Phillies Nation

On Monday, it was announced that the Astros selected outfielder Domingo Santana as the player to be named later in the late July trade that sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies.

Santana, a Dominican born slugger, posted a .269 average with 7 HR and 32 RBI in 96 games with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws.

The 19-year-old is regarded as a five tool talent and has been ranked among the Phillies’ top ten prospects by multiple national outlets.

I had the opportunity to speak with Lakewood manager Chris Truby about Santana, the PTBNL list of five Phillies prospects that the Astros had to choose from, as well as other matters pertaining to the BlueClaws, as they enter the final few weeks of their regular season. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview.

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider. You can read more from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

Prior to Placido Polanco‘s sports hernia diagnosis, the Phillies were a team with few holes. At 75-40 with a first place lead more than twice as large as the next closest division leader, this was a team in no hurry to make a move.

But now Polanco is out, possibly for an extended period of time. He will have an anti-inflammatory injection today, the results of which will be available Friday. If Polanco reacts positively to the shot, he might be back next week. If the shot doesn’t work, Polanco would require corrective surgery that would sideline him for 3-4 weeks.

The 2011 has been a post-April disaster for Polanco. In the opening month, he batted .398/.447/.524 and no major leaguer had tallied more hits. Polanco produced 1.8 WAR in just one month, when 2.0 for the year is considered league average.

Since the 1st of May, however, Polanco has hit .223/.280/.264 and increased his WAR total by only 0.1. A fast start was derailed by an extended slump and several nagging injuries. Polanco’s current hernia, originally diagnosed as a sore hip, has nothing to do with the back injury that sidelined him for 26 days in July. Or so he says.

With the Phillies’ starting third baseman likely out a month, Ruben Amaro could initiate another trade. He said last night that Martinez and Valdez would be his guys if Polanco is out for long, but the Phillies’ GM has a tendency to say one thing and do another. Continue reading Does Polanco’s Injury Mean Another Trade?

It seems like yesterday Jayson Werth sported red pinstripes. Philadelphia has many fond memories of Werth, but he has been placed in the rear view mirror. Losing Werth to free agency left many fans upset, the Phillies were without a strong right-handed bat. In addition, it left a gap in right field and questions as to whether Domonic Brown was ready for the everyday job. Brown got hurt, Ben Francisco did little with the job, and for two of the first three months of the season the Phillies got little from the corner outfield.

A drastic move at the trade deadline was necessary, even despite the Phils having the best record in baseball. Hunter Pence was acquired from the Houston Astros in exchange for top prospects Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart, and two minor leaguers.

The Phillies offense had been streaky all season, but Pence’s addition has immediately improved it. Batting fifth, he enabled Ryan Howard to see more pitches in the strike zone. He initially took over the role that Jayson Werth once had.

In any sport, there are ongoing debates as to which players are superior. Whether using stats or intangibles, there are several ways to measure those similarities and differences. That leads to the question: who is the better option? Hunter Pence or Jayson Werth?

Continue reading Hunter Pence and Jayson Werth

Pence-ylvania Shirt
We’re only printing a limited number of these shirts welcoming Hunter Pence to the 2011 Phillies.

The shirt features a custom design screen print on a 100% cotton preshrunk Gilden t-shirt.

Hunter Pence is a Phillie. And it did not cost Domonic Brown.

The Phillies have traded Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Josh Zeid (Double-A reliever) and a player to be named later to Houston for Pence. The player to be named later is not believed to be a top-tier prospect, and the Astros are also including $1MM in the deal.

In Pence, the Phillies get the righthanded fifth batter they wanted so badly. He is under team control for all of next season and the season after. Those are his final arbitration years, and based on his $6.9MM salary this season, an estimate of $23MM over the next two seems fair. Though, Ruben Amaro could do as he usually does and reach a contract extension instead.

Click the link for reaction and analysis. Continue reading Phillies Acquire Hunter Pence

Would the Phillies be giving up too much for Pence? (PHOTO: Yahoo)

UPDATE, 5:15 pm: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney just tweeted that a source tells him the Phillies have no intention of putting Domonic Brown up for sale.

The saga continues.

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UPDATE, 4:30 pm: Michael Baumann did a little research today on how prospects pan out in the majors, here is a look:

Proof that the Baseball America people know what they’re talking about (Click on the year to see that seasons full list of top prospects):

2005:
Top 10 2005: 8 major league regulars (Mauer, Felix Hernandez, Delmon Young, Ian Stewart, Kotchman, Kazmir, Rickie Weeks, Hanley Ramirez), 1 MVP, 1 Cy Young, 4 batting titles.  Other notables: Matt Cain (13), Prince Fielder (15), Chad Billingsley (19), Jeff Niemann (20), Carlos Quentin (22), Nick Swisher (24)

2006:
Top 10 2006: 7 ML regulars (Young, Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, Liriano, Billingsley,Verlander, Matt Cain) Other notables: Fielder (11), Howie Kendrick (12), Alex Gordon (13), Ryan Zimmerman (15), Quentin (20), Markakis (21), Jon Lester (22), Chris Young the outfielder (23) and Tulo (25)

Continue reading Phillies Trade Rumors Friday: Hunter Pence Edition

-According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, the Phillies have narrowed their focus on both Mike Adams and Ryan Ludwick of the San Diego Padres after missing out on Carlos Beltran, who heads to the Giants. He will be in the lineup tonight, by the way, for San Francisco.

Carlos Quentin is an option if the Sox wanna sell. (PHOTO: AP)

I’m not a big fan of Ludwick, as I’ve stated here previously. And you know that getting both Ludwick and Adams will be quite expensive. Adams has been ridiculous out of the bullpen this season and would automatically push the Phillies bullpen into a new stratosphere. He’s also under control for another year, so if Ryan Madson were to leave, he could close.

Is anyone against pillaging the farm system for a mediocre bat and a relief pitcher?

-The Phillies reportedly were thinking of offering up Domonic Brown in a move for Hunter Pence after being shot down with another deal. The other trade offer was Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart, and another mid-level prospect.

Continue reading Phillies Trade Rumors Thursday: Adams, Ludwick

First, the news…

Will Beltran be in a Giants uniform tomorrow night?

- Carlos Beltran looks to be heading to the Giants for minor league pitcher Zach Wheeler, ranked the 31st prospect in baseball by Keith Law. The Phillies apparently turned down straight up offers of Dom Brown for Beltran, Jarred Cosart for Beltran and Jonathan Singleton for Beltran.

- Edwin Jackson was traded with Mark Teahen from the White Sox to the Blue Jays for solid reliever Jason Frasor and minor league pitcher, and 44th raked MiLB prospect Zach Stewart.

- Jackson was then traded by Toronto, with Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson and Mark Rzepczynski to the Cardinals for Colby Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet and P.J. Walters.

- The Phillies remain in pursuit of Hunter Pence, and reportedly had reached a tentative agreement earlier this week to deal Cosart, Singleton and another minor league pitcher to Houston for Pence. Ed Wade backed off, however, citing his desire for major league ready talent. The Phils are unwilling to trade Brown or Vance Worley.

- The Braves, after losing Brian McCann to an oblique injury last night, are now back in the Pence sweepstakes. Continue reading Trade Updates

Tuesday was a busy night for the NL East. The Phillies dismantled the Giants thanks to four homers, tremendous defense and the first complete game of Vance Worley‘s promising career. Four hours later, the Braves downed the Pirates on one of the worst calls in major league history. The game went 19 innings, but one error in judgment by a mistaken umpire made the previous 37 half-innings meaningless.

While Jerry Meals’ name will be bandied about as much Wednesday as Carlos Beltran or Hunter Pence, the fact remains that the trade deadline is more important to the Phillies today then this morning’s controversial call. With the story changing every two hours, what do we know?

Carlos Beltran

Well, we know that the Phils have “cooled” significantly on Beltran. That was reported first by Jayson Stark and later confirmed by Ken Davidoff (Newsday) and Joel Sherman (New York Post.) The Mets apparently asked the Phillies for Domonic Brown straight up. Ruben Amaro wisely declined. Sandy Alderson then asked for Jarred Cosart. Amaro again said no.

As of this moment, it appears that the Mets will get much less than anticipated for two months of Beltran. They will not get the sought-after A-level prospect nor will they get a gaggle of high-upside youngsters. Stark opines that the Mets may have to settle for an interesting prospect and some salary relief. Money has not been an issue for the Mets in this particular case (as strange as that may sound.) But with the prospects of a big-time prospect dwindling, saving money might be the best bet.

Watch for the Braves to make a final push at Beltran. They will be without catcher Brian McCann for at least 15 days now, as McCann strained an oblique in last night’s marathon.

Continue reading Phillies Trade Rumors: Intriguing Names, Conflicting Info

Jon Singleton is a top trade piece held by the Phillies. (PHOTO: Phoul Ballz)

In recent years, the Phillies have acquired elite talent, adding Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in separate blockbuster trades. The packages of players sent away to make those deals all included highly ranked prospects.

Fans and experts alike presume the Phillies have depleted their system of prospects with the amount top minor league players traded in those deals. That’s far from true, as many individuals currently in Philadelphia’s developmental system have proven worthy of high recognition.

If the Phillies are going to put together similar groups of players to add a key contributor at the big league level again this season, they’ll surely need to send away more ascending young talent. In order to understand what type of package the Phillies would be required to deal, it’s important to look at what they gave up in those previous trades.

Cleveland/Lee trade…July, 2009- RHP Jason Knapp, IF Jason Donald, C Lou Marson, RHP Carlos Carrasco.

Knapp was the young ace of the Class A Lakewood staff and had earned attention with his high-90′s fastball. The emerging young hurler with ace potential on the BlueClaws staff this year is last season’s top draft choice Jesse Biddle. But Biddle, a 19-year-old Philadelphia native, doesn’t throw quite as hard as Knapp – his fastball has been ranging in the low-90′s in recent starts. In his latest 10 starts, Biddle has been sharp, posting a 1.85 ERA.

Donald was a force with Double A Reading in 2008 (.304 avg, 14 HR, .889 OPS in 92 games) and turned 25-years-old in 2009, after he was sent to Cleveland. The current Phils prospect most comparable to Donald is likely third baseman/first baseman Cody Overbeck, who has ripped up Double A pitching, but has now hit a bit of a skid at Triple A Lehigh Valley. The 25-year-old Overbeck leads the Phillies organization thus far in 2011 with 21 homeruns, combined at two levels. Overbeck, an 8th round draft pick in 2008, has even dabbled in the outfield this year, adding to his versatility and appeal to potential trade partners.

Continue reading Potential Prospect Packages Phils Could Trade