{"id":75992,"date":"2014-10-28T15:24:51","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T15:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/tv-wp4\/?p=75992"},"modified":"2023-04-25T14:20:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T14:20:02","slug":"sportstalk-shop-phillies-season-countdown-clock-ticking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-phillies-season-countdown-clock-ticking\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop: Phillies’ Off-Season Countdown Clock is Ticking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phillies <\/a>organization is at a crossroads. After seeing the team steadily decline each year since their 2008 World Championship, the team hit rock bottom this summer. Finishing last in their division and wincing from a sharp drop-off in attendance, the Phillies must swing into action to recapture the city\u2019s interest. They need to give fans reason to think the Sixers won\u2019t be relevant more quickly than the Phillies, and I\u2019m not buying in to Acting CEO Pat Gillick\u2019s suggestion that the team is content to wait until 2017 to make a playoff run. With the Delaware Valley nearly universally disappointed that Ruben Amaro, Jr. is coming back as the General Manager, the focus on off-season moves will be even more scrutinized than ever, and Amaro\u2019s future is clearly resting on what he does over the next few months.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here\u2019s an itinerary of issues that must be addressed before we (hopefully) see many dominos fall this winter. Or, if they don\u2019t make major moves, here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

1) A. J. Burnett<\/a> \u2013 One of the biggest underperformers of the 2014 season is going to have a huge effect on what the Phillies can do this offseason. He is contemplating retirement and, five days after the World Series concludes, he must decide if he is going to return or not. If he does, he\u2019s guaranteed $12.75-million (more with incentives) and his decision will largely affect what else the team does this winter.<\/p>\n

If he does return, the Phillies\u2019 available cap space would be slashed from over $30-million to around $17-mil, which will drastically change who the team tries to target via the free agent market, or if they can somehow swing a deal for a big-name player. If Burnett does NOT return, they\u2019ll need to find a new \u201c#3 pitcher\u201d\u2026although replacing Burnett\u2019s numbers from this past season shouldn\u2019t be too difficult. There\u2019s a handful of players (Ervin Santana, Ryan Vogelsong, Brandon McCarthy and others) that should bring you better quality at a lower per-year cost. The downside is that it will detract from what should be the team\u2019s top priority (and should have been for the last several winters), which is improving the lineup. From my sources, I would lead towards Burnett\u2019s return, which is why they already spent money re-signing Jerome Williams to bolster the back end of the rotation (see more below on him).<\/p>\n

2) Ryan Howard<\/a> \u2013 The Phillies have already decided what they\u2019d \u201clike\u201d to do with their former All-Star slugger. It\u2019s a question of \u2018can the team unload him in the \u201cright\u201d deal?\u2019 They\u2019re willing to each money, and they\u2019d like to get at least something in return for him, but other teams are well aware of their strategy. It will be difficult to swing any deal in which other franchises don\u2019t try to take the Phillies to the cleaners. Whether or not Howard returns is also a major factor in the team\u2019s offseason priorities\u2026dealing him increases their long-term salary relief, plus they\u2019ll have to find another #4 hitter (Yasmany Tomas?) and figure out who will take over first base (Maikel Franco<\/a>, Darin Ruf<\/a>, Chase Utley<\/a>?) BTW: If the Phillies don\u2019t get Yomas but do unload Howard somehow, don\u2019t be surprised if Pablo Sandoval becomes a target. Not likely to happen, but he would be your next, best offensive upgrade.<\/p>\n

3) Dominic Brown<\/a>\/Antonio Bastardo<\/a> \u2013 Two former golden boys with the organization that turned in a less-than-stellar 2014 campaign. Both have members of the Phillies\u2019 front office championing their cause, fighting to give them one more chance in 2015, but both could also use a change of scenery. The problem in trading them is similar to Howard\u2019s situation: you\u2019re not going to get much in return, and they\u2019re both young enough that they could one day hit their stride (raise your hand if you\u2019re tired of seeing ex-Phillies players making contributions on playoff teams!) It might just be in the organization\u2019s best interest to hold onto both of them, especially Brown. However, doing so means you\u2019re giving up a roster spot to a potential improvement and cutting into your team salary by about $3-million per player.<\/p>\n

4) The Bench \u2013 Another glaring weakness of the \u201914 team that needs a major boost\u2014seeing the declining ability of aging vets like Utley, Jimmy Rollins<\/a> and Marlon Byrd<\/a> as the season wore on only heightens their need for improvement. Following the re-signing of Grady Sizemore, the decisions on Howard and Brown will affect which direction the team goes for the remaining reserve spots this offseason, and what positions they\u2019ll need to target in acquiring players. Personally, filling in bench personnel has been almost as under-executed as developing pitching through their farm system. Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis might be decent \u201cday-off\u201d players when spelling Utley or Rollins, but having to force John Mayberry or Carlos Ruiz<\/a> into the heart of the batting order shows a serious lack of depth in the power department\u2026and there are very few free agent options available. Also, and this will be even more necessary if one of the relievers is moved, the team could use another veteran with experience for the bullpen to add stability in case one of the younger pitchers takes a step backwards in 2015.<\/p>\n

5) Pap \u2013 Jonathon Papelbon<\/a> continues to be a wild card\u2014in more ways than one\u2014to the Philllies\u2019 future plans. On the one hand, he\u2019s been a steady mentor to the younger players both on and off the field, he\u2019s still one of the game\u2019s top closers and has been a hallmark of consistency and has remained injury-free during his time in Philadelphia. On the other hand, he commands a ridiculously outrageous salary, he\u2019s seen as blocking the development of Ken Giles and Jake Diekman and also has shown a propensity to act like a horse\u2019s\u2026uh, rear end. Detroit is probably lamenting declining the Phillies\u2019 offer to ship him to the Motor City, since the Tigers\u2019 faulty bullpen leads directly to the team\u2019s undoing in the playoffs. The fact that Detroit was afraid he\u2019d be a clubhouse disruption shows to what extent other teams will go to NOT acquire Pap. And perhaps, with everything considered, it\u2019s not the worst thing in the world to have him return.<\/p>\n

Right now, this is how your 2015 Phillies pitching staff is shaping up.<\/p>\n

SP \u2013 Cole Hamels<\/a>
\nSP \u2013 Cliff Lee<\/a> (if healthy)
\nSP \u2013 A. J. Burnett<\/a> (or another free agent if he declines his option)
\nSP \u2013 David Buchanan<\/a>
\nSP \u2013 Jerome Williams<\/a>
\nSP\/RP \u2013 Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez<\/a>
\nRP \u2013 Antonio Bastardo<\/a> (if not dealt)
\nRP \u2013 Luis Garcia<\/a> (or an low-risk\/high reward veteran?)
\nRP (2nd lefty) \u2013 Mario Hollands<\/a>
\nRP (7th innnng) \u2013 Justin DeFratus<\/a>
\nRP (Lefty Specialist) \u2013 Jake Diekman<\/a>
\nRP (Set-up Man) \u2013 Ken Giles<\/a>
\nRP (Closer) \u2013 Jonathan Papelbon<\/a><\/p>\n

Keeping Papelbon, whether they really have a choice or not, adds stability to the overall staff. Also, I do like the signing of Jerome Williams which took place last week (one-year, $2.5-million). I know a few people complained to me that they spent money on a pitcher who only had a good two-month stretch with the Philllies (and a horrific first four months with other teams). However, for his \u201csmall cost\u201d (by modern day pitchers\u2019 salary numbers) he gives you someone that you can count on to fill out the rotation and also has versatility to help out in the bullpen. Think a younger, cheaper version of last year\u2019s Roberto Hernandez, who actually pitched pretty well during his time in Philly last year. Assuming everyone is healthy, you now have a decent-enough pitching staff and can devote the rest of your offseason to tweaking the offense.<\/p>\n

One more thing\u2026Cole Hamels. It would definitely be a game-changer if they trade him this winter. I wouldn\u2019t think\u2014if it happens at all\u2014that this is likely to happen early in the hot stove season as the loser(s) in the Max Scherzer\/James Shields\/Jon Lester free agency races will be more desperate (and willing to ante-up more) for a top quality, #1 pitcher like Hamels. Of course, the Phillies could still enter the \u201cbuy-an-ace\u201d sweepstakes<\/a>\u00a0 as I had suggested during the season.<\/p>\n

OK. Wind your clocks and start watching the transaction roll-in. But remember to keep an eye on the items mentioned above if you start scratching your head wondering when the \u2018what-the-heck-are-they-doing\u2019 moves start to take place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Phillies organization is at a crossroads. After seeing the team steadily decline each year since their 2008 World Championship, the team hit rock bottom this summer. Finishing last in their division and wincing from a sharp drop-off in attendance, the Phillies must swing into action to recapture the city\u2019s interest. They need to give…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[567],"class_list":["post-75992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-phillies-baseball"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe SportsTalk Shop: Phillies' Off-Season Countdown Clock is Ticking - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SportsTalk Shop: Phillies' Off-Season Countdown Clock is Ticking - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Phillies organization is at a crossroads. 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