I am undecided as to whether re-signing Chase Utley to an extension is a good thing; if Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard were not all signed long-term I might think differently. But it appears that the Phillies are not working on a trade for Chase Utley; in fact they are telling teams that he is not available because he is approaching an extension.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports writes:
The Phillies are trying to sign Utley to an extension, as they consider him their "franchise player," and there's hope it can get done since Utley is said to love the Phillies. While Philadephia is listening on other star players — including Cliff Lee — they are apparently focusing today only an extension for Utley.
Should Utley stay, I would hope that the Phillies have other plans in place; they need a source of good young players, and a trade of Utley would have accomplished that. They will instead try to get those players in other ways… or just not get any.
