Philadelphia Phillies "World farging Champs" 1 Week for Pitchers and Catchers

[BigEd76]

Latest rumor from the winter meetings has the Phillies possibly getting involved in a 3- or 4-way trade with the Cubs, Padres and Orioles.  The Cubs would get Peavy and they're not sure how the Phils would be involved, but some of the names mentioned were Jason Marquis or Mark DeRosa to the Phils with JA Happ going to the Padres... 

[MDS]

No to that.

[Geowhizzer]

Marquis is a bad fit for Philly, IMO.

[SD_Eagle5]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20081209_Phillies_eye_trade_for_Cubs__DeRosa.html

Phillies eye trade for Cubs' DeRosa
The multi-team deal, which may include J.A. Happ, could help Chicago land Padres ace Jake Peavy.
By Jim Salisbury

Inquirer Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - Phillies officials were working on a complex trade late last night that could bring them a player who would provide insurance for second baseman Chase Utley and a righthanded bat in left field.
The player is Mark DeRosa and if his name sounds familiar, it should. He once quarterbacked the football team at Penn.

In a proposed multi-team trade, DeRosa would go from the Chicago Cubs to the Phillies. The Phillies would send the Cubs a prospect or two, which in turn could be sent to San Diego in a package for pitcher Jake Peavy. Pitcher J.A. Happ is one of the prospects the Phils could part with.

There were rumblings that the proposed deal could include a fourth team, most likely the Baltimore Orioles.

"Three teams, possible," a Phillies source said late last night. "Four, doubtful."

DeRosa, who turns 34 in February, hit .285 with 21 homers and 87 RBIs in 149 games for the Cubs last season. He played six positions during the season, including 95 games at second base and 27 in left field. DeRosa is signed for 2009 at a reasonable $5.5 million.

In addition to DeRosa, the Phils still had free-agent leftfielder Raul Ibanez in their sights as the winter meetings opened yesterday.

The Phils need to add a leftfielder to take the place of free agent Pat Burrell, who is unlikely to be re-signed.

In a perfect world, the Phils would add a righthanded-hitting outfielder because the middle of their order already features two lefthanded bats in Utley and Ryan Howard.

However, a person with knowledge of the Phillies' thinking said the team is open to adding a lefthanded hitter such as Ibanez.

Ibanez hit .305 (60 for 197) against lefthanded pitching while playing for the Seattle Mariners last season. Overall, he hit .293 with 23 homers and 110 RBIs while playing in all 162 games.

Ibanez, 36, has spent 10 of his 13 major-league seasons with the Mariners, and is a favorite of former Mariners and Phillies general manager Pat Gillick. Gillick stepped down as Phillies GM after the World Series but remains a consultant with the team and is present at these meetings.

New Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. would not talk about specific targets, but Ibanez's agent, Seth Levinson, confirmed that the Phils are involved with his client. Ibanez, who has averaged 112 RBIs over the last three seasons, is likely to be seeking a multiyear deal worth $10 million to $12 million per season.

The Cubs and New York Mets are interested in Ibanez, but the Mets have moved him to the back burner as they pursue, as one team official said, "pitching, pitching, pitching."

If the Phils don't get DeRosa or Ibanez, they may go after free agent Juan Rivera, a righthanded hitter who played for the Angels in 2008, and use him as part of a platoon with Greg Dobbs.

The Minnesota Twins could trade outfielder Delmon Young, and the Phillies have checked him out. Phils officials say Young is far down their list of possibilities.

"We're trying to be aggressive in improving our club so we can compete for a World Series title again," Amaro said.

In addition to adding a leftfielder, the Phils would like to add a starting pitcher, a need that could be filled by re-signing Jamie Moyer. They would also like to add a relief pitcher and possibly a utility infielder to provide some depth while Utley recovers from hip surgery. That depth could be provided by DeRosa if the three-way trade goes down.

As for Moyer, Amaro said: "There is nothing new. We are in a holding pattern."

The Phils had thought that signing the 46-year-old lefty would be easy, but negotiations have slowed in recent weeks. It appears that Moyer would like a second year guaranteed, while the Phillies favor a one-year contract with an option.

Amaro said the length of the Moyer negotiations has led the Phils to pursue other pitchers. They've spoken with Derek Lowe's representatives, and Amaro would not rule out bringing back free-agent lefthander Randy Wolf.

"We want Jamie back," Amaro said. "But if we have a deal in place to bring in a pitcher, we won't delay because Jamie has not signed a deal."

The Phils are discussing a contract extension for 2011 with manager Charlie Manuel. Amaro would not discuss specifics, but he said: "We want Charlie to be our manager for years to come."

Amaro echoed comments he made last week, saying the team has not had any substantive negotiations with Burrell, who made $14 million last season and is seeking a multiyear deal. The market for Burrell appears to be very weak right now, and it probably won't pick up until top free-agent sluggers Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez find landing spots.

An American League official, speaking anonymously, said that Burrell is one of several second-tier free agents who could be adversely affected by the poor economy.

Why not just go after Peavy? Helping the Cubs get him would be assinine, imagine trying to beat them when they march out Zambrano, Harden, Peavy, Lilly and Dempster. farg that. And how the hell are the bankrupt Cubs going to take on an $80 million contract?

[phillycrew]

I agree.  Plus I would rather hold on to Happ because we need the pitching.  Go with a Dobbs/Juan Rivera rotation.  Jenkins could also be worked in there.

[ice grillin you]

i love the move...derosa would be a perfect replacement for first utley and then for burrell...and hes cheap...this will allow them to then concentrate on upgrading moyers spot in the rotation because it will allow them to spend some real coin on the staff

[SD_Eagle5]

Derosa for Happ is fine but if a guy like Peavy is out there you try to get him, you don't help another playoff team in the NL with a deeper rotation acquire him. Especially one that's going bankrupt. The Phils had to bank off the WS and Peavy isn't costing them that much more than Moyer would per year.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Les Walrond acquired by the Yokahama Bay Stars

[MDS]

i like happ a lot and dont like the phils helping peavy go to a contender, even if that contender happens to be a team that hasnt won a world series in 101 years.

but if an inept organization like the phillies can win, then so can the cubs.

so no, lets not help give them a rotation of zambrano, harden, peavy and dempster.

[BigEd76]

tonight at 7, CSN starts showing the important games of the Phils' playoff run.  Tonight's one is the Saturday division clincher vs Washington where Lidge almost blew the game then got the bases loaded DP.

[ice grillin you]

i like happ a lot and dont like the phils helping peavy go to a contender, even if that contender happens to be a team that hasnt won a world series in 101 years.

but if an inept organization like the phillies can win, then so can the cubs.

so no, lets not help give them a rotation of zambrano, harden, peavy and dempster.

you dont think if the cubs wanted jake peavy they would/could get him with or without the phillies help

like ja happ is the key to the cubs getting peavy

you make your team the best it can be and dont worry about other teams...especially ones not even in your division

[MDS]

de rosa is solid, id rather have raul ibanez and happ than de rosa and kendrick.

basically de rosa is replaceable amongst a million other random outfielders. the thing he really has going for him is his ability to play pretty much everywhere outside of pitcher or catcher. that helps, but utley will be back in late april/early may and he dont need no days off. neither does jimmy. and the dobbs/feliz platoon is fine. do really you need a LF and ibanez can do that.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Happ/Kendrick is almost as much fun an argument as Lohse/Kendrick.

[Seabiscuit36]

tonight at 7, CSN starts showing the important games of the Phils' playoff run.  Tonight's one is the Saturday division clincher vs Washington where Lidge almost blew the game then got the bases loaded DP.

i was there, freaking amazing game

[ice grillin you]

kendrick is done....he never pitches for this team again...and trying to paint it black n white by saying its either kendrick and de rosa or happ and ibanez is silly and wrong....ibanez would be a huge mistake...they cant put another lefty in the lineup...plus he cant play second base and thats the reason you get de rosa as insurance for utley

it would be de rosa and whoever else they signed or traded for this off season...other than his outstanding ability to fit in a myriad of different spots the biggest reason to get de rosa is because hes so cheap...if they dont sign moyer and even if they do this will give them an opportunity to go out and aquire a pretty good pitcher if they so chose