Pursuit of Lopez appears to be over
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Pursuit of Lopez appears to be over
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
The Phillies' pursuit of Houston reliever Wilton Lopez is over, multiple sources said Thursday.
A trade for the Houston reliever appeared to be gathering steam Wednesday when the Phillies brought the 29-year-old reliever into Philadelphia for a physical, but for some reason the talks stalled and then died.
It was first revealed on the Phillies' web site that the deal was not going to get done.
Lopez would have been an attractive and inexpensive alternative to filling the role of eighth-inning setup man, which was one of the team's biggest weaknesses last season.
Instead, the Phillies are still looking for that eighth-inning reliever as well as a center fielder and possibly a third baseman. Lots of work for general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to do as the winter meetings in Nashville draw near. The meetings officially open Monday.
Comments (47)
RAJ's strikeout rate this offseason is starting to resemble the Big K at first base.— jfdatl- Why would they have had the player in Philly if the deal / player-wise hadn't been done?. Had to be the physical or last min. Change of heart by one side!!!— MJSI
- You don't bring players in for their physicals until the trade pieces have been agreed upon. If you pass the physical, you sign on the dotted line and you have a press conference wearing the hat of your new team. You can bet dollars to doughnuts that this was the Madson fiasco all over again for Smuggles. Had a deal, physical looked bad and deal falls apart (voided by the Phils). They can't release that he failed his physical just like they couldn't with Madson, however in the baseball world everyone now knows that Lopez is damaged goods. Someone else may still trade for him, but it will apparently be a risk they are willing to assume. The Reds were willing to give Madson for 1 year and they got torched as he never threw a pitch for them.— Mark1npt
- RAJ's strikeput rate in 4 years is about 90%... the clueless imbecile's deals and contracts have been disasters about 90% of the time -- worse than an empty suit, he seems like a deliberate plant to destroy the franchise...makes Andy Reid look like a genius by comparison— warbiscuit
- Back under your rock dopey — DogBiscuitthedope
- Why all the RAJ incompetant remarks? ENOUGH already. No one said anything when Ryan Madsen's deal fell through and ooops...he blew out his elbow. Deals fall through for real reasons. Who knows right now what the reasons are? Older articles mentioned other teams were interested and may have upped the ante above what RAJ thought was "resonable". The physical exam may have revealed something the Phillies thought was an unacceptable risk. Remember, due to HIPAA regulations, no one may speak publically about medical issues. Since there is no comment from either side right now, there is a chance that the physical examination didn't go as the Phillies expected. In the end, give the man credit for doing his due dilligence. As for the strike out on deals, obviously Philly didn't believe Upton was worth the $75 million investment for 5 seasons. So many posters were dreading the signing of Upton to begin with. The market dictates what players are worth. Not every team is going to "go all in" for players not worth it. Remember, Philly let Pense go, who would have cost the Phillies $14 million for only one season.— drhoffman
- It looks to me like a failed physical. The trade was done deal, pending the physical, according to sources.— EL Zorro
- Looks like a win! We still have Cloyd and Valle, and possibly someone else. Best news of the offseason so far!— altoonaaslan
- You guys still have Hamels, Lee, and Halladay. That's a terrific, first-class trio. Most of you guys would trade them away. Doesn't anyone in Philly know starting pitching is the name of the game? You have to have it to contend. Amaro deserves some credit for realizing that.— 2smart4philly
- You guys still have Hamels, Lee, and Halladay. That's a terrific, first-class trio. Most of you guys would trade them away. Doesn't anyone in Philly know starting pitching is the name of the game? You have to have it to contend. Amaro deserves some credit for realizing that.— 2smart4philly
- Should have never let Grilli go - bring him back.— D
- how exciting this time of year is! we get to hear from warbiscuit 4-5x a day, just like the summer!— TheLon
- Mark1npt is exactly right. It has nothing to do with Houston's asking price which would already have been met before the physical.— user1796
- I'm getting the feeling that Amaro has lost respect with his peers and players no longer want to come to Philly. Sounds like another long dry spell for playoff hopes.— sonnybuoy01
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
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