Phillies trade rumor: Cesar Hernandez could be of interest to the Los Angeles Angels
One of the Phillies young starters could be on the move this winter
At face value, the idea of a young, versatile Gold Glove-caliber middle infielder who can hit .300 in the leadoff spot with 20 home run/20 stolen base potential under team control sounds too good to pass up. Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez has that ceiling but the rise of prospect Scott Kingery is likely to push Hernandez out of the organization this winter.
Similar to Ken Giles, Hernandez could be the next young Phillie that constitutes a large return on the trade market. A potential candidate to acquire Hernandez is the Los Angeles Angels.
Starting Danny Espinosa and Cliff Pennington at second base the Angels realized they needed help as they made a playoff push in 2017. They rented Brandon Phillips for 24 games, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the hump, finishing five games back in the Wild Card race.
With Phillips heading into free agency, the Angels need to restock at second base. That’s where Hernandez and the Phillies come in.
Philadelphia Phillies
After making $2.5 million in 2017 Hernandez enters his second of four arbitration eligible years. Los Angeles, or whichever team trades for Hernandez, has him under team control until 2021, at which time he’ll be 31-years-old.
Pitching is the achillies heel for Philadelphia despite acquiring a multitude of arms in the Giles, Cole Hamels, and Jimmy Rollins trades. Aaron Nola appears to be the only “sure-fire” piece of the major league rotation, while Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta, and Ben Lively have flashed back of the rotation potential.
Los Angeles has a multitude of pitching prospects in their organization going into a busy offseason. Currently, 15 of their 30 top prospects are pitchers, 11 being right-handers. Unfortunately for Philadelphia none of the pitchers are ranked in the top-100 overall or top-10 by positions, and their top two pitching prospects aren’t major league ready.
The closest to major league ready atop the Angels prospect pool is Jaime Barria, a 21-year-old righty out of Panama. He’s not projected to reach the major leagues until 2019, but flashes potential with an above average fastball/changeup combination with excellent control.
The big piece in a potential Hernandez trade with Los Angeles could be major league arm Garrett Richards.
After starting his career in the bullpen Richards established himself in 2014 with a 2.61 ERA in 26 starts. Injuries have plagued his career after taking the baseball world by storm.
It all started with a torn left patellar tendon that ended his stellar 2014 season in August. Since then he’s undergone Tommy John surgery and dealt with nerve inflammation in his bicep.
Richards’ situation rings similar to Vince Velasquez coming from the Astros for Giles. He’s an established big league arm with tremendous potential but an injury history that will warrant precaution. Like the Giles
Like the Giles trade, Philadelphia would want Richards to be something other than the centerpiece to a potential Hernandez trade. His injury shown below is a major reason to that desire.
If a deal involving Richards, Barria, and one or two lower-level arms for Hernandez comes into effect the Phillies must seriously consider it. Kingery is set to take the major league job this spring and the value on Hernandez will never be higher.
Even if shortstops J.P. Crawford or Freddy Galvis move to third there’s little room for Hernandez in a young, major league infield.
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It’s a risk general manager Matt Klentak has proven to take, and given his knowledge of the Angels farm system, it seems inevitable Hernandez will be a topic of conversation with LA during the offseason.