Comments on: Free Agent Open Season

By: free toilets

free toilets — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:15:20 +0000

free toilets

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:09:06 +0000

The Phillies have said they’re willing to bump payroll up to as much as $105 million. A lot of players will be getting raises, however, so you have to factor that in.

By: hoey

hoey — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:14:27 +0000

anyone know roughly what the phillies salary level will be? 90 mill? 100 mill?
if they resign rowand do they have enough for two pitchers?
can they have one of their bench guys take third so they can save money for quality pitching? can they reassign adam eaton to the cleaning crew and finally get their money’s worth with cleaner toilets for the fans?

By: Chris.I

Chris.I — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:35:05 +0000

I think Bourne or Victorino is a good trade possibility if we can somehow pick up a CF (Hopefully we re-sign Rowand). Alot of teams will be looking for a speedy OF with a good arm, and decent bat, and Victorino and Burrells name will probably be thrown out there alot this offseason the most. I like Victorino alot, and Burrell as well, but let’s face it…We need pitching. If thats what it takes, we’ll have to take a shot in the chin, and move on. As much as we would all love to have Rowand back, It doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. So we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:37:19 +0000

Matt: You are wrong about Bedard being available. I agree that it makes no sense to trade Hamels for Bedard…that’s a wash. But the Orioles are in need of a change and have let it be known that Bedard and Tejada are available. I am sure the Phillies could put together a package to pull Bedard and would be in favor of using Victorino if that is what it took. Don’t get me wrong, I like Vic but with the offense that is already in place, it is pitching the Phillies need and pitching that wins in the playoffs.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:21:44 +0000

It seems clear that the Phillies have very little to offer in trades. Trading Burrell for next to nothing (draft picks or third tier prospects) would free up some spending money, even if the Phils must eat 4 million or so of Pat’s juicy contract. After Bonds signs somewhere in the AL, another team in the league will probably want to compete at DH. Trading Victorino would be a huge mistake, as I wouldn’t bet against him lighting things up elsewhere.

By: Todd

Todd — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:52:55 +0000

I agree with Brian, there aren’t any top-level pitchers out there to grab without giving up everything the Phils would want to keep. I spend a lot of time in Baltimore, and as I would agree that they would love to trade both him and Tejada, it’s not going to be for nothing. That team needs to rebuild ASAP, and they need MLB ready guys to step in. They know what they have in Bedard, the Phils aren’t going to get him for Victorino and someone like Carrasco. Yes, Angelos has proven to be a terrible baseball guy, but Andy Mcphail isn’t. He knows what he has to get back for either of those guys and Angelos has (supposedly) given him the room to do so.

More than anything, I would think the Phils need a few veterans that can handle a big game and aren’t coming off (or into) major injury. Colon is a sexy name, but he’s got Freddy Garcia written all over him. I do like Fogg, he earned something this season… but he was average before that and probably won’t deserve the big contract he’ll get. I don’t know how many times Gillick is willing to get burned by deals similar to Garcia and Eaton. Colon and Fogg could be the 2008 versions.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:23:49 +0000

I’d guess that the Red Sox will resign Lowell and probably Schilling (they’ll lowball him and make him choose whether he wants to uproot his family again for $1-2 million more, my guess is he’ll stay). They’ll overpay for Lowell, but with the WS cash they can afford it.

Craig: Bedard (and Santana for that matter) would only be available if the O’s/Twins are overwhelmed with an offer, which from the Phils would probably have to include Hamels. The Phils just don’t have the top-notch pitching prospects to get a deal like that done. The second tier group of Colon, Fogg, etc. is the most feasible option. And as an aside Craig, I think you should spend a little more time researching the ‘players the Phillies should persue (sic)’ to get a more realistic view of the market.

By: Brian Michael

Brian Michael — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 23:19:42 +0000

I was thinking of Ortiz more as a setup man. However, as part of my day job, I was casually talking to Mr. Angelos the other day about the O’s prospects of resigning Bedard. He said they will try to resign him to a 2 year deal and then let him pursue free agency after that. But even if that doesn’t happen, Bedard has an unfriendly reputation with teammates and the media and may not fit in well with this team.

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:10:38 +0000

Brian: Are you serious…Russ Ortiz? I really would like to know what the criteria is for being able to write on this site. The Phillies need Russ Ortiz like they need another Adam Eaton. Stop throwing out names of pitchers you have in baseball cards and get real. Ortiz would be a TERRIBLE signing. The Phillies will need to upgrade their rotation through trade and Eric Bedard is available. Don’t quit your dayjob because your knowledge of baseball and players the Phillies should persue is terrible.