* GM Pat Gillick will meet with Alfonso Soriano's agent Thursday in Naples, Fla., before returning home from the GM meetings. With Gary Sheffield and Aramis Ramirez off the market, the price for Soriano (left) will be sky high. Gillick has been interested in Soriano for a long time, so don't be surprised if the Phillies' first offer is a good one (five years, $80 million, perhaps?). But if the Phillies' first offer is their last, they won't get Soriano. There's going to be stiff competition from the Angels, Cubs, Mets and Dodgers to land the biggest prize of this year's free-agent class, and the wooing will probably continue well into December.* Think the free-agent pitching market is thin? Rangers RHP Adam Eaton reportedly has drawn interest from 18 teams. 18! That's Adam Eaton, who went 7-4 with a 5.12 ERA in only 13 starts last season and is 54-45 with a 4.40 ERA in his career.
* Because of the inflationary nature of the market, the Phillies will need to spend more money than they thought to re-sign LHP Randy Wolf. It may take $20 million over three or four years to get a deal done. If that's too rich for the Phillies, don't be surprised if they turn their attention to Eaton, Miguel Batista or Jeff Suppan.
* OF David Dellucci said his agent has been contacted by 11 teams, including the Texas Rangers, who traded him to the Phillies two days before the season-opener. Dellucci is looking for two things, playing time and a multi-year contract, neither of which the Phillies are likely to offer. The guess here is that he'll wind up back in Texas, a team he never wanted to leave in the first place. If that doesn't work out, look for Dellucci to sign with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and move to first base.* Just because manager Charlie Manuel thinks the Phillies are set at the catching position doesn't mean Gillick does. So don't pencil in Chris Coste and Carlos Ruiz on your mock 2007 roster just yet. There's a good chance to Phillies will look to upgrade at catcher, and a trade for Johnny Estrada still may be a possibility.
* The signing of Helms could become official today. Once a top prospect with the Atlanta Braves, Helms was effective in a part-time role last season. Marlins manager Joe Girardi started him at first base over rookie Mike Jacobs against left-handed pitchers. Helms is looking for more playing time, which he should get from the Phillies. He'll likely platoon with Abraham Nunez, with Nunez starting occasionally and entering for defensive purposes in the late innings.
3 comments:
I'm guessing this latest thread title isn't a play-on from Revenge of the Nerds?
Wes Helms? Why not. He can platoon, and has some pretty good numbers with runners in scoring position, which was a bane for the Phils last year. That had to be a moderately attractive attribute to Gillick, aside from his cost. However, I'd hate to think of he and Pat Burrell patrolling the left field line defensively.
Ergo, Nunez becomes very important.
And as far as the SP's you mention, I'd think Batista to be better suited. Suppan is mediocre at best, and teams can't be clouded by his postseason success. Even his numbers there were marginal.
What do you think of the possibility of signing Jay Payton to a reasonable 2-3 year deal for about $4 million per year and using Aaron Rowand and a prospect in order to pry Brian Fuentes away from Colorado, who really seemed enamored with Rowand? Under this scenario (as well as signing Soriano) our starting outfield could be Soriano in left, Victorino in center, and Payton in right. This would also balance the line-up out pretty well as Payton doesn't strike out too much.
Ed, I've never been a huge Payton fan. He made $4 million last year in Oakland, so I'm sure he'll be looking for a raise. But you're absolutely right about the Rockies liking Rowand. The White Sox would love to have him back, too. And, from what I hear, Gillick got a lot of inquiries about Rowand at the GM meetings. So there's no question, if the Phils get Soriano and are unable to move Burrell, they'll entertain the idea of trading Rowand.
Paul, While I agree that there's a danger in overrating players, especially pitchers, based on postseason performance, I'm sure the Mets think Suppan was better than marginal in the NLCS. And it wasn't just this year. The guy outpitched Roger Clemens in Game 7 of an NLCS two years ago.
Regarding Helms: He's not a very good defensive player, so I'm sure Nunez will be used as a late-game replacement. Manuel is already thinking in that direction.
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