Fox Sports: Phils could offer 2 year, $10-12 million to Polanco
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Fox Sports: Phils could offer 2 year, $10-12 million to Polanco
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
The Phillies have the wherewithall - and desire - to sign veteran infielder Placido Polanco to a two-year contract worth between $10 and $12 million, FoxSports.com reported Wednesday night, citing a "source familiar with the Phillies intentions."
Earlier this evening, the Phillies' official web site said that the team had entered into serious discussions with Polanco, and that they had made them their No. 1 target to replace veteran Pedro Feliz at third base. Polanco, who played third base for the Phillies from 2002-05 but has played second base since being traded to the Tigers midway through the 2005 season, just finished a four-year, $16 million contract in Detroit.
Devoting $6 million to third base would leave the Phillies with decent financial flexibility to bolster their bullpen and perhaps add another bench piece. Infielder Juan Castro and back-up catcher Brian Schneider will combine to make $2 million next season, giving the Phillies $108 million committed to 14 players. Once arbitration raises are awarded to center fielder Shane Victorino and righthander Joe Blanton and the salaries for J.A. Happ, Carlos Ruiz and Ben Francisco are figured in, the Phillies should have approximately $14 million remaining to spend before reaching the $137 million that they ended up doling out last season.
Polanco is a DOWNGRADE from Feliz in both offense and defense. Yes, Polanco has a slightly higher average but Feliz has way more home runs and RBIs. Look at the stats... http://philly.stats.com/mlb/playerstats.asp?id=6049 Figgins is the only improvement over Feliz.— BroadStreet- ESPN.com reports the Phils are on the verge of signing Polanco to a three-year, $18M deal with an optional fourth year.— paolibulldog
- I can't believe no one is even talking about Tejada?? He would be the best choice, SS range @ 3B with the best stick. I do like Polanco more then Beltre.. Beltre has sucked ever since they took his steroids away.— FetchDixon
- Think most of you are spoiled by the all stars at pretty much every other position in the field. All things considered, yes, it is really just a slight upgrade from Feliz. But more importantly, Polanco can do many things that Feliz and the lineup in general lack. How quickly we forget how many times in the playoffs we saw a rally killed by Pedro popping up first pitch. Polanco puts the ball in play. He can move runners over. He will keep Chase fresh down the stretch. Complaining about not being a power hitter when you have 4 30 hr hitters in your lineup already, are you kidding me??? Phils are not the Yankees, they operate within a budget to some extent. You got a few subtle upgrades to your strong lineup, now you go spend that money that would have gone to Figgins on the real problem, the pen and maybe sp. Go grab Soriano or Mike Gonzalez or someone for the back end. Smart move Ruben.— Funboy
- polanco will be a good add on field and in locker room and a could be a great No. 2 hitter if charlie so desired.— yardbyrd
- people who are not excited by Polanco are not looking at him well enough. Polanco carries an excellent glove as his 3 straight Gold Gloves at 2nd show. He will make a fine transition back to 3rd. Feliz had very poor range at 3rd. He handled the balls hit to him well and had a great arm but we wont lose anything in the field with Polanco at 3rd. Polanco is an excellent contact hitter and will certainly be a tougher out than Feliz. This is a shrewd move and allows us some extra money to bolster our pitching and bench insted of spending more on Figgins, Beltre or Tejada.— bradco
- As for Tejada, Figgins and Beltre, they're going to be far more expensive than Polanco.— paolibulldog
- yep - nothing says "downgrade" like a guy who hits 50-75 points higher for average than the guy he replaced. And there's no way he hits for more runs batted in with guys like rollins in front and utley, howard, wertht & guitarman hitting behind him. No wai!— Jerome99RIP
- Rick Schu? I prefer Don Money.— Champs_2008
I like getting Polanco. A real gamer, very intelligent player. And stats have to be taken into account: Polanco at 3B career: 322 games, fielding % .982; Feliz at 3B career: 899 games, fielding % .964. Career BAs: Polanco .303, Feliz .254. This is an upgrade.- He's in Philly right now...— Living_Legend
- Polanco should have been the answer as a utility man to spell Utley and Rollins, not the everyday answer at third. Chone is the better call given his age and ability to lead off. He should have been the target. Since we are going cheap at third does that mean we are about to sign Lee to a big extension? I doubt it.— coloradoeagle
- Looks like the same idiots who complained about the Ibanez signing are going to complain about the Polanco signing until the season starts. Let's hope this signing turns out as "poorly" as the Ibanez signing, lol. By the way, the team that led the NL in HRs and runs doesn't need more power. We needed a good contact hitter who doesn't strike out a lot to help keep rallies going. Feliz drove in a decent amount of runs but he had a ton of guys on base in front of him and he also killed a lot of rallies with poor ABs or strikeouts. Beltre hit 8 HRs last year in 449 ABs so quit acting like he's the second-coming of Mike Schmidt. Tejada would be a major defensive liability at 3B. Polanco can play 3B, he's played it before. He can give Utley a rest a 2B as well. The Phils just made their offense a lot more balanced without sacrificing much in the way of defense. Figgins was a pipe dream. The guy isn't worth a 6 year, 60 million deal which is what it would take to sign him.— JimG
- oh you negative weirdos..polanco terrific CONTACT hitter..we need that. 303 lifetime avg in this lineup is great..this is somewhat like signing Raul last year, the name isnt super sexy so the uneducated fans get upset...his D will be not the same as Pedro but lets be honest do u think Pedro won us that many games with his D at 3rd? I will take the guy who plays solid D and hits 300+...look at how many seasons he has hit 310-320 or more...he will now be hitting in the best lineup that hes ever played with in his life..good move Phils!— philsfan in the atx
I don't mind Polanco, but not for two years at 12 million. If he's not the answer at thrid, (and we'll find that out fairly quickly), then we are stuck with another big contract for two years, ala Eaton, Moyer, etc. Like I said, I like Polanco, but we will be committing to an old player, (declining skills), that's a question mark at third for two years. With several left handed pitchers on the team, defense at third is critical. Schneider was a good signing for BU catcher, but Castro isn't any better than Bruntlett. Oh well, tough decisions for Amaro in balancing finances and needs.— the dad
