My Winter Meetings Stories to Watch

Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.

It's Winter Meetings week in Major League Baseball, and everyone will be watching the big stories of the week around the league. Where will Jon Lester land tops those stories, but there are others out there, including a potential for Matt Kemp to be moved, and yes, our own Cole Hamels.

So what story lines are the most likely for Phillies fans to be watching? Here's my inside and outside the box potential story lines to watch:

1. Will the Phillies move Marlon Byrd, and for what?- I tend to think Byrd is the most likely player to get moved this week, and I think his value is now pretty decent. I'd watch Cincinnati and St. Louis again, but I also wouldn't dismiss a renewed run at Byrd by Seattle, amongst others. I think the return is probably two players, one of which being someone who will be a part of the future plans for sure.
2. Who will the Phillies sign for their rotation?- Say what, a signing? Yes, a signing. Even if nothing else happens, the Phillies could really use another starting pitcher who will give them (if nothing else) a lot of innings. Currently, they have Hamels, Lee, Buchanan, and Williams who made significant starts in the 2014 rotation, and could use at least one more reliable or better arm. Watch for a move here.
3. Will they or won't they trade Cole Hamels?- My gut instinct is that the Phillies will trade Hamels due to their inability to move anyone else for any young talent, and their inability to convince Utley and Rollins that it's time to move on. The Phillies simply need that first bold step to begin the rebuild, and Hamels is that step. Once Lester's decision is made, there will be an active market for Hamels, and the Phillies can probably land at least two impact prospects, and another two with upside. My only caveat is that if this doesn't happen this week, it might not happen this Winter, as the Phillies will hold out until the deadline, and get a better sense of where they are at. It's harder to trade for pieces that have a 2015 impact (to be read- roster spot) later in the Winter, when you're team is more in place.
4. Is there any market for Ryan Howard, or will they have to release him?- This is really it for trading Ryan Howard. If you can't move him at these meetings, you probably can't move him. If you can't move him in a trade, you probably have to release him before he achieves 10-and-5 rights during next season, and you're stuck with him through his contract.
5. Will the Phillies trade Cody Asche?- You have San Diego and San Francisco most directly, but also possibly teams like the Yankees looking for a third baseman. You have a player blocking your most advanced prospect. While there has been discussion of moving him back to second, or to the outfield, the Phillies haven't made a move towards either. I think it's possible that Cody Asche is traded this week.
6. Could the Phillies trade Ben Revere?- While this may seem like bad timing, Revere has high value right now, but the same weak throwing arm, and the same lack of power he had before. With Roman Quinn's good Fall, and Revere's relative value, not to mention his potential raise through arbitration, this could be a good time to move Revere and cash out high.
7. Will the Phillies trade Carlos Ruiz?- I think this one is tied to #3, as they'd have to get their catcher of the future in a Hamels deal to make this worth it, but Ruiz has some money, and some on-field value left on his deal. Could the Phillies decide to capitalize on that? If they have their replacement in-house then, they could.
8. Could the Phillies sign a big free agent?- This seems silly, but Max Scherzer is out there, and well, an arm like that can take a 73 win Phillies team and push it close to .500. Does that type of deal make sense? Not unless you have other moves that can take them from 80 wins up to 85 plus too (which they don't), but that's purely from the perspective of fans on the internet, reading advance metrics, who want a rebuild. The Phillies could decide to spend some of their near-limitless resources on someone to sell some tickets in 2015, because they are going to struggle to sell tickets. This is a business.
9. Could the Phillies trade a young reliever?- I know, this doesn't appear to make a ton of sense at first either. The Phillies need quantity of young talent right now though, and nobody seems to want to give that for their trash. Relief pitchers, even exceptionally talented ones like the Phillies young arms (Giles, Diekman, De Fratus, etc.), tend to be interchangeable from year to year, injury prone, and basically not something you rely on. Could the Phillies try to trade one of their young talents to get back several talents for the future? It's probably something I'd rather Amaro avoid, but don't rule it out.
10. Could Papelbon finally go?- I doubt this one, but I'll hope. No one wants to pay him and take on his attitude in their locker room, while giving up any kind of talent. The Phillies will have to eat his salary to get any return, or maybe even move him, even after a good year, and with one year left on his deal.