Phillies Nation

We’re about 200 days from major league free agents being able to sign with teams other than their own. One such player is Cole Hamels, whose contract with the Phillies ends after the 2012 season. If Hamels isn’t re-signed within six days of the end of the 2012 World Series, he can sign elsewhere.

I’ve been documenting Hamels’ contract status for almost a year. It began last May with a comparison of a Hamels deal and the contract signed by Tigers ace Justin Verlander. It continued in late-August after Jered Weaver signed a team-friendly pact with the Angels.

As time has worn on, those two deals have become less and less meaningful with regard to Hamels’ impending payday. We aren’t looking at numbers like $85 or $90 million. We’re looking more so at a figure close to $120 million.

I wrote several months ago that a five-year, $100 million contract with a sixth-year team option at $22 million (with a $12 million buyout) would likely get Hamels signed. He gets his $20 million per season but the Phillies avoid handing out a six- or seven-year deal. The contract would be worth, at most, $122 million and at least $112MM.

On Wednesday, CSNPhilly.com Phillies insider Jim Salisbury reported that talks between the Phillies and Hamels have progressed, especially in the wake of the Dodgers being sold for $2 billion to an ownership group that will seek to make a splash in the coming years.

Continue reading Here’s How a Hamels Deal Gets Done…

The Phillies released Dontrelle Willis on Friday.

The Phillies released Dontrelle Willis Friday morning, per the team’s official Twitter account.

Willis, who allowed five runs in 2.2 innings this Spring against 12 righties and just four lefties, was on a non-guaranteed deal.

While it was a good idea by Ruben Amaro to try to convert a deceptive pitcher on the down-swing into a left-handed specialist (lefties hit just .127 off Willis last season and .216 the year before), the plan didn’t work out as expected.

Maybe it’s for the best, as Dontrelle’s departure clears the way for a young, cheaper Phillies reliever to make the team. And Willis would have likely continued to be misused on the Phils anyway. Last season J.C. Romero faced 27 more righties than lefties. Willis is similarly ineffective against opposite-handed batters.

By cutting Willis prior to Opening Day, the Phillies save just over $700,000, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.

PHOTO: Zimbio.com

Chase Utley may or may not be able to go by Opening Day.

The picture got no clearer Wednesday, when Charlie Manuel said of Utley potentially playing in a Spring Training game: “It’s coming up pretty soon, it’ll be a few days yet, but then he’ll start pushing his workouts up. He’ll get going pretty soon. We’ll get him some live pitching and see where he’s at.”

But even still, Manuel’s phrasing and several signs Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com points out leave room to believe… maybe Utley won’t be ready.

Sources tell CSNPhilly that the Phillies are looking for infield help. And Salisbury points out that Freddy Galvis has played second base upwards of 30 innings in the Phils’ past five Spring Training games. Galvis figures to see more time there while Michael Martinez heals his bruised elbow.

Galvis is hitting .308 this Spring in 26 at-bats and leads the Phillies with 7 RBI. Two stats you’ll either be impressed by or say “meaningless sample” to.

He’s 22 and has played 33 games at the Triple-A level. Letting him develop offensively is the plan. He hit well, by light-hitting, glove savvy middle infielder standards, last season at Lehigh Valley… .298/.315/.324. But his OPSs from 2007-09 were .507, .588, .568, all at Single-A. In the National League in 2011, the lowest player OPS was .615 by Jason Bartlett.

So a backup plan is likely in order.

And that would be trading for a middle infielder. The name that jumps out at me is Alberto Callaspo.

Continue reading Should Phils Trade Joe Blanton for Alberto Callaspo?

(This article is just over 1,000 words, but I promise you that they’re all worth it in understanding exactly how much money the Phillies will and can commit to Shane Victorino.)

PHOTO: Zimbio.com

A benefit to the Phillies having the second most wins in baseball since 2007 (473, the Yankees have 479) is that few players want to leave.

Going back to that first playoff season since 1993, every free agent the Phillies let walk — save for Jayson Werth — found work elsewhere because the team decided to move on.

Shane Victorino is the latest in a series of players who have expressed their desire to remain in Philadelphia, but his words were a bit more direct than most. Victorino explicitly used the words “hometown discount” this week, which was sonic beauty to Phillies fans and torture to his agents, the Levinson Brothers.

“I’m willing to give up free agency,” Victorino told ESPN’s Jayson Stark at the beginning of the final week of February. “A lot of guys won’t. In the game of baseball, free agency is what every major league player dreams of. You want to maximize your value, and of course I do, too. But what’s important to me is, I want to be here. I love playing here. My family loves the city. I love the city. So when I made that statement (to Todd Zolecki, that I’m not going anywhere), that’s what I meant.”

Victorino likely realized after those comments that no matter how badly he wants to stay in Philly, it isn’t worth making public comments and losing so much leverage. He clarified things a bit for CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury Thursday morning.

“I look at it this way, if it’s a significant difference, I have to weigh my options,” Victorino told CSNPhilly.com. “I obviously love playing in Philly. They made me who I am. That sits in the back of my mind. But I also understand there’s a window in this game. Age and time comes into play. When I say I don’t want to go anywhere — yeah, I call this home and I want to finish my career here — but we’ll see how it goes.

“I won’t say I won’t take a hometown discount, but I also will say I want to maximize my opportunity with not only what I’ve accomplished as an individual, but as part of a team.”

Victorino then made his first public request for five years, the same contractual length Jimmy Rollins sought at the outset of his own free agency.

“I’ll be 32 on the market,” said Victorino. “I can go another five years. I would think even more. I want to go until I’m 40. My agents say I can get a five-year deal on the market. Why not trust them?”

Here’s the part where we examine whether or not five years is a realistic length for Victorino.

Continue reading Phils Can Afford Victorino & Hamels, But Not a 3B

Juan Pierre was voted the second-best minor-league signing of the off-season by MLB Trade Rumors.

The Phillies enter Spring Training with arguably more depth, both positionally and in the starting rotation, than any team in baseball. It doesn’t mean Ruben Amaro assembled the most talented bunch, pound for pound, but the Phils have enough quality bodies (really, Corey?) to push each other in an attempt to make the 25-man roster.

Two of Amaro’s better signings this Winter were Juan Pierre and Joel Pineiro to minor-league deals. MLBTradeRumors released its Top-10 Minor League Deals of the Off-season on Tuesday and Pierre and Pineiro checked in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Fronting the list is Reds left-hander Jeff Francis.

As MLBTR founder Tim Dierkes notes, Pierre has declined but is still valuable, more so than Nate McLouth or Mark Kotsay, who were each given major league deals. And Pineiro, despite his ineffectiveness in Anaheim last season, is only a season removed from posting a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a 55% ground ball rate, a 3.84 ERA and 2.5 wins above replacement in the tougher league.

Before the off-season started, MLBTR recognized Pierre as the 43rd-best available free agent and Pineiro as the 46th.

Continue reading Pierre, Pineiro Were Top-3 Minor League Signings

The Phillies are nearing a deal to bring back backup catcher Brian Schneider.

The Phillies are nearing a deal with Brian Schneider, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

The terms are not yet clear, but one would imagine the Phillies are re-signing Schneider to a one-year deal. Schneider is coming off of a poor offensive season and, unfortunately for him, his “handling” of Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick in 2011 isn’t attention-grabbing when it comes to dollars and cents.

Ruben Amaro originally signed Schneider to a two-year, $2.75 million contract prior to 2010. In two seasons with the Phillies, Schneider hit .208/.297/.320 with six home runs in 286 plate appearances.

Schneider spent time on the disabled list both years.

The market for catchers this offseason is unexciting to say the least. The most intriguing option is Ryan Doumit, but he was never really a fit with the Phillies. Doumit is a huge defensive liability behind the plate that you wouldn’t feel comfortable starting five or six days a week if Carlos Ruiz were to get injured.

Doumit was also going to be more expensive than a guy like Schneider. I’m predicting the Schneider deal is one-year, $1.1 million. Doumit turned down an offer from the Dodgers of one-year, $3 million.

This isn’t a move that will generate excitement — Schneider will soon be 35 and over the past two seasons has been worth -0.3 WAR. But in the grand scheme of things, the Phillies needed a cheap backup catcher for 2012 and this just isn’t a front office that will trust Erik Kratz in that role.

If the Phils sign Schneider to the deal predicted above, they’ll have about $155 million committed to 21 players after the arbitration cases take place.

They still need to fill holes at shortstop, left field, in the bullpen and on the bench.

As divulged by MLB Trade Rumors Monday, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson and Roy Oswalt have been classified as Type A free agents, while Brad Lidge and Raul Ibanez garnered Type B titles.

Offering Roy Oswalt arbitration would be way too risky.

Type A free agents, if they are offered and decline arbitration, bring back two early draft picks if signed by another team. The top 15 teams in baseball surrender their first round pick and a sandwich pick (between first and second round) to the old team if they sign the free agent, while the bottom 15 teams give up their second round pick and a sandwich pick. So if the Phillies offer Ryan Madson arbitration and he declines then signs with the Nationals, the Phillies would get the Nats’ second-rounder and a sandwich pick. Make that first-rounder and sandwich pick, because the Nationals had the 15th best record. (Why did I have to pick the most confusing example?)

The Phillies will almost certainly offer arbitration to Rollins and Madson. If either accepts (which they won’t), they would be back with the Phillies next year for a salary that cannot be lower than 80 percent of last year’s figure or 70 percent of the figure from two years prior.

Neither player would accept arbitration because both Rollins and Madson are seeking long-term financial commitments. But how about Oswalt? Would the Phillies offer him arbitration?

Continue reading Phils Would Be Unwise To Offer Oswalt Arbitration

Ruben Amaro and Jimmy Rollins both spoke to the media Tuesday, outlining potential plans for a crucial offseason.

Rollins reiterated his desire for a five-year deal, though conceded that he would take a four-year deal with an option. The option, however, would have to be his option, not one belonging to the team. Team options often go unexercised, meaning that the player is bought out of the last year of his deal for a significantly smaller amount. Examples would be Roy Oswalt, who has a $16MM mutual option for 2012 with a buyout of $2MM, and Brad Lidge, who has a $12.5 million team option with a buyout of $1.5MM. Oswalt and Lidge will almost certainly not have their options picked up.

This is the kind of scenario Rollins wishes to avoid, and he can do so by fighting for a player option — which he’d control — or a vesting option — controlled by things like amount of plate appearances or games played in the previous year(s). Rollins acknowledged that he cannot see himself in another uniform and that there is a “good chance” he’ll strike a deal with the Phillies, but he has made clear time and again that his last contract will be all about years and money, not friendship or loyalty. He’s certainly entitled to that.

Continue reading The Futures of Rollins, Madson, Dom Brown