No Beltran or Pence? Now what?
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No Beltran or Pence? Now what?
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
The rumor mill is a-churning on this Wednesday afternoon, four days before Sunday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. And there actually appears to be some substance to these tidbits; no more "Team X remains aggressive" type stuff.
Multiple outlets, the first being Yahoo! Sports (as far as I can tell), are reporting Carlos Beltran is inches away from becoming a San Francisco Giant. The Giants blinked first. They have reportedly decided to include 21-year-old righthander Zack Wheeler, rated as Baseball America's 55th best prospect in 2011, and that put them over the top. Wheeler was ranked higher than Jarred Cosart in BA's preseason ratings.
It's a blow to the Phillies, not so much because they failed to acquire Beltran, but that the Giants did. San Francisco has a gaping hole in its lineup that Beltran's .904 OPS will fill. He was the best hitter on the market, and the guy I advocated for simply because of that reason. Rental or no rental, he provided the best boost to win now.
The door on Hunter Pence is similarly closing, it appears. The indefatigable Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported Astros GM Ed Wade walked away from a Phillies offer of Cosart, Jonathan Singleton and another minor-league pitcher for Pence.
The Astros, he said, want four "sure-thing" players for Pence. That offer jibes with what I've heard from people: Domonic Brown is not in play on any of these trade talks.
Right now, Vance Worley isn't either. That situation is somewhat complicated. I would consider myself in the minority when I say Worley should be far from untouchable. We all know he's not a 2.02 ERA pitcher. He may not even be a 3.27 pitcher, which is what his current FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) stands at. He is, at best, a No. 3 in a rotation. Most likely, he is a decent No. 4 or 5.
But he is 23 and under control (cheap) for quite some time. And the latest news on Joe Blanton suggests that this could be a serious issue that affects him beyond 2011. And Roy Oswalt's $16 million option is sure to be declined -- barring a Marty Bystrom-esque run in the season's final two months. So that leaves two rotation holes for 2012.
Still, if Worley is what's holding back a Pence deal, do you include him?
Or do you think smaller now, like perhaps Mike Adams of San Diego. He could be the shutdown, veteran late-inning bullpen guy in 2011, the closer next season and all at a relatively cheap price.
The White Sox cleared nearly $10 million in payroll Wednesday with the trade of Edwin Jackson, so does that mean Carlos Quentin is off the block after momentarily being on it?
What if Ruben Amaro Jr. adds complementary bats, like Bob Brookover suggested in Wednesday's Inquirer?
We have a better understanding of the current market with this recent news. But as for the Phillies position? Still unclear.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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The deal was nixxed by Houston when the Phillies insisted on them taking Charlie Manuel.. Seems they're not that stupid after all..
Ok, maybe we shouldn't have tossed in Blanton, Ibanez and Carpenter either...— dedhed- You don't trade Worley. He's still young, but you don't trade a starting pitcher in your rotation for a position player. Good pitchers are more valuable and harder to find than position players. When we traded Happ, we got a better starting pitcher in return (Oswalt). Trading Worley for Pence is like trading a starting QB in the NFL for a very good running back.— awl
- Pence would not only contribute offensively but defensively as well. Trade Brown and Worley if need be.— pedge
- Answer= Jeff Francouer !!!— mdcasino
- Answer= Jeff Francouer !!!— mdcasino
- FIP, WAR. You should stick to fantasy baseball Gelb. Maybe you can become a GM and trade Howard for Ike Davis, Casey Kotchman, Adam Kennedy, Jason Giambi, or Daniel Murphy. Maybe you can acquire high UZR and high WAR players that should win 120 and then complain how unlucky it was when they are under .500.— chuck49
- Actually its your type that uses the fantasy baseball stats like wins, RBI, runs, avg, and ERA as a basis for skills. the sharp minds use the more advanced metrics as better predictors of such stats rather than those stats themselves. — Bobby Yost
- This is about the DUMBEST article Bookover has written How Worley is lucky to be 7-1 and Oswalt is more valuable? The Phils have one of the weakest AAA and AA teams in the Major Leagues and you want to clean it out.— tulsaphil
- It's platoon time for Ibanez with Mayberry. Victorino needs to bat RH all the time. Leave Brown in RF all the time and allow the next star to grow. Worley will be needed with Blanton injured and Oswalt not long term reliability. Can use a RH hitting outfielder but not at too high a cost. Team is aging so time to win it all is now, but keep the jewels needed over the next three years! Think about needs soon to arise at third, short,left field and another catcher before trading away too much. Spence would be good to get but Astros are smoking something if they think he's worth FOUR ML players. Beltran rental would be ideal but at a reasonable price for 60 days employment. Seems like Mayberry is as good as some of the other retro players being mentioned. Consider someone who has played in playoff games, not from a loser team where the exposure to playoffs and World Series doesn't happen and they would be like rookies when they will be most needed.— tom o
- With McCann going down, Wade pulled the deal off the table, hoping he could get a better deal from Atlanta....— PhilliefaninAZ
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Aside from his relatively average velocity, he doesn't miss bats, doesn't have great control, and doesn't throw many ground balls. — Bobby Yost
- yet, all he does is win games and not give up runs. — seaonasdad
- Matt Gelb couldn't scout a coach pitch 7 yr old league. How old is this child, Gelb? Enough.— chaliebygolly
