The Phillies Trade Bait Club: Is Anyone Worth Keeping Long Term?
The offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the 2017 season hasn’t consisted of any big money eye-opening moves, but it has been filled more with transactions that solve short term problems for the club. Each signing or trade the Phillies have made have netted them a player that will likely be used as trade bait come July 31st, 2017 or before. This group includes the likes of the re-signed Jeremy Hellickson and newcomers such as Howie Kendrick, Michael Saunders, Joaquin Benoit, Pat Neshek, and Clay Buchholz. None of these players have guaranteed contracts with the Phillies past this upcoming season. Saunders is the only one that has a possible option for 2019. Clearly, these players aren’t in the long term plans for the Phillies, or are they?
Would it be too farfetched to think about the possibility of any of these players staying in Philadelphia for a little longer than we might expect them to? At first glance, you might think these players are all as good as gone come Spring Training 2018. If you look a little closer, though, a couple of these guys wouldn’t be all that bad to have around a little bit longer if they prove to be worthy.
Let’s start with the fact that the 39-year-old Benoit and the 36-year-old Neshek are the most likely to not fall under this category. They are the most obvious one year, or 3-4 month, rentals within the group of newcomers. Buchholz is likely the next closest to being in that territory, as the 32-year-old has most likely seen his prime come and go, not leaving much to be wanted from the rebuilding Phils.
That leaves us with Kendrick, Saunders, and Hellickson.
Let’s start with Kendrick, who at 33 years old, you would think would slide right in with these other 30-somethings. If you think about it, though, he is just the player a rebuilding club needs. Look at Ben Zobrist of the Cubs. Zobrist signed on with the eventual World Series Champions in 2016 for 4 years and $56 million as a 34-year-old free agent. Sure, the Cubs were more established than the Phillies are heading into this year, coming off a surprising 97 win season in 2015, but they knew they needed some veteran presence around their young nucleus to get to the next level. Zobrist was the perfect fit. You can’t have a team totally full of 20-somethings and expect them to take you to the promised land. There will always be your Ben Zobrist, David Ross and Jon Lester type players to help guide the young guys along, and not until then will that team be successful. Howie Kendrick doesn’t quite have the track record of Zobrist, but he is a similar player in that he has been around the block and his experience and versatility would help any team, rebuilding or not. There are much worse players to have around that could flip flop between left field and second base for a number of years until the wheels fall off. Plus, the former teammate of obvious future Phillie Mike Trout would help us in reeling in the best player in baseball, right?
Next is Michael Saunders, who just officially agreed to his deal with the Phils today. The 30-year-old outfielder is seemingly just coming into his own. After a few injury ridden seasons with the Mariners and Blue Jays, he finally got a chance to show his stuff as the every day left fielder for the Jays in 2016. He proceeded to have a deserving all-star first half in which he hit for a .298 average with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 305 at-bats. He fell off in the second half for sure, hitting a putrid .178 with just 8 home runs and 15 RBI in 185 at-bats. Saunders could very quietly be in his prime, and if he shows some of that promise that he showed during the first half of this past season for just a little bit longer in 2017, the Phils might want to consider picking up that option for next year to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle with this guy.
Lastly, Jeremy Hellickson is back for his second go-around with the Phillies. If it weren’t for him, the 2016 season could have looked a lot worse than it was. He was the innings eater and consistent rotation arm that this young team needed to stay afloat. The 2011 AL Rookie of the Year enjoyed his best season as a whole in 2016 since that award-winning year with the Rays 5 season before. At 29 years old, Hellickson could be that one steady arm that sticks around in this rotation for a number of years, and by the time the rest of this rotation comes around, his veteran presence could be just what the team needs to get to the next level.
So what do you think? Are any of these players worth keeping around a little longer than most think they will be here for? It will be fun to find out. I’m just here to ensure you that if a couple of them stick around for a bit more time than we intended, it’s not the end of the world. All will eventually be okay in the City of Brotherly Love. You just have to trust the process… Hmmm. Weird. I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before…
Photo: philliesfan136 (Via: Flickr)
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Categorized:Phillies