Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Phillies Rumors

Scott Eyre Considering Retirement

By | at

According to Scott Lauber of The Wilmington Journal, 37-year-old reliever Scott Eyre is considering retiring after this season.

Eyre was diagnosed with a "loose body" in his left elbow earlier this week and plans to undergo surgery in the offseason to repair it.  If his rehab doesn't run smoothly, he's likely to hang up the cleats.  Eyre has posted an impressive 1.61 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 28 innings out of the Phillies' bullpen this year, holding left-handed hitters to a .207 batting average.

He has a 4.24 career ERA, 1.52 WHIP and four saves over 12 major league seasons.

Did Soriano Contract Help Phillies Win World Series?

By | at

Following the '06 season, the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136MM contract. Among the teams interested in Soriano at the time were the Phillies.

Paul Hagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks back at that off-season and suggests that the non-signing allowed the Phillies to build the team that ultimately won the World Series.

The rumor was that the Phillies might be willing to consider a deal in the $100 million range…While there's no way of knowing exactly how the script might have played out had Soriano chosen red pinstripes, one thing can be said with absolute certainty: The money that would have been funneled to him would not have been available to spend elsewhere…Since then, they've tied up Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Brett Myers and Cole Hamels with multiyear deals. They made midseason trades that added significant contracts for Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton and Kyle Lohse. They increased the payroll when they acquired Brad Lidge…They've signed free agents (Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, Chan Ho Park) to plug holes. They've been able to keep virtually every potential free agent and arbitration-eligible player they've wanted to.

Hagan makes a strong case. However, it should be noted that the best offer the Phillies reportedly made to Soriano was for only $73MM.

Odds & Ends: Rays, Phillies, Indians

By | at

A few more evening links….

  • Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes that the arrival of Reid Brignac in Tampa Bay could lead to the Rays buying out Akinori Iwamura's option this offseason. The $4.25MM 2010 option can be bought out for $250k. Chastain suggests that the emergence of Ben Zobrist and the recent strong play of Brignac could make Iwamura expendable.
  • Todd Zolecki of MLB.com passes on news of Phillies' minor league players of the year Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor being honored before Tuesday's game against Washington. Given the Phillies' talent and depth on the major league level, Zolecki predicts that both prospects will start 2010 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Like Ryan Howard before him, Taylor has his path to the major league roster blocked by veterans with bigger contracts. Howard eventually took advantage of a Jim Thome injury and excelled in Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see if Taylor and Drabek, who were so coveted at this year's trade deadline, will earn similar opportunities in 2010.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer blogs about a few former Phillies prospects, expressing some concern about the Indians' haul in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.

Odds & Ends: Rios, Hardy, Knapp

By | at

A couple more links as the day winds down…

  • According to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune, one scout called Alex Rios "a teaser," and that he's the kind of the guy that "can get you fired." Kenny Williams sure hopes that's not the case.
  • Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider explains why the Mariners should go after J.J. Hardy. Something tells me we'll see quite a few more posts like this.
  • Jason Knapp, one of the prospects the Indians acquired for Cliff Lee, will have arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder to remove "loose bodies," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. GM Mark Shapiro says they will not file a grievance.

Phillies Release Rodrigo Lopez; A’s Interested

By | at

3:41pm: The A's have some interest in Lopez for the season's final few weeks, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

9:57am: The Phillies released pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (via Twitter).  The 34 year-old righty tallied 30 innings, posting a 5.70 ERA and 19 strikeouts against 11 walks.  He was solid in his five starts, with a 3.62 ERA.  Lopez was bumped from the rotation when the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee.

Prior to his stint in the bigs, Lopez showed sparkling control en route to a 4.31 ERA in 18 Triple A starts.  The Scott Boras client had Tommy John surgery in late '07 and had a minor league stint with the Braves in '08 before signing with the Phillies in March of this year.

Victorino Wants To Remain A Phillie Long-Term

By | at

Shane Victorino, a rare two time Rule 5 Draftee, has "said that he has a strong desire to remain with the Phillies long-term," according to Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Flyin' Hawaiian recently switched agents, moving from the Beverly Hills Sports Council to New York-based Seth and Sam Levinson, but said the decision came down to the "vibe" he got from the Levinsons, not necessarily the desire to secure a long term contract.

“I want to play here,” he said. “I don’t want to go anywhere. If I have to take one year deals the next few years, that’s fine.”

Victorino, 28, avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $3MM contract before the season. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him, so he won't become a free agent until after the 2011 season at the earliest. An All Star for the first time this year, Victorino is hitting a stout .299/.367/.456, but his -9.8 UZR/150 defensive rating is near the bottom of the league among centerfielders.

Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley

By | at

The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
  • Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
  • The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
  • Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro.  He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
  • Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest.  The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
  • Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley.  One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money.  I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction.  But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?

Odds & Ends: Astros, Royals, Abreu

By | at

Let's kick off the day with links…

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Peavy, Nelson

By | at

Links for Thursday…

Odds and Ends: Nomar, Astros, Kazmir

By | at

A few links to get the evening started…

  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Phillies are still "mildly following" Nomar Garciaparra. Though Nomar would not be eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia, he might provide some depth down the stretch.
  • Astros owner Drayton McLane "has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball," according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Justice posits that the axe might drop on someone new during the Astros' off day tomorrow. 
  • The Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster talked to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who argued that the team's trade of Scott Kazmir was "not a salary dump" but "a reallocation of resources."
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top