Phillies Rumor Mill: All-Star Acquisition?
With less than a week to go before Major League Baseball’s 2016 Winter Meetings, there is much speculation as to what kind of moves, if any, the Phillies will be making in pursuit of ending their rebuild and contending for a playoff spot. Following the departures of Ryan Howard and Matt Harrison, the team does not have much salary on the books post-2017. This flexibility offers the rare, but valuable, ability to take on “salary dump” players as well as prospects in trades with teams which need the money to sign big name free agents immediately.
There is also no lack of depth in the Philadelphia farm system, so Matt Klentak could also ship off some solid, younger major leaguers who will soon have their spots taken by high-level prospects. In return for these replacement-level, but developing, players, the team would be able to acquire big name players who could significantly bolster the lineup from day one. We do not yet know which route the front office will take in regards to the 2017 roster, but that doesn’t mean analyzing the possibilities for each scenario is useless.
If Klentak decides to take the salary dump path, and sticks to another year of collecting prospects and rebuilding, he could look into acquiring Tigers’ pitcher Anibal Sanchez. A piece written by Detroit’s SB Nation page discussed possible trade options for Sanchez. The deal would make sense for both sides, as Sanchez has one year left on his deal, so the Phillies could just cut him if they find no use for him within the pitching staff, The Tigers consider themselves contenders, so dumping a big money player like Sanchez, who had a 5.87 ERA last season, would greatly benefit them in the hunt for big name free agents to assist in a deep playoff run.
At 32 years old, and coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, there does not seem to be much use for Anibal Sanchez in Philly. However, if the front office wants to make a clever move and utilize the fact that they won’t be paying much in the way of salary this year, a deal similar to this one could be made. Keep an eye out.
An Anibal Sanchez deal would contribute not to the Phillie roster, but to the organization. However, trading for a player like Jay Bruce, who is a 29 year old with one year left of his contract and coming off a 33 home run season, would make perfect sense for the Phillies. Although the acquisition of Howie Kendrick from the Dodgers improved the corner outfield spot at Citizens Bank Park, it did not completely solve the issue. Kendrick is a competent bat who should be able to hit for a solid average and to reach base, but in today’s MLB, power is necessary in the corners. Bruce would give the Phillies a power bat on a one year rental, and if he were to prove himself as a consistent 30 home run player, as he has in the past, the team could lock him up past the 2017 season. Klentak has proved that he is not afraid of taking on rentals in exchange for lower-level prospects, as was the case in the last offseason with Jeremy Hellickson. The Mets may also be interested in shipping off Bruce, due to the fact that they have a powerful offensive outfield with newly-signed Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, and Michael Conforto, who will receive another chance after a horrendous sophomore slump.
The procurement of Bruce would likely mark the end of the Cesar Hernandez era in Philadelphia. Kendrick would most likely take over the starting second baseman’s job, and Hernandez’s trade value is too high to store him on the bench as a utility man, especially with the inevitable arrival of JP Crawford to the majors.
Most of the Phillies rumors throughout the past week have included Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. Dozier, 29, has two years left on his club-friendly contract, and he may be exactly the player that the Phillies need to become relevant again. He hit for career-highs in nearly every batting statistic last season, including 42 home runs and a .268 batting average. He has improved his homer total in each of his major league seasons, so although he may not hit for 40 every year, the “fluke” title should not be associated with his 2016 campaign. The 2015 all-star would certainly come with a hefty price tag were the Phillies to make an offer for him. As previously stated the Phillies have arguably the deepest farm system in baseball, which means that a deal for the slugging second baseman would not be impossible.
Again, Cesar Hernandez would likely become the odd-man out if deal were to happen with the Twins; he may even find himself being shipped to Minnesota in the trade, as a 26 year-old who hit for a .294 batting average and is just finding his stride in the majors is a hot commodity in today’s market. If Klentak and Co. decide that now is the time for the Phillies to attempt to contend, acquiring a player like Brian Dozier would be a huge step in the right direction.
The winter meetings begin on December 4th, and the Phillies front office will have some decisions to make regarding the future of the franchise.
Photo by Keith Allison (via Flickr)
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