Are the Phillies now deadline buyers instead of sellers?
With all the moves the Phillies made this offseason, are they ready to transition from deadline sellers to buyers this year?
With one move, the Phillies went from a team just starting to come out of a rebuild to asserting themselves as borderline Wild Card contenders. The signing of Jake Arrieta is bringing them back to the forefront of conversation in Philadelphia. Fans have regained confidence in the team after several seasons among the worst in baseball.
Players are also gaining even more confidence in the team and expect big things for this season: [quotes via Meghan Montemurro of the Athletic ($)]
“He spit a lot of knowledge to me just from when we were working out together,” [Nick] Williams said Monday. “The sky’s the limit for what he’s going to do in the clubhouse.”“He’s been in my shoes once before so I think kind of learning from a guy like that who’s been in the game a little while and experienced some things, experienced winning, experienced challenges as a pitcher, I think we can all take away from that, can learn from him,” [Aaron] Nola said.“It shows that the turning of the tide is a lot sooner than I think we all thought,” {Jerad] Eickhoff said. “This whole camp has been real positive and there was this sense that it could happen sooner than later, but this is just another piece.
Fans and players alike both believe that the Phillies have a strong chance to make a run at the wild-card this season for the first time since 2012/2013. If Philadelphia is close to a wild-card spot when July rolls around, we may experience something we haven’t in years: trade rumors linking the team not to sell off assets, but to trade for even more.
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The 2015 and 2017 trade deadlines featured several trades seeing the Phils send veterans away to other teams to acquire players. Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, and Ben Revere all left town in exchange for several prospects. Last year, Howie Kendrick, Jeremy Hellickson, and Pat Neshek were all dealt for prospects and/or international signing bonus money. Even more potential trades were rumored but never came to fruition.
This year, it’s very likely Philadelphia will be looking to supplant their team for a wild-card run rather than try to send someone away for potential future success. The time appears to be now and if the team is close, fans and players alike will want the front office to better the team via trade.
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Even with Arrieta now on board, the back end of the rotation is still sketchy. Questions still surround Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and Nick Pivetta, the other expected starters. Unless all three put together strong seasons, don’t be surprised if rumors link Philadelphia to whatever starting pitchers are on the market. They can finally use their minor-league depth to their advantage in a trade.
The only major-leaguer that could reasonably be traded this year is Cesar Hernandez. He still has several years left of control, making him valuable to teams contending this year or building up for a run next year. There is a good chance Scott Kingery will already be in the majors by July.
This would make Hernandez expendable. He could be the main return for a starting pitcher.
Next: Whats next for 2018 Phillies?
This season should be an exciting one for the first time in a while. All the pieces are there to make a serious run at a wild-card spot. They could add one or two more at the trade deadline this season.