So yeah. Fuck the Yankees. I mean, congrats on #27 and all, but suffice it to say I already got into a couple arguments with people regarding "buying" the WS (i don't entirely subscribe in the notion but i understand the viewpoint). However, not gonna get into that here.
If you look at it, more or less the Phils had their chances this series, and either gave the game away or came up a day late and a dollar short, so to speak. But, given that Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor are inevitably going to get called up this coming season (at least one), and the potential of Kyle Drabek to be called up as well, we only really have a couple patches needed to come back and win another one.
I get the feeling Victorino, despite being an All-Star who grinds out his ABs and hustles as hard as any Phillie, will be gone. This is simply because Ibanez is too old and has too large a contract to garner any real trade interest, and Werth is a more valuable player to us, imho. We need at least one OF spot to use for Brown or Taylor, and I would assume that if both get called up, one takes the spot of either Francisco or Stairs on the bench (assuming that Stairs retires this year, which he probably does, along with Scott Eyre).
Creates an interesting defensive situation in our OF, however. Ibanez is an average fielder and Werth is average-above average at best. Victorino has played GG-caliber CF for a couple years now, so I have my concerns about replacing him.
But let's take a look at what needs to be done to get back to this point next season.
- Closer
- Relief pitcher
- Power bat
- Starter?
- 3rd baseman?
Happenings:
Myers comes off the books, which is $12 mil.
Blanton can go to arbitration this offseason
Feliz potentially leaves; team has $5 million option on him
Victorino potentially traded/leaves; can go to arbitration this offseason
Eyre is a free agent, likely to retire
Matt Stairs is a free agent, possibly retiring?
CH Park, Pedro, Chad Durbin, Eric Bruntlett, Paul Bako, Jack Taschner, Miguel Cairo all free agents
So we'll have a flexible amount of payroll to work with, but at the same time, plenty of minor holes to plug.
CLOSER: In the closing department, potential FAs this offseason are slim pickins. The best potential option is a trade acquisition of Jose Valverde, who has been lockdown for the most part on a couple of terrible Houston teams and an in-over-their-head D'Backs team. This would be the trade I hope the Phils make more than anything, forget about another chase at Halladay for a cheaper price. At the very least, we need an insurance policy on Lidge, because there is 0 guarantee that Lidge rounds back into form next season. Valverde in the last three years has saved 47, 44, and 25 games, with a BAA over those three seasons never going above .225, a WHIP never above 1.18, and a high-water ERA mark of 3.38. In contrast, Lidge.
Other potential, but less savory, closing options include Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Fernando Rodney, and Billy Wagner.
BULLPEN ARMS: it's obvious we need a few, especially with Eyre likely gone after this year and potentially Durbin and Condrey as well. There are a good amount of relievers available this offseason, mostly stopgap players who we could get for a year or two. Pitchers to look into include John Grabow, Rafael Betancourt, and Ron Mahay, along with the general scrap-heap pickups we make useful.
POWER BAT: There is no shortage of them this coming offseason, but they all have their question marks. With Stairs likely gone, that leaves us with Dobbs and Francisco off the bench. Francisco is not a hitter, and Dobbs is more of a situational bat than a power bat. Men to look at would include Jim Thome, Chad Tracy (AZ just declined a $7m option), Chris Duncan, Hank Blalock, Rick Ankiel, Rocco Baldelli, Fernando Tatis, Gary Sheffield, Troy Glaus, and (perhaps) Joe Crede.
3RD BASEMAN? - We all know Pedro Feliz is an outstanding defensive third baseman. The issue is...the man cannot hit. Somehow he went from an awful offensive lineup in San Fran where he produced to a powerful offensive lineup in Philly and his numbers managed to go down significantly. Perhaps it's where he's at in the order, perhaps it's his tendency to not swing at anything outside. Either way, we could use an offensive upgrade at 3rd. Pedro is on a $5m club option next year, and there isn't a guarantee we'll pick it up. So, keeping that in mind, I feel it would be wise to look into upgrades at 3rd, including Mark DeRosa, Adrian Beltre (on the cheap too), Joe Crede, Juan Uribe (likely to stick with SF), and Troy Glaus. Beltre and DeRosa would be my preferred choices, as they both have solid combinations of hitting and fielding. Crede didn't show much last season but was plauged again by a bad back, and Glaus had his own injury woes as well, in addition to being a poor fielder.
STARTER?: With Moyer rehabbing, Pedro's contract expired, Myers' contract expired, Blanton going to arbitration, and Happ's spot potentially in flux, we go into 2010 with some questions regarding our rotation, which could go Lee-Hamels-Happ-Blanton-Moyer, but could very likely look like Lee-Hamels-Happ?-?-?. 2010 brings some intriguing options to the table. Possible acquisitions could include Erik Bedard (if Seattle isn't looking for an insane market, which they can't be after these last two seasons for Bedard), Kelvim Escobar, Justin Duchscherer, Ben Sheets, Tim Hudson, Randy Wolf, Jon Garland, Kevin Millwood and Brad Penny. I would like to see us chase Bedard if Halladay isn't on the block, and I'd like to see runs made at either Sheets, Escobar, Duchscherer or Hudson, because all three should be looking for low-to-moderately-priced deals. Rich Harden would be a longshot, and Lackey looks poised to go to either New York or stay with one of the Cali teams, either way at a very high price, one we don't need.
MISC. - With the potential loss of Bruntlett, we could use a backup SS, or a backup utility player. Options include Akinori Iwamura, Omar Infante, Ronnie Belliard, Bobby Crosby, Nomar, Khalil Greene, and Jamey Carroll. If Iwamura isn't retained by Tampa, he's the best option, able to play 2nd, 3rd and short with precision and can hit well for both power and average. Infante can hit for average with low to moderate power, and can play pretty much anywhere in the infield. Belliard is about the same, except he cannot play short. Crosby has his injury concerns, but is still a great defensive player, though his bat has continued to tail off. Call him Bruntlett Jr. Nomar and Greene can still both hit for good power and decent averages, but neither can field well and would be more useful as pinch hitters than fielders. Carroll is a darkhorse after a deec season with the Tribe, is multi-positional, but has question marks regarding both fielding and average.
If Bako isn't re-signed, we could end up signing another backup catcher on the cheap. I would like to see us in that case chase after Ramon Castro, Jose Molina, or Yorvit Torrealba. Castro has a good bat and is pretty clutch, and is good with pitchers. Molina is great with pitchers, a poor hitter, but a great defensive player. Torrealba is, like Chooch, a late-season hitter, but has good power and is okay at calling games, but a potential defensive liability.
As a defensive replacement, I would like to see us try and sign Endy Chavez, who can hit and hit in the clutch in addition to being able to make spectacular plays in the OF. I would prefer to see him to Ben Francisco and leave Francisco as a bench option.
Reed Johnson of the Cubs would make a good bench OF because of his combination of hitting and fielding prowess, as well.
Dave Roberts could be a sneaky pickup if he remains unsigned, especially as a defensive replacement in the OF or a pinch runner. He is an average hitter, but has great speed and is solid defensively, and likely will come on the cheap.
Randy Winn would make a great pickup for a low price. Great fielder, consistent hitter, reminds me of a less-speedy Victorino.
