With Chase Utley set to rejoin the Phillies tonight as the Phillies take on the Padres in San Diego, plenty of eyes will be on Utley. Utley, who reportedly is willing to waive his no-trade protection for the right deal, is coming off a strong rehab assignment at AA Trenton. But Utley will have to show his health and production at the big league level for a deal to happen. And there are potential suitors.
Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes the Yankees and Dodgers could be added to the interested teams:
One industry insider pegged the Cubs, Dodgers and Yankees as the teams most likely to pursue Utley before the end of the month, during the period when a player can be traded if he passes through waivers unclaimed (or to the team that claims him).
The Yanks would have to decide if this version of Utley is an upgrade over Stephen Drew. Drew is batting .196 on the season, though he has been a bit better lately. Utley, 36, is hitting just .176 in 218 at-bats, and is owed the remainder of his $15 million salary. Because of injuries, he will not reach the 500 plate appearances that would trigger a vesting option for 2016, so an acquiring team would merely be renting him.
Previously the Yankees and Dodgers have not been mentioned as potential suitors for Utley, though the Cubs have been linked.
The Dodgers already have a pretty good second baseman in Howie Kendrick and a solid first baseman in Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers could be looking ahead to the World Series, hoping to have a better designated hitter than Carl Crawford or Scott Van Slyke. The Dodgers have shown a willingness to spend whatever it takes to win.
Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News noted that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were scouting Utley at Reading:
The Angels do have a scout here, so I think they're good. https://t.co/TNLBacjArq
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 5, 2015
The Angels had the aforementioned Kendrick on their roster for many years, but chose to trade him for top pitching prospect Andrew Heaney. Starting second baseman Johnny Giavotella has been just so-so for the Angels.
Of course, prior to Utley's injury, Utley played much more poorly. But, with Utley's track record, if a team is certain that Utley is healthy, he would be a nice addition to a playoff team.
