Did the Reds really turn down Shane Victorino because of Logan Ondrusek?
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Did the Reds really turn down Shane Victorino because of Logan Ondrusek?
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
If the Cincinnati Enquirer is to be believed, the Phillies could struggle to gain anything of value in exchange for center fielder Shane Victorino.
Paul Daugherty, a columnist at the paper, included a tidbit on his blog that said the Reds nixed a deal that would have seen Victorino head to the Reds in return for Ondrusek, straight up.
Ondrusek is a 27-year-old righthander who is in the middle of his third full season in the major leagues. His 2.70 ERA looks good, but everything else about him says that he is at best a No. 4 or No. 5 reliever in a contender's bullpen (which is where he slots in the Reds bullpen). His strikeout rate is passable -- 6.1-per-nine this year, 6.0 for his career -- but he has walked at least 4.0 batters-per-nine in the last two seasons, which isn't something you want to see out of a guy who is pitching in high-leverage situations. If you do see it, you better be getting more than 6 strikeouts-per-nine.
That being said, he has gotten results, converting 31-of-37 hold/save opportunities in his career while stranding 77 of 97 inherited runners, and his groundball and home run rates are both solid. His whiff rate (17 percent), is slightly above average, as is his strike rate (62 percent).
Frankly, if the Phillies are hoping to get relief help in exchange for Victorino, which is what all of the indications are, Ondrusek is about the level of guy they can realistically expect. Anybody better is probably going to be an integral part of a contending team, which is the type of team that would be trading for Victorino. The only hope is that teams get more desperate as the deadline approaches.
Frankly, this sounds like it would have been a great trade for the Reds. From the Philies perspective, it would have been a cheap, usable bullpen piece who is better than anybody they have at the moment, aside from Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon. But he profiles closer to Michael Schwimer than he does Papelbon. Ondusek would give the Phillies what they hoped they were getting when they signed Chad Qualls. But according to Daugherty, he won't be giving them anything.
- I'm guessing you don't make your living coming up with nicknames ...
— phillyl0 - Phillies would do well to unload Pence at first opportunity -- maybe even make it a 2-fer. Pence goes and they throw in Wiggington for free -- then again nobody may want to take Wiggie, even if he's free.— Al n SD
- Bastardo is taking the heat for Braun's homerun, but why give Manuel a free pass for leaving him in there to pitch? If this year has served any value, it is to unmask Manuel's deficiencies as a manager. His moves - or lack thereof - have cost us at least a dozen games this year.— DameB
- Before anyone gets too excited about the Phil's chances, remember that Schwimer had half the wins of Doc and twice as many as Lee.— butchcat
- The Phillies have to trade anyone they do not have in their plans for next year even if it costs them a POSSIBLE spot in the playoffs. They have to start preparing for another long run. Hamels signing is probably a morale booster for the whole team. I am not looking at 3 impossible wins over a tomato can like Milwaukee as any indication that they are out of the woods. If they do not plan to overpay Victorino, he should go. If they can get bullpen help for Juan Pierre, Ty Wiggington or Mike Fontenot, so should they. Polonco will not get them anything in his condition so they might as well keep him for his glove. Eric Kratz is a nice surprise. Maybe somone will take Brian Schneider for a minor leaguer.— gotedge
- Understood, but shouldn't you at least wait until this series against the Braves before NOT counting it as an indication.
"Frankly", it is hard to come back against any team in late innings, because it requires having high morale in the face of doubt. Having 4 high energy come-backs is nothing short of sweet.
So while you may be looking ahead to next year. There is still over 2 months of baseball to played. THAT'S RIGHT - 2 MONTHS. We'll play 9 games with the Braves over those 2 months.— MFPhils - if they can't get much for Victorino they should hold him until the end of the season...still outrageous that Rube now needs to weaken the team to get a middle reliever becuase all he did in the off-season was get useless trash like Qualls and Willis...as disappointing Victorino has been this year. would hate to watch this team even more without at least one starting outfielder who can actaully catch the ball ..one sees how pathetic fielders like Pierre, Wigginton and Pence are who regularly cost ball games and extend the awful bullpen ...Victorino is an emotional sort, clearly affected by Phils disinterest in re-signing him and attempts to trade him, but might be better if deadline expires and he's still on team (though this looks unlikley)... watching Rube operate, I now expect him to trade Lee away for salary relief— warbiscuit
- Yes, Charlie leaving Bastardo to pitch to two straight RH, including Braun, who is leading the league in HR, was another of many brain cramps by the beloved Cholly.— EL Zorro
- Yes, because he has soooo many other viable options in that situation. — SweetsErik
- How about Michael Schwimmer, who over his last six appearances (5 inn.) hasn't allowed an ER, only 1 hit while striking out 5. Sometimes is better to check the facts before making a comment which will make you look foolish. — EL Zorro
- Why not keep him and see if you can re-sign him? If all he is worth is a middle reliever why do you think that teams will be lining up to pay him big dollars in the off season? You can let a player test FA to set a value and then decide if it is a number you want to pay. If someone does pay him too much it just means the Phillies get a better compensation pick which is more valuable than a middle reliever. Address that in the off season.— UncleStosh
- He has little trade value now because of his contract situation. Any team that trades for him will only have him for two months and will get no compensation when he leaves. That has nothing to do with his value on the free agent market. — phillyl0
- Oh, I'm sorry, are we still pretending that the Phillies are playing for something this season?— UncleStosh
- The Phils are still NINE games below .500. At absolute best they will hit the .500 mark at 64-64. More realistically it will be at 66 or 67. But even at 64, if they then went 23-11, they would still have won only 87 games, almost certainly not enough to make the post-season. And 23-11 is wildly optimistic. So get whatever you can for Victorino, he won't be here in 2013 anyway.— princeton22
- 7-6,7-6,7-6........this is the best of philly numbers (hail to Ben Franklin, Cholly and Chooch)
— NewMick314
