Valdez' value a small price to pay for Phillies
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Valdez' value a small price to pay for Phillies
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Wilson Valdez, at the age of 33, is going to be eligible for salary arbitration this offseason for the first time in his career.
With the addition of Ty Wigginton, a right-handed power bat off the bench, the Phillies could probably save around $400,000 if they released Valdez and used Michael Martinez to fill the same role.
That would be a mistake for a couple of reasons.
The obvious one is defense. It could be argued that, with the exception of shortstop, the Phillies were a better defensive team the last two years whenever Valdez was in the lineup. That's not meant as a knock at either third baseman Placido Polanco or second baseman Chase Utley. It's more a reflection of just how good Valdez is with his glove and he's quite proficient at shortstop, too.
The less obvious reason to keep Valdez over Martinez is because of what the versatile infielder can do at the plate.
In his two seasons with the Phillies, Valdez has hit .254 with a .300 on-base percentage, 30 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and 65 RBIs. Nothing overly impressive about that and his biggest weakness is that he has a tendency to hit into double plays. He's grounded into 33 of them in the last two seasons.
But when you examine what Valdez has done with runners in scoring position, it separates him from most other bench players in baseball. In 2011, Valdez batted .370 (27-for-73) with six doubles, three triples and 28 RBIs.
That, of course, is a small sampling, but over the last two seasons, Valdez is hitting .329 (55-for-167) with 16 extra-base hits, 60 RBIs and a .390 on-base percentage in RISP situations. Sixty RBIs in 167 at-bats is an incredible number.
You could argue that because of those numbers, Valdez should have found his way onto one of manager Charlie Manuel's lineup cards in the postseason when a hobbled Polanco was obviously scuffling at the plate.
Martinez, who played as a 28-year-old rookie last season, had some sensational moments after making the 25-man roster as a Rule 5 draft pick from Washington. He also showed the ability to play the outfield, making perhaps the worst great catch in Phillies history when he tracked down a laser off Chipper Jones' bat to prevent an Atlanta win on the final night of the season.
That ball falls in and the Braves are headed to St. Louis for a one-game playoff and maybe the Cardinals never make it to Philadelphia let alone their 11th World Series title.
Anyway, Martinez batted .196 overall, but he also performed well with runners in scoring position, posting a .279 batting average, a .353 on-base percentage and a .911 OPS. His 23 RBIs in 43 at-bats with runners in scoring position also represent a remarkable number.
He made some great plays as an infielder, but also had a tendency to mess up the routine ones on occasion. Still, he was a solid bench player in his first big-league season.
Choosing between Martinez and Valdez will not be an easy decision and its importance should not be diminished, especially when you consider how many games Utley, Polanco and Jimmy Rollins have missed in recent seasons.
Unlike last year, Martinez can be optioned to the minor leagues without being offered back to the Nationals. From an organizational standpoint, the Phillies would be wise to keep Valdez on the big-league roster and send Martinez to the minors for insurance that they are almost certain to need at some point during the season.
Valdez is a keeper...— stan the man too- Valdez and Martinez are highly redundant, so of the two of them, of course, keep Exxon. But if the Phils are serious about being great they need to keep Polly as a super sub (2b and 3b) AND sign a decent 3B. Phils bench depth was AWFUL this year, and the regulars are frequently hurt.— Bobby G
- I'll second that..Valdez has been a true gem in his role as a superb fielding jack of all trades...— bearsfriend
- Ruben learns from his mistakes, at least. Last year, he kept Martinez and Valdez and neither provided much of an offensive threat off the bench. Throw in a poor year from Ross Gload, mostly disappointment from Francisco (one playoff HR aside)and our pinch hitting was anemic -- and it cost us. Next season should be different, with Thome and Wigginton. Having said that, we need a quality infield glove and it should be Valdez with Martinez at AAA if needed.— eman
- I think you said it all in the last paragraph when you noted Martinez can be safely optioned this year. Valdez as the utility infielder, particularly for 2B or SS and Martinez is the backup utility based in Allentown in case they need an injury call-up. Still hope the Phils make a play for Jesus Flores so as to have a decent backup catcher. Phils catching depth throughout the system is a concern.
— Claudio Vernight - Actually, if Martinez was sent down last year I doubt very much the Nationals would have wanted him back...Erik Kratz and Tuffy Goosevich could both ably handle the chores defensively now with the Phillies as a backup, and Kratz would hit home runs...Sebastian Valle goes to Reading as a top prospect and Cameron Rupp turned it on at Lakewood in the second half last year and starts at Clearwater...Valle has the upside, albeit needs to learn to take a pitch once and awhile, but catching is not a major issue on the farm at this time. — bearsfriend
- How about keeping neither of them? Both were pretty much automatic outs at the plate and Valdez was a double play machine. Is there not someone willing to play at the veteran minimum for a WS contender that can provide a steady glove and at least a veil of a threat with the bat?— Blue and White
- Valdez hit into alot of DPs two seasons ago, not an issue last season...His fielding is tremendous, and he had to play alot at second and short these last two seasons...His contributions, especially from a guy who made nothing,cannot be minimized, or overlooked. When the strength of your team is in its pitching, why would you want to discard such a defensive asset? — bearsfriend
- Valdez should be on the team this up coming season. He great Defense and can play 2nd, SS and 3rd sohe is of value. Give him a raise and keep him we will need him through out the season.— srcdaddy1216
- We may need Valdez to play shortstop next year.— fish1463
- Did you geniuses miss this part?...............
"Valdez has done with runners in scoring position, it separates him from most other bench players in baseball. In 2011, Valdez batted .370 (27-for-73) with six doubles, three triples and 28 RBIs."
se— Manny Trillo - I really think someone could get him to add 20 points to his BA. If he could the guy is invaluable. Get the bat down, a la Jason Werth and be in a position to hit. He is a keeper anyway but that would make him a starter. And he could close!— jjthree
- 10 years ago if someone could have convinced him he WASN'T Manny Ramirez, he could have had a great career. — bearsfriend
- MiniMart will team with the great Pete Orr to lead the IPigs in DP's.— NewMick314
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