Sometimes the parts are greater than the whole. The Philadelphia Phillies team is a total disaster in every way: poor hitting, poor fielding, poor pitching… But yet, the Phillies have many parts that would be more valuable to other teams. The Phillies could almost instantly have a rebuilt farm system. This does not mean that every prospect would work out that they acquired in a trade; however they would have a fighting chance to be major league pieces.
Jim Bowden of ESPN and XM radio proposed seven trades that would help the Phillies rebuild quickly in his column on ESPN.com. They are (briefly):
- Cole Hamels to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for center fielder Joc Pederson and left-handed pitcher Julio Urias
- Cliff Lee to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Aaron Judge and right-handed starter Luis Severino
- Chase Utley to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for third baseman Renato Nunez and second baseman Chad Pinder
- A.J. Burnett and Papelbon to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Hunter Harvey, left-handed pitcher Tim Berry and right-handed hurler Parker Bridwell
- Right fielder Marlon Byrd to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Gabby Guerrero
- Jimmy Rollins to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed reliever Corey Knebel and middle infielder Hernan Perez
- Bastardo to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-handed pitcher David Hale and infielder/outfielder Edward Salcedo
These moves, all reasonable and grounded in reality from Bowden's experience as a GM for two teams, would net the Phillies:
- Five starting pitchers (Julio Urias, Luis Severino, Hunter Harvey, Tim Berry, Parker Bridwell)
- Two relievers (Corey Knebel, David Hale-who probably becomes a starter immediately)
- Two outfielders (Joc Pederson, Aaron Judge)
- One third baseman (Renato Nunez)
- One second baseman (Chad Render)
- One middle-infielder (Hernan Perez)
- One utility player (Edward Salcedo) who can play infield and outfield
Those are a lot of pieces for a team looking to start over, whom they can add to the young bullpen of Ken Giles, Mario Hollands, Jake Diekman, Justin De Fratus, young infielders Cody Asche and Maikel Franco, and a few other pieces that many work out, such as Ethan Martin, Cameron Rupp, and Tommy Joseph.
One 2008 holdover may be catcher Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz would be good for their young pitching staff for the interim, and maybe he helps a contender in a couple years down the line. Backup catcher Wil Nieves could be given away to a team in need of catching help (such as the St. Louis Cardinals, down Yadier Molina) to allow Cameron Rupp to develop as a backup. Who knows: maybe Tommy Joseph will work out. But, maybe not as a catcher.
Ryan Howard must go, too. No, they cannot trade him, and no they cannot get anything for him. The above scenarios do not include eating money. They will have to bite the bullet and essentially pay all of Howard's contract. It makes no sense for Howard to clog up a position that would help a young player. Darin Ruf could play first base in the interim while Cody Asche heads to the outfield and Maikel Franco takes third base. Tommy Joseph, when healthy, can give up his catcher's mitt and begin to work out at first base to see if they can salvage his career at all.
For the rest of 2014 the Phillies can field this team:
- Grady Sizemore/Ben Revere, CF
- Cesar Hernandez, 2B
- Carlos Ruiz, C
- Darin Ruf, 1B
- Cody Asche, LF
- Maikel Franco, 3B
- Domonic Brown/ Grady Sizemore, RF
- Freddy Galvis, SS
The pitching staff until year's end:
- Jason Marquis
- David Buchanan
- Kyle Kendrick
- Roberto Hernandez
- David Hale
The bullpen until year's end:
- Ken Giles (CL)
- Jake Diekman (LH)
- Mario Hollands (LH)
- Justin De Fratus (RH)
- Ethan Martin (RH)
- B.J. Rosenberg (RH)
- Jeff Manship (RH)
The bench until year's end:
- Cameron Rupp (C)
- Reid Brignac (IF)
- Whichever of Dom Brown, Grady Sizemore, or Ben Revere who doesn't play
- John Mayberry (IF/OF) (His trade value is gone)
- Andres Blanco (IF)
Come September, they can add prospects from the trades and begin to experiment with each.
Bowden's proposed trades could easily be stopped by Utley or Rollins exercising their 10/5 rights that allow them to veto trades to any team. But if the Phillies do not make these moves and the players simply decline away into retirement, they end up with nothing in the end.
Nothing is unacceptable.
