By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When the Philadelphia Phillies acquired RHP Jeremy Hellickson this past off-season, many believed they would allow him to eat innings for the club before moving him for a prospect prior to the league's Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. When Hellickson had the best month of his career in July — he went 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA in 37.2 innings — it seemed like a matter of time before the impending free-agent was traded. And then he wasn't. And Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia noted that the team pulled him back off waivers this month after he was claimed.
While multiple aspects probably led to the Phillies electing to keep Hellickson for the rest of the season, Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball says that manager Pete Mackanin preferred to keep the 29-year-old:
Word is, manager Pete Mackanin preferred to hold onto Jeremy Hellickson, who’s been a part of the reason the Phillies have outperformed this year.
Given how well Hellickson was performing in July, the fact that he was the sole veteran presence in the rotation and that it isn't Mackanin's job to worry about making sure the team gets the best return for impending free-agents, it isn't surprising that he wanted the team to keep Hellickson.
While general manager Matt Klentak and president Andy MacPhail probably took Mackanin's input into account, they didn't make a decision like this based off Mackanin's wishes. Mackanin is only under contract through 2017, with his future still unclear. The duo of Klentak and MacPhail assessed their offers, looked ahead to the available free-agents this off-season and decided that they would take a chance on giving Hellickson a qualifying offer, which could net them a compensatory pick that's more valuable than a lower-level prospect. And if they thought that in late July, it probably didn't change in late August. The conclusion the two arrived at just happened to work in Mackanin's favor.
Given that Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton and Aaron Nola are out for the season and that both Vince Velasquez and Jake Thompson are nearing being shut down, there is something to be said for Hellickson being more valuable just finishing out the season for the team because they need starters. If the Phillies can net a compensatory pick while having had the benefit of two plus more months with Hellickson pitching for them, that's probably about as well as they could have done with Hellickson.
