2012-2013 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Ben Grimm]

Here are the current OFers with the possiblity of another one added either via trade or free agency.

Revere (LH)
Inciarte (LH)
Ruf (RH)
Mayberry (RH)
Brown (LH)
Nix (LH)

Who'll be the odd man (men) out? I think the only thing possibly saving Mayberry is there are few options when it comes to RH hitters on this team. Nix is hanging on only because he has a guaranteed contract, but isn't needed at 1B anymore with Ryan coming back. Brown's in limbo IMO - if the Phils decide to hang onto Nix, he could be moved. Ruf should go down to AAA, but fans want to see him play and he can give some 1B relief so Howard can rest. I think Rule V pick Inciarte will actually stay on the roster. He adds speed off the bench and can be a late-inning defensive replacement in one of the corners.

We'll have to see who (if anybody) is signed/traded for to play RF or LF to get a better idea.

[Ben Grimm]

Michael Young deal could be approved as early as today. Josh Lindblom and a prospect are thought to be sent to Texas while the Rangers will be eating approximately $10M of Young's salary. The saved $5M or so from their payroll will likely be used in their persuit of Zach Greinke.

[Ben Grimm]

Jeff Wilson‏@JeffWilson_FWST

#Rangers expect Michael Young decision today on trade. Source says club not sure how he's leaning. He knows trade is best for career.

[Ben Grimm]

Bob Brookover's reporting that Michael Young will accept the trade, but there's still some financial details holding things up.

[bluesky5]

Michael Young deal could be approved as early as today. Josh Lindblom and a prospect are thought to be sent to Texas while the Rangers will be eating approximately $10M of Young's salary. The saved $5M or so from their payroll will likely be used in their persuit of Zach Greinke.

Halladay, Lee, Hamels, maybe Greinke. Wow! I would never doubt Amaro again if he pulled that off.

[Ben Grimm]

Halladay, Lee, Hamels, mabybe Greinke. Wow! I would never doubt Amaro again if he pulled that off.

IMO, that would not be a wise move for this team. Pitching isn't the problem and so much money and years are tied up in it, I just don't see that happening. I'm thinking more in the likes of Edwin Jackson or somebody like that.

Greinke, IMO is also not a good fit on the east coast. He had anxiety issues in the past, and there's much more fan pressure along the corridor here than anywhere else. I don't see him going to any team this side of the Mississippi any time soon.

[Ben Grimm]

Bob Nightengale‏@BNightengale

Breaking: The #Phillies deal is done. They get third baseman Michael Young from #Texas

Young also told #Phillies in negotiations that he did not want an extension #rangers

Okay, so here's the financial hold-up. It came down to how much it would cost for him to drop his NTC. Ends up he get $1.2M to agree to trade.

[Ben Grimm]

Texas received RHPs Josh Lindblom (who the Phils acquired in the Victorino trade) and Lisalverto Bonilla. Bonilla posted a 1.55 ERA while striking out 64 over 46 1/3 innings between High- and Double-A last year.

[philliesfiend55]

Phillies fans have been saying for years that the team needed to get YOUNG(er), but I don't today's trade is what they had in mind.

[philliesfiend55]

lOOKS LIKE THERE COULD BE SOME SIGNIFICANT TURNOVER HEADING INTO NEXT SEASON.

New Acquisitions since the end of the 2012 regular season.

Humberto Quintero (C)
Josh Fields (3B) ( Minor league contract).
Ben Revere (OF)
Ender Inciarte (OF)
Michael Young (3B)
Mike Adams (RP) (12/15/12)

Minor Leaguers Added to 40 Man Roster
Zach Collier (OF)
Jon Pettibone (P)
Ethan Martin (P)


Won't Be Back in 2013

Tyson Brummett (P)
Nate Schierholtz (OF)
Josh Lindblom (P)
Vance Worley (P)
sTEVEN lERUD (c)
bRIAN sCHNEIDER (c)
jUAN pIERRE (of)
dAVID hERNDON (p)
pETE oRR (inf)
jOSE cONTRERAS (p)
jASON pRIDIE (of)
tY wIGGINTON (inf-of)

Top Minor LeaguerS hEADING TO oTHER oRGANIZATIONSs
Trevor May (P)
Lialverto BonaillA (p)

[Ben Grimm]

Some crafty use of the Shift key there.

[philliesfiend55]

Some crafty use of the Shift key there.

Crafty or CRAFTLESS? (If there is such a word).

[Ben Grimm]

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Phillies and Indians were discussing a trade...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Things move fast in the off-season. Just ask the Indians and Phillies.

Before the start of the winter meetings last week in Nashville, the two teams were talking about a trade that would have sent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to Philadelphia for right-hander Vance Worley and prospects.

The rest of the article can be found <<HERE>>.

% -- % -- % -- % -- %

The idea was to put Cabrera at 3B. Asdrubal signed a two year extension back in April that pays him $16.5M thru 2014. After that, he can become a free agent. Here are his averages over the past two seasons:

.272 AVG / .778 OPS, (118 OPS+), 20 HR / 80 RBI / 13 SB

Very solid. I believe he's 26-27 years old and if he played well, could even be extended once again while also making Asche and/or Franco possible trade chips. Then again, if this deal did happen, CF would likely still be a hole as the Phils wouldn't have enough available for Revere.

[philliesfiend55]

The Phillies supposedly (based on what i read on another fans website) have made a solid offer for Ichiro. This may force the Yankees to offer him a Two Year contract, not the current offer of One Year with a Vesting Option for a SECOND YEAR based ON FIRST YEAR PERFORMANCE. AT MINIMUM, THIS WOULD FORCE most teams' nemesis, the Yankees, to remain a bit older for two years,stalling any potential NYY youth movement, and they are already among the two or three oldest teams in the majors now).

[Ben Grimm]

The Phillies supposedly (based on what i read on another fans website) have made a solid offer for Ichiro. This may force the Yankees to offer him a Two Year contract, not the current offer of One Year with a Vesting Option for a SECOND YEAR based ON FIRST YEAR PERFORMANCE. AT MINIMUM, THIS WOULD FORCE most teams' nemesis, the Yankees, to remain a bit older for two years,stalling any potential NYY youth movement, and they are already among the two or three oldest teams in the majors now).

Rosenthal's been saying the deal for Ichiro is basically done in NY. It's anywhere from a one-year, a one-year with an option, or a two-year deal. The Yankees will also be (supposedly) signing a platoon-type RH hitting OFer because all three of their outfielders are LHed.

[philliesfiend55]

I saw several articles about the feeler the Phillies put out about obtaining Asdrubal Cabrera but the Indian I really would have liked to see the Phillies pursue was Shin-Soo Choo who instead was traded to Cincinnati. However, with his contract expiring now with the Reds after 2013, he could still be a Phillie by 2014.
My mini-scouting report on Choo would include: Very good fundamentals defensively in the field. Can play Center or Right. One of the best Outfield throwing Arms now In the Majors. A solid offensive contributor capable of 20/75/.300 seasons. .290 lifetime hitter. Can bat leadoff, second or third. A relatively young 30. Has very good Work & Practice habits. There is a lot to like about him
Besides, obtaining Cabrera would have blocked Cody Asche's path to the majors. If Asche isn't ready to be a full-time starter by 2014, they can try to bring back Michael Young for a second year at a reduced rate or have both Young and Asche on the major league roster to split 3B duties to start 2014.

[Ben Grimm]

I would have liked to see the Phillies pursue Shin-Soo Choo, but with his contract expiring now with the Reds after 2013, he could still be a Phillie by 2014.
My mini-scouting report on Choo would include: Very good fundamentals defensively in the field. Can play Center or Right. One of the best Outfield throwing Arms now In the Majors. A solid offensive contributor capable of 20/75/.300 seasons. .290 lifetime hitter. Can bat leadoff, second or third. A relatively young 30. Has very good Work & Practice habits. There is a lot to like about him.

Yep. He's very solid. I'm not sure he can play CF all that well, but he'd fit nicely here in RF. His OB% is his most attractive asset offensively as he knows how to get on base. The Reds really made out getting him to replace Stubbs and their .254 OB% from their leadoff spot last year.

EDIT: As for getting him next year, good luck Ruben. Choo is a Boras client after all.

[philliesfiend55]

Rosenthal's been saying the deal for Ichiro is basically done in NY. It's anywhere from a one-year, a one-year with an option, or a two-year deal. The Yankees will also be (supposedly) signing a platoon-type RH hitting OFer because all three of their outfielders are LHed.

You can't platoon Ichiro. Besides,his numbers significantly improved after he was dealt to the Yankees. After joining the Yankees he started having multiple-hit games and started looking like the "Ichiro of old". He might just be another Jeter - one of those few age-defying players that continue to have big years long after the SABR-metrics say they should have been declining.

[Ben Grimm]

What kind of offer would you feel comfortable with the Phillies offering in dollars and years?

[Ben Grimm]

Hamilton signed with the Halos for 5 years at $125M. Free agent pool is that much thinner now, and Cleveland is said to be pushing hard on Swisher to replace Choo. Cody Ross... I'm not a big fan.

[Ben Grimm]

According to Matt Gelb, the Phillies offered Ichiro Suzuki 2 years at $14M. That would have been brutal. Thank you Yankees for upping your original offer. Over his past three seasons, Ichiro's struck out more, walked less and even what power he sort of had has dwindled. A proud owner of a .326 OB% the past three seasons. When he's not getting on base, he's virtually useless. Oh yeah - and he's already 39 years old.

[Ben Grimm]

These guys on WIP are moronic for the most part, but one of them equated signing Cody Ross as a free agent to getting socks for Christmas. I totally agree with that.

[Ben Grimm]

And after I say I agree with something said by a WIP dope, he comes right back in a telephone interview with Ben Revere telling him he has to go all out - all the time. Haven't fans (and even worse, radio personalities) realized this isn't football? This town loved that Aaron Rowand went all out. How did that fare? Chase Utley plays "110%" every play. How's he holding up? I really, really thought this city would get that there's a baseball mentality and a football mentality and both are completely different. Apparently not.

[bluesky5]

Radio personalities are THE worst, in my opinion.

Cody Ross is worse than socks. He is a lump of coal. He hasn't been connected to the Phils [that I'm aware of]. Why would the Phils sign him though? After that crap he pulled in 2010. He had no business hitting like that in the NLCS. It's just the kind of move a team would make in this day and age though.

I freaking hate Cody Ross.

[philliesfiend55]

According to Matt Gelb, the Phillies offered Ichiro Suzuki 2 years at $14M. That would have been brutal. Thank you Yankees for upping your original offer. Over his past three seasons, Ichiro's struck out more, walked less and even what power he sort of had has dwindled. A proud owner of a .326 OB% the past three seasons. When he's not getting on base, he's virtually useless. Oh yeah - and he's already 39 years old.

I think that even if the Phillies offered $16 or $17 million for two years, as long as the Yankees were within $2or 3 million of that figure Ichiro would have returned to the Yankees. His heart was set on it.