Inside the Phillies: The obstacles to a Chase Utley trade

SAN DIEGO - The first 29 days of July were full of speculation about which team Cole Hamels would pitch for in August, September, October, and beyond.

Much of this month should prove compelling in regard to another Phillies icon.

Several obstacles stand in the way of a waiver trade of Chase Utley, but a real possibility exists that this is the beloved second baseman's final month in red pinstripes. Utley's return from the disabled list on Friday officially commenced what figures to be an interesting few weeks that will perhaps dictate the immediate future of a Philadelphia fixture.

Utley's 37-game absence from the Phillies lineup all but ensured he will not garner the 500 plate appearances required to trigger his $15 million vesting option for next season, making him a potential rental player on the August trade market. Despite his woeful first 21/2 months of the season, a contending team might find him an attractive addition if he performs well for a couple of weeks.

Improved play from Utley, 36, is the first step toward a potential deal because the major-league-worst .179 batting average he compiled in April, May, and June didn't do the Phillies any favors in the trade-value department. It's impossible to discern exactly how much of his early-season struggles could be chalked up to his ankle injury as opposed to his age, but he appeared stronger in his three-game rehab assignment this past week.

The second hurdle is Utley's no-trade clause. The 13-year veteran earned full no-trade rights by spending 10 years in the major leagues and at least the last five with the same club, and he has long maintained his desire to play for the Phillies as long as possible.

Perhaps losing considerable playing time to 25-year-old Cesar Hernandez and knowing free agency looms will have changed Utley's stance, but as recently as spring training he did not sound in a rush to go anywhere.

On Feb. 23, in his first news conference of 2015, Utley said he would listen to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. if he approached with a trade offer "out of respect for him and the entire organization." But he added that he wanted "nothing more than to play for this organization for as long as I can."

"I would have to listen, but I don't think much will change," he said that afternoon at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

When the topic was broached two weeks ago after a morning workout at Citizens Bank Park, Utley responded, "We talked about this in spring training. Nothing has changed."

But what would Utley answer if Amaro approached him with an offer that would put him in contention for another championship and help the Phillies expedite their rebuilding process? Several teams in the playoff hunt could use an upgrade at second base, and those front offices will surely keep a close eye on Utley over the next couple of weeks.

The Los Angeles Angels, who entered the weekend 21/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and who top the wild-card standings, are one potential suitor. Their second baseman, 28-year-old Johnny Giavotella, went into the weekend with a .662 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and is regarded as one of the worst defensive second basemen in baseball.

The New York Yankees, whose AL East lead over the surging Toronto Blue Jays was down to 41/2 games, went into the weekend getting a major-league-worst .209 average from the second base position. Stephen Drew entered Friday with a .196 average in 285 at-bats.

The Chicago Cubs are getting a .600 OPS from the position, the fourth-worst OPS in baseball and second-worst in the National League. They would win a waiver claim over the aforementioned two teams because they play in the National League.

An Utley trade would need to bring back to the Phillies a prospect or two of value to make it worthwhile. The Phillies, as they did in the trades of Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Jonathan Papelbon, and Marlon Byrd, could chip in salary for a better return. As of Sunday, Utley will be owed about $4.6 of his $15 million in salary for 2015. As of Sept. 1, the day after the waiver trade deadline, he will be owed only about $2.7 million through the end of the season.

The August waiver trade period could play out any number of ways over the next few weeks.

But before anything else, Utley needs to hit.

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Teams around the league place most of their players on revocable waivers in August, if for no other reason than to gauge the player's value around baseball.

If one of its players is claimed, a team can either pull him back without repercussion, negotiate a trade with the team that claimed him, or, if hoping to get rid of salary, allow the other team to assume the player's contract.

If a player passes through waivers unclaimed, his team is free to trade him to any team until Aug. 31, as it could before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

If a player is claimed by multiple teams, priority goes to the team with the worst record in the team's league. So, in the Phillies' case, NL clubs would get priority over those from the AL.

Players cannot be pulled back from waivers more than once throughout August.

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@jakemkaplan