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| Mayberry hacking away. Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
So it's deadline day for MLB teams to make decisions about who to tender or not tender a contract to. For the Phillies, this means decisions on Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo, Ben Revere, John Mayberry Jr., and Kevin Frandsen. As a primer, my buddy Frank Klose has posted his views on them. I'm not as nice- I'd non-tender all but Bastardo and Revere. Here's my thoughts-
- Kendrick- What you think they should do really comes down to what you view Kendrick as, how you view his price, and what you think the rest of the off-season should look like. I view Kyle Kendrick not as the fourth starter on the current roster, but as a number five. I view his price of between $6.6 million and $8 million as being too much for a fifth starter. I view the Phillies as needing to get an impact arm in the 1-3 rotation mold yet this off-season, sliding Miguel Gonzalez into the four hole, which would leave Kendrick as the five if you brought him back. Yes, keeping him is good for depth, but at that price, is he far better than going into camp with Pettibone and Adam Morgan around to compete for the spot? I'm sure the Phillies will keep him around, I just think we're spending a difference of about $6 million bucks on nearly-interchangeable parts here, when we have other needs. I'm sure he stays, I would not risk him winning in arbitration.
- Bastardo- I almost want to cut him too for his Biogenesis suspension, but no. His performance last year was solid, and if he can be had for $1-2 million, why not? If you let him walk away, would you rather go pay for relief help? Not so much. I'm sure he stays, and I'm for it.
- Revere- For me, Ben Revere is a guy with a limited ceiling, but he's good at what he does well. Is he my starting centerfielder this year? Not if I can get Ellsbury or another upgrade here, and maybe not even if Cesar Hernandez comes to camp improved. Do I just non-tender a guy south of 25 who hit .300 this season for half a year? No. I view him more as a trade piece than a back-up if it comes to that, but I view him as having value. I'm sure he gets a contract, and i'm for that.
- Mayberry- No. Just no. He's not as rotten as I imagine him to be, but Mayberry has been overexposed in two straight seasons, getting too many plate appearances for his talent, and regressing across the board offensively. Darin Ruf excites me more as a bench righty bat, and Cesar Hernandez would excite me more for the price as the back-up in center. I'd rather replace him with a bench bat that fits better, and not risk a third season of regression. With that said, they'll tender him a contract, even though I would not.
- Frandsen- How much better was Frandsen than Galvis this past season? If you answered he wasn't, you are correct. Given the choice of the two, I feel like Galvis' better glove and more room for improvement, and cheaper price, should seal the deal. I think they move on here, and I'm fine with it.
The difference between my thinking and what will happen is kind of obvious- they have to worry about not being able to upgrade on an expensive market, and I have the luxury of saying go out and upgrade the team. My line of thinking puts a lot of faith in the Hernandez's, Galvis's, Ruf's, Pettibone's, and Morgan's, which maybe they are unwilling to do. What I would say though is, these players were here last year, and things didn't go well. This roster looks stunningly similar to last year's right now. Bringing some change, through injecting youth into the bench and back of the rotation, both saves some well-needed cash for bigger upgrades, and gives the team a fresh look.
Start with Kendrick and the rotation. Are you telling me having $6 million plus more in savings to go get a better third guy to pitch between Lee and Hamels wouldn't help? Are you telling me Kendrick is wildly better than the in-house options? Are you telling me you're unwilling to part ways with what is essentially a league average back-end guy? Worse yet, are you telling me it would be acceptable to go into the season with a Lee-Hamels-Gonzalez-Kendrick-Pettibone rotation? I think not.
Same with Frandsen and Mayberry. So if you let both walk, you're probably looking at a bench right now with Kratz backing up at catcher, Ruf being your righty-bat/back-up at first and on the corner outfield slots, Hernandez being your back-up in center and a pinch-runner who can play second, and Galvis playing anywhere you really want to use him with a plus glove. You'd need a lefty-bat, and could start to look at someone like Eric Chavez to fill that role. If you want more offense than Galvis, you could stash him in AAA and sign a Willie Bloomquist (though I've been against this idea). You'd have options though, even so far as signing a lefty power-hitting outfielder, which might make the most sense.
What I'm getting at is that they can do better than this slop. An upgrade is in order, and that starts by cutting bait with some of these guys. We'll see if Ruben is that daring.
