2009 Phillies Offseason Thread

[Don Ho]

lol @ the dodgers not being able to afford randy wolf.  this is going to be the worst off season for them in quite some time.  manny's got his 20mil option that i don't know if he formally excersized it yet, but after last season there's no way he doesn't as no team out there will pay him more than that. 

and with ownership going through a divorce, all of frank mccourt's money is hidden somewhere because he reported last week that he "only" had 100+ grand in his personal checking account.  presumably, he is trying to show that he doesn't have an ass load of money to avoid paying excessive spousal support so he's definitely not going to be writing large paychecks while his divorce is ongoing. 

so basically, the phils biggest competition in the nl is treading water.  of course, i'd feel better if they were doing something about it like offering arbitration to chan ho "citizen's bank" park or scott "the apple of my" eyre.  but whatever.   

Good call Sarge.  Doyers are so farged.  McCourt's, Manny, etc.

No problem with the Polanco signing.  Loved him when he was here.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Which player are you most happy to see return to Philadelphia?
Jeremiah Trotter

     338 (12.6%)
Allen Iverson

     737 (27.6%)
Brian Boucher

     164 (6.1%)
Placido Polanco

     1435 (53.7%)
Total votes = 2674

Inquirer poll on Philly.com.

Um, 53.7% for Polanco? I like the guy a lot....but more than AI?

I voted for Trotter. farg you all!

[Eaglez]

That's a strange poll.  I think it demonstrates more that the Phils are starting to dominate the region in terms of popularity.  It's getting close to be an evenly divided Eagles/Phillies area in terms of what team you care about more (even though the seasons barely overlap).  It's amazing what winning a championship and getting back there can do.

[ice grillin you]

baseball americas top farm systems

Top 5
1. Texas
2. Tampa Bay
3. San Francisco

4. Philadelphia
Philadelphia had the depth to trade for Cliff Lee and still have a top-flight farm system. Outfielder Michael Taylor has hit .333 over the last two seasons, rocketing to Triple-A, and fellow outfielder Dominic Brown has better tools, though he's still a bit raw. Righty Kyle Drabek, son of the former Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek, has three above-average pitches to go with excellent athletic ability. Beyond their Big Three -- all of whom have performed at Double-A or above -- the Phillies are bursting with young power arms, toolsy Latin American infielders and athletic outfielders, such as Anthony Gose.

[mpmcgraw]

Not happy about Polanco.  Its not enough an upgrade over Feliz to warrant 3/18. 

[Munson]

Something about the sentence "toolsy latin american infielders" makes me giggle ever so slightly.

[Rome]

Not happy about Polanco.  Its not enough an upgrade over Feliz to warrant 3/18. 

Like I said... retarded farging seamhead douches hate it.

Good enough for me.

[MDS]

the money is such a non issue. but little mikey like to take his calculator and pretend hes amaro, so...i dont know, go add up some vorp you farging geek.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Not happy about Polanco.  Its not enough an upgrade over Feliz to warrant 3/18. 

I'm shocked you hate it. Shocked!

Good move.

[The BIGSTUD]

I don't get how so many people are saying he isn't much better than Feliz offensively. I swear, they probably never saw Polanco play one inning and just looked up the stats and saw .266 vs .285 and decided he isn't much better. Polanco is a .300 hitter who had a bad first half of 2009 and hit something like .315 in the 2nd half. He is a much better bat than Feliz, and doesn't strike out.

I love Feliz for his glove and what he did for this team(namely the grand slams), but man he was the most frustrating player to watch. The grounders to 3rd and SS, the double plays, the strike outs low and away that he chased for pretty much the entire 2nd half of the season. He came up so frickin lame with 2 or more men out in the playoffs for a guy that was good all season with RISP, and Feliz is older than Polanco.

[Sgt PSN]

all of the first pitch swinging with men on base was enough for me.  but yeah, all of that other crap you mentioned sucked too. 

[mpmcgraw]

I'm starting to come around on the signing.  While Rome is still an idiot for not understanding how arbitration works he's right in the grand scheme of things the money isn't that much, it just seems like it is right now because the Phillies are so up against their budget.    

The last year of his contract is probably going to be brutal, but it seems a pretty safe bet Polanco should be an above average third baseman next year.

I have no faith in Rube going forward, but hopefully I'm wrong.

[MDS]

if money is not an issue then why will the last year be brutal?

[Rome]

Blah... blah... blah...

I'm wrong.

Yes, you are.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Over the past couple of weeks, we've gotten some strong indications that the Phillies are hoping to land Tigers righthander Brandon Lyon, a versatile reliever who saved 26 games for the Diamondbacks in 2008 but also has the ability to pitch multiple innings.

Lyon is an interesting guy in that he compliments a 92-93 MPH fastball with three other pitches, most notably (and regularly) a curve ball. He also throws a slider/cutter and, occasionally, a change-up.

Lyon would seem to be a guy who can step into the role filled by Park last year. He pitched more than one inning in 24 of his 65 appearances last season, posting a 3.35 ERA and 1.095 WHIP while striking out 5.51 K/9 in those outings. But he has also pitched in the back end up of the bullpen, saving 14 games for Arizona in 2004 and 26 in 2008. In his outings that lasted one or fewer innings last season, he posted a 2.18 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 7.9 per nine innings.

Lyon isn't a ground-ball pitcher like teammate and fellow free agent Fernando Rodney, but his GB/FB rate ranked in the middle of the pack among MLB relievers.

A caveat? Lyon has spent the majority of his career pitching in two of the more pitcher-friendly parks in the majors in Chase Field and Comerica Park. But attempting to take home ballparks into consideration is always tricky.

Lyon will be 30 on Opening Day, so he is considerably younger than a lot of the other pitching options on the market. And with the Phillies likely not in a position to overpay for players like Mike Gonzalez and Fernando Rodney, Lyon could be a palatable option should the Phillies find themselves unable to reach an agreement with Park.

For what it's worth, a former teammate of Lyon's told me a couple weeks ago that the righthander would be a "perfect fit" in Philadelphia.

III. Other Options

Apart from Lyon, Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt is another player whose skill set would jive with the Phillies, although a report out of Denver earlier this offseason that said Betancourt rejected a two-year, $8 million contract suggests he might be out of the Phillies price range.

After that, I'd look for them to try to add the type of low-risk (AKA cheap), high-reward type of player that RAJ talked about yesterday. One option could be John Smoltz, although I'd say the chances of him actually signing in Philly are slim and none. There are other relievers who are either coming off unhealthy or unimpressive (or both) seasons who might be willing to sign a low-base, incentive-laden contract. ESPN reported the other day that the Phillies have had some interest in former Mets righthander J.J. Putz, with whom Pat Gillick and Benny Looper are familiar from their ties to the Mariners organization. But again, I'd put the chances of that happening at slim and none for a variety of reasons: One, it doesn't make much sense for the Phillies to invest any substantial money in a base salary for a player whose velocity dropped last season and whose workload has decreased in each of the last three seasons. Two, it doesn't make much sense for Putz to take a chance on a team that plays in what pitchers believe to be a bandbox and that features two back-of-the-bullpen arms who will get first dibs on high-leverage situations. Remember, he'll be trying to play his way into a big contract next year, and there would seem to be better opportunities to do so than in Philadelphia.

A more likely option would seem to be finding the 2010 version of Kiko Kalero or Brendan Donnelly, two players who performed well for the Marlins last season while trying to prove themselves after injuries. One such player who could fit that mold this year is righthander Joaquin Benoit. Benoit, who will be 32 in 2010, missed all of 2009 after undergoing rotator cuff surgery in Junuary. He posted a 5.00 ERA and 1.667 WHIP while battling shoulder pain in 2008. But from 2005-07, Benoit posted a 3.80 ERA and 1.243 WHIP while striking out 9.0 batters per nine innings for the Rangers.

Another name to keep your eye on is Brad Penny, who the Phillies have had some interest in over the last couple of seasons and who could be a guy who could compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.

Then, of course, there are the relievers who are perceived to be over-the-hill but who might try to make one last attempt at hanging on. Included in this category are former Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan and former Angel Justin Speier.

No way on Brandon Lyon.