Health updates on Polanco, Blanton and Contreras
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Health updates on Polanco, Blanton and Contreras
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
(Jeff Roberson/AP)
MILWAUKEE — Placido Polanco has begun running after his double hernia surgery in October and Ruben Amaro Jr. said there is no upgrade necessary at third base.
"Polly is our third baseman," Amaro said. "I'm looking forward to him being healthy. If he's healthy, he's exactly what we're trying to have as far as our offense is concerned. If he's healthy, he's our best hitter.
What if he isn't healthy?
"Then we'll deal with it," Amaro said. "We'll have [Wilson] Valdez or [Michael] Martinez or somebody else cover for him."
Amaro hinted that Polanco's health problems began sometime in May, shortly after he hit .398 in April. Polanco hit .243 the rest of the way and was 2 for 19 in the National League division series.
- Joe Blanton made two starts after the Phillies were eliminated in the postseason. Blanton pitched in the Florida instructional league to further test his balky elbow that cost him much of the 2011 season but never required surgery.
Amaro said Blanton threw 70 pitches in his final outing and never experienced health issues. He threw all of his pitches, including breaking balls, and the Phillies are confident he'll slide into the 2012 rotation.
"He showed us he's pretty healthy," Amaro said. "As far as we're concerned, he'll be either our fourth or fifth starter."
Blanton is due $8.5 million in 2012.
- Jose Contreras will begin throwing in January and Amaro said he expects the Cuban righthander to be ready for the start of spring training. Contreras had surgery in September on his elbow.
- Jonathan Papelbon will actually take a pay cut from 2011 to 2012. He made $12.5 million with Boston in 2011 and will earn $11 million with the Phillies in 2012. Of course, Papelbon won't mind that because he's owed $13 million per season from 2013-15.
The Phillies have committed $119.2 million to 11 players for 2012. That does not include their five arbitration-eligible players, who are all expected to be tendered contracts. Figure the Phillies have about $60 million to fill those other 14 spots.
- The Phillies acquired righthanded pitcher Adam Worthington from the Arizona Diamondbacks as the player to be named later in the Mike Zagurski trade. Worthington, 24, has never pitched above single A. He's a reliever and posted a 4.48 ERA in 62 1/3 innings in 2011.
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Comments (45)
I would much prefer Oswalt for ~10 M than Blanton at 8.5 M, but maybe this is just not possible.— fish1463- I don't agree Polanco is the best hitter in the Phillies lineup. Maybe the best situational hitter, but not overall. I'll rank Pence and Victorino as best overall hitters ahead of him. Polly is a singles hitter with not speed.— EL Zorro
- The entire key to the equation is "If he's healthy"...He missed 30 games 2010, this last season he missed 40 games..At 36, there's no reason to believe his brittle body goes the distance...Ruben made this signing, just like with Ibanez, just like with Blanton, and he's sticking to his guns...He's a good player,dependable (not spectacular) as heck in the field, but he's not a plus runner or an on base percentage guy...With Howard out, HR production will be off, so that's where the talk starts obtaining thae dropoff at other positions, notably third. Maybe the manager will rest him more often...Greg Dobbs is looking better than ever now for that role. — bearsfriend
- I am petty sure anyone you ask would rather take Oswalt over Blanton, but no one in the league would take Joe the Lumber, his 8.5 million dollar salary, and his shaky elbow. Lets hope that the Vanimal will have a productive full season as the 4th starter and then, I can live with Blanton and/or Kendrick in the 5th spot.— dcapnova
For a split second there I thought that said Phillies acquired righthanded pitcher Adam Wainright......- Great. Another season with Polly as our everyday third baseman. This offense will not win a playoff series with a third baseman who hits 5 home runs and 50 rbi's. David Freese nearly did that in postseason alone.— zeke128
- Seriously, dude? Phils won the World Series with Pedro Feliz as their third baseman. He probably had around 60 rbi's and maybe 12 homers. Maybe an OBP under .300. Placido Polanco will never be the reason the Phillies win or lose. A healthy Polanco, while not a major difference maker, is more of a plus than a minus. The fact that David Freese plays third base is totally irrelevant....I just cited an example of the Phillies winning the World Series with a third baseman who was markedly less productive than a (healthy) Polanco. — CornerPretzelGuy
- When they won with Feliz they had more power at the other infield positions. Howard and Utley's power numbers have dropped the worst. This is the problem with hanging on to 2008. With all the core guys 4 years older it's risky to not inject some youth at a few positions. Third would be a place to get some hitting to compensate for the drop-off of the other guys.
Hard to say until RAJ is done. He has to say all the right things about the guys he has. But, if after the recent moves we open up with JRoll leading off, Polly starting at third ... could be a long year.— s - Ruben is right. Polly is a perfect fit for this team....when he's healthy. Which is rare these past two years. Hard to trust his health to the point that you have Valdez or Martinez as his primary backup again. That said, IF he stays healthy he'll sport a .300+ average and will look great
- Get those Worthington jerseys ready.— NewMick314
- 2012 crystal ball: Blanton has some soreness in March, shut down for a few weeks, goes on DL, rehabs, comes back, makes two starts, blows out elbow by July. Laughs all the way to the bank.— jimmymack
- I love the armchair GM's stating the obvious about 3B. RAJ isn't dumb. The reality is there isn't much room for him to do anything. Poly has another year on his deal so unless they move him, they're not going to pay Poly and whoever else they would acquire at the same time. Which leads to the second reality, there just aren't many 3B out there available (FA or trade).— DennyP
- And you know this how? — bearsfriend
- prefer someone other than the Rube to be spending the $180 million -- someone else who might have a clue how to build a team that can hit for all that cash (no, Polanco cannot hit and has no speed or power --pretty pitiful if he's the Phils's "best hitter")— warbiscuit
- Career .300 hitter with multiple gold gloves just not good enough to get 'biscuit to feel the love... — stan the man too
- Polanco is a Gold Glover, and when healthy this year, he was batting over .300 and was an All Star. Why pile on Polly? Why does Utley get a pass? He was terribly unproductive and was supposedly at least semi-healthy. Odds are Polanco will be good, not great this year and then his contract is over. Rube is too excited about buying a left fielder or SS.— Barneyboy
Comment removed.- For all of you Polly haters...one question.
What was the award he won about a week ago.
Yeah, thats right, your a dummy.— rpr333 - Polanco is a dependable fielder and has an accurate arm to first...He was also a good fielding second baseman...His range is not great and it's getting worse, although it's not yet an issue..But the Gold Glove Award is a purely subjective award....It's not about hate, it's about what you'll get out of him for 2012 on this Phillies team. — bearsfriend
- Difficult to decide on Polanco because of the health issues and age. He started the year great, and is a career .300 hitter and a gold glove defender. It is easy to say he is not as good as others looking at last year, but for a career neither Pence nor Victorino have averages over 300. The issue is which Polly are we going to get, 2011 version or 2010 when he batted .298 and was extremely difficult to strike out? Blanton as a fifth starter is fine. The big question is really at shortstop. Should we keep Rollins whose numbers have slid since 2007 (average, power, stealing, RBIs), or do we keep him because he is better than any alternative? Until we settle shortstop any other tweaks are of a lesser priority.— JohnFC
- Poly was one of the best acquisitions the Phillies ever made. He deserves a gold glove. His hitting tailed off because of his injury, as did Utley's. Many of the fans fail to realize Utley was hit intentionally o many occasions because pitchers would sooner pitch to the automatic out instead of Utley. the biggest problems facing the Phillies is left field, 1st base,a second catcher and a short stop. This division is going to be stronger next season. Washington should be greatly improved, the Braves won't sit pat, The Marlins are waving big bucks front of Pujols, and the Mets aren't as bad off as others believe.
It's a jungle out there !— phineas - When he's healthy which is rare...........no confidence in Polly - team is too weak offensively to care a part timer at 3B.— Northcountry
- Prediction: Polanco will start the season on fire (like the past 2 years), then he will get some fluke injury that will linger the entire season, and his numbers will continue to plummet the rest of the season.— Penfold18
- That's been his MO the past few years. Great guy and great defense but at his age playing every day is a bad idea.
Maybe statistics are in our favor and 2012 is his year to be healthy. I can't believe I wrote that but I wanted to see what it felt to put a GM line out there.
— s - Nice to have some more depth under Polanco. Greg Dobbs or Eric Chavez would be good targets. Another good left-handed stick off the bench with either guy and Chavez has won multiple gold gloves with Oakland in his career.— Seeing Red
- Utley to 1B while Howard out. Polanco to 2nd. Sign Aramis Ramirez to 3 year deal (Ibanez got $30 mil for 3 years at age 36, Ramirez is 33). Polanco becomes super-sub when and if Howard comes back(can spell Ramirez and Utley)and great bat off the bench late in games. Utley destined to play first with this weak, erratic arm and inability to turn 2 quickly. Might save his knees a bit too. I doubt that RAB going to invest in 3rd base. If a trade could be worked out for D. Wright without gutting the farm, I'd do that preferably to Ramirez as he is younger and plays better defense.— wilcowaits
- I don't understand any of this? Ruben is still being Ruben always seeking that veteran player over youth. I thought initially the problem with the Phillies during the playoffs showed that they were worn out and getting older thereby needing more rest and maybe more youth inserted into our team? I have not seen any youth movement here at all. Ruben has created his model to WIN NOW at whatever the cost and sell off whatever young talent we have elsewhere in the league as long as it fits his World Series Win Now Model! We have good young talent and we need to get our players into the Bigs so they get experience. I suppose we will somehow get Jimmy into the fold and not develop Galvis or any of our younger players? If you look at the Braves model, they are an up and coming young blended team to look at. They will become great and probably stay great for years like they used to be many years ago with Glavin, Maddux and the rest of that group. Go Phils!!!— linkster
- Continue to put all of your eggs in old, broken-down and getting more broken-down by the minute baskets and you will lose.— MrPhillie
- This team would be just fine if Utley and Howard would hit like the Utley and Howard of old. They are the real problem. Everyone else is just role players.— ronin32
- Rube - better not get too confident. Polanco (and also Utley) are no longer able to last a full season. It would be better to alternate them at 2B, so they'll be around to contribute in the post-season. The fact that they are both earning starters' money is just the risk you took in signing them to long-term contracts. Get Cuddyer, Wright, etc to play 3rd, and don't rely on Utley & Polanco for 140 games each in the field. Otherwise they will surely break down.— jman
- What about Cuddyer?!!!— girouxforpresident
- I love all the comments about RAJ and Polanco. I've been a Phillies phan for the past 48 years. I cannot remember a 5-year run like this that included a World Series win. The only other WS win was in 1980 when Dallas Green took over a bunch of under-achievers to kicked their collective butts into gear. They died the following 1981 strike shortened season and the franchise resurrected for a 1983 WS cameo and was clobbered by Baltimore. 1993 and the Joe Carter experience occurred. Since 2007, this team has been relevant and in the playoffs each and every year. Players actually want to play in Philly now (take note J.D. Drew/Scott Rolen?). Stop all the garbage. Can't wait until pitchers/catchers report in February. If you don't like the moves RAJ makes and have roster issues, become a Dodger fan.— drhoffman
- Cuddyer signing would be perfect for this team. Starts the season at 1B, spells Polly at 3B twice a week, along with an occasional start in LF if needed. Everyone is hyping the age issue with the Phillies, but you can have an older team if the MANAGER KNOWS HOW to play them correctly...unfortunately, the rash of injuries and wear/tear on the veterans can be linked to Charlie not using his players correctly during the long, brutal 162 game season.— Phront_Runner
- The difference between Polanco and Dobbs would be 4-5 in loss column for Phills. One is a very steady glove the other is below average defensively.— Don w
- Placido Palanco is a proven performer and a solid team player ; Polly is my choice at 3rd ...johnnyu— john ullman
- @drhoffman - THANK YOU. I get so sick of these fans who have so clearly just began tracking with this team over the past 5 years. For us TRUE fans that have been around 20+ years and witnessed the lowest of lows - we can APPRECIATE this run as one of the best in Phillies' history.
All these whining fans and armchair GMs are really starting to annoy me - one good thing about this team having a few down years again (which is inevitable) will be the purging of all these bandwagon fans so we can get back to discussing baseball and not whining about having a $180M payroll and consistent post-season appearances.— PhillyIllini - It does look like status quo is the theme for this off-season. Papelbon for Madson: status quo. The weak hitting is a 2-year trend. That's a lot of impotent AB's.— Baggio
- dr. hoffman and baggio: how self-righteous can you get? part of the fun of being a fan is playing gm and wondering what they will actually do. how long you have been a phils fan is of no relevance. if you just want to accept all that they do, that's fine, but don't judge other fans who may have more baseball knowledge than you, just because you have been around on this earth longer. that's just silly. if you are so tired of the fans who dream of getting this player or that, I suggest you stop reading the posts at the end of articles...time to come down off those high horses, boys.— wilcowaits
- my bad baggio, that was meant for drhoffman and phillyillini...sorry to include your handle.— wilcowaits
- No problem Wilco. In fact I would argue that fan impatience and whining has created the intense atmosphere that spwned the turnaround. Why do you think all these players want to come to Philly? Impatience and Whining!— Baggio
- Amaro has to publicly come out supporting Polanco a. to show support for his guy and b.to get ARamirez who opted out of a $16 mil contract with the Cubs because he wants to play now for a winner, to come down in price and show how much he wants to be a Phillie.....but behind the scenes, ARamirez is first and foremost on his mind and in his speedial. If Ramirez will come aboard for say $10 mil/per and two years, the Cuddyer talk of $12 mil/ 3 years will not happen. Shrewd he is, shrewd.— Mark1npt
- @wilcowwaits - you're entirely wrong. Being self-righteous isn't a question here. Self-righteous is positioning yourself in your own comment as someone who "has more baseball knowledge". Would love to know your "baseball knowledge" pertaining to this club over the past 25 seasons - which helps to tell the story of where they are today and why they're making, or not making, the moves they are.
That's beside the point - I get sick of fans clamoring for Rollins to get out of town so we can bring in Jose "clubhouse cancer" Reyes. Or those that want Charlie "5 straight NL East Division Titles" Manuel booted out of town. Or even those that get down and say the worst signing in Philadelphia history was Ryan "I lead the ML in HRs over the past 5 Seasons" Howard.
Give me a freaking break. Fans like you give Philly a bad name.— PhillyIllini - I'm Steve Jeltz, I'm Sid Finch, I'm Chuck Klein, I'm Ray Kinsella, I'm Ray Chapman, I'm Ray Calwell, I'm the guy in red in right field at the Skydome in 93, I'm Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Lasloosh, I'm Puddinhead Jones...you are going to say I give Philly a bad name? Wow. You have not a clue. Attack something I said about the Phils why don't you? I didn't say let Jimmy leave and sign Reyes (hate the latter, love the former), I didn't say fire Charlie or that Howard's contract is terrible...if he produces like he has it will all work out. You deinitely sound angry tho...perhaps therapy? Go back and read what I suggested and then try to generalize me with everyone else.— wilcowaits
- Is this fantasy baseball?— dwilly
- Is Amaro channeling George Steinbrenner? Trying to buy a World Series is gettin' expensive, eh? Papelbon instead of Madson? Similar numbers, but Madson would have come cheaper and he didn't melt down at the end of this past season as Papelbon did. I don't get this move at all. Meanwhile, who's the up and coming Phillies version of Cardinal David Freese, Rubes?— RightSaidJeff
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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