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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Ibanez deal official

Leftfielder Raul Ibanez passed his physical this morning and has officially joined the Phillies.

Ibanez, a free agent from the Seattle Mariners, signed a 3-year, $31.5 million contract. The Phillies have scheduled a 4:30 p.m. news conference.

Here is the release from the Phillies:

Outfielder Raul Ibanez has signed a three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Phillies, Senior Vice President & General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today.

Ibanez, 36, batted .293 this past season with 43 doubles, 23 home runs and 110 RBI in 162 games with the Seattle Mariners. A left-handed batter, Ibanez hit .305 (60-197) against left-handed pitching and .288 (126-438) versus right-handers. With runners in scoring position, he batted .327 (56-171), which included a .438 (14-32) clip in his final 25 games of the season. Ibanez is a career .305 hitter with runners in scoring position.

“Raul not only brings a big bat to our lineup, but also a terrific attitude to the clubhouse,” said Amaro. “He is a quality individual that will fit in well with our club. We believe that a team wins not only with talent, but also with character and Raul has both.”

Over the last three seasons (2006-08), Ibanez had the fourth-most RBI among all major league outfielders (second-most among American League outfielders). During that time span, Ibanez averaged 25 home runs and 112 RBI.

Originally selected by Seattle in the 36th round of the 1992 draft, Ibanez has a career batting average of .286 with 277 doubles, 182 home runs and 794 RBI in 1,384 games with the Mariners (1999-2000; 2005-08) and Kansas City Royals (2001-03).

Ibanez will wear #29.

Posted by Daily News staff @ 11:53 AM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
Comments   
Posted 11:59 AM, 12/16/2008
Jeffrey
... I've kind of skeptical about this signing but, uh, that's a ton of RBI.
Posted 12:02 PM, 12/16/2008
2Parm
A ton of RBIs on a bad team!
Posted 12:34 PM, 12/16/2008
EskinzWack
im not blown away by this off season
Posted 01:31 PM, 12/16/2008
jeff gross
wack--so don't be blown away during off season. Will you be blown away when we repeat??
Comment removed.
Posted 03:03 PM, 12/16/2008
Captain Splendor
Keep in mind Ibanez also played in overly spacious Safeco field. he will probably be a 30 HR in Philly.
Posted 03:29 PM, 12/16/2008
jess529
Tremendous upgrade. This is the type of hitter this offense has lacked since Polanco left for Detroit. Ibanez works a pitcher hard and is a very tough out. Should make the rest of the line-up better.
Posted 06:46 PM, 12/16/2008
Wally 24
Once again all I read is about the HRs & RBIs. There's more to the game than those two stats. We will all miss Pat but his salary and all the little perks were an anchor around the Phils neck financially. Ibanez is a deal and with the improved hitting we should be in better shape than with Pat whose numbers have begun to decline. I have be a Burrell backer for his whole carrier here but it's time to move on.
Posted 07:39 PM, 12/16/2008
jp
Obviously, the whole object of the game is to score more runs than the opposition. Well, we got us a run producer in Mr. Ibanez. As far as defense is concerned, he won't have field like Carl Yastremski to be an improvement on Pat Burrell. He reached, and caught, 100 more flyballs in 2008 than Burrell. I guess that's a step way up on defense.
Posted 04:20 AM, 12/17/2008
DR Heller
Hope they put the money they saved in signing him to rsigning Howard to a long term contract. Plus give Hamels a Better raise that they did last year. You can't have antimosity between baseballplayers and owners. baseball players remember what is owners say at arbitration.
Posted 08:46 AM, 12/17/2008
#1 efan
I have yet heard the Phillies say anything about his speed or defense. Will they still have to take out the left fielder for a pinch runner or defense?
Posted 11:43 AM, 12/17/2008
cburrell
Hopefully Pat will find a home where he is appreciated more than he was by Phillies Management. Not even an official offer or an attempt to keep him? He was good enough to help them win a World Series but somehow is not good enough now? Where ever he goes I will be a big fan of that team and Pat Burrell. I understand it is a business and thus all things change. Good luck Pat. I have to say my outlook on the teams decision is tainted in that Pat is my favorite player.
About David Murphy
David Murphy joined the Daily News as its Phillies beat writer in February of 2008. Born in Upper Merion and raised in the Poconos, he attended college at La Salle University before taking jobs with the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun-News and the St. Petersburg ( Fla. ) Times.

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