Philadelphia Phillies Are “Ready to Make a Pitch for Michael Young”

Posted by Frank Klose

Courtesy prorumors.com

Buried in the "It's a Madd, Madd, World…" section of the New York Daily News, columnist Bill Madden calls the Phillies in "full panic mode" and "ready to make a pitch for Michael Young".

Madden writes:

"The likelihood that No. 3 hitter Chase Utley is going to miss the season with that knee injury that threatens his career has the Phillies in full panic mode and ready to make a pitch for the Rangers' disgruntled Michael Young"

The Phillies' recent signing of Luis Castillo would not preclude a trade; Castillo could simply be released in the next ten days, and the Phillies would not be responsible for any of his 2011 salary. 

Salary indeed is an issue for the Phillies who are inching closer and closer to the luxury tax threshold with a payroll that exceeds $160 million.   As we mentioned earlier, Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro notes that the Phillies are "maxed out".

To pull off a trade for Young, the Phillies would have to meet the Rangers' high asking price in prospects, and reconcile any money differences.   While there are reports that the Rangers are willing to eat as much as half of Young's salary in a deal, the Phillies would have pare some salary in order to make the deal work.

Joe Blanton, with a salary of $8.5 million, is often speculated to be dealt, but Maddon mentions that the Rangers may prefer Kyle Kendrick instead.