Phillies Nation

Ross has signed a three-year pact with Arizona. Photo: AP

Ross Signs with Arizona

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News is reporting that Cody Ross has agreed to a three-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, further limiting the opportunities for the Phillies to upgrade their outfield production.Ten days ago, our Eric Seidman explained why the price tag for Ross just would not match the upgrade value he would provide in the Phillies outfield. Now, fans no longer have to discuss that question.

Phils Interested in Ibanez Reunion?

Somewhat surprisingly, the Phillies are linked to a reunion with outfielder Raul Ibanez according to George King of the New York Post. In 425 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2012, Ibanez posted .240/.308/.453 line with 19 HRs. Jim Salisbury of CSN quoted Ruben Amaro yesterday, citing a need for a productive, right-handed bat. Ibanez is not right-handed and it can be argued that he is no longer productive, but 2012′s postseason hero could add some value in a bench role for the Phillies in 2013 at age 41. King notes that the Mariners have intensified their pursuit of Ibanez in what would be a reunion in its own right.

Hairston Looking For “Significant” Raise

Buster Olney of ESPN reported today that Scott Hairston is looking for a “significant” raise from last year’s $1.1 million he earned as a Met. Hairston fits the Phillies’ outfield need and was suggested by our Eric Seidman as a cheaper, just-as-productive alternative to Cody Ross. Salisbury reported yesterday that the Phillies have increased interest in Hairston, who turns 33 next year, and posted a .286/.317/.550 line with 11 HRs against lefties last year while playing about league average defense in the corner outfield positions.

Polanco is headed to Miami. Photo: AP

Former Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Marlins, reported by CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler. Polanco played in just 90 games last season while nursing various back injuries. Polanco hit career-lows .257/.302/.327 for the Phillies but still provided positive fielding value in the field. Polanco, 37, leaves Philadelphia after earning a Gold Glove and All-Star appearance with the club. He is entering his 17th Major League season.

Former Phillies infielder Brian Bocock signed a Minor League deal with the Washington Nationals according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Bocock last appeared in the Majors as a member of the Phillies in 2010, seeing time in six games primarily as a defensive replacement. Bocock spent last year with the Blue Jays’ Double-A New Hampshire club and their Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate.

Pitcher Andrew Carpenter has also found a new home according to Eddy. Carpenter is entering his age 28 season and has signed a Minor League deal with the Cubs. Carpenter has pitched in 65 games over parts of five Major League seasons with a 7.56 ERA. No word on what his former Cal-State Long Beach teammate John Bowker is up to these days.

Reliever Nelson Figueroa signed a Minor League deal with the Diamondbacks per Eddy. Figueroa spent 2012 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Red Sox and Yankees. Figueroa saw time with the Phillies in 2010, pitching in 26 games before being traded to the Astros.

Utility infielder Cody Ransom signed a Minor League deal with the San Diego Padres according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Ransom hit .220/.312/.411 with 11 HRs for Arizona last season, playing all four infield positions. Ransom was a Phillie in 2010 and provided a pair of memorable home runs in 22 games for the club.

2012 Lehigh Valley IronPig Dave Bush has signed a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays, the team that drafted him in 2002, also reported by Eddy. Bush posted a 3.16 ERA in 11 starts last year for the ‘Pigs and also spent part of 2012 pitching in Korea.

The Phils have just enough room to squeeze Ross on to the team, financially and roster-wise. Photo: AP

In the last nine days, or 216 hours, the Phillies have added six players to their 40-man roster and only have subtracted two (Josh Lindblom and Vance Worley). Some snuck quietly under the radar, such as the Rule 5 selection of Ender Inciarte or yesterday’s waiver claim of lefty reliever Mauricio Robles from Seattle, while others, like Michael Young and Ben Revere‘s acquisitions, sparked debate here, here, and here.

The reality of adding a new player every 36 hours for nine days is that your roster gets pretty crowded pretty quickly. The Phillies 40-man roster now sits at 39 players, which does not include Carlos Ruiz and does not currently include a back-up catcher. Can the Phillies afford to add one or more players, such as Cody Ross, who Ken Rosenthal has linked them to, since Chooch will be player #40 once his suspension is up? The simple answer is: yes. Do they have enough money to do so? That gets more complicated. Continue reading Phils Have Enough Money, Space to Land Ross

The Phillies claimed left-handed pitcher Mauricio Robles from the Seattle Mariners today. Robles, 23, has a career 4.15 ERA in seven seasons, which includes stops in Triple-A Tacoma in each of the last three years. Robles has struggled in 15 games at Triple-A, 6.71 ERA, but strikes out batters at a 9.4 K/9 IP over his career. Robles was placed on waivers by the Mariners last week and now occupies the 37th spot on the Phillies 40 man roster, not including the suspended Carlos Ruiz.

Credit: Matt Gelb

Analysis: Some folks may remember Robles as the key piece in the deal that landed the Detroit Tigers Jarrod Washburn. It is worth noting that Robles spent the majority of his career as a starter before having much success as a reliever in Double-A last season. Robles struggled with injuries in 2011, including Spring Training surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, but was healthy for most of 2012. Robles struggled with command but maintained his velocity.

Robles is a nice insurance policy should the Phillies believe that one of their left-handed relievers won’t be ready for 2013 – he will compete with Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst, Raul Valdes, Jake Diekman, and Joe Savery to round out the ‘pen from the left side. Robles likely will spend the year, however, in Lehigh Valley.

The Phillies have signed 28-year-old lefty Cesar Jimenez to a Minor League contract for 2013. Jimenez spent all of 2012 except for a brief rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma of the Seattle Mariners, posting a 5.24 ERA in 26 games in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. Jimenez has seen action in 43 games in the big leagues as a reliever, posting a tidy 3.41 ERA in 31 games in 2008. Jimenez last saw Major League action in 2011, posting a 5.40 ERA in eight appearances. Jimenez relies on a fastball and change-up repertoire, with a slider as his third most effective pitch.

Analysis: Much like the Zach Miner signing, this is a very low-risk signing that may have no impact on the club for 2013. Jimenez’s fastball sits around 90 MPH and his secondary pitches sitting near 80 MPH. Unfortunately, Jimenez is a control pitcher who has lacked control (a career 3.72 BB/9 IP across his career across all levels). Yet, the Phillies may have been willing to take a chance on Jimenez based on his strong Venezuelan Winter League peripherals (4.02 ERA, 12.43 K/9 IP, 1.77 BB/9 IP in 15.2 IP). Jimenez will likely help round out the IronPigs roster.

"HAMILTON NEXT?!" was the most popular question in this week's mailbag!

Only three questions this week but they are quite in depth – lots of graphics charts and tables – both of the Excel format and wooden. It will make sense after you read the questions.

@WillCorr91 asks via Twitter: What are the chances of Josh Hamilton signing with Philadelphia?

Great question, Will. A lot of folks actually asked this in some form or another, sometimes as simple as “HAMILTON NEXT?!”, but your question was the first, and most concisely written, variation I received. Thank you for that.

No doubt about it, may Phillies fans started to connect dots that may or may not exist once Michael Young was acquired. Yes, it is true that Young and Hamilton have been teammates for the last five seasons, the last three of which, the Rangers reached the playoffs. Yes, they were reportedly off-season conditioning partners. And yes, it is true: Young was a leader in the Rangers clubhouse according to outfielder Daniel Murphy. Murphy stated in an interview with SiriusXM radio yesterday: “Mike’s the glue that holds everybody together. He’s just a guy that creates a great atmosphere in our clubhouse regardless of whether you are a rookie, whether you’ve been around a long time, whether you’re a player that has just signed as a free agent or traded for. Everybody feels welcome in our clubhouse and everybody gets along.”

Young, from all accounts, had very strong ties to his teammates and is a great leader. When the Rangers told Young, instead of asking Young or discussing with him, that he would be playing third base for the 2011 season, Young asked for a trade. Adding fuel to the speculation that Young’s acquisition would help the Phillies land Hamilton was this quote from February 7, 2011, courtesy of WFAA Dallas/Fort Worth, straight from Hamilton’s mouth: “He’s been a guy that I could go to and look to as a veteran leader and somebody I could learn from. If we lose him, it’s going to be a big loss. ”

Continue reading Phillies Nation Mailbag Number Four: Get the Tables

The ball is in Asche's hands to win third base in 2014 according to Jayson Stark. Photo: Jay Floyd

Fresh off of my mother-in-law’s holiday choral concert, I’m back and ready to report on the latest from the Hot Stove in a special Midnight Update!

Something “Big” Coming

The biggest Philadelphia-related news of the day was obviously Michael Young being acquired by the Phillies. The second most notable piece of information in that category was this tidbit passed along by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. Passan’s source indicated that the Phillies were ready to do something big, anything from pursuing Josh Hamilton or making a late run at Zack Greinke. Greinke finalized a six-year, $147 million record-setting contract tonight with the Dodgers, so that one is likely safe to rule out.

2014′s Starting Third Baseman? Asche. For Now.

From the “Card Subject to Change” category, Jayson Stark tweeted today that folks within the Phillies organization recognize that Young is not the ideal solution at third base but was the best option among what was available, noting that many are hopeful Cody Asche will be ready for 2014. No pressure, Cody!

Ellsbury for Lee – Who Says No First? The Phillies.

In a nugget that got lost in the world of transaction madness, CSN’s Jim Salisbury reported that the Red Sox offered Jacoby Ellsbury in a deal for Cliff Lee. Ellsbury struggled with injuries in 2012 that limited him to just 74 games. The Red Sox were told by the Phillies, per Salisbury, that the Phillies are not interested in separating their trio of Lee, Roy Halladay, and Cole Hamels. In the same piece, Salisbury noted that the Phillies attempted to simultaneously acquire Josh Willingham the same day they executed the Ben Revere deal, that the Phils are “seriously interested” Ichiro Suzuki, and “have long liked” Cody Ross.

Raise your hand if you thought Ruben Amaro‘s first big move of the offseason would be trading for Ben Revere.

Over at CSNPhilly.com, Jim Salisbury and I did a 20-man series on Phillies offseason targets and he wasn’t on the list. ‘Tis the beauty of the winter meetings.

Let’s break this Revere trade down bit-by-bit, because there are so many components to it.

Did the Phillies give up too much? Did they get enough? Where does Revere hit? How do they replace Vance Worley? What is the next move? Does this open the door for a Josh Hamilton signing? (Yes, and I’ll explain why…)

But before getting to those questions…

Ben Revere hit .294 with 40 steals last season for the Twins.

Who is Ben Revere?

He’s a 24-year-old outfielder who spent most of last season in right field for the Twins, but is unquestionably fast enough to handle everyday CF duty. He’s played over 1,100 innings in center and is regarded as a very good defender with an incredibly weak, Juan Pierre-like arm.

He hit .294/.333/.342 last season with 40 steals in 49 attempts. He has no home runs in 1,064 plate appearances at the major-league level, and he barely hits any doubles.

Last season, 66.9% of Revere’s balls in play were ground balls. Not only did that lead the majors easily, it was the highest groundball rate any qualifying player has posted since 2002, when the data first became available. This is a good thing … speedsters should be putting the ball on the ground and trying to leg out singles. Revere led the AL in 2012 with 32 infield hits and finished third in baseball with nine bunt singles.

At 24, he probably hasn’t yet hit his ceiling, so it is pretty silly to see some outlets analyzing the trade from the standpoint of “this is who Revere is, and he will never be better.” The Phillies are hoping Revere turns into the next Michael Bourn. Revere over the next handful of years will probably cost less than Bourn does in 2013 alone. Continue reading Revere the First Step to a Successful Offseason?

Could the Vanimal be packaged in a trade for an outfielder? Jim Salisbury says the Phillies are dangling Worley in potential trades.

Rox Have Interest in Vanimal, Salisbury Confirms is “Trade Chip”

In a piece that may have gotten overlooked during the overnight, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported that the Rockies do, in fact, have interest in Vance Worley. In a separate Tweet, Renck wrote that the Rockies would have to be “overwhelmed” to deal Dexter Fowler, who has two more years of team control remaining.

Jim Salisbury of CSN reported mid-day yesterday that the Phillies are dangling Worley, 2012 top prospect Trevor May, and Tyler Cloyd to try to obtain an outfielder. Some of the targets Salisbury mentioned include Fowler, Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota’s Josh Willingham and Ben Revere, and Toronto’s Rajai Davis.

Analysis: Call me crazy, but if the Phils are looking for a one year rental, I would execute a Cloyd-for-Davis swap as an insurance policy for center field. Davis, 32, has a career line of .270/.317/.370, has 223 steals, is 78% efficient on the base paths, and is only due $2.5 million in 2013. Davis has not played much center field since 2011 but generally takes good routes to the ball and makes up for defensive misplays with his speed in getting to the ball.

I would avoid Cuddyer at all costs: he’s due $10.5 million in each of the next two years and hit only .260/.341/.489 in Coors despite being a career .271/.341/.454 hitter. Willingham hit .260/.366/.524 with a career high 35 HR in Minnesota last year and is only due $7 million in 2013 and 2014; in agreement with Salisbury that he is the preferred target but his cost in prospects would fall in between that of Davis and Fowler. Not sure how much I’d give up.

Lee-for-Upton? Amaro strikes it down.

Yesterday afternoon, Pedro Gomez of ESPN tweeted that the Phillies had begun to discuss a trade that had the base of Cliff Lee and cash for Justin Upton. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports was the first to strike this rumor down, followed by Nick Piercoro of AZ Central, who called the rumor “off base“. Last but certainly not least, Ruben Amaro himself struck down the rumor last night. That’s not a Hot Stove rumor – that’s a The Stove is on Fire rumor. The response here at Phillies Nation was so strong that it crashed our servers. Thankfully, we’re back and ready to talk more baseball.

Phils, M’s in on Bourn

As we reported yesterday, the Phillies and Mariners are now both “in” on Michael Bourn.

Victorino Strikes it Rich with Red Sox

Former Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino signed with the Red Sox yesterday for three years, ~$39 million. Keith Law of ESPN has already named the deal one of the worst contracts signed this off-season. Most of Law’s argument comes from the fact that he views Victorino as a platoon player because of his splits that favor him hitting from the right side. Victorino got his mega-deal despite hitting career worsts .255/.321/.383 last season.

Utley Ready for 2013

Jayson Stark Tweeted last night that Chase Utley‘s agent, Joel Wolfe, “described Utley as a man on a mission this winter“, stating: “If the season started in 2 weeks, he’d be ready to go.”

UPDATE: 5:02 PM – Nick Piercoro of AZ Central  says his Diamondbacks’ source said “the Upton/Lee stuff “hasn’t been discussed” and is “off base.”"

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UPDATE: 4:56 PM – Jeff Passan of Yahoo! noted that a source is saying the Phillies and Diamondbacks are not “actively” discussing Lee-for-Upton, but that there is interest in the Diamondbacks’ young pitching.

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Pedro Gomez of ESPN is reporting the Phillies and Diamondbacks have begun engaging in preliminary talks to send Cliff Lee and cash to the Diamondbacks for outfielder Justin Upton. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports believes that the Diamondbacks are in the market for a shortstop and, because the salaries do not match, Passan believes that there would be more in this trade and possibly three or four teams, citing the Diamondbacks’ history of completing multi-team trades. More on this as it develops.