Michael Young not a real possibility, ESPN.com reports
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Michael Young not a real possibility, ESPN.com reports
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
When news broke of Michael Young's trade request yesterday, several e-mailers wondered if the well-regarded infielder could provide an out-of-the-box solution for the absence of a right-handed power bat in the Phillies line-up. According to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was thinking along the same wave-length.
That said, it sounds like Amaro -- or whoever contacted the Rangers -- came to the same conclusion that we here at High Cheese relayed in our responses to the aforementioned e-mailers: ain't gonna happen.
According to Crasnick, "The trade talks failed to yield much common ground, and discussions between the clubs are no longer active."
In a second, we'll run down the likely reasons why the two clubs were unable to find much common ground. But first, here's the biggest reason why such a move might make sense (once you get past all of the hurdles we list below): Jimmy Rollins will be a free agent after this season. Young has spent most of his career as a short stop. Catch our drift? Granted, we're reaching.
Now, onto the reasons why such a trade is unlikely:
1) Young plays short, second or third. So unless the Phillies decided to trade Placido Polanco or Chase Utley, somebody would have to play right field. Young has never played the outfield. Neither has Utley. Polanco has started four games, all of them in left field, all of them when he was 29 years old. And are you really going to move one of the best defensive short stops in the game away from short?
2) Young's contracts allows him to block deals to all but eight teams. The Phillies are not one of the eight. He could easily agree to another team, but forcing him to play a position that isn't his natural one probably isn't the best way to convince him.
Let's say the Phillies think Polanco can play the outfield, that such a move might even help protect his surgically-repaired elbow. Or let's say the Phillies think Utley can play the outfield, that such a move might even help keep him fresh during the season. Or let's say that Young is agreeable to playing right. Or let's say the Phillies think they can deal Polanco. Or even that they'd do the unthinkable and trade Rollins (not that they could -- he can veto any trade due to his 10/5 rights).
3) Young is owed $48 million over the next three seasons. If the Phillies assumed all of that money, they'd be pushing the luxury tax threshold this year, and they'd have $124 million committed to 10 players next year. Did we mention Cole Hamels is in the last year of his contract and will, at the very least, be eligible for arbitration (read: a big raise) after 2011? And that the Phillies will need to find a closer (Brad Lidge is a free agent), set-up man (Ryan Madson is a free agent), and left fielder (Raul Ibanez is a free agent)?
4) Young is an All-Star caliber player. No disputing that. But his career OPS at the launching pad otherwise known as the Ballpark at Arlington is .859. His career OPS everywhere else is .733. Last year, those numbers were .871 and .679, respectively. Those splits are bigger than the ones you'll find in Augustus Gloop's pants.
5) Young will be 34 this season, 36 when his contract ends.
Did I miss any?
I fully expect the Phillies to continue to explore an upgrade, or at least a security blanket, for their right field/right-handed-bat situation. I'm not completely buying the company line that they are A-OK with things as they stand right now. In fact, I will be mildly surprised if they don't make an addition before the end of spring training. Young just doesn't seem to be a very realistic possibility.
This discussion is crazy!!!
If Young is so good, why did the Rangers sign Beltre to play third, and then agree to trade Young. If Young was an outfielder, then I would explore trade possibilities. However, he has no experience in the outfield, and the Phillies are set at all 4 infield positions. So, why are we even discussing this? And I haven't even mentioned his age, salary and the Phillies are not on the list of 8 teams he would agree to a trade.— PortCity- Move Utley to LF!
- This may not happen, but Young would instantly be the best offensive player in our lineup. Try not to be a homer and admit it. He's not injury proof and he strikes out a lot less. He's a flat out stud.— gluteman
- Trading Jimmy Rollins for Michael Young, either directly or with the assistance of a third team, would have a lot of merit for both the Rangers and the Phils. It would benefit the Rangers because, pure and simple, Young wants out. Regardless of why he wants to leave Texas, Young is a popular player with a number of supportive teammates, and the Rangers don't want to start the defense of their American League pennant with any major distractions. Even if they have to eat some of Young's salary in a trade, the Rangers would be better off trading Young and replacing him with a player or players who could help their team immediately. Although Rollins is a very popular Phillie, he spent much of last season on the disabled list and may leave Philly after this season when he becomes a free agent. He and Young are both the same age and are both gold glove shortstops and all-stars. Unlike Rollins, Young is under contract until 2014, is a lifetime .300 hitter, and is known as a consistent RBI man. Given more playing time, Francisco, Brown and Mayberry could all become regular fixtures in the Phils' outfield. So, the Phils don't need to upgrade their outfield. However, they do need to upgrade their offense which, in 2010, was prone to frequent and sometimes prolonged slumps. Michael Young could be the right-handed power hitter the Phils are looking for to bat 5th. Although Jimmy Rollins is one of the most popular players to ever wear a Phillies uniform, his contract expires after this season and he could take his game elsewhere for more money than the Phils might be willing to pay for his continued services. So, sooner or later, the Phils will be forced to find a new shortstop. The chance to acquire an established star like Michael Young doesn't happen every day in the major leagues, and the Phils would be wise to compare Rollins and Young and consider which player fits best into their long-term plans.
- While I agree they could work on a three way deal and that Young would upgrade the team offensively, he is not a good defensive player. Yes he won the GG at SS in 2008, but that was his best defensive season since 2003. He kind of caught lightning in a bottle. Remember, Abreu also won a GG. Last year, Young was horrible at 3B. IMO, he's best suited to play the position he started his career and did pretty well, 2b, and that's is not going to happen with Utley there. Unless the Phillies want to downgrade their great up the middle defense, I don't see this happening either way. — EL Zorro
- Bottom line: Michael Young is a nice, if declining, player who would be a solid, veteran, RH presence on our club. Alas, he plays the wrong position. That simple. I wouldn't trade Rollins' glove for Young's. No way. And Utley or Polanco in RF? No. His salary also means Young's a better fit elsewhere.— eman
- If you've been following the latest trade rumors, you know that Michael Young has demanded a trade from the Rangers. The Rangers are still trying to acquire a starting pitcher and DH. The Astros have offered Carlos Lee, and his large salary, to the Rangers who are apparently looking for more. With the acquisition of Bill Hall, who can play all infield and outfield positions, the Astros are trying to acquire affordable infield upgrades. The Phils have made known the availability of Joe Blanton, as well as their potential interest in Michael Young. This being said, I propose the following 3-way trade: The Phils send Joe Blanton to the Rangers and Jimmy Rollins to the Astros. The Rangers send Michael Young to the Phils and a prospect to the Astros. The Astros send Carlos Lee to the Rangers and Michael Bourne to the Phils. Just a thought - but one that works out surprisingly well for each team when you sit down and crunch the numbers. The question you have to ask is if you'd rather see Joe Blanton and JRoll playing for the Phils this year, or Michael Young and the gold glove, base stealing leadoff man, Michael Bourne.
Young is old...better suited for the DH league.— pigday31- I think the real reason this deal gets no traction is because Texas wouldn't take what the Phils want to give them for Young. If you're the Phils, you knwo Young could play left field; does he want to make another change in order to play for such a strong contender? Don't know, but if Texas would take Blanton and Ibanez in exchange, of course we'd want young in left field.— Richard S
- This was never going to happen; was just another lazy ESPN writer who had to write something! Then some braindead radio guy spends an entire night talking about it like it's gospel that it's happening. Gee, whatever happened to journalism and doing some homework.— JBinPA
- Mitch Williams said on MLB network that Blanton and Polanco for Young works for both teams and I agree. The Phillies increase their right handed power and get a hard-nosed gamer, and dump enough salary over the next few years to make it relatively payroll neutral. I still think this could very well happen. It works for the Phillies, but I think the Rangers would like to get cheaper, younger players in return. At the end of the day, though, it might be the best deal they can get and I think it would be a win-win for both teams in the short term.— jtj06
- Yeah, but where Polanco is going to play? They are solid at 3b and 2nd with Beltre and Kinsler, both in the top 5 at their positions in the AL. Unless Kinsler or Polanco accept being a DH (fat chance), or one of the two gets traded, I don's see much logic on this move. — EL Zorro
- The idea of sending Joe Blanton and Placido Polanco to Texas for Michael Young is only half right. Sending Blanton is a given, but sending Polanco would be one of the absolute worst mistakes the Phils could make. Polanco is too valuable a player to lose. He is a gold glove defender who can play any infield position and one of the Phils' best hitters. What's more, he's under contract until 2014 for a very reasonable $5.5 million a year. In comparison to Polanco, Jimmy Rollins can play only one infield position, cannot hit as well as Polanco, spent half od last season on the DL, becomes a free agent after this season, and is on the books for $8.5 million this year. Sending Blanton and Rollins to the Rangers for Young makes much more sense than sending Blanton and Polanco. According to MLBtraderumors, the Rangers nearly traded Young to the Rockies for two prospects and agreed to pay more than half of Young's salary. This is as close as the Rangers have come to trading Young. No other teams appear to be interested enough in Young. As the season approaches, the Rangers will probably become more liberal in their trade demands, and Blanton and Rollins for Young may start to seem like a pretty fair exchange.
- In what meaningful category is Polanco good offensively? In 2010 he had a poor OBP, scored only 76 runs at the top of the Phillies line-up, drove in 30 less runs than the light-hitting stiff he replaced, is slow, and has no power/low slugging percentage. If Polanco is one of the Phillies' best hitters, they need to acquire more pitching ASAP. — jtj06
- To the reader who asked, "in what meaningful category is Polanco good offensively," it should be noted that in 2010, Polanco played in 132 games and had 165 hits for a .298 batting average. He only struck out 47 times. At face value, these numbers are meaningful because they are better than average across the board. What is significant about these numbers is they don't reflect the number of times Polanco successfully moved runners into scoring position. On paper, many of these at bats were recorded as outs, but they were outs that helped the club score runs. What is remarkable about Polanco's 2010 season is he put up better than average offensive numbers while playing with a left elbow fracture. His left elbow was so heavily taped and padded that it's amazing he was even able to swing a bat. What is also remarkable was his ability to to stay in the box and have meaningful at bats even when pitches were thrown inside to him, just missing his fractured elbow. Polanco has never been a home run hitter or RBI man. He is one of baseball's premier Number 2 hitters. That's one of the reasons the Phils acquired him, and at no time during the 2010 season, did Polanco disappoint.
