Phils Contact Lowe, Burnett
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Phils Contact Lowe, Burnett
Todd Zolecki
The Phillies have said for almost a month their No. 1 priority is signing Jamie Moyer to a contract extension.
They still hope to get that done.
But it looks like the Phillies don't want to get caught flat footed if talks with Moyer drag on and they suddenly realize they can't come to an agreement. A source said yesterday that the Phillies recently have contacted Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett about contracts.
Lowe, 35, went 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reports are that Lowe is seeking a five-year contract worth around $15 million per season. Burnett, 31, who went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA with the Toronto Blue Jays, also is believed to be seeking at least a five-year contract.
The Phillies don't like to give five- or six-year contracts to pitchers because of the health risk involved. They're not alone, either. The Yankees, for example, reportedly have balked at talking seriously with Burnett while he asks for a five-year contract. But the Phillies will have to do something if Moyer doesn't sign, and if they think they can get Lowe or Burnett they have to at least try. And in case you're wondering, there's almost no chance the Phillies would sign both Moyer and Burnett or Lowe. I think it's one or the other (Moyer or Lowe/Burnett), and I still think they prefer to sign Moyer. The Phillies have said in the past if they sign Moyer, they will have Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco and Drew Carpenter (throw Adam Eaton's name in there, too) compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.
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Ruben Amaro Jr. said Chase Utley's surgery went very well: "I'm pleased there were no surprises. We're optimistic that he'll be back and shouldn't miss a significant portion of the season. I would be surprised if he did not return until June. That would be very surprising, although a lot will depend on how he reacts to the surgery and how the overall rehab goes."
Amaro also said he expects Pedro Feliz back by spring training. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I asked him if this is going to be a David Bell-type thing, where Feliz constantly will have lower back issues. Amaro said, "We don't see any degenerative issues with his back." That's good news for the Phillies.
Zo - all this talk does leads me to a thought I've had a few times now. As a Major League veteran (not sure how much service time is required for this, but I know Eaton is past it), Adam Eaton has to accept a minor league assignment for the Phillies to send him down, otherwise they have a brief window (I think it is 10 days?) to trade or release him. If he is unable to win a spot on the 25-man roster in Spring Training, what happens with Adam Eaton? Will he accept a minor league assignment for an entire season? Will the Phillies outright release him and eat the $8.5M he's still owed? I doubt they could possibly trade him (but you never know). Or is there a chance they will *SHUDDER* *GASP* try to force him on us, at least briefly, before finally cutting their losses mid-season and granting him his release then?— RollinsWasRight- I wouldn't want any part of A.J. Burnett, for any length of time. The guy is way too unpredictable, and has never lived up to his ability, or the contract Toronto gave him. And now he wants a bigger one?! No thanks, I'll pass. Lowe would be nice on a 3-yr. deal, but no 35-yr old pitcher is worth a 5-yr. deal, especially not one with such a striking disparity in his home-road splits. His performance on the road since he's been a Dodger has almost been the pitching equivalent of a Colorado Rockies' hitter outside of Coors. Besides, Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton and Happ is a nice solid rotation for next year. I would rather bring back Moyer, and use the difference between Moyer's salary and Lowe's asking price to sign Juan Cruz to bolster the bullpen. The only thing that worries me about the rotation is that Kendrick, Eaton, Carrasco and Carpenter hardly constitute "depth", in my opinion, and what happens when one of the starters goes down? Cause we have to know it will happen. There's no way they go two seasons in a row without a starting pitcher spending any time on the DL.— RollinsWasRight
- RWR: while no SP landed on DL last year, we had Myers go down for a month (Minors)and Kendrick and Eaton emplode. In effect 3/5 of our SP spend considerable time not pitching for the team last year. We also had less depth to cover for it and what do you know, we won the World (Utley Quote)Championship.— jeff gross
- I have a little issue...make that a BIG issue...with signing ANY 35 year old pitcher to a 5 year contract. Especially at $15 mil. a year! Burnett? Maybe. But with a 4+ ERA? Wonder what his asking price is? I have no doubt that Jamie will be re-signed. Although, I can't imagine it would be more than a two year contract. Maybe that's the delay. Sign Jamie, and see who's available next year!— Norma
- Keith Law of espn.com has Burnett at #4 on his list of the top 50 free agents although, after reading his evaluation of Burnett, I have no idea why. Check this out.........."Burnett might have the best raw stuff of any starter in baseball. When he's good, he's unhittable. The problem is that when he's not good, or not motivated, he's ordinary and prone to the big inning. Burnett will show three above-average pitches on his best days: a 92-98 mph fastball, all with good life, some with sink; a plus-plus downward-breaking curveball that is unusually hard; and an above-average changeup, his worst pitch but one he sells well enough to fool many left-handed hitters. His command and control are average at best; he gets by on pure stuff as much as on feel or his pitching plan. The bigger concern with Burnett is what version of Burnett you're actually getting. He threw a career-high 221 1/3 innings and started a career-high 34 games this season. The only two times he topped 200 innings before 2008 resulted in follow-up seasons that were abbreviated because of arm trouble. Two of his three 200-inning seasons came in walk years. He performs better when the pressure is off, going on tears in the second halves of the past two seasons when the Jays were largely irrelevant. He's an upside play, a rarity in this end of the pitching market because he can beat any team at any time with his stuff, and if he does it a few more times a year, he'll get Cy Young votes. He is one of only two players in the top 10 of these rankings -- the other being Oliver Perez -- who could end up a bargain for the signing team. But a repeat of what he provided for Toronto would make him a disappointment."........Why would we want any part of this guy? Anyone who signs him for 5 years will be making a HUGE mistake.— bski
- jeff: all true... but it still worries me that should any SP go down at any point, which is likely to happen, our only depth is comprised of two guys who you just mentioned imploded last year, and two guys who may not be major league ready yet. Not saying it's the end of the world, just a potential weak spot in the fleshy underbelly of our World (My girlfriend's new ringtone) Champions!— RollinsWasRight
- bski: that is fascinating, that Law ranks him the 4th best FA, and then gives a thorough analysis of why he is not that good, not at all realiable, and in no way worth the contract Toronto gave him, much less a longer, more lucrative deal. At 31 years old, isn't it time to stop paying an 8-, 9- or 10-year vet for promise or potential, and start paying them for performance?— RollinsWasRight
- I love Moyer as well, but I would give Moyer a 1 year offer, take it or leave it. He has no leverage. No other team would want to sign a 45 year old to a multi-year deal. That's insane. If he retires, then so be it.— CyHamels
- also, jeff, just to be fair, Myers only realistically missed 1 start, even though he made four minor league starts, thanks to the All-Star Break. They only had to fill in for him once with Happ. Eaton was replaced by Blanton, and Kendrick, despite his troubles, made almost every start until the end of the year. Outside of the acquisition of Blanton at the deadline, the Phils only had 2 games all year started by pitchers who were not in their original 5-man rotation, both of those by Happ.— RollinsWasRight
- A little unrelated news.....I just read in SI, "Adopted by MLB, a rule that prohibits postseason games from being shortened because of the weather. The new rule will also apply to tiebreaker games and the All Star Game." There's more to the blurb. Page 18, if you're interested. Did we know this??? Where have I been???— Norma
- Norma: I heard a few days ago that they had agreed to adopt the rule, but hadn't yet ironed out the details and formally drafted the language. Don't worry, though, it's not as if this is old news. It shouldn't be surprising, though. Bud Selif made it pretty clear during the World Series that addressing the Game 5 near-disaster would be an off-season priority.— RollinsWasRight
- sorry, can't type...fingers already thinking about Thanksgiving dinner...meant "Bud SeliG".— RollinsWasRight
- I'd offer Lowe or Burnett 3 years with more money, 18M a year. Rotation in 09: Hamels, Burnett, Myers, Blanton, Happ Rotation in 10: Hamels, Burnett, Blanton, Happ, Carrasco(Myers leaves as FA)— LCVET
- RWR: as you said, despite the time missed by three starters only two real starts were missed due to all star break, other pitchers going on 3 days rest and revamping the rotation to take advantage of off days. We can do the same this year if need be as well. If a quality SP falls into our lap--great, otherwise leave it and concentrate on what is truly important, who plays LF, who is back-up INF and who is back up 3B if Feliz has re-ocuring back troubles this year.— jeff gross
- RWR....Trying to respond to you but my posts keep disappearing.— bski
