Health updates on Polanco, Blanton and Contreras
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Health updates on Polanco, Blanton and Contreras
Matt Gelb
MILWAUKEE — Placido Polanco has begun running after his double hernia surgery in October and Ruben Amaro Jr. said there is no upgrade necessary at third base.
"Polly is our third baseman," Amaro said. "I'm looking forward to him being healthy. If he's healthy, he's exactly what we're trying to have as far as our offense is concerned. If he's healthy, he's our best hitter.
What if he isn't healthy?
"Then we'll deal with it," Amaro said. "We'll have [Wilson] Valdez or [Michael] Martinez or somebody else cover for him."
Amaro hinted that Polanco's health problems began sometime in May, shortly after he hit .398 in April. Polanco hit .243 the rest of the way and was 2 for 19 in the National League division series.
- Joe Blanton made two starts after the Phillies were eliminated in the postseason. Blanton pitched in the Florida instructional league to further test his balky elbow that cost him much of the 2011 season but never required surgery.
Amaro said Blanton threw 70 pitches in his final outing and never experienced health issues. He threw all of his pitches, including breaking balls, and the Phillies are confident he'll slide into the 2012 rotation.
"He showed us he's pretty healthy," Amaro said. "As far as we're concerned, he'll be either our fourth or fifth starter."
Blanton is due $8.5 million in 2012.
- Jose Contreras will begin throwing in January and Amaro said he expects the Cuban righthander to be ready for the start of spring training. Contreras had surgery in September on his elbow.
- Jonathan Papelbon will actually take a pay cut from 2011 to 2012. He made $12.5 million with Boston in 2011 and will earn $11 million with the Phillies in 2012. Of course, Papelbon won't mind that because he's owed $13 million per season from 2013-15.
The Phillies have committed $119.2 million to 11 players for 2012. That does not include their five arbitration-eligible players, who are all expected to be tendered contracts. Figure the Phillies have about $60 million to fill those other 14 spots.
- The Phillies acquired righthanded pitcher Adam Worthington from the Arizona Diamondbacks as the player to be named later in the Mike Zagurski trade. Worthington, 24, has never pitched above single A. He's a reliever and posted a 4.48 ERA in 62 1/3 innings in 2011.
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I would much prefer Oswalt for ~10 M than Blanton at 8.5 M, but maybe this is just not possible.— fish1463- I don't agree Polanco is the best hitter in the Phillies lineup. Maybe the best situational hitter, but not overall. I'll rank Pence and Victorino as best overall hitters ahead of him. Polly is a singles hitter with not speed.— EL Zorro
- The entire key to the equation is "If he's healthy"...He missed 30 games 2010, this last season he missed 40 games..At 36, there's no reason to believe his brittle body goes the distance...Ruben made this signing, just like with Ibanez, just like with Blanton, and he's sticking to his guns...He's a good player,dependable (not spectacular) as heck in the field, but he's not a plus runner or an on base percentage guy...With Howard out, HR production will be off, so that's where the talk starts obtaining thae dropoff at other positions, notably third. Maybe the manager will rest him more often...Greg Dobbs is looking better than ever now for that role. — bearsfriend
- I am petty sure anyone you ask would rather take Oswalt over Blanton, but no one in the league would take Joe the Lumber, his 8.5 million dollar salary, and his shaky elbow. Lets hope that the Vanimal will have a productive full season as the 4th starter and then, I can live with Blanton and/or Kendrick in the 5th spot.— dcapnova
For a split second there I thought that said Phillies acquired righthanded pitcher Adam Wainright......- Great. Another season with Polly as our everyday third baseman. This offense will not win a playoff series with a third baseman who hits 5 home runs and 50 rbi's. David Freese nearly did that in postseason alone.— zeke128
- Seriously, dude? Phils won the World Series with Pedro Feliz as their third baseman. He probably had around 60 rbi's and maybe 12 homers. Maybe an OBP under .300. Placido Polanco will never be the reason the Phillies win or lose. A healthy Polanco, while not a major difference maker, is more of a plus than a minus. The fact that David Freese plays third base is totally irrelevant....I just cited an example of the Phillies winning the World Series with a third baseman who was markedly less productive than a (healthy) Polanco. — CornerPretzelGuy
- When they won with Feliz they had more power at the other infield positions. Howard and Utley's power numbers have dropped the worst. This is the problem with hanging on to 2008. With all the core guys 4 years older it's risky to not inject some youth at a few positions. Third would be a place to get some hitting to compensate for the drop-off of the other guys.
Hard to say until RAJ is done. He has to say all the right things about the guys he has. But, if after the recent moves we open up with JRoll leading off, Polly starting at third ... could be a long year.— s - Ruben is right. Polly is a perfect fit for this team....when he's healthy. Which is rare these past two years. Hard to trust his health to the point that you have Valdez or Martinez as his primary backup again. That said, IF he stays healthy he'll sport a .300+ average and will look great
- Get those Worthington jerseys ready.— NewMick314
- 2012 crystal ball: Blanton has some soreness in March, shut down for a few weeks, goes on DL, rehabs, comes back, makes two starts, blows out elbow by July. Laughs all the way to the bank.— jimmymack
- I love the armchair GM's stating the obvious about 3B. RAJ isn't dumb. The reality is there isn't much room for him to do anything. Poly has another year on his deal so unless they move him, they're not going to pay Poly and whoever else they would acquire at the same time. Which leads to the second reality, there just aren't many 3B out there available (FA or trade).— DennyP
- And you know this how? — bearsfriend
- prefer someone other than the Rube to be spending the $180 million -- someone else who might have a clue how to build a team that can hit for all that cash (no, Polanco cannot hit and has no speed or power --pretty pitiful if he's the Phils's "best hitter")— warbiscuit
- Career .300 hitter with multiple gold gloves just not good enough to get 'biscuit to feel the love... — stan the man too
