Categories: Posts

8 Players Remain In Arbitration Pool

Eight players remain arbitration eligible for the Phillies. They are:

Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, Joe Blanton.

Of the eight, who would you make your top priority for a long-term contract?

A lot of fuss has been made over handing Hamels a long-term deal, and I still hope the Phils go at it hard to secure Hamels for the next five to seven years. I wouldn’t mind seeing a long-term deal for Victorino, either.

And of the eight, to whom would you outright not offer a long-term contract?

I still think it’s best to let Ryan Howard go year-by-year until he’s finished arbitration. Sure, he’s an impsoing presence in the lineup and would look great as a Phillie for the remainder of his career, but how secure is that career? That’s the question that leads me to my answer.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.