Phillies Five Most Influential Moments of 2015
By Matt Veasey
Mar 29, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA;
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Utley (26) runs around the bases after hitting a 2-run home run during a Grapefruit League tilt against the Detroit Tigers at Bright House Field.
(Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
5. GOODBYE, CHASE
The trading of Chase Utley was done too late in some eyes, when the player was clearly past his prime, and when the club was quite obviously not going to be able to get anything of value. While sentimentality is something for which fans can be excused, it is absolutely not something that should be a major factor for management when evaluating personnel.
The Phillies did indeed wait too long to deal Utley, just as they have with both Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz. On August 19th of this past season, the Phils finally traded the popular Utley to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a pair of modest prospects, pitcher John Richey and utility player Darnell Sweeney.
While the two prospects are not likely to be significant contributors to the Phillies future, the importance of the deal was in the trading away of an icon. With Jimmy Rollins already gone to LA in the prior off-season, the dealing of Utley to join him with the Dodgers clearly signalled that the Phils were going to do all they could to turn the page from the 2008 World Series champions.
Chase remains beloved in Philadelphia, and that is likely never going to change. He will be welcomed back to standing ovations in future reunion celebrations at Citizens Bank Park. But saying goodbye to him, while overdue, was nonetheless necessary, and a key moment as the franchise rebuild commenced.
Next: 2015 Phillies Influential Moment #4: Sandberg Resigns