Earlier today, we learned that the Seattle Mariners had some interest in Phillies left fielder Ben Revere. Revere would be an upgrade over either Dustin Ackley or Rickie Weeks, both of whom are batting under .200 for the Mariners. But a report earlier today got the ire of Phillies fans before being refuted.
The Tacoma News Tribune originally reported:
The Mariners inquired into the availability of Philadelphia outfielder Ben Revere, as first reported by CSNPhilly.com, but talks quickly stalled when the Phillies asked for either Taijuan Walker or James Paxton in return.
Later, the story was amended with new information:
That’s one version.
Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., once the report surfaced, denied the asking for Walker or Paxton in return to Revere. If so, the Mariners are likely to show renewed interest.
That is, of course, if the interested never waned because there was never an outrageous deal to begin with. Both Taijuan Walker and James Paxton are young promising starting pitchers with tremendous upside. They are with much, much more than Revere.
Either way, the reaction around baseball seems to indicate one thing: baseball fans – not just Phillies fans – do not respect Phillies management. Sure, I've traded baseball cards in my life, and once in a while someone agrees to take your Omar Vizquel for a Carl Yastrzemski with the big sideburns. But, this of course is Major League Baseball, and such an offer would cut off trade negotiations.
Revere, meanwhile, has some value but not a whole lot. The overall advantage would be that a Revere trade would open up another spot in the outfield. Domonic Brown is hitting in the .240s in AAA and supposedly will come back sometime. It had better be this year instead of next year. Revere, meanwhile, will earn a raise in arbitration from his $4.1 million this season and probably is not a long-term solution for the Phillies.
