On Wednesday night, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that the Phillies are “past the tire-kicking stage” in pursuit of free-agent centerfielder Michael Bourn, and the team is now trying to gauge what kind of money it will take bring Bourn back to Philadelphia.
The Phillies currently are without a single proven starting outfielder, and addressing centerfield has been one of Ruben Amaro’s top priorities in the offseason.
Amaro’s top choice was Angel Pagan, but the 31-year old decided to stay with the San Francisco Giants. The Phillies also pursued B.J. Upton, but were outbid by the Atlanta Braves. The team even had some interest in bringing back Shane Victorino, but the interest in the former Phillie was minimal and Victorino signed a massive deal with the Boston Red Sox.
The free agent pool is drying up, and Amaro has been unable to add a single outfielder to his roster, and Bourn is one of the few big names left on the market. However, I don’t like the idea of the Phillies handing out a big deal to the former Atlanta Brave.
A Bourn signing would come with considerable risk. He’s almost 30-years old, doesn’t hit for power, and strikes out a lot (155 times in 2012). His great speed is what makes his game work in the big leagues, but how many more years will he have his quickness for? When an athlete ages, speed is one of the first things to go.
I don’t think its in the Phillies’ best interest to hand out another big contract to another player on the wrong side of 30. While Bourn would bring some stability to the outfield and the top of the batting order, I feel that signing him would only be a short-term fix and a long-term problem.
Think about a couple of bad contracts that the Phillies just recently got out of, Raul Ibanez and Placido Polanco. Both players were given considerable contracts by Amaro, and neither player was worth the investment. Ibanez got off to a great start at the beginning of 2009, but was an up-and-down player for most of his three years. Polanco’s body began to break down shortly after he returned to Philadelphia, and the aging third baseman had trouble just staying on the field.
Bourn is said to be seeking a deal larger than the $75 million that B.J. Upton received from the Braves. I’d rather the Phillies keep their money for a better option down the road. If a player isn’t a great fit for the team, the organization shouldn’t settle for an option that won’t be in the best interest of the team two or three years from now.
On another note, I couldn’t be happier that the Phillies didn’t bring back Shane Victorino…talk about taking a step backwards…
Who would you rather have Victorino, or the trash truck juice we have out there now?!? As of now, barring any moves, our starting outfield consists of Ruf/ Nix in LF, K-Berry in CF, & Brownout in RF! OOOOOH!!! that’s got the Nats & Braves trembling!!! Agreed, he got waaay overpaid, but let’s not forget what he gave the Phillies!
in two years when he is 35 and making $13m you would be on here bitching about ruben signing him.
it is the cost of doing business and you forget that sometimes! In this case you remembered it– i guess you are selective with that!
Victorino would have been a step forward considering the options the Phillies have at CF now, irrespective of the history, but they should have made a serious run at Angel Pagan…having said all of that LF is more of a concern than CF or at least it should be viewed that way. The youth movement is one that will pay dividends and it’s unlikely Ryan Howard will have another season like last season considering he’s healthy. Raul Ibanez should get dialed up to play in LF….say whatever you want about him, but his batting numbers would have really helped the Phils last season.
Sign Lance Berkman on a 2year Deal for $15 Million Total Deal
Since he’s a Switch Hitter he can Bat 3/4 or 5th
Then go out ann Trade for Ellsbury with the Red Sox
Who has $8 Million for 2013 on his Current Deal
Which would cost them Worley, Stutes or Lindlomb or Bastardo and a Pitching Prospect
Then you could have a Batting Order of
Ellsbury, Rollins, Utley, Howard, Berkman,Ruiz
Brown (RF), Fransden, Pitcher
Then use Mayberry as Defensive Replacement for Berkman
And have Nick Scherholtz play RF on occasion to spell Brown
And even have Berknan play 1B if Howard were to get injured or against tough Left-Handed Pitchers or to give him a rest
Agree completely with Bourn and Vic. If I could make one deal out the it would be for Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin soo Chu (spelling). It would be a hefty price tag but you can slide A. Cabrera to 3rd and have Chu play either corner spot. Cabrera could hit anywhere in the order and Chu is a player that fits in anyone’s line up.
Who do you think they would trade for them! Put yourself in those teams shoes, then tell me who you would take back from our team, that Booben is willing to trade! That’s what I thought! You have to give up something good, to get something good! The only realistic feasible trade chips we have, are Lee & Rollins (he has to approve any trade), Papelbon. We have ZERO young position prospects to trade, Joseph is Chooch’s replacement. Valle sucks. Galvis is our SS of the future. Ruf is our LF of the future. We have some pitching prospects, but if you want the likes of Stanton, Upton, Shin Soo Choo, Cabrera, etc, etc, you will need multiple prospects & MLB ready players, not our trash truck juice! Also we don’t need another SS. We need at least 2 OF, a starting 3B, setup man, quality young depth for SS, & 2B.
trade for michael young going thru today with the rangers picking up $8mil of his salary. he is 35 and a FA after this year. a career .300 hitter. he is a professional and this is good. he will be a stable guy earned a couple of GG’s early in his career.
Dcar- is this trade likely to happen? No. Does our farm suck? Pretty much. If it were to get done, you could flip Lee to someone, beside the Indians, pick up a few pieces.
Michael Young would be a nice move.
If they are looking at Bourn, why not make a run at Ben Revere from the Twins. He is basically a 24 year old Michael Bourn.
I also like the idea of young as a cheap replacement at third. It will cost the phila very little and maybe last year for him was an aberration. I’d look to sign Ichiro and maybe make a move for a Ben Reveere or dexter Fowler.
Michael Young is done. He has no power. A on base percentage of .312. 8 hrs, 67 rbis. Hes not a very good fielder. He walked 33 times last year. lol Hes 36 years old on the decline. There a reason why Texas is willing to eat so much of his conract. Hes not the same player from a few years ago.. This is my greatest fear.Trying to plug holes with old has beens. Just bite the bullet for a year or 2.
If the Phil’s aren’t on the hook for much money or prospects, isn’t it worth a shot? He’s got to be an upgrade over fransden.
he has averaged 190 hits the last 3 years. 5 years ago won a GG at SHORT. i’m not saying he is an all-star but he will sure them up. they need to make a run this year. it is absolutely worth the try.
Is it a upgrade over Fransen? Im listening right now to the BB experts and the concensus is when a team is willing to pay most of players salary to get rid of them thats pretty much a good indication that the player cant play anymore. They are paying his salary so he goes away. I. guess Texas doesnt care about making a run. I do agree that it is worth a shot maybe you can get lucky. But I wouldnt expect much.
it adds depth, quality depth. is he on the decline YES– BUT you need depth!
Texas has plenty of bats and flat out doesn’t need M Young, M Napoli or even Josh Hamilton for big $$$ for that matter..
Young can Play 3B and 1B to spell Howard on occassion, a proven Professional HItter who is a good locker room guy, not a bad pick-up..
The biggest concern I have is that most players who change “Leagues” later in their Careers tend to struggle since they are facing many new Pitchers, in New Ball Parks and batting in front of New Umpires that they are not familiar..
I know this sounds like a minor isses but Young has been in AL his entire 12 Year Career (All with the Rangers) so it make take him a little longer to get used to the National League Game and it’s Pithcers,Parks and Umpires.
I would rather the Phils send the same amount of $$$ and sign OF/1B Lance Berkman who gives you more pop and power and knows the NL and has hit very well over his Career at CBP…