A word on Jim Thome
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A word on Jim Thome
Matt Gelb
MIAMI — Ten days ago, Ruben Amaro Jr. said he was fielding calls from American League teams regarding Jim Thome. The future Hall of Famer was recently removed from a terrific nine-game stretch as designated hitter. Now he was relegated to the bench.
It's easy to see what will eventually happen. So AL teams called Amaro.
"I may very well have [received calls]," Amaro said June 19. "Fact of the matter was he was great and exceeded everyone’s expectations — including mine. And honestly, he was fantastic and in some ways, it is a little bit of a disservice to have him sit there as a pinch hitter when he can't do much more than that.
"But we'll see what happens. Right now, I hope he gets a couple of chances to win some games, and then we’ll go from there."
Since then, Thome has won the Phillies one game with a walk-off home run. He is 1 for 6 as a pinch-hitter in the last 10 days with four strikeouts. For the season, he is 1 for 17 with 11 strikeouts.
He needs regular work, something that will not happen while with the Phillies.
Thome will not finish the season with the Phillies; Amaro said as much 10 days ago. Now an ESPN.com report has piqued the Internet's interest by changing "fielding calls about Thome" to "shopping Thome."
Not much is different. The Phillies would like to do Thome right by finding the best situation for a man with 609 homers and zero World Series rings.
The return for Thome will be limited. Perhaps the Phillies can have the acquiring team pay the remainder of his $1.25 million salary. Perhaps they could fetch, at best, a marginal prospect — emphasis on the word "marginal" and not "prospect."
Either way, this is about Thome, a man the Phillies respect immensely.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Jim deserves better. Hope he comes back sometime as a hitting coach or manager.- Wait, I thought we brought him back knowing this scenario would occur. That it was as much for his leadership, club house presence, and teaching abilities as for his ability to contribute on the field. Now we're doing him a "disservice" keeping him around? I don't get it, but perhaps I never will get Amaro because he's unpredictable and smug.— Sam Crow
- When they signed Thome, for his leadership and clubhouse presence, they were picturing the team having a healthy Utley, a healthy Doc Halladay, a Cliff Lee who won games, a Ryan Howard returning in early June, a solid bullpen, and a smooth ride to another division title.
Things didn't quite work out that way. So it is time for a change. Or would you prefer Amaro not react the current situation?— BJG - Originally, I wanted them to trade Thome. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it doesn't make much sense. Do you really think they'll get anything in return? I don't. Maybe a career AAA guy with no upside. Trading him does one thing; it frees up a roster spot. At this point the team isn't on track to do anything meaningful this season so why bother? Thome is a respectable pinch hitter for a team trying to finish .500. He chose to finish his career here with Manuel so I say let him do it.
— Sam Crow - I took my 9 year old daughter to her first game last Saturday when Thome had his only pinch hit of the season. It's a great memory for us. However, either the Phils need to send us tickets to every game, or he needs to be traded to an AL team where he can be utilized effectively in the only role he is capable of playing now. If the Phils were 9 games up rather than 9 games down, he could be saved for a potential World Series DH role. Good Luck Jim. Thanks for the special moment.— NMPartners
- Its a nice scenario, however, statistically, the phillies have less than a 1 in 10 chance of making the playoffs.
Frankly, I would sit tight, not because I think they'll make the playoffs, but because Amaro will make things *worse* than they are now.
And yes, he can make it much worse.— fmMD - Don't trade Thome...Phils will get their stars back soon and will get hot like Cardinals did....and win the World Series and Thome should be on this team for that.— phil500
If Jim truly cannot play even an occassional game at first base .... how long before he hurts himself again ? I think Phils thought, as I did, that he could play the field a little bit this year.
Frankly, a guy who cannot play the field is technically "injured".
IMO
— zubzub- This is not about Thome, this is about the post season, which is not out of reach yet. Thome in a DH role is perfect for this squad. Don't push the panic button. Let big Jim win his ring in Philly.— Paul SoTX
- Sorry, but they can't make the playoffs this year. Anyone who uses data to make logical decisions knows this. Saying the postseason isn't out of reach is similar to saying there is pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It's nice sentiment, but completely illogical. The numbers just don't add up. — Sam Crow
- I hope he's gone by Sunday. His signing was a mistake we could not afford.— 1republican
- Phils would be foolish not to use Thome as a piece towards strenghthening the pen. Could probably be swapped even up for a righty like Kevin Gregg (Bal.) or Joel Peralta (TB). Or packaged with a low level prospect for Casey Jansssen or Carlos Villanueva (both TOR) or Matt Lindstrom (Bal.).— Claudio Vernight
- It's time for Dave Montgomery to tell MLB the Phillies will become the AL team next season and let the Astros remain in the NL so Thome can be almost an everyday DH. Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Tampa Bay & Phillies in one division!— sonnybuoy01
