Player Decisions This Offseason

[Ben Grimm]

We all know what the Phillies are lacking right now, and 80% of it is with the offense.

There will be some questions the FO will need to answer considering certain players on the current roster. With the dearth of FA 3B options this winter the Phils may be forced to pick up a current player's option or work a trade with somebody. It's a very thin position, and as we heard the past three weeks, a player like Chase Headley would cost a heavy package.

At 3B, the Phillies have a few options - though none of them are all that enticing.

1) They can pick up Polanco's option for 2013 ($5.5M) - his buyout is $1M
2) They can pick up Wigginton's option for 2013 ($4M) - his buyout is $500K
3) They can let both go for $1.5M and go with somebody like Martinez or Galvis there

Like I said, not much there. Considering there are no definite options within the system for the next two years at least, a trade may be the most viable answer.

At catcher, Carlos Ruiz's contract expires this year with a $5M 2013 option or a $500K buyout. Schneider's as good as gone since his contract expires and he's simply not work re-signing. Sebastian Valle's been promoted to AAA with the addition of Tommy Joseph (from the Pence trade) playing in AA Reading. There are also 1-2 others in lower levels who've looked impressive but are far off.

I'm not sure what they'll do with Ruiz. Personally, I'd buyout his option and call up Valle as his backup next year. Chooch is a nice player and fan favorite, but an extension would be paying him from his 34-36 years. Not a wise choice IMO - especially after seeing what Molina (St Louis) got paid. Valle's had issues with pitch recognition at the plate, but should be okay as a backup playing once a week or so. If the Phils are as high as they say they are with Joseph, let him start in Lehigh Valley with the thinking he'll be the starter in 2014.

Newly-acquired Nate Schierholtz will be hitting his second time in arbitration. He's currently making $1.3M this year, and a conservative estimate would be about $2.5M next season. It's not much money, but I simply think he's already peaked. He's another LH bat - something the Phillies already have plenty of in the OF since Dom Brown will be looked at to start and there's still Laynce Nix (who's a cheaper option). IMO, he's a trade candidate since a few teams will like that he's cost-controlled for a few more seasons. I just don't think he'll be good enough to warrant a bump to $4M or so in 2014, so I'd rather see him moved sooner than later.

Another option for the outfield is Juan Pierre. He's played well this year and certainly won't cost much - but he is again another LH hitter.

Two names that have been tossed around for the Phillies to go after this offseason are Scott Hairston and Cody Ross. Both are experienced and both bring a RH bat with moderate power to offset all the lefties.

A cheap way to work the outfield may be:

LF: Pierre / Mayberry platoon
CF: Brown
RF: Ross / Schierholtz platoon

Nix will be bench depth and possible 1B help to give Ryan Howard a day off here and there.

One thing that Ruben Amaro stressed last weekend was the importance of having some RH power to balance out the lineup. Then he moved Hunter Pence a few days later. Currently, the Phillies have no guaranteed power from that side. We cannot expect Ruiz to duplicate his 2012 season that came out of nowhere as a 33 year old. We've seen the struggles of Mayberry. The addition of somebody like Ross would help, but is he really a #5 hitter in a decent lineup?

I like BJ Upton's upside and am a bit worried about Michael Bourn's necessity of his legs as he's in his 30s. One guy I'd consider - who'd come cheaper - would be Delmon Young. He was looked at as a future AS type outfielder after he was drafted, and showed a glimpse of what he can do in 2010. He might be one of those younger players that Charlie can take under his wing and produce at a high level compared to cost - much like Jason Werth did while he was in Philly.

I guess the question marks can go on and on since there's still the back of the rotation and the bullpen. But it's definitely going to be an interesting offseason, and the first in a few years where Amaro won't simply have an open checkbook with the payroll/tax issues looming once again next year.

[Ben Grimm]

At catcher, Carlos Ruiz's contract expires this year with a $5M 2013 option or a $500K buyout. Schneider's as good as gone since his contract expires and he's simply not work re-signing. Sebastian Valle's been promoted to AAA with the addition of Tommy Joseph (from the Pence trade) playing in AA Reading. There are also 1-2 others in lower levels who've looked impressive but are far off.

I'm not sure what they'll do with Ruiz. Personally, I'd buyout his option and call up Valle as his backup next year. Chooch is a nice player and fan favorite, but an extension would be paying him from his 34-36 years. Not a wise choice IMO - especially after seeing what Molina (St Louis) got paid. Valle's had issues with pitch recognition at the plate, but should be okay as a backup playing once a week or so. If the Phils are as high as they say they are with Joseph, let him start in Lehigh Valley with the thinking he'll be the starter in 2014.

Somehow, I forgot about Erik Kratz as an option. I think it would be the best option for next year actually. He's got more experience behind the plate than the others, and this would allow those in the system to gain one more year of needed seasoning. For a back-up catcher, teams normally look into the bargain basement for a backup so this would be a better option than spending nearly $1M on a FA who'll get marginal playing time.

The Phillies should also consider using one of these catchers as a trade chip. Teams are always looking for catching talent, so it'd be wise for the Phils to figure out who they really want to keep and who they feel can be moved - whether for help at the ML level or to fill a position of need in the minors who'll be ready in a year or two. This was one of my biggest disappointments over the past three years. The Phillies were loaded with 1B/DH types in the upper levels all blocked by Ryan Howard. IMO, at least one or two should have been moved for 2B/SS/3B/OF depth in the system. As it was, even as long as Ryan was out this season, none were once called up - which tells me the Phillies don't see a future in them. Now they're all hitting the 24-26 year old mark and will end up AAAA fodder for the most part.

With the catchers, one or two of Joseph (who i think they'll keep), Valle, Rupp or Astudillo should be unloaded along with maybe a pitcher or two to upgrade areas of high need and importance for the next coming seasons.

I may be the only person in this town who thinks that Tyler Cloyd should be traded while his value may be at its very highest point. Tyler is currently 14-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 22 starts between Reading and Lehigh. Very impressive. But the 96 Ks in 141.1 innings does very little for me. Because of his low strikeout totals, he looks to me to be someone between Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley at the ML level. There will be a few teams out there who'll see the win total and low ERA and be willing to maybe overpay. I'd do it as soon as possible - especially since Tyler's already 25 years old.

Trevor May is also a pitcher the Phillies might be willing to move. He's struggled this season in Reading to a tune of 5.00 ERA so far. Wildness has been the issue as he's carrying a 5.1 BB / 9IP. He's been getting himself in bad counts and then gets forced to throw fastball strikes which has led to his 20 HRs given up this year.

I like May because I like high strike out pitchers. And May still carries that this year with 114 Ks in 117 IP. Teams will always trade for a hard-throwing arm too, feeling that they can fix the issues.

[Ben Grimm]

Nate Schierholtz played CF for the first time in his career last night and Dom Brown made his first start of the year in RF. Charlie clearly wants to see what his best options are and we'll likely see rotations the rest of the way. There's also a chance we're seeing 2013's 3B in Kevin Frandsen. He's basically played there every day since being called up. I don't think he'll be a very good player there over a full season, but it would free the Phillies up from spending $4-$5.5M on either Wigginton's or Polanco's option. IF Frandsen can simply hold his own, he'll be okay as a #8 hitter, but he needs to be a bit more consistent with the glove. Kratz is looking more and more to be next year's back-up catcher, which I prefer much more than spending $1M on a veteran backup.

Manuel said last night that Kyle Kendrick will stay in the rotation for now. I wouldn't expect to see Cloyd up until September - possibly as late as mid-September if they leave him down there for the Pigs playoffs.

[philliesfiend55]

The Phillies have coveted 3B Chase Headley for more than a year (as soon as Polanco started to have health problems last year). He could be a trade target this offseason, but since he's having his best HR & RBI year he will not come cheaply.

[Ben Grimm]

The Phillies have coveted 3B Chase Headley for more than a year (as soon as Polanco started to have health problems last year). He could be a trade target this offseason, but since he's having his best HR & RBI year he will not come cheaply.

Multiple teams have inquired about Headley during the deadline with the most common response being that the Padres' price was too high. I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt this offseason, but yes - he will cost quite a bit and unfortunately, the Phillies don't match up very well with them.

[Ben Grimm]

Phillies have a very possible deal IMO. The Rangers have expressed heavy interest in Cliff Lee over the past two years. They are also not willing to offer up (3B) Mike Olt unless for a ridiculous return.

Why not let them keep him? So much Philly fans effort has been in searching for ways to get Olt here, why not go the opposite venue? How about a Cliff Lee - Adrien Beltre swap?

Texas can move Olt right into his spot next year - or if that doesn't work, they still have Michael Young.

The Rangers get their ToR starter and the Phils get that productive 3B - did I mention he's probably the best defensive player at that position as well?

Something like this would make me happy.

[Ben Grimm]

Aside from player decisions, the Phillies also have to figure what they're going to do with their manager.

Charlie Manuel has one year left on his contract. And while Charlie does have a WS under his belt, his in-game decisions have often left fans scratching their heads, and those decisions become even more glaring when his lineup isn't full of all-stars caliber players.

With the season in the tank, some of the local media has turned their attentioin towards Ryne Sandberg in Lehigh. In a recent article, Ryne was quoted saying "I'm ready" in terms of managing a major league team. I believe the Phillies want to keep him in the organization and they also view him as Charlie's eventual replacement. Question is, how much longer can they leave him in AAA? And if the bring him up as a bench coach next year, that puts Manuel in a bad spot. No coach/manager is comfortable in a lame duck situation especially when his replacement is sitting alongside him in the dugout.

I think that if they extend Charlie, the Phils could lose Ryne to another franchise. If they don't sign Charlie, it does no good having Sandberg on the bench looking over his shoulder nor does Ryne deserve to stay in AAA for another year.

I think this could be interesting.

[Ben Grimm]

Does it make any sense for the Phillies to make a trade this offseason for Alfonso Soriano? Sure he has a ridiculous contract, but Chicago has mentioned multiple times they'd eat a large portion of his salary for the remaining 2 years. For $3-$4M a season the next two years, you can definitely do worse than a guy who's showing power (32 HRs this year) and gives this team a veteran who hits from the right side. We'll hear all winter how the Phillies will need to spend money wisely and $3M is basically Wigginton money for a player with a much better track record. If the Phils could work a deal to get both, I'd love to see DeJesus here as well to play CF. He'd be a good fit at the top of the order since he knows how to get on base and I believe only has 1 year left on his deal.

EDIT: Mistyped 22 for Soriano's HR total in 2012. It was 32.

[Ben Grimm]

One player I hope doesn't fall out of the Phils future plans is Bastardo. Sure, he had a bit of a disappointing season, but he's still miles better than the likes of Chad Qualls who cost more than $1M to simply fail. He has a very live arm and produces strikeouts at a high rate. His issue isn't walks as he doesn't yield all that many. His problem has been that, being more of a flyball pitcher when hitters do make contact, he needs to keep runners off the basepaths in this park. Most of his home runs allowed had runners on base which inflated his ERA.

I like a big bounce-back season from him next year.

[Ben Grimm]

The offseason was just an hour old when Ruben maded his first move. The Phils announced that bench coach Pete Mackanin, hitting coach Greg Gross and first base coach Sam Perlozzo were not having their contracts renewed for 2013.

No real surprise with Mackanin since Sandberg's waiting in the wings. Gross was just biding time. Ruben stressed last November that he wanted the hitters to have a different approach this season. That didn't happen, and even though most of the issues came from the vets who don't listen to a hitting coach anyway - somebody has to take the fall.

[Ben Grimm]

Ryne Sandberg is now the new 3B coach and infield instructor.

Steve Henderson promoted from AAA to be the new hitting coach & Rod Nichols is in charge of the bullpen.

Rich Dubee will stay as pitching coach and Mick Billmeyer will be the catching coach.

Juan Samuel has been offered 1B coach and outfield/baserunning instructor - but has not made a decision as of yet.

[Blue387]

Can Philliebot be the team's fifth starter?

[philliesfiend55]

Multiple teams have inquired about Headley during the deadline with the most common response being that the Padres' price was too high. I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt this offseason, but yes - he will cost quite a bit and unfortunately, the Phillies don't match up very well with them.

Chase Headley's monster second half where he finished with 31 home runs and a National League-leading 115 RBI should put him on the Padres' "untouchable" list.
Another Phillies' trade target that you can cross off your list is the Rangers' Mike Adams. He had been experiencing numbness in his fingers from about early or mid-September. After giving up just one home run from April to August he gave up four in September, in part because of the inability to grip the ball and get the right feel for it due to his medical condition. He would not have been on the Rangers' 25 man roster had they advanced past the Wild Card Play-In game. Until this medical condition is diagnosed and treated properly the Phillies and other teams won't be pursuing him. (My best wishes for Adams' speedy recovery).

[Ben Grimm]

Chase Headley's monster second half where he finished with 31 home runs and a National League-leading 115 RBI should put him on the Padres' "untouchable" list.

I've expressed my interest in Headley ad nauseum going all the way back to my old board the day he was drafted just one pick behind massive-failing Mike Costanzo.

Another Phillies' trade target that you can cross off your list is the Rangers' Mike Adams. He had been experiencing numbness in his fingers from about early or mid-September. After giving up just one home run from April to August he gave up four in September, in part because of the inability to grip the ball and get the right feel for it due to his medical condition. He would not have been on the Rangers' 25 man roster had they advanced past the Wild Card Play-In game. Until this medical condition is diagnosed and treated properly the Phillies and other teams won't be pursuing him. (My best wishes for Adams' speedy recovery).

I don't like seeing anybody injured, but this could be a blessing in disguise. Amaro's shown a willingness to overspend and he does it just as much in the bullpen. I mentioned my disinterest here (The Bullpen and What I Don't Want to See Done). I'll stand by that.

[Ben Grimm]

Maybe the Phils are reading our posts lol. As I mentioned in post #8, Soriano makes a certain amount of sense for this team. Latest word from CBS Sports' Joh Heyman is that the Phils have been discussing a deal for Soriano which is expected to cost Domonic Brown with the Cubs picking up a large part of Alfonso's salary.