Pat Gillick said he always believed in making at least one big move even after winning a title. He said you need to do it to say on top.
Last year, that move was Raul Ibanez. What does this offseason have in store for the Phils? What do they need to do to stay on top of the NL and close the gap between them and the Yankees?
Following are a few thoughts, some obvious and others may shock you.
Could Shane Victorino be moved this offseason?
- Beef up the bullpen. Sign a guy as a set-up man who you can move to closer if needed. Brett Myers may be that guy. Also, resign Chan Ho Park and make get a lefty reliever in case JC Romero isn’t ready to go.
- Overhaul the starting rotation. Cliff Lee is here, and so is Cole Hamels. JA Happ figures to be the third guy. After that, are you comfortable with Joe Blanton and his increased wages due to arbitration? The Phils need to find legit guys to fill the back end of the rotation.
- Do not resign the Pedros. Martinez was a great guy for the role he filled. However, he can not be counted on to last a whole season and be effective. Resign him, and you are basically filling the 5th spot with Jamie Moyer. Again. Feliz is a vacuum at third, but he didn’t hit as well this year and is 34 years old. Adrian Beltre is four years younger and a decent defensive player. Maybe take a look at hime.
- Spend the money to get a legit infielder/bench guy. You need someone to take the pressure off of Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. They are over 30 and need breaks during the season. One name thrown around in the media is Marco Scutaro from the Blue Jays. He just enjoyed a cfine season hitting .282 with 12 homers. He will cost more than Bruntlett, but can fill the role.
- Trade Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino for a starting pitcher. This is a huge gamble that many fans will question. However, this is exactly the type of move that Gillick was talking about, and it will help the payroll. The Phillies will not spend a lot more money, yet they have players who will see major bumps in arbitration this offseason. The fact is, after next year, you won’t keep both of these outfielders anyway. The values of those two players will never be higher and now is the time to bring up Michael Taylor. Platoon him with Ben Francisco in right to start the year. Taylor is a legit top-10 prospect with power. It’s only a matter of time until he is ready to play everyday. And, you still have Dominic Brown coming up through the ranks to take Ibanez’s spot in 2011 or 2012. The Phillies are set at outfield for the foreseeable future.
- If you are able to trade one of the outfielders, make a run for Joe Mauer at catcher. We all love Chooch, but he is what he is. Mauer is a legit weapon at the plate, and could ultimately make a move to first when he gets older and Ryan Howard leaves via free agency. Craig Biggio made a similar move to second midway through his career. (EDITED: Mauer is not a free agent until December 2010. The Phillies will not pursue him in a trade.)
The Phillies do have some tweaking to do, and will likely make a big move if Ruben Amaro stays with the Gillick formula. When that shoe drops, questions will be asked and heads will shake. However, how can you argue with a formula that has brought us two the doorstep of back-to-back world championships?
I agree with most of what you said, but the whole “make a run at mauer” sounds utterly ridiculous. Why would the Twins even think about trading arguably the ebst young player in the game?
I found myself agreeing with you on most subjects until you got to the last two. That’s when i realized you’re like most fans and live in a delusional world. We don’t have money to keep Victorino and Werth but we can trade for Mauer. Of course that makes sense. It’s not like Victorino or Werth helped us win a championship and are key members to this club.
For as much as I’d like Taylor to be the next great 5 tool player, we don’t know how he’d be at the major league level. And i don’t think anyone wouldn’t want Mauer, but cmon. Phils just need to tweak the pitching (both pen and rotation) and find a third basemen and they’re set.
Mauer is a free agent.
Your Mauer idea is flawed at many levels.
Mauer is a free agent in 2011. Mauer is more than a “legit” hitter; he is the MVP of the league and in his prime; one of the greatest hitters of his generation. It will cost the Phillies a lot, and then they are just going to hope Mauer signs with them after the season? A huge risk for Philly, which they won’t do. Thiis is why the Twins couldn’t get much for Santana and why Holliday wasn’t traded… the team trading wants return value, but the new team doesn’t want to give it up and then lose the player and have nothing to show for it.
Second, besides being set at C and 1B, the Twins have a ton of outfielders and more in the minors, so even if I allowed it was remotely possible the Twins would turn every Twins fan against the team by trading the local hometown hero in his prime coming off an MVP to the Phillies, why on earth would they want more outfielders?
Third, Mauer wants to play catcher, so no way he would sign long term with Philly so he could play 1B after Howard is gone. You want Mauer; it will be at catcher. Moving him to first shows an ignorance of his value; he is a great handler of pitchers and calls a good game; you don’t just shove that to first base because you like his batting average.
It isn’t happening. It does the Twins no good to trade Mauer to save money, because they will lose money when their new stadium is empty, which will happen if Mauer is traded.
Thanks for the feedback, Michael. For some reason, I thought he was a free agent now. (Heard the Yankees would go after him.) My fault. And, yes, I know he would cost a ton. I do not think the Phillies would trade for him knowing the price tag. I simply mentioned making a run at him thinking it’d be as a free agent. Even then, I don’t think he will end up here at all.
I also didn’t say the Phillies would trade Werth or Victorino for Mauer. I said they MAY trade one, possibly for a pitcher. Then, pursue Mauer. I’m simply going off of Phillies’ management’s belief that teams need to shake things up with a key move each year. Trading an outfielder when their value will never be higher is a move along those lines. As a fan, I don’t want them to deal either Werth or Victorino. I’m just throwing out possibilities based on the Phillies management beliefs and the need for pitchers.