top prospect in AAA at shorstop, Hoskins could be a year away from taking over at 1st base.
Kendrick can play some outfield where you currently have 2 open spots, and some second base. gives you flexibility and a veteran hitter they can use to influence the undisciplined young guys.
Or maybe.. just maybe.. adding a veteran only 2 years removed from a 5 WAR season who fits multiple positional needs is what a team needs to improve? Franco and Joseph are the future at 1B, whether they’re question marks or not. Would you rather have them go sign Luis Valbuena to take over for one of them?
The outfield is actually set up very nicely considering they have a 4 WAR CFer, and 4 top 100 prospects in their farm who are all outfielders (Quinn, Williams, Moniak and Randolph).
Galvis is literally a stopgag, and if you can’t see that, you’re in to the wrong sport. Crawford is the future there.
Asche is also on Roster to play LF or 3B.
Until he gets nontendered in a month..
Asche has no place on this team. He is terrible.
You may be pleasantly surprised with Kendrick, who still has quality ABs and occasional streaks even in a down year and all those veteran qualities on and off the field that the Phillies have acquired lesser players like Francoeur to provide in the past.
This. Kendrick has been a model of consistently average to above average offensive production in his career. Perhaps a little age and a lot of time recovering from injury caught up with him last year but 2016 is not indicative of the player Howie is. Consistent bat, and actually grades well defensively in left, serviceable at 2B as well, even though he’s lost a step or two. Wish him the best in Philly.
they have the worst lineup in baseball outside the padres. it would be ridiculous to spend and give up draft picks to guys with q.o attached to move them up to the 20th worst offense.
stop gaps are important when rebuilding to not start service time clocks before you are ready and for the possibility of acquiring long term value at the deadline.
It may make sense for the Dodgers to either release or trade Scott Van Slyke, since the skill set is somewhat duplicative and he’s eating up a spot on the 40 man roster. Perhaps a move to St. Louis, where he’d serve as a RH pinch hitter and back up 1B to Matt Carpenter.
I believe Van Slyke is out of options, so it may very well be he is a trade candidate. Unfortunately he isn’t a very strong trade candidate having been on the DL most of last season.
Pittsburgh seems like a good landing spot for a Van Slyke.
Cesar Hernandez for Tyler Skaggs could interest both parties
thats funny, the angels are not giving up skaggs, that would hurt the angels more then the phillies
So the Angels are talking about Cesar Hernandez, but literally the only player that would interest the Phillies isnt available? Interesting
.920 ops vs. lefties? Sounds like a good fit to pinch hit and periodically fill in for the aging left-handed Adrian Gonzalez..
Why would the Angels trade one of the core and controllable starter for Hernandez? That will create a big hole in our thin and questionable rotation … If this happens … it will be another MORONIC trade orchestrated by the kakabrainiacs ruining this team
the angels have some low level pitching prospects in the farm I think they could trade for him. But skaggs isn’t going anywhere.
because the Phillies want to move a good young player for middling prospects in a bad system that are years away?
Hernandez will be 27 next year… young is generous. good is also generous. he had babip luck and defensive metrics fluctuate quite a bit year to year, he is not a plus defender there let alone double plus that uzr had him at. he’s an average second basemen for a few years.
My guess says that the Cards GM (MO) will jump all over Hernandez for their vacant CF opening.
Hernandez has played like 10 terrible games in CF in his career. It was a failed experiment
Which is why it’s so genius! Oh wait, no it’s not.
Puzzling trade for the Dodgers. They trade a good second baseman/left fielder for two marginal 40-man-roster pieces. Maybe they think Ruf can be the ultimate pinch hitter???
Except he’s a poor defender with no power making $10 million
I don’t buy the poor defender part. Given a regular position he’d be fine, just as he has been all of his career. Last season was his worst by far offensively and by no means awful, just off his mark of pretty astonishing consistency. Kendrick has always been a pro at hitting to the opposite field and behind runners. It’s becoming a lost art. The only guy on the Dodgers now who seems to get that part of the game is Seager. Anyhow, wouldn’t it be refreshing to see the Dodgers trading for some moving parts they actually need? So far it’s all dunking veterans for loose change.
He’s actually a positive defender in left and only recently slightly below average at 2B with age. It’s only $5MM a year with the deferrals. The Dodgers have spent several times that much on acquiring contracts in salary dumps in the last two years, as well as throwing away $30MM on “prospects” more famous for domestic violence than their baseball ability. So I don’t think that $5MM a year for the next 3 years was burning through the reserves. I’m sure they could’ve gotten more than a guy who is slightly above irrelevant who they traded away a year ago and a guy who is essentially Scott Van Slyke’s now-redundant competition for the 25th roster spot.
How about Hernandez Herrera and 2 or 3 more prospects for trout?
Gonna take a HELL of a lot more than that.
Yeah…Trouts just a dream. I’d love it, but would even Crawford, Velasquez, and Herrera get it started? I’m horrible at trade ideas, but whaddya’ have to give up for the best player in baseball? Financials aside, I’m not even sure how you’d equal it out talent wise. Just a dream.
Trout is a guy you only trade when it is beyond any doubt he won’t re-sign with your team.
Please someone correct me if I’m wrong here. Isn’t Ruf a decent 1bman?the phils dont want Howard back and now they essentially trade his replacement? Whose gonna play first for Philly?
Tommy Joseph.
I don’t see how Howie Kendrick would be an upgrade at second base for the Phillies. His skills are diminishing. He didn’t have a good offensive year. Hernandez has had 2 solid years offensively. I’ve heard talk that the Phils want to have more plate discipline. Hernadez was one of the few Phillies who actually took walks. Hernandez is a better option. As for the option of starting Crawford at short & re-signing Galvis & moving to second, I don’t think Crawford will be ready to start the season in the majors. He struggled offensively in AAA & also had some fielding issues. The Phillies shouldn’t actively shop Hernandez. If some team comes in with an offer that is too good to pass up, fine. Otherwise, they would do well to keep him for this season
Kendrick slides into LF where he graded out positively defensively this year. Galvis switches to second where some think he is even better defensively. Hernandez gets shipped out for a nice cache of prospects selling high on a solid 2016 campaign. Finally, J.P. Crawford slides into SS for a full season.
You get better defensively, your overall obp will improve even with the loss of Cesar, and you gain a more consistent lineup with more power.
The Dodgers could use the Reds Phillips at second. Has one one year left on contract, good ‘D’, good hitting, and is right handed. AND would not cost much, as they are in re build..