Phillies Rumors

Phillies Release Mike Fontenot

By Zachary Links | August 5, 2012 at 12:41pm CDT

The Phillies announced that they have released infielder Mike Fontenot. The club designated Fontenot for assignment on August 1.

Fontenot, 32, hit .289/.343/.340 in 105 plate appearances this year for the Phillies. The veteran signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in April and split time between second and third base in 2012. For his career, Fontenot owns a .265/.332/.401 slash line in seven seasons with the Cubs, Giants, and Phillies.

Quick Hits: Lee, Dodgers, Gonzalez, Twins

By Zachary Links | August 5, 2012 at 12:15pm CDT

Yesterday, I asked if the Phillies should let Cliff Lee and his hefty contract to go to the Dodgers after they were awarded claiming rights on him and nearly 68% of MLBTR readers voted yes. In today's column, Buster Olney of ESPN.com talks with a high-ranking rival official who calls the decision a "no-brainer". Even though Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has until 12pm CDT to move Lee, he maintains that the left-hander is staying put. Here's more from around baseball..

The Dodgers' interest in Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez didn't advance very far as they weren't interested in giving up notable prospects or impact major leaguers, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB.com.
Twins assistant GM Rob Antony doesn't anticipate the club making a waiver deal in August, writes Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. The Twins were active this time last year as they traded Delmon Young to Detroit and Jim Thome to Cleveland.
If Chris Parmelee is capable of posting a reasonable .270/.340/.430 slash line next year, Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) suggests that the Twins should consider moving Justin Morneau for a starter.

Cafardo On Bourn, Red Sox, Ellsbury, Youkilis

By Zachary Links | August 5, 2012 at 9:09am CDT

In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at players who are candidates to be put on waivers. Big names (and contracts) such as Jayson Werth, Alfonso Soriano, and Vernon Wells top the list but, of course, being put on waivers hardly guarantees a player's exit from his respective team. Here's more from Cafardo..

Michael Bourn could be a free agent target of the Phillies after dealing Shane Victorino. Other likely targets could be Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox, Denard Span of the Twins, or the Angels’ Peter Bourjos. John Mayberry Jr. is getting a chance but the Phillies seek a dynamic player.
Ellsbury was upset that his name was included in trade rumors with the Rangers, according to a source. Ellsbury is said to like playing for Bobby Valentine and the feeling is that he'd like to remain with the Red Sox.
The White Sox like Kevin Youkilis, but probably not enough to pick up his $13MM option for 2013, according to one club official. The White Sox are content with him as a rental as they didn’t give up much to get him.
The Red Sox and Rangers discussed Ellsbury and others before the deadline but Josh Hamilton's name never came up in talks.
The Brewers' interest in catcher Kelly Shoppach was considerable after they had designated George Kottaras for assignment. The Red Sox pushed fellow catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and will offer him around again if Ryan Lavarnway shows he can handle the staff and hits well.
The Astros could be the one and only managerial opening for the coming season, unless the Phillies part ways with Charlie Manuel.

Poll: Should The Phillies Let Cliff Lee Go?

By Zachary Links | August 4, 2012 at 1:54pm CDT

Last night, the Dodgers were awarded claiming rights on Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee after the nine other National League clubs with worse records declined. By claiming Lee, the Dodgers opened themselves up to the possibility of either trading for the left-hander or being assigned his contract which would saddle them with roughly $95MM in future commitments. The struggling Phillies could help kickstart their rebuilding effort and slim down their bloated payroll by letting Lee go out west, but as it stands it doesn't seem like Ruben Amaro Jr. wants to consider it. "It's irrelevant. [Lee] is not going anywhere," said the GM.

It's not hard to understand why the Phillies would be reluctant to let Lee go. The soon-to-be 34-year-old has been a bright spot for the club this year, posting a 3.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 18 starts. While his performance may not put him near the top in Cy Young voting this year as it did in 2011, there's no denying that Lee is still going strong and could help anchor the Phillies' rotation in 2013 and beyond.

However, Lee's contract calls for him to make $21.5MM in 2012 and $25MM per season through 2015. The committment could also extend through 2016 as he has a $27.5MM vesting option with a $12.5MM buyout. The Phillies stretched their payroll to retain Cole Hamels to a six-year (or, potentially seven-year) extension and wiping Lee's salary from the books would help restore some flexibility.

Quick Hits: Sheets, Braves, Phillies, Royals

By Zachary Links | August 4, 2012 at 12:19pm CDT

Saturday afternoon linkage..

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recaps the unusual story of how Ben Sheets wound up hooking on with the Braves. The 34-year-old, who had interest from a number of clubs, told Rosenthal that the situation in Atlanta fit him perfectly even though the offer wasn't necessarily the best. The veteran prefers the National League, likes the pitcher's advantage in Turner Field, and enjoys the humidity of the Southeast. Sheets' deal is for the prorated portion of $2.25MM and includes up to $1.4MM in incentives.
While Ruben Amaro Jr. & Co. are staying positive about the 2012 season, the Phillies should be making moves with 2013 and beyond in mind, opines Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
We could see familiar August trade subjects such as Jeff Francoeur go through the process once more this year, writes Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. Other top candidates to be moved include Carlos Lee of the Marlins, Jose Lopez of the Indians, and Scott Hairston of the Mets.
Dominican third baseman Juan Carlos Arias failed his age investigation, a major league source told Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 6-foot-3, 220 pound prospect stood out for his raw power and strength but will now have to wait until June 12, 2013 to sign.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Suzuki, Bell, Bay

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2012 at 9:58pm CDT

The Braves became the latest team to beat the struggling Astros tonight, winning a 4-1 result on the back of 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball from Tim Hudson. With the Braves' win and the Nationals' split of a double-header with the Marlins today, Washington is only two games up on Atlanta in the NL East. Here's the latest from around the division…

With the Phillies looking to keep payroll under the luxury tax threshold, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News looked at Reed Johnson, Jonny Gomes and Scott Hairston as right-handed hitting free agents who could be paired with lefty bat Nate Schierholtz for a productive outfield platoon that would come at a much cheaper cost than what the Phillies would have paid Hunter Pence in 2013.
The Nationals don't see new catcher Kurt Suzuki as a "rental," GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including CSN Washington's Mark Zuckerman). Suzuki is under contract through 2013 and the Nats plan to keep him along with regular catcher Wilson Ramos, who will be recovered from a torn ACL suffered in May.
Fangraphs' Eric Seidman looks at how a Jason Bay for Heath Bell/John Buck trade would benefit both the Marlins and Mets in terms of salary relief and filling lineup holes. The two clubs had some discussions before the trade deadline about such a deal, though talks went nowhere at the time.

Dodgers Awarded Claiming Rights On Cliff Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2012 at 8:43pm CDT

8:43pm: Ruben Amaro didn't confirm or deny the reports of the Dodgers' claim on Lee to the media (including MLB.com's Paul Hagen) but said "It's irrelevant. [Lee] is not going anywhere."

5:16pm: The Dodgers were awarded Lee's claiming rights, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. This means that all NL teams with a record worse than the Dodgers' 56-50 mark (every NL team except the Reds, Nationals, Pirates, Braves, Giants and Cardinals) first passed on Lee.

5:06pm: The Phillies don't see a trade as very likely, reports Jon Heyman. The Phils also aren't likely to just let Lee leave to the claiming team without getting anything back in return.

3:46pm: Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee has been claimed on waivers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The Phillies can now pull Lee back off of waivers, assign his contract to the team that won the claim, or work a trade out with the claiming team. Lee can block trades and claims to 21 teams, which could limit the Phillies' flexibility, depending on the identity of the claiming team.

The team(s) that claimed Lee showed a willingness to take on approximately $95MM in future commitments. Lee earns $21.5MM in 2012 and $25MM per season through 2015. His contract includes a $27.5MM vesting option for 2016 with a $12.5MM buyout. If the Phillies can assign Lee to the claiming team without his permission, they will now have to decide whether they value Lee's performance more than the flexibility they'd obtain by letting him go. If multiple teams claimed Lee, National League teams have priority over American League teams.

Lee, who turns 34 this month, has a 3.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings so far this year. He has averaged seven innings per start and contributed 2.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

The Red Sox didn't claim Lee, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). More than 58% of 14,000 MLBTR readers correctly predicted that Lee would be claimed.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Dodgers Acquire Joe Blanton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2012 at 3:33pm CDT

The Dodgers acquired Joe Blanton from the Phillies for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Phillies announced. The Dodgers claimed Blanton off of waivers, according to the Phillies, who have called up right-hander B.J. Rosenberg in a related move.

Blanton has a 4.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 1.2 BB/9 and a 43.9% ground ball rate in 133 1/3 innings for the Phillies this year. The 31-year-old earns $8.5MM — $2.8MM between now and the end of the season — and is set to hit free agency this fall. The Dodgers will be responsible for Blanton's remaining salary, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter).

Every National League team but the Giants, Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, Braves and Nationals appears to have passed on the chance to claim Blanton. He drew interest from the Orioles from leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but Baltimore was reluctant to match Philadelphia's asking price.

Blanton joins a rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Chad Billingsley. Stephen Fife figures to lose his rotation spot in the short term, and another pitcher could be bumped from the starting five when the team activates Ted Lilly from the disabled list. The Dodgers attempted to acquire pitching depth leading up to the trade deadline, when they were rumored to have interest in Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza, among others.

Heyman On Cliff Lee, Carlos Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2012 at 1:10pm CDT

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has the latest on a pair of August trade candidates…

MLB executives say they don’t expect Cliff Lee to be claimed by this afternoon, the deadline for clubs to submit a waiver claim on the left-hander. However, one AL exec said someone might claim him since many teams are short on pitching. The Dodgers seem like the most likely candidate to claim Lee, according to the executives Heyman surveyed.
Lee could prevent the Phillies from assigning his contract to any one of the 21 teams on his no-trade list if he is claimed on waivers, Heyman adds. Approximately 59% of 12,000 MLBTR readers expect Lee to be claimed.
The Yankees agreed to pay the Marlins $1MM in exchange for Carlos Lee before the trade deadline, but Lee blocked the deal as Jayson Stark reported this week. The Marlins tried to get $2.5MM from the Orioles for Lee, Heyman reports. However, the Orioles declined the offer (it’s unclear if the Orioles are on Lee’s 14-team no-trade list).
The Astros are paying Lee all but the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary, so the Marlins would have turned a profit had they completed a deal with either AL East team. Lee, who is now on waivers, could be traded in August.

Olney On Dempster, Athletics, Lee, Castro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2012 at 11:23am CDT

At least one baseball person wonders if Ryan Dempster hurt his free agent stock by agreeing to join the Rangers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. The American League, referred to by one general manager as "the big boy league," features some high-powered offenses that could have impact Dempster’s numbers and diminish his leverage in offseason contract talks. Here are more notes from Olney…

The Dodgers were interested in Dempster, but they never pushed for him, Olney reports. The Dodgers didn’t want to trade from their core of good prospects and they didn’t waver when the Cubs asked about their top minor leaguers.
Olney suggests teams like the Red Sox and Orioles could have interest in Brandon McCarthy if the Athletics place him on waivers when he returns from the disabled list.
Before the trade deadline, the Phillies made it clear that they would not pick up any of Cliff Lee’s salary in a trade and would also want prospects in return for the left-hander. Olney suggests it’s highly unlikely Lee will be moved in a waiver deal this month.
Starlin Castro’s name came up in conversations between the Cubs and Diamondbacks leading up to the trade deadline, Olney writes. However, both sides moved on quickly and a deal was never close.
Olney wonders if the Nationals could pursue in Derek Lowe given their interest in adding pitching leading up to the trade deadline.

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