Ship’s Say: My Ideal Offseason

With the offseason and hot stove rumors flying, many fans and journalists have their own opinion on what they would like the Phillies offseason to ideally look like. I have been a life long Phillies fan and have been writing for this site for almost a year now. I have seen this team go from rock bottom to the top and now they are back on a slide downward. That’s how baseball works. Teams are good for a few years then fall back. The question is, just how quick the team can rebound. For some it’s a matter of retooling in the offseason, for others they have to blow it all up and start anew. Throughout this piece, I will explain what I’d like to see the Phillies ideally do to start the rebuilding process and hopefully up on the quickest route back to the top.

Ryan Howard traded:

There have been rumors flying around that the Royals maybe interested in trading for Ryan Howard. With the loss of Billy Butler this offseason, that may not be a terrible idea. But, the same problem for the Phillies remains, how much money are they willing to eat? If the Phillies are willing to pay about $50 million over the next two years, they may have a chance moving Charlie Manuel’s former “Big Piece.” With them eating that, the new team would only responsible for $5 million a year for the next two years and allow the team to buy him out of his option year in 2017. With the Phillies taking on that amount of money, I’d still expect them to get a low-level fringe prospect.

Marlon Byrd traded:

Marlon Byrd, one of the few players on the Phillies most people expected to be traded at the deadline last year, is again in the trade rumors. Byrd, who hit .264 with 25 home runs, is still a productive player at 36 years old. With only $8 million owed to him this season, he is a very moveable player. Many beat writers are already reporting that there is a lot of interest in Byrd. Some of those teams include the Reds, Cardinals, and Tigers. If the Phillies can get a decent prospect or two, I would pull the trigger.

Antonio Bastardo traded:

Like Marlon Byrd, many expected the Phillies to trade Bastardo at the deadline with the rise of its up and coming young bullpen arms. In recent weeks, rumors have the surrounded the southpaw. Bastardo is going into his final year of arbitration so he should remain cheap this year. With the rise of Jake Diekman, Mario Hollands, and the recent signing of 23-year-old lefty, Elvis Araujo, the Phillies have three young southpaws in the pen making Bastardo expendable. I would deal Bastardo for a decent low-level arm.

Sign Justin Masterson:

The Phillies should look into signing Masterson on a one-year deal with a second year option. Masterson, 29, didn’t pitch the greatest last season splitting time with the Indians and Cardinals, but is a strong bounce back candidate. Masterson is one of those pitchers who is on one season and off the next. His last four years’ ERAs were 3.21, 4.93, 3.45, and 5.88. At the age of 29, it might be worth the risk. Masterson last season was also battling a knee injury for most of the season; if he is healthy he could slide into the third or fourth slot in the rotation.

Sign Yasmany Tomas:

The young Cuban slugging outfielder has been one of the Phillies main targets this offseason. At the age of 24 years old, Tomas is expected to sign with a team in a short time. The young right-hander possesses a bat that the Phillies desperately need in their lineup. Being as young as he is, Tomas is a player the Phillies could build their lineup around. It would be nice to see them take a chance on Tomas, and finally really jump into the Cuban player market.

Spring Training:

This spring there will be a few battles that will take place for spots on the 25-man roster. With Aaron Nola rising quickly through the system, I think he will get a look for the starting rotation against Jerome Williams.  While Williams pitched very well for the Phillies down the stretch, he isn’t a long-term option for the Phillies. Ideally, I’d like to see Nola win the job. With the signing of Araujo, the Phillies most likely only have one spot left in the bullpen. I can see a battle between Nefi Ogando, Miguel Gonzalez, and Luis Garcia. Nefi Ogando came over from the Red Sox in the John McDonald deal. In the Arizona Fall League, Ogando pitched 14.2 innings and had a 3.07 ERA and had an average of a just over strike out an inning. Gonzalez had a brief stint in the Majors as a September call up, but didn’t show enough to earn a spot in 2015 and will have to earn it. Luis Garcia won the Paul Owens award for the best pitcher in the system, but has been able to stick it over the last two seasons in the big leagues. He did look better when called up in September. I would like to see Ogando win the final bullpen spot. Freddy Galvis, Andres Blanco, and Caser Hernandez will battle it out for the infield specialist job. Lastly, I believe newly signed Jeff Franoeur will win the final bench job.

2015 25 Man Roster:

If everything goes as I hope the 2015 Phillies roster heading into the regular season will look like:

1. Cole Hamels
2. Cliff Lee
3. Justin Masterson
4. David Buchanan
5. Aaron Nola
6. Jonathan Papelbon
7. Ken Giles
8. Jake Diekman
9. Justin DeFratus
10. Mario Hollands
11. Nefi Ogando
12. Elvis Araujo
13. Ben Revere
14. Jimmy Rollins
15. Chase Utley
16. Yasmany Tomas
17. Domonic Brown
18. Maikel Franco
19. Cody Asche
20. Carlos Ruiz
21. Cameron Rupp
22. Hernandez/Galvis
23. Darrin Ruf
24. Jeff Francoeur
25. Grady Sizemore

Andrew Shipotofsky is a writer for Philliedelphia.