Phillies' bench hunt focused on defense
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Phillies' bench hunt focused on defense
Andy Martino
While the Phillies’ primary pursuit is the search for a third baseman, yesterday’s removal of Eric Bruntlett from the roster offered a reminder that the front office is also working to retool the bench. Here is a window into their thinking:
--Matt Stairs, who wants to return for one more season with the Phils before retiring, is welcome at spring training on a minor league deal. But the team is looking for a different type of player to fill his roster spot. Stairs is a power/on-base guy who can barely play the outfield and certainly cannot handle the infield at this stage of his career.
“Ideally, you would like to have as many defensive options as you can with guys,” Amaro said today. “Versatility plays. Matt Stairs was a specialty guy.”
--The Phils most pressing bench need is to find a super utility-type, a player who Charlie Manuel can trust to fill in for Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. Those talented middle infielders have arrived at baseball middle age, and need more rest than Manuel has provided.
So here is what Amaro needs to find: A guy who can play shortstop, and is willing to accept a bench role, and can handle the bat well convince Manuel to use him.
One problem. That guy probably does not exist.
“If the ideal guy was there, he would be playing every day in the major leagues,” Amaro said. “The likelihood is not great that we’re going to find a guy who can hit enough and field enough. You’re going to have to make a sacrifice.”
So where will Amaro make that sacrifice? On offense, apparently. He is seeking someone who can play the difficult position of shortstop, and has played that position regularly. By cutting ties with Bruntlett, the Phils sacrificed their only player who could sub for Rollins if the shortstop were injured for a significant period of time.
“Shortstop is a specialized position, almost like catcher,” Amaro said. “You would err on getting defense over offense.”
That would seem to eliminate the following names from the super-utility hunt, among others who haven’t played much shortstop lately, if ever: Jamey Carroll and Ronnie Belliard.
In light of Amaro’s comments, Juan Uribe and John McDonald become intriguing options, as does Bobby Crosby. Cairo also fits the description, but it is difficult to imagine Manuel penciling in Cairo over Rollins very often.
Ben Francisco is returning, meaning that the other bench search is for a backup catcher. The Phils value defense at that position—they replaced Chris Coste with Paul Bako this year because the organization considered that a significant defensive upgrade—and would ideally like to find a younger option than the 37-year-old Bako.
But the Phils pitchers loved working with Bako last season, which is why I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see the team begin 2010 with him as Carlos Ruiz’s backup. If the team cannot find an affordable upgrade, they could do worse than Bako. He is certainly not their Plan A, but he remains in the mix.
***
It is clear that Amaro wants to improve the late inning relief corps by adding a free agent or two. Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney would be perfect fits, because they have been closers and setup men—and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to have an insurance policy in case Brad Lidge’s 2010 performance resembles his 2009.
Without mentioning names, Amaro made it clear that he did not want to rely on the farm system to restock his bullpen for next season.
“I’m trying to get someone who would be a little bit better than our possible candidates,” the GM said.
Scott Eyre was an important part of the late-inning mix last season, and he wants to either retire or return to the Phils for one more year. He had minor elbow surgery after the World Series, and we knew that the team was waiting on that to decide whether they were interested in retaining the lefty. Yesterday, Amaro added money as a factor.
“We think the surgery went well,” Amaro said. “We’re deciding whether the cost of bringing him back will be prohibitive. He may have priced himself out of our range.”
Comments (57)
FJG JR: you're a moron. yes howard strikes out alot, but the uy still pounded over 140 RBIs this season. if you a GM i gaurantee you that you'd take that, regardless of how much he struck out. and he's not getting traded. so shut up. anyway, the idea of hairston jr is very intriguing. i kinda agree with you JLH: that's not a bad platoon. i would take beltre or figgins first, but if they both go quick i would definitely take a look at that.— m5dmb28- Nuggett, it was announced over a week ago that Myers won't be back. Try to keep up!— jman
- number one priority--sign lee long term. 5 year 90 mil. do it now otherwise he'll get that deal (or better) somewhere else next year as a free agent. number two priority--sign adrian beltre 3 year minimum deal. hes got good right handed pop and will put up great numbers in our potent lineup. move from AL to NL often revives a hitters output. from a purely offensive production standpoint, beltre is the best FA 3rd baseman out there. his recent injury season should make his pricetag be less competitive over a multiyear deal. figgins will be too expensive and not worth a long term deal. when his speed deteriorates he will be below average. beltre is the perfect fit. especially since the heir apparent to 3rd base in the minor leagues was sent to cleveland. 3rd priority--utility infielder. i like the omar vizquel idea as choice number 1 to give chase/jimmy a break. at his age he will have a tough time finding a starting role, and i think he would be willing to back up a great team like the phils. i like hairston jr., as choice 2, but he might be good enough to land a starting job somewhere...vizquel or hairston--priority 3. last but not least--priority 4--one bullpen guy is all you need. madson/lidge alreay paid for. romero and (hopefully) park will be back. i like the idea of testing out minor league guys at lease early in the season. mathieson, bastardo, zagurski good trial-n-error guys. ruben doesnt like this idea so he ll probabaly get someone in FA. i just hope he doenst overpay for a bullpen guy that will end up being mediocre at best. i dont really know who i would even want on the FA market as a bullpen guy. if i had to pick id probably say dennys baez from the O's--decent lefty and shouldnt command too much cash.— jrollpatrol08
- sorry baez is a righty--im thinkin of someone else...dont really know alot about these bullpen guys. they seem all the same to me— jrollpatrol08
- Think Amaro's making own decisions not Gillick"s (Eaton, Garcia, Jenkins) as well as Werth (very good) Lidge, we would not have won without him in 08. Wade would not undo deal as Bourn just has to hit 275 or better to be impact player because of outstanding speed and defense. Amaro needs to sign Lee to a long term deal (5 yrs) Polanco , Cora keep Dobbs and sign a LH bat off bench. Sure I would love Tejada but money has to be spent elsewhere.— Don w
Atkins at 3rd base. No Brainer!— NRGjunk- The problem with finding a good utility guy, is that they would rather sign with an AL club, where they can get more playing time because of the DH. For that reason, Scutaro and De Rosa will be hard to sign unless the Phillies overpay or promise them a lot of playing time, which is not going to happen. Both want to start, Scutaro doesn't have a place in the Phillies middle infield and De Rosa, imo, is not an everyday thirdbaseman. So, Crosby or McDonald, who Scutaro replaced in Toronto as an everyday SS, are more viable options. Uribe would bring some RH power and can play SS and second also, but he may go the AL for the reason stated before.— EL Zorro
- figgins will cost too much, and wants too many years (which he deserves, just not from us). i'd love to see vizquel as the super util guy, and either beltre or tejada at third. vizquel obviously for his defense, and versatility, and the other two b/c they will be cheaper than figgins, and command less years. save that cash to resign cliff! or another stud pitcher, or both...— phillyfan9
- Nuggett-do u follow baseball? Feliz's option hasn't been picked up for weeks, and Myers was notified the team would not be signing him to another contract. No need to cut him, he is a FA genious.....— phigglesfan75
- Good post Wonderice - you took the wondering right out of my mind! How come all those other teams have THAT GUY and not the Phillies? Wondered that for years. Didn't Tampa Bay seem loaded with THAT GUY in 2008?— RichieAllen64
FJG JR, I assume FJG is embarrassed by the use if his initials by such a moron.— COskier- Phills should go after Polanco, Lyon,.Schneider (backup catcher) and Cora(backup infielder) resign Park and most important extension of Lee.— Don w
About this blog
The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Search this blog:
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
