Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Josh Willingham coming to the Phillies?

According to Scout.com the Phillies and Nats could be working on a potential deal for outfielder and righthand bat Josh Willingham.

Willingham, in his first season with the Nationals, has 12 home runs in 246 at bats, and would be an excellent fit off the bench for a Phillies team desperate for a consistent righthanded bench player.

The report thinks the Nats would be interested in pitching and Willingham, making $3 million this season and arbitration eligible for the next two seasons, wouldn’t cost the Phils much in terms of star potential.

Just to throw some names out there as potential bait for WIllingham the Phils have starters Vance Worley, Joe Savery, and Mike Stutes at Double-A Reading. None I would consider top-of-the-rotation guys, but all should have some future in the big leagues.

Published
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Jared
on July 21, 2009
in Phillies and Phillies Prospects
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Is Halladay even necessary?

With all the scuttlebutt out there about the Phillies going hard after Toronto’s Roy Halladay at the expense of their surprisingly fertile farm system, they’ve quietly won 12 of their last 13 games, and opened up a very comfortable 6.5 game lead in the NL East.

The starting pitching of JA Happ, Joe Blanton, a resilient Jamie Moyer, and the off-the-scrapheap Rodrigo Lopez have helped the Fightin’s turn in a dominant July. The pitching this month, even without Cole Hamels pitching well, seems to have the stuff to win it all again.

So assuming the rest of the NL East continues to suck wind the rest of the way I have to question whether or not Roy Halladay is needed. I think the answer for the rest of the season is no, not really.

Would he be the centerpiece of the post-season rotation? Definitely. But do the Phillies trade a Happ and a Kyle Drabek to get him, or do they work to find pieces to solidify the rest of the team for the post-season at a much cheaper price?

I’m talking about a Chad Qualls from Arizona to make the bullpen a strength again. Ryan Madson is suddenly looking very hittable, and outside of Chad Durbin’s 3-inning outing this evening against a beaten-into-submission Cubs team, he’s less than reliable.

Or do they finally pursue a right-handed bat to come off the bench? John Mayberry is too inexperienced, and way too strikeout-prone to make a difference in the post-season, and if I have to see Eric Bruntlett get the bat knocked out of his hand one more time I’m going to scream.

By acquiring a Qualls-type reliever and a solid bat off the bench I still feel the Phils are the team to beat, at least in the National League.

Could the Phils do all three? Probably, but the cost in prospects could (Drabek could be Brad Brink Jr.) be devastating three years from now.

Of course Halladay is there for 2010 as well, which Peter Gammons feels gives the Phillies a chance to get to three-straight World Series.

One could argue that the Phillies have a chance to win three straight World Series (if the Phils acquire Halladay, they would have him under contract for the rest of this season along with the entire 2010 campaign) — and make Cole Hamels even better.

I certainly wouldn’t be cursing a deal for him, but I’m just throwing it out there that he’s not the only option the Phils can take and still be considered a World Series favorite.

Published
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Jared
on July 21, 2009
in Phillies and Phillies Prospects
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Making prospects “touchable” for Roy Halladay

When it comes to securing a top of the rotation starter like Roy Halladay the word “untouchable” should be removed from any minor league prospect in the Phillies system.

Not Kyle Drabek. Not Dominic Brown. Not Jason Knapp. No one should be untouchable.

Throughout baseball history, teams become so enamored with their own prospects that the value of those players becomes so over-inflated reality becomes distorted and deals for known quantities are dismissed out of hand.

In Halladay’s case, the Phils have an opportunity to land a 1A pitcher. An inning-eating, groundball-inducing, ace who instantly makes the Phils the top contender in the National League—this year and the next.

In Drabek, Brown, Knapp, Lou Marson, Michael Taylor, Jason Donald, and Carlos Carrasco the Phils certainly seem to have a bright future, but they’re all unknown quantities at this point. The same way Phils’ prospects of yesteryear, like Pat Combs, Ron Jones, Jeff Stone, and Rick Schu were.

You just never know. For every wunderkind pitcher like Felix Hernandez there’s three Homer Baileys. For every stud outfielder like Ryan Braun there’s four Jeremy Hermidas.

It’s a crapshoot—especially for the youngsters like Knapp and Brown.

Like the NFL draft, it’s a lot of fun to dream about what the Phillies are going to look like in two or three years with all these young players up in the majors.

No one likes trading No. 1  draft picks for veteran players—it’s just not as exciting. And no one gets excited about trading all our “future All-Stars” either, but reality is they’re just twinkles in our eyes right now, and Halladay is the twinkle on another World Series trophy (or two).

Make these guys “touchable” Ruben, and make this happen.

Published
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Jared
on July 9, 2009
in Phillies and Phillies Prospects
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Roy Halladay and Javier Vazquez Scuttlebutt

Roy Halladay

With word circulating that Toronto ace Roy Halladay is potentially on the table, the Phillies are of course put at the top of the list of potential suitors.

ESPN’s Buster Olney:

Right now, the team most aggressively searching for a frontline starting pitcher is the Philadelphia Phillies, who no doubt would covet Halladay for their particular park for his ability to generate ground balls and missed swings — he has a ground ball/fly ball ratio of 1.30, to go along 98 strikeouts in 116 innings this season. The question about the Phillies — as it is with most teams these days, when the value of young players has never been higher — is whether they would be willing to give up what the Jays would require in trade.

It’d take a shitload of prospects to land this whale, but wouldn’t you take another World Series win in 2009 for potentially lean years three or four seasons down the line? Halladay is an ace’s ace. A guy who can simply carry a squad for months at a time. We can all dream of what Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, Michael Taylor, and Carlos Carrasco will look like in a Phils uniform, but the fact is we dreamt the same thing about Pat Combs, Ron Jones, Marlon Byrd, and Brad Brink once too.

Take the World Series this year, and potentially the next season as well (Halladay is signed through 2010), and worry about restocking the farm in the interim.

Javier Vazquez

I raised the question two days ago whether the Braves would entertain trading starter Javier Vazquez to a division rival, if at all. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal may have answered that question today:

There is no hitter on the market who would represent fair value for Vazquez — not A’s left fielder Matt Holliday, who is underperforming as a potential free agent; not Brewers right fielder Corey Hart, whose on-base percentage since the start of the 2008 season is .307. There will, however, be plenty of hitters available at bargain prices this off-season.

As much as I like Vazquez, his post-season track record, in a word, blows. If the Braves decide they’re out of it, and aren’t enamored with extending Vazquez beyond 2010, a package of Lou Marson, Kyle Kendrick, and Carlos Carrasco may do the trick. But after reading how much Javy likes Atlanta and Bobby Cox, any sort of deal for him seems like quite the longshot.

Published
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Jared
on July 7, 2009
in Phillies and Phillies Prospects
. 0 Comments

Could the Phils acquire Javier Vazquez?

With rumors of the Phils being interested in Chien-Ming Wang (and actually making an offer to the Yankees for him) probably dead in the water after he left today’s game with shoulder issues, what are the chances, if any, that the Braves would deal starter Javier Vazquez to their heated division rival?

The Bravos are getting to the point where they have decide whether they’re buyers, sellers, or stand-patters (is that a word?). Players who a year ago were thought to be cornerstones, like Yunel Escobar and Jeff Franceour, are said to be available, as well as the recently acquired Vazquez. They made a move earlier this season when they acquired outfielder Nate McLouth from the Pirates, but haven’t made tremendous progress since he came on board.

With young starters Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson looking like building blocks for the next decade, the Braves might not be opposed to sending the soon-to-be 33-year old Vazquez north for some decent  prospects, and look to compete in 2010 and beyond.

Vazquez is only 5-7 in 17 starts, but he has a stellar 3.05 ERA, and even more impressive, a 1.07 WHIP. Pair that with his 130/23 K/BB ratio and you have a guy who could help a struggling rotation (taking away this weekend’s sweep of a terrible Mets team) in a big way.

Would you give up Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and maybe a Zach Collier for Vazquez? He’s signed through 2010 (at the beginning of the season Vazquez was signed through 2010 for a total of $23 million), and the Braves only gave up prospects Tyler Flowers, third baseman Jon Gilmore, pitcher Santos Rodriguez and infielder Brent Lillibrigde when they acquired him from the White Sox this past off-season. None of them are expected to be stars.

As far as post-season performance, the jury is still out on whether Javier can be a big game pitcher. He faltered down the stretch with the White Sox in 2008 and has been rocked in his three post-season appearances (career 10.34 ERA in 15.2 post-season innings). Still, the guy can get folks out, and he may be the most talented pitcher available this summer.

What would you give up for him? If you’re the Braves would you sell him to a division rival? Do you even want him?

All good questions.

Published
by
Jared
on July 5, 2009
in Phillies and Phillies Prospects
. 1 Comment