CSN Report: Phillies Continue to Puruse Stanton
According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the Phillies are still at it. They’ve made a few calls to Miami in an attempt to nab Giancarlo Stanton and will continue to pursue the 23-year-old rightfielder.
Now, this should come as no surprise. Twenty-nine other teams should be doing the same thing, as he’s clearly the best young power hitter in baseball, when healthy. Ruben Amaro would be doing his “due diligence” by phoning the Marlins. However, as Salisbury maps out in his column, there are so many places this Phillies team can go between now and the trade deadline — and then the end of the season — that it maybe doesn’t put it out of the realm of possibilities. Whether they’re buying or selling, they are strongly in on Stanton.
If you’re asking flat-out, “Will the Phillies acquire Stanton,” my answer is no. They don’t have the talent to get him, as there are many other franchises with better-stocked systems that can send more to Miami. What the Phillies do have are tradeable chips in Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Chase Utley, plus other lesser, but intriguing names like Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, and Roy Halladay.
If the Phillies were to decide to give up and move on from this current roster, Lee and Papelbon could fetch you a few decent prospects. Utley might do the same. Obviously, with age and salary being a major factor, the Phillies won’t get an incredible haul for any of them. Do you trade a few of those veterans, then put together a package and bet the farm on someone like Stanton?
Again, it’s somewhat of a pipe dream, but it bears watching. Amaro is in a predicament with an aging core and a farm system that is not highly thought of. Where does he go from here? And when is that time?
