Carlos Lee has agreed to terms of a six-year, $100 million contract with the Astros. More details can be found here in the Houston Chronicle.So, now the Phillies will need to fill their need for a right-handed power hitter by making a trade. Or else, sticking with Pat Burrell and crossing their fingers.
Your thoughts?
7 comments:
I'd much rather the Phillies take the $100 million and invest it in pitching. They didn't miss the playoffs because of their hitting. Build the staff around Cole Hamels and Brett Myers. Another quality starter who can give the team 200-plus innings will do wonders for what was a depleted bullpen at the end last year.
Agreed. But good luck finding that pitcher in this market. Zito wants to stay on the West Coast, and Jason Schmidt comes with questions.
If the Phils can re-sign Randy Wolf, the rotation will be fine. But they need to add two quality relievers, and now that all the free-agent sluggers are off the market, I think you'll see the bullpen become their priority.
Who could've guessed that Pat Burrell now looks like a bargain?
Is it possible to say the Phils could end up with Adam Eaton, David Weathers, and Danys Baez? And what stock do you put in the Phils supposed interest in Rocco Baldelli, what would it take to get him?
I think in order for the Phils to get ALL of the guys you mention, they'd have to part with some of their minor league prospects, which they really don't have many of. Any sort of impact bat now has to be found through a trade rather than free agency, (one would think) and i just don't see the Phils Minor League System being all that attractive.
I like Weathers and Baez though, as bullpen help. Scoring runs wasn't really the issue last year anyway.
All good questions.
At this point, you'll definitely see the Phils turn their attention to pitching. Randy Wolf remains their first choice to round out the rotation. He's getting a lot of interest, and his agent, Arn Tellem, wants to have a deal done before the winter meetings start Dec. 4. So, you could see Wolf land someplace this week. If he goes elsewhere, Adam Eaton or Miguel Batista are possibilities. Chances are, Ted Lilly will get too much money (I'm hearing $10 million per year).
In the bullpen, they're still targeting David Weathers, Joe Borowski and Danys Baez. Justin Speier signed with the Angels, so he's off the market. They still want to land two relievers, at least one with experience as a closer. Borowski, Baez and Weathers would fit that profile.
Hitting-wise, the Phils have to get creative now. Unless they're content to have Burrell batting behind Howard again, they'll have to swing a deal for another right-handed power threat.
And yes, it's truly amazing that Burrell is now a bargain. For that matter, so is Manny Ramirez, but Gillick doesn't seem interested.
Sorry, Ed. Forgot to answer your Baldelli question.
I've heard the D-Rays offered a Baldelli-for-Hamels swap and were shot down quickly. I think we can agree that the Phils can't make that deal. My take on Baldelli is this: He's more of a top-of-the-lineup speed guy, not the middle-of-the-order power guy that they're looking for.
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