Phillies acquire Revere for Worley and May
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Phillies acquire Revere for Worley and May
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
NASHVILLE -- The Phillies acquired a center fielder Thursday and while the cost was not high in terms of dollars, it was substantial in terms of the players they surrendered for Minnesota's Ben Revere.
The Twins received righthanders Vance Worley and Trevor May from the Phillies. Worley finished third in the National League rookie of the year voting in 2011 and May was considered the team's best pitching prospect at the start of last season.
In Revere, the Phillies receive a former first-round draft pick who can play all three outfield positions. He did not commit an error in 282 chances last season. The 24-year-old Revere's game is all about speed because he has almost zero power. The left-handed hitter has not hit a home run in 1,064 career at-bats over three big-league seasons. He had five home runs in 1,755 minor-league plate appearances.
"I think we were dealing from a position of strength because of the young arms we have been developing in our system," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said as he prepared to board a flight back to Philadelphia. "We gave up a lot for this player, but we acquired a player who is under our control and can do a lot of things for us."
Revere could be a top-of-the-order hitter capable of wreaking havoc on the bases. He had a .326 batting average and .383 on-base percentage in the Twins' minor-league system and batted .294 in 553 plate appearances with the Twins last season. He also stole 40 base in 49 attempts and scored 70 runs. He can hit either first or second in the order.
"He could hit at the top of the order or the bottom of the order," Amaro said. "We got him for his defense, but he can hit, too."
Revere will not be eligible for salary arbitration until after the 2013 season and he will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2017 season, so his cost in terms of salary is certainly appealing to the Phillies, who balked at the idea of paying a huge contract to free agents like Michael Bourn and B.J. Upton.
"We still have plenty of flexibility monetarily to try to piece the rest of this thing together," Amaro said.
Worley, 25, had gone from a fringe prospect at the start of 2010 to a valued member of a star-studded rotation in 2011. He finished third in the rookie of the year voting that year after posting an 11-3 record and 3.01 ERA. He was unable to repeat that success in 2012 as he went 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA before being shut down late in the year with a bone spur that was surgically removed.
With Worley's departure, it's possible the Phillies could be in the market for a veteran free agent to join their rotation. Some possible names to watch for are Shaun Marcum, John Lannan and Edwin Jackson.
"We could go either way to fill the other spot," Amaro said. "We could go outside the organization or inside the organization. Jonathan Pettibone is close. Tyler Cloyd will be in the mix."
The four definite starters in the rotation are Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick.
May, a 23-year-old righthander, was considered the best pitching prospect in the Phillies organization after Jarred Cosart was traded to Houston in 2011. He was also the 69th ranked prospect in the minor leagues by Baseball America before last season. But the righthander struggled through most of last season, posting a 10-13 record and a 4.87 ERA at double-A Reading.
Don't really like it. We need power and we gave up solid pitching for speed and defense. Rather have hitting average and power at the plate.— connorjr- WOW, I tell you what. Philadelphia fans are the definition of fairweather fans. Some of the commenters here are clueless. Alot of you just started following baseball when the Phils got good. Of course he has no power or arm, but you must have someone field the position and make contact at the plate. They are not done acquiring players. Would you rather the Phils overpay for Bourn or Upton?
- how is revere better than mayberry. when given a chance to play everyday, which was only at the very end of the season, mayberry batter over 300 and hit a decent number of hrs. mayberry was not effective as a platoon hitter, but when given a real chance, he succeeded. he can cover as much ground in the outfield and has way more power than revere, but then again so does heidi hamels.— pojames
- A young Juan Pierre-rhymes with Revere. Rube better hope that Worley doesn't become a very good 3 or 4 starting rotation guy. May has a great arm say the scouts that I have read. Would just be our luck if he turns out to be a beast. Kills me that we gave up maybe our top prospect. And bumblin,stumblin Cholly will probably bat Revere 8th which will have no effect on our offence. Rube will probably trade away more of our future without any noticable returns.— skipdog
- Problem is, RAJ has done nothing to improve the bullpen, which was the main weakness of this team last year. Or are people forgetting Qualls? You can't win a game if you can't protect a lead.— 46 and 2
- I like the moves! But make Charlie move Rollins down in the line up.Way too many pop-ups.Have this kid lead off, steal bases, and score. Young at third spared by Fransen. Galvis will play alot up the middle, second/short between injuries(Utley) and hitless streaks (Rollins).— Pineapple Betafish
- He is a young Juan Pierre (down to the weak arm) and this forces JRoll out of the leadoff spot; has to right???— KINGOFZED
- I don't like this. Hope I'm wrong.— ACBaughman
- Ruben Amaro is demonstrating how CLUELESS he is. I never heard of this guy before today. If anyone thinks this SLUG is going to help the hapless PHILLIES then they are as clueless a Amaro. Nats and Braves finish 1, 2 or 2, 1 in the National League East. Then he wants Michael Young? Another almost 40 something. The PHILLIES front office is PATHETIC..........Just PATHETIC.— cleusner
- Now go get Hamilton with the money you saved Ruben— Wakes
- Who Cares! You suck Philly!!! When did you last make the playoffs and actually win???? 2008!!!!!— MRD
- This guy sounds like Juan Pierre only much better defensively. My only problem is he is left handed. If he bats second, then we have three left handers in a row. Great for a left handed relief pitcher in the late innings.— lefty27
- Good start. Revere leads off. Now lets trade Rollins if only to clear money. Play Galvis. Plus defense/youth helps compensate for little production that is lost. If Young is the answer at 3B, then we need a big bat in right. Gotta get into the Hamilton sweepstakes. If Rollins can be moved, Phils are in great position to offer Hamilton 4 yrs with vested option for 5. Loved Worley, but Phils can contend right now by moving him. I think they still need a big bat, rebound years by Halladay and Utley. Obviously Lee needs run support. Bullpen could go from weakness to strength with the experience the youth gained last year and a veteran addition. Another 4 or 5 slot SP and I like our chances to compete.— cdeeri1
- every time Clueless Rube makes another one of his bone-headed trades, apologists come along to point out how flawed the disposed of players were or how they didn't or may not pan out (whether highly ranked prospects, or flawed veterans like Pence and Victorino)..the issue is not whether or not players like Drabek or D'arnaud or Worley or May actually pan out, or how good or not-so-good Pence may be, but whether Rube gets value when he makes a trade -- he traded 4 top prospects for Pence and then got back only useless trash for him when he traded him away, he then trades away 2 more highly rated players away again for a mediocre outfielder, Revere, to replace his discarded outfielders whom were better than this nobody replacement,,, similarly he traded away Lee for cheap but paid in top prospects for Halladay and Oswalt.. he continually buys high and sells low and that's how he took a top ranked team and now has a losing one with one of the highest budgets in baseball with no present or future— warbiscuit
- Phils are now irrelevant nobodies -- 15 teams had better record last year, and Phils have even less talent then they had last year; Ben Revere (whom nobody here even heard of before) is an irrelevant nobody; so long as a clueless imbecile is g.m. Phls will remain irrelevant nobodies, as their entire 40 man roster has perhaps 2 above-avg players, Hamels and Lee. with everythign else about them reeking of mediocrity or worse, except for their budget— warbiscuit
