Phast Phive: Let’s Re-phocus

A look at what TBOH’s staff found so damn interesting this week.

Justin Klugh (@TBOHblog)

Jon Heyman’s lurking cranium reported yesterday that Shane Victorino signed with the Red Sox for a what-the-what $39 million, which was not only a “Former Philly fan favorite” story, but a “Ah shit, another CF option off the table,” story.  Content!

But more importantly, the Phillies silent monolith at the winter meetings shifted a bit, as the club admitted that, were they to shake off the dust and make a deal, it would probably involve starter Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May.  There are plenty of future 4-5 rotation starters in our farm system, and not a lot of Major League-ready outfield talent, so the surplus has been noted and prepared.

Meanwhile, Wilton Lopez’s elbow healed right the hell up all of the sudden and now he’s signed with the Rockies.

Ben Bernstein (@benb33)

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

John Morosi talks about Alfonso Soriano as a possible option in the outfield for the Phillies. When the rumors started about Soriano many thought he wouldn’t be a good fit, because of age. Looking through this article shows why he may be a good option, especially with more outfielders signing elsewhere nearly everyday.

Stephen Frey (@stephenmfrey)

In looking at Grantland’s inaugural MLB Player Trade Value Ratings we could spend time breaking down the validity, process, or overall results. However, I’d rather focus on the glaring reality of those results. You may notice that in this ranking of the top 50 players trade value in Major League Baseball, not a single one is a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. By interpretation, we see that the current roster is viewed by others as either highly overpaid and unmovable (Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papalbon), broken down (Chase Utley, Roy Halladay) or highly overvalued (Dominic Brown).

To me, this report is a clear indictment on a very flawed roster created by Ruben Amaro, Jr. He has a lot of work to do. Let’s all hope he has some creativity breweing in Nashville this week.

Ethan Seidel (@yearinbaseball)

Phillies nation was a twitter about the possibility of landing Justin Upton yesterday. Well it looks like that probably won’t happen, but David Murphy explained just how much the deal would make sense for the Phillies. The rabid desires of the Phillies fans couldn’t have been summed up more succinctly into a logical and readable argument.

So what’s the best case scenario for the Phillies now? The folks over at Beerleaguer have an opinion. If the Phillies were to sign Michael Bourn, Youkilis, and trade for Josh Willingham their lineup would look pretty formidable they argue. Whether or not the Phillies have the money, prospects, and negotiating momentum to get such a scenario done remains to be seen, but most fans would be pretty happy with that hall at this point in the winter.