A look at the Phillies Off season

Well it is that time of year again. Pitchers and catchers officially reported today for the Phillies. Baseball season is coming and it makes one wonder, can the Phillies win the National League East for a fourth straight time? Can they really make it to the World Series for the third straight time?

Let’s take a look at the moves they have done this off-season.

Trade for Roy Halladay – The Phillies traded three top prospects to the Blue Jays to get the pitcher they wanted at the trade deadline last season. Two of those prospects were tops in the Philadelphia farm system. Those two were RHP Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor (Two players who were “untouchable” at the trade deadline in 2009).

It is clear that both Halladay and the Phillies organization wanted this trade to be completed. Halladay signed a three year $60MM contract extension in Philadelphia and seems genuinely excited to be playing for a contender. Halladay even said in a magazine article how excited he is to pitch with someone as good as Cole Hamels.

Dealt Lee - That’s right. He didn’t say Cliff Lee. Lee was traded in a completely unrelated deal that took place the same day. After his stellar performance in the Post-season last year, Lee was shipped to Seattle for three prospects including Phillippe Aumont who became the top pitching prospect in the organization. The other two are J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies

Lost bullpen help - Other pitchers that also are no longer with the organization are Scott Eyre who retired to tour the country in his RV, and Chan Ho Park, who is still a free agent at this point. The Phil’s have already expressed that they do not have the funds to re-sign Park. Both Park and Eyre made significant contributions to the Phillies Bullpen last season.

Brett Meyers and Clay Condrey are also no longer in Philadelphia. After eight seasons with the Phil’s, Brett Meyers was informed that he was no longer needed in Philadelphia. He signed with the Houston Astros with the GM who drafted him in Ed Wade. Condrey signed with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent.

Replenished the bullpen (Kind of) – The Phillies added two significant veteran pitchers to their bullpen in Jose Contreras (38) and Danys Baez as well as Oscar Villarreal (who signed a minor league deal).

Bolstered the bench – One of the glaring weaknesses of the Phillies last season was their weak bench which Charlie Manuel seemingly never used. After letting go of Eric Bruntlett, Miguel Cairo, 2009 mid-season acquisition Paul Bako, and fan favorite Matt Stairs, the Phil’s signed a number of bench players. The bench now looks like this: Ben Francisco, Brian Schneider, Greg Dobbs and Juan Castro.

Hot corner moves – The Phillies also did not pursue free agent Pedro Feliz after they failed to pick up his option for the 2010 season. Instead, they signed former Phillie and two-time gold glove second baseman Placido Polanco to fill in at third base. When Polanco played in Philadelphia the first time he played third base. Since, he has built quite a resume at 2nd playing for Detroit.

Securing the future –In addition to all the signings and losses, the Phil’s were able to lock up some of their core players. Jimmy Rollins had his 2011 option picked up. Shane Victorino ($22 MM), Joe Blanton ($24MM), and Carlos Ruiz ($9MM) were all signed to three year extensions within the same week.

Did I miss anything?

How did the Phillies do this offseason? Well needless to say it was a busy one. Going into spring training they have some questions to answer still.

One of which is who will be the 5th starter? Jamie Moyer had offseason surgery and then had complications afterwards. He will not be ready for the start of the season. After losing his starting job last season to Pedro Martinez, it has been rumored that the young Kyle Kendrick could replace Jamie in the rotation.

This is an exciting time of the year for baseball. Can the Phillies do it again? We will see.

Rumor has it

Rumors have it that Roy Halladay and his agent are staying in a hotel in Philadelphia. According to these rumors, Halladay is set to take a physical for the Phillies. They are also saying that the Phil’s are trying to deal Cliff Lee.
While the Phillies are actively pursuing Halladay, there are some parts of these reports that are bothersome.

First: Trading Lee to the Blue Jays for Halladay straight up is absolutely absurd. If they are looking to unload Halladay’s salary for future talent, then getting Lee will not help them considering he only has one season remaining on his current contract.

Second: Having a three team deal that includes dealing Lee makes no sense. Lee is a strikeout pitcher who the Phillies have for at least the 2010 season. While he reaches free agency next season, Ruben Amaro Jr. has been said to have been discussing an extension with Lee’s agent.

Third: Even if the Phil’s do somehow land Halladay, the price will be similar to what it was in July. The Blue Jays will want young talent that could include J.A. Happ, and possibly one of two of the Phil’s top prospects in outfielder Dominick Brown or pitcher Kyle Drabek.

Four: In order to give up that young talent, the Phil’s will have to guarantee a contract extension with Halladay before the trade is complete. With their current salary and their limited budget it wouldn’t be feasible without dealing a major player on the team. Halladay, at the age of 33, by the time next season begins will most likely command CC Sabbathia money (around $20 MM a year).

Other rumors have linked the Phillies to veteran pitcher John Smoltz. Smoltz has received offers from multiple teams according to mlb.com. The Phil’s would look to add the veteran for bull pen help.

In other Phillies news, the team has non-tendered reliever Clay Condrey. The Phil’s can still offer a contract to Condrey, but they were unable to agree on a salary number before the non-tender deadline.

They did however, offer contracts to the other three players who were arbitration eligible (Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, and Carlos Ruiz). Essentially all three of those players have been signed to one-year contracts for the 2010 season. In addition to those three, Chad Durbin was also offered a contract.