Finally we will have resolution on the Michael Young situation. According to T.R. Sullivan, best-known by Phillies fans as the one who first reported that Cliff Lee had chosen to re-sign with the Phillies, the Phillies and Texas Rangers' trade for Rangers utility player Michael Young is "ready to go down".
The deal would give the Phillies their third baseman for 2013. Simply, with injury concerns to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the Phillies could not afford to rely simply on Freddy Galvis and Kevin Frandsen. The move gives the Phillies depth, and reportely will not cost them a fortune to cover third base, with Texas eating substantial money.
Yesterday, Young teammate David Murphy (not to be confused with the weather man or "High Cheese"), spoke of what the Rangers would be losing, also via Sullivan's blog:
“Mike’s kind of the, he’s the glue that holds everybody together. He’s a great player regardless of what type of year that he had last year. I think every player is allowed an off year here or there regardless of whether you are a superstar or whether you’re an average player. Mike’s definitely been in that superstar/All-Star status for a long time and didn’t live up to his own standards last year. But he’s just a guy that he creates a great atmosphere in our clubhouse regardless of whether you are a rookie, whether you’ve been around a long time, whether you’re a player that has just signed as a free agent or traded for. Everybody feels welcome in our clubhouse and everybody gets along. I never realized how important chemistry was in winning until I experienced these last few seasons and seen what kind of clubhouse we’ve had. And Michael Young is at the very beginning of all of that.”
Young went from leading the American League in hits in 2011 to a very down year in 2012. If he were to be somewhere in the middle in 2013, the Phillies will be very happy. Fangraphs called the move a "good bet" for the Phillies while others assume that the down year in 2012 proves that Young is not an upgrade over a combination of Pete Orr/Michael Martinez/Mike Fontenot/Placido Polanco/Kevin Frandsen.
Looking at the whole picture and that this move enables the Phillies to cover center field and third base for a whole $6 million, the team has money to add an impact bat in the outfield and another reliever if they so choose. I'll take it.
