It’s Winter Meetings week! Even though the Phillies have already made several moves, there is certain to be a lot of scuttlebutt about what else they might do. I’m going to update this post all week as I find tidbits from around the web. In addition to Phils banter, I’ll include anything big related to our NL East rivals, and any Roy Halladay rumors that might surface.
Wednesday Updates
10:00pm: Jayson Start reporting the Phillies have interest in Fernando Rodney, something I wrote about awhile ago here, and Jason Marquis, who is a totally new name. Marquis would be a great get, but doesn’t really fit with this whole “we have no more money to spend and can’t even afford Brandon Lyon” thing. Marquis had a 4.04 ERA in 216 IP for the Rockies last year.
8:27pm: Some more updates…
- Jon Heyman is rerpoting that the Phillies are “believed to have joined the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees in the derby for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.” Oh man. Halladay watch, part 2? As I said on Tuesday, I’m mixed on a Halladay deal. I would obviously be tremendously excited for next year, but I’d be scared for the future (neither Lee nor Halladay past 2010, suddenly depleted farm system). Could they do it without giving up Drabek or Brown? Maybe Taylor, d’Arnaud, Happ and Cosart? I don’t know, I think they want more MLB ready talent.
- All that being said, we’d be a legit threat to win 110 games next year with our offense and Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Blanton and Kendrick. Though we might have shed Blanton’s salary to add Halladay.
- Speaking of extending Cliff Lee or Halladay, the Phillies had a preliminary meeting with Lee’s agent today. Not close to an extension by any means, but I guess this means they are interested.
1:19pm: 2 bits of actual news!
- The Phillies met with John Smoltz’s reps today. Smoltz is interested in starting, or relieving, or whatever. Right now he is exploring his options, but the Phillies are definitely one of them. Smoltz had a 4.26 ERA in 7 starts for the Cardinals last year.
- Another name being mentioned as someone we are interested in is Ron Mahay. Mahay is a lefty specialist who we have been linked to each of the last 2 trade deadlines. He is 38 and had a 4.29 ERA in 50.1 IP last year. I’d prefer not to sign him, as I’m confident Bastardo, Escalona or Zagurski could provide that for much cheaper.
8:57am: We’ve rounded out our bench by signing pinch hitter Ross Gload to a 2 year deal. I will have a full post on him later today.
Tuesday Updates
10:17pm: Todd Zolecki reports that execs believe that the Phillies interest in Halladay “has not waned.” That would certainly explain the Joe Blanton trade talks as that would free up some salary. I’m mixed on a Halladay trade. We got our Ace in Lee and didn’t have to give up much. We are in a great position right now for the present and the future. I’m not sure I would mess with it. Depends on the offer.
9:40pm: Lots of refreshing, not a lot of (or any, for that matter) action. Here is what Ruben said tonight when he talked to reporters.
- They probably aren’t going to get anything done at the meetings.
- They have offers out to Park and Eyre, but don’t seem confident that the players will accept them.
- They aren’t interested in Aroldis Chapman “at this point.”
- Kyle Drabek won’t be used out of the bullpen (duh?)
- Scott Mathieson and Mike Zagurski will be given a chance at the bullpen. Frankly, with Mathieson, Bastardo, Escalona and Zagurski all potential performers, you would think the emphasis would be on finding a 5th starter, not a reliever.
- We almost traded for Edwin Jackson in 2008, Amaro did not say who we would have given up.
1:47pm: Still nothing really new to report. But I do want to get one point in, and that is that it seems to me that the only significant piece we really need is a decent bullpen arm and I hope that we can come to a common ground on Brandon Lyon or Chan Ho Park. I would be very comfortable with a bullpen of Lidge, Madson, Romero, Lyon/Park, Durbin, Bastardo, Mathieson/Condrey with some other minor league arms as possibilities as well. As for the 5th starter spot, it’s not the end of the world if we start there with Kendrick and then potentially bring up Drabek later in the year.
11:45am: Not a whole going on so far today Phillies-wise. A couple interesting things about the NL East though…
- Rafael Soriano accepted arbitration with the Braves and completely threw them for a loop. They already spent their money on the bullpen with Billy Wagner and Takaski Saito and don’t really have the $8 million they’d have to give Soriano budgeted in. Look for him to be traded, but at that salary, it might be hard.
- The Nats signed Pudge Rodriguez to a 2 year, $6 million deal. This seems like a complete waste of money to me. Pudge is 38 and had a whopping .280 OBP last year. He’s going to back up Jesus Flores. Why 2 years, and why $3 mill a year? I’ll take Brian Schnieder at $1.25 million, thank you very much.
- The Mets are all over the rumors, of course, but one that doesn’t make sense to me is a proposed John Maine for Corey Hart deal. Doesn’t John Maine suck? And hasn’t he been hurt the last 2 years? Isn’t Corey Hart an all-star? Why would the Brewers do this? Hopefully it doesn’t get done.
Monday Updates
9:58am: Not a live update, but something to start us off. Pedro Martinez said that he would love to come back to the Phillies. Personally, I would love to have him back on a 1-year, incentive-laden deal but I’m not sure he would go for that. It looks like Kyle Kendrick is currently the front-runner for the #5 spot in the rotation (I’m assuming Jamie Moyer’s off-season health problems with seriously impede his ability to be ready opening day) and I’m not terribly comfortable with him there.
12:19pm: First update of what has been a very slow day of information across the league. FoxSports is reporting that the Phillies are unlikely to sign Brandon Lyon because…
The Phillies plan to spend between $4 million and $6 million on their bullpen. Lyon would command all or nearly all of that money, leaving the team with little payroll flexibility.
Rather than pursue Lyon aggressively, the Phillies are working trades for other relievers and considering lesser free agents. They will not necessarily complete their business at the winter meetings.
I hope that all this lack of payroll flexibility is because they plan on extending Lee at some point. Our revenue stream over the next 2 years (at least) should be pretty darn healthy. Can’t sneeze at a $140+ payroll though.
1:47pm: Andy Martino is reporting the Phils will meet with Chan Ho Park’s agent this afternoon. Park still thinks he can start, but knows he won’t for the Phillies. However, this is altering what his agent thinks his value is.
1:49pm: Now this would be interesting. AOL Fanhouse is reporting that the Phillies have gauged interest in Joe Blanton. Blanton is due for a big raise this year in his final year or arbitration, and could get up near $8-10 million. I don’t know who the heck would be our 4th starter if we did something like this. Perhaps it would open up the possibility of a Halladay trade? My guess is that the Phils are just covering all their bases and seeing if anyone will grossly overpay for Blanton.
6:24pm: Jayson Stark confirms the Phils are (not so) quietly asking around about interest in Joe Blanton. I wonder what their plan would be if they actually moved him? FWIW, Rays and Angels both showing interest in Halladay.
10:53pm: A couple items to round up the night.
- Amaro spoke to Brandon Lyon’s agent today and are far apart on salary, so I don’t think he’s a likely option anymore.
- We no longer have interest in Rafael Betancourt now that it would take a draft pick to sign him.
- We have shown interest in Brian Giles as a bat off the bench. No thanks.
- Amaro said he would be comfortable with Antonio Bastardo or Sergio Escalona in the bullpen to start next year. That’s tell me it’s likely that will happen.
- It looks like the payroll is going to be around $140 million, which it pretty much is already, so I don’t expect a big move.
- The most shocking bit of info is that the Phillies are reported to have inquired about Aroldis Chapman, the 21-year old Cuban defector who has been clocked around 100mph. They probably asked just out of curiosity. The Phillies have never made a move like that, and it would be a huge organizational shift for them to do so now.
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d take him or Smoltz for that role. Nice quality vet who can improve the team while balancing the rotation. too many lefties as it is.
God, it pisses me off that Moyer is one of our highest paid pitchers and is probably the 4th best option for the 5th starter.
How about the Mariners. They got Figgins (our dream replacement for Feliz) away from the Angels with a 4-year, $36 mil deal (the Angels offered 3 years and $24 mil) and are now reported to be going after Lackey as well.
Mariners are also after Jason Bay.
Mariners could make some noise next year. Their top draft pick, OF Dustin Ackley could be up mid-season too.
Speaking of the Mariners, I haven’t heard a single word on Erik Bedard. When he went to Seattle he looked like a true ace. 2 years later and he’s not even a topic of discussion.
Is Brett-Myers-resigned-as-a-reliever completely ruled out for the Phillies?
yeah – Ruben said there is no way he is coming back.
I think the Rangers are looking at him. Not sure in what role. He’d make a good Texan.
Phillies marketing piece compared to the Mets.
http://web.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091207&content_id=7766898&oid=36018&vkey=9
this is funny…
Phils special asst. Charlie Kerfeld just came up to me in the lobby. “I have a question for you,” he said. “What the heck is a Twitter?”
I dont mind Kendrick as our 5th. I think we will see Drabek this year as our 5th sometime in the near future. Perhaps a little before or after the all star game. I’m kinda surprised that Blanton’s name is out there. I like him, hes a good pitcher, but what ever…….. gotta concentrate on school………
Now that i think about it, im kinda annoyed how they sign Polanco so quickly. If they were willing to trade Blanton than they could have signed Figgins…… but then again that would leave a hole in the rotation as we would have to get 2 pitchers instead of 1.
Brad Penney just signed with the Cardinals. That should make a return of John Smoltz less appealing to them. I still don’t think he’d come here, but he might not have a lot of choices.
On the Halladay beat, this piece from north of the border…
As for the usual suspects in the Roy Halladay chase, they are all here. Halladay, meanwhile, spent the weekend golfing at Pebble Beach in a tournament with former Blue Jay Jimmy Key and second baseman Aaron Hill. The New York Yankees would move one of Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in a package for Halladay. Not both. The Boston Red Sox don’t want to part with Casey Kelly. He was chosen 30th overall in the 2008 draft. The Philadelphia Phillies would have to move both lefty Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton in order to add Halladay and sign him to a multi-year deal. Yet, the Phillies have had budgets before and ownership allowed the GM to go over it to obtain a player such as Greg Jefferies, Kevin Millwood or Jim Thome. And the Phillies have a blue-chip catching prospect in Travis D’Arnaud, 20, who hit .255 with 13 homers and 71 RBIs in 126 games at class-A Lakewood. The Los Angeles Angels remain interested but one club official said he was unsure if Halladay would approve a trade to the coast, saying: “We’re making our overtures.” – Toronto Sun
From ESPN tonightL
orgearangure:
Colleague Enrique Rojas reports Phillies have inquired about Chapman
These chats are pretty unreliable, but chapman is an unknown wildcard that could be a huge boom or bust.
Do we get anything in return if we lose Myers ? Shouldn’t we or at least is there a way that we can ?
Aroldis Chapman will probably be very expensive with his 100 mph fastball at age 21. I’m pretty sure the Yanks or Red Sox will try to pick him up for the reason that they can.
Pete, check out Corey Hart’s numbers from last season. He was awful and even lost his starting spot to Jody Gerut(!). Bet you didn’t realize he went .260/12/48/11 steals. One of the most disappointing players in all of baseball last year…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=5973
yeah, but he was hurt much of the year, and is only 27, and made the all-star team the year prior. good prospect for a comeback year.
Don’t crucify me for this if it is wrong but I believe if a team offers a player arbitration and he accepts that, you can not trade that player until like June of the following season. I could be wrong but I thought I heard/read that somewhere.
Ed -
If you are talking about Soriano, I believe the rule is you can’t trade him until July 15 (or June 15, can’t remember which) without his consent.
So as long as he agrees to go, I think they can trade him.
Thanks Pete I was referring to Soriano, and I think you are right as I just read that he did give his clearance to be traded so I guess he is good to go.
man……… the blanton thing is irritating me. i hope we dont trade him. other than Lee i dont have a whole lot of faith in our other starters. it a mistake if we trade him. And i also dont see Halladay moving. my prediction is that he stays a Jay.
<<The Nats signed Pudge Rodriguez to a 2 year, $6 million deal. This seems like a complete waste of money to me. Pudge is 38 and had a whopping .280 OBP last year. >>
I don’t see it as a waste of money, but it is a helluvan overpayment, and awfully long. A year for less than 2 mil I could see.
—————————————————————————————
9:44pm: Some unnamed executives tell MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that the Phillies could acquire Roy Halladay. The two teams came close to making a deal last July, but there’s no indication they’re talking now, though Zolecki hears they still have interest.
My take – Bye Blanton and Moyer, that money to Halladay. Payroll stays in the budgeted area. Rotation of Lee, Halladay, Hamels, Happ and Kendrick, or whoever. Let Halladay walk after the year but sign Lee long term, or vice versa.
—————————————————————————————
Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN after the winter meetings. Headed to MLB.com.
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The Phillies have agreed to sign Ross Gload to a two-year deal, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. He leaves the Marlins behind and joins Ben Francisco, Brian Schneider, Greg Dobbs and Juan Castro on Philly’s bench.
We heard earlier tonight that the Marlins and Braves were also willing to offer Gload two-year deals. The 33-year-old led the league in pinch hits last year and can sub in at first and in left or right. He hit .261/.329/.400, appearing in over 100 games for the third straight season.
My take – nice pickup. Ruben continues doing a terrific job.
From John…
And i also dont see Halladay moving. my prediction is that he stays a Jay. >>
Based on what John. I think the Jays and Halladay are totally fed up with each other and anxious to get it overwith. I think he’ll be traded sooner than later, and think the Phillies are a player in the consdieration no matter what the public position is. How do you see the Jays keeping him?
Troy Renck of the Denver Post this morning handicaps the Halladay derby. He does not even list the Phils. Such is life in the conversation driven winter meetings. Buster Olney reports this morning that Toronto is still gathering information meaning no deal is forthcoming quickly. From Renck’s column…
Halladay shopping
Toronto is looking to move Roy Halladay, the right-handed ace who prepped at Arvada West High School. Denver Post national baseball writer Troy E. Renck ranks the front-runners to acquire him:
1. Angels
They have a young pitcher in Joe Saunders whom Toronto likes, a bushel of other prospects and the money to sign Halladay long term.
2. Yankees
The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson without giving up Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, so the framework of a deal still exists.
3. Red Sox
They have the money and the means, but are reluctant to part with major-league starter Clay Buchholz and prized prospect Clay Kelly.
4. Dodgers
They possess the trade pieces, primarily Clayton Kershaw, but probably not the payroll to sign Halladay to a monster contract.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post this morning handicaps the Halladay derby. He does not even list the Phils.
Halladay will not be a Jay this year. Two reasons. One, the Jays even with Halladay are the 4th best team in that division. If the Orioles spend some money, and I am hoping they do, they can be a good team.
Secondly, if the Jays know they are losing Halladay at the end of the year regardless, why wouldn’t they trade him, even for penny’s on the dollar? Something is better than nothing.
Now the only hang up as I see it is, do they want to trade him within the division and have to see him 4-6 times a year. Especially if he signs an extension with said team. And with the Sox and Yanks being at the top of the list of potential suitors that could be a giant slap to the face of that franchise. Yep, J.P Riccardi f’ed that team pretty good by not trading him at the deadline.
Ed R., I agree that the Orioles should finally be turning a corner. Reimold, Jones, and Markakis are a solid OF and Wieters really started hitting at the end of the year. They’ve got some real nice, real young starting arms that, but last year they stayed with the youth movement and I think that we could see a Tampa Rays-type turnaround in the next few year. The AL East will reign as the strongest division in baseball for years to come, the Jays simply have no choice other than to get some prized talent, even if it comes at the expense of an intra-division deal. They still can control that bidding war between the Sox, Yanks, and Angels.
I wish Ross Gload was a right-handed bat, but whatever. Not bad for the last guy off the bench, I recall that we had some good ABs in Florida last year. He’s an offensive upgrade to a Cairo or Taguchi and a legit 1B backup to give Howard some rest.
Wolfie signs with Brewers for 3 years, $28 mill.
Good fit for both sides. I like that Brewers team. Already picked up Carlos Gomez and upgraded internally at SS with Alcides Escobar…
3 years at 28 mil with an option for a 4th year seems like a bit much for Wolf no?
Asked if major deal for pitcher (say, Halladay) is possiibility Amaro said: “I guess there is. But is there a likelihood . . . Probably not”
- Jayson Stark
The really compelling thing about Randy Wolf’s situation is what Los Angeles does to counter his loss. It’s not like Wolf is an ace, but he’s a dependable middle guy, formerly in a rotation that wasn’t exactly deep, or experienced. The name Vicente Padilla is sill floating around the free agent list.
I don’t see a strong appeal to Jason Marquis, but the Phils supposedly have an interest in him.
<<I wish Ross Gload was a right-handed bat, but whatever.>>
I think that’s to have a choice between Fransisco and Gload.
from John Heyman tonight
hearing phillies joining the fray for halladay. angels, yanks, red sox believed in, as well.
Attaway, Ruben. Give it a shot, and see what happens.
Atlanta Journal Constitution’s David O’Brien on what the Braves are up to, and comments on new Phil Russ Gload…
the wheels continue to turn on the bat pursuit, albeit slowly. GM Frank Wren and his men are working it a bit, in addition to the primary focus (trading pitching). The Braves tried to add a valuable bench piece in Ross Gload, but the 1B/pinch-hit specialist (he led majors with 21 pinch hits in 2009 for Florida) has opted to sign with the already bench-loaded Phillies, even though he could’ve gotten more playing time at 1B with the Braves.
Ed R…
3 years at 28 mil with an option for a 4th year seems like a bit much for Wolf no?>>
You would think so, wouldn’t you?
Here’s from the LA Times after the Wolf signing on why the Dodgers, on a short term basis were not into keeping Wolf…
<<The Dodgers didn’t offer Wolf arbitration out of fear that he would accept it and earn a $15-million salary reward in the process. Wolf’s deal with the Brewers is worth almost $30 million, according to sources.
Colletti said the Dodgers’ negotiations with Wolf never advanced past preliminary stages. “They told us what their interest was and what they needed in terms of finances,” Colletti said. “It wasn’t something we were comfortable doing.”
Colletti said Wolf’s agent, Arn Tellem, called him this morning to offer him one last chance to re-sign his client. “That’s not us,” Colletti said he told Tellem. “That’s not our interest level.”..
Randy Wolf at 15 million dollars. That’s what Halladay makes currently. That’s around, lowside, what Cliff Lee figures to make long term after next year. That’s Sabathia, and Johann bread.
Intelligent life would project the club winning in an arbitrations case where Randy Wolf asked for 15 mil. But apparently, the club was afraid they might lose at that figure. I guess in today’s market, lefthanded starter and all, bad economy be damned, the market has spoken and validated that Wofie’s market value is the near 30 mil for 3. At least there was viable competition here, its not like the Rangers bidding against themselves for ARod, or the Nats bidding against themselves for IRod. All I can say is that it will be more than interesting to see how Tim Linecum’s future with the Giants maps out if arbitration still scares management as much as it did in this case of a hardly pitching rich, divorce aside, money machine like the Dodgers.
The Brandon Lyon to the Phils possibility is dead. Ed Wade got him. 5 mil a year x3. Ruben wasn’t going to touch that sum of money, and that’s okay by me for . I haven’t heard much about Jose Valverde, and since Soriano is not going to Houston, things should get interesing for him.
David Murphy mentioned today that Mike Gonzalez is a god fit for the Phils on paper. Unfortunately, that’s true of a lot of other clubs. My guess is he’s headed to the Yankees.
Looks like we can eliminate the Red Sox as competition for Roy Halladay. They are on the verge of sending Mike Lowel too Texas and picking up darn close to all 12 mil of his salary for 2010.
That should land Adrian Beltre in Boston, and if he’s signing this early, and Scott Boras is his agent, you better believe the ante is closer to 10 million (still a cut) than the 5 million that was talked about for a Phillies fee based on Beltre’s propensity for injury in recent times.
The Red Sox still have an outfield hole, and the likes of a Jason Bay or Matt Holliday would run 50-80 mil on top of that. And publicly at least, that seems Theo’s intention.
That’s a lot of money to be shelled out even before extendng Halladay beyond this final contract year.
If the Red Sox are out of it, the Yanks don’t have to drive the price up a much to keep him off the BoSox. That doesn’t mean the Yanks wouldn’t
be a serious player, but it makes it less critical. And as much as the publc thinks the Yanks spend at will, they do have budget constraints that are only particularly flexible when the Red Sox are involved.
As for the Angels, for what it’s worth, yesterday, Mike Scoscia said he’s rather have John Lackey than Jason Bay. And its not s if Vlad Guerrero doesn’t have to be relaced, let alone Chone Figgins, but if the Angels are stll hot to trot to keep Lackey, which I’m guessing they can if they want, Halladay may not be quite as doable.
Not that you couldn’t build just as effective a case on why Halladay isn’t headed to the Phillies, but at the very least, they remain as good trading partner as there is out there for the Toronto club. You have to at least try to make this work. Not even trying off the excuse of the budget being maxed just doesn’t cut it.