A word on Jim Thome
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A word on Jim Thome
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
MIAMI — Ten days ago, Ruben Amaro Jr. said he was fielding calls from American League teams regarding Jim Thome. The future Hall of Famer was recently removed from a terrific nine-game stretch as designated hitter. Now he was relegated to the bench.
It's easy to see what will eventually happen. So AL teams called Amaro.
"I may very well have [received calls]," Amaro said June 19. "Fact of the matter was he was great and exceeded everyone’s expectations — including mine. And honestly, he was fantastic and in some ways, it is a little bit of a disservice to have him sit there as a pinch hitter when he can't do much more than that.
"But we'll see what happens. Right now, I hope he gets a couple of chances to win some games, and then we’ll go from there."
Since then, Thome has won the Phillies one game with a walk-off home run. He is 1 for 6 as a pinch-hitter in the last 10 days with four strikeouts. For the season, he is 1 for 17 with 11 strikeouts.
He needs regular work, something that will not happen while with the Phillies.
Thome will not finish the season with the Phillies; Amaro said as much 10 days ago. Now an ESPN.com report has piqued the Internet's interest by changing "fielding calls about Thome" to "shopping Thome."
Not much is different. The Phillies would like to do Thome right by finding the best situation for a man with 609 homers and zero World Series rings.
The return for Thome will be limited. Perhaps the Phillies can have the acquiring team pay the remainder of his $1.25 million salary. Perhaps they could fetch, at best, a marginal prospect — emphasis on the word "marginal" and not "prospect."
Either way, this is about Thome, a man the Phillies respect immensely.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Amaro is looking to ship Jim to an AL contender for salary relief to free up money so he can sign Herndon to a Kendrick-like contract next year.— dasher- SHOPPING?..............RIGHT NOW I SETTLE FOR A COUPLE OF TOWELS— ox
- eric brunlett was last seen combing his neck-beard with his WS ring... ahhh, the life of a journeymen major-league-er...
- yes, but they will get nothing but either cash, or a low end minor leaguer in return.Its basically a mute point.— flyers11
- Trade KK and D.Brown to the Mariners for Bradon League for Bull Pen help badly needed!— Lynnwood
- I'd still rather have his powerful bat on the bench. Do they ever have a pla of late that lasts more than a few months?— VicM
- Jim thome has more inegrity and class in his pinkie then Manuel and ruby ruby have in their entire body— gates2012
- How can a bonafide DH with such leadership be worth only a marginal prospect?!
Why not a legitimate middle reliever?— VicM - The Phillies can't afford the luxury of a player who is physically unable to play in the field and is one base-run away from going back on the DL. Thome for a bullpen pitcher, even a medicore one, is the only way to go.— Dragon13
- This article is kind of a set up. There is no reason the Phillies can't swap their old man, extra-baggage (DH on a National League roster) on a one year contract to some AL contender for the last veteran in their bullpen on a one-year contract who might offer immediate help in the 7th or 8th innings for the Phillies. Based on the expectations set in this article- maybe they will get somebody to actually take AND pay Thome's modest salary. Maybe they will get a body- the local media can then trumpet how savvy and clever Rube the boob is.— jtj10
lineup tonite
rollins
pierre
utley
ruiz
pence
victorino
polanco
mayberry
lee
go phils !— zubzub- I'd trade him straight up to the Yankees for Eric Chavez, who could give the Phillies a little bit of RH pop off the bench and a better power option at 3B. Basically, a has-been like Thome who can play the corner infield spots. He's "only" 34 so you can bring him back for cheap, veteran bench help in 2013 if he does a good job.— jtj10
- who the hell cares... LET'S GO BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— soulchild2
- I know people hate the reality of stats, but here's the bottom line stat to look at over these next three series: The Phillies have to win at about a .600 rate to realistically have a shot at the wildcard. They also have to win divisional games at a rate much better than the 40% win rate they've had there so far. So, bottom line is they really need to go 6-and-3 in these next 9 games to still have a post-season heartbeat. Maybe in a stretch 5-and-4 if other things line up. So that's what you look for, which means they pretty much have to win all three series or sweep one and lose one.— s
- GOOD! They are finally doing something smart. Doh! Me? is nothing but a potted plant on the bench in a league with no DH. As I've said before they, never should have signed him in the first place with his limited ablities.— Grapost
