The GM Meetings being today in Orlando, and the Phillies' brass will be there trying to lay the groundwork for offseason moves they hope can keep them in contention in the National League East next season.
Jim Salisbury on Sunday looked at some of the bigger issues of the upcoming offseason:
There's A-Rod, of course.
There's instant replay.
Steroids.
But there's also free agency and blockbuster trades, which is why everybody pays attention to the offseason in the first place. It's crazy to think, but if not for the Phillies and Flyers what would Philly fans have worth following this winter? The Eagles? The Sixers? Ugh.
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In case anybody missed this, Phillies owner John Middleton sold his tobacco company for $2.9 billion. That's B-I-L-L-I-O-N. The story says he would like to own a bigger share of the team and make it more competitive. Well, $2.9 billion could buy a whole bunch of players and turn the Phillies into the Yankees or Red Sox of the National League.
Will it happen? There have rumors of a potential sale forever, but most recently last month. Phillies president David Montgomery killed them. And remember what Bill Giles said in July 2006: "I don't think our team will be sold in my lifetime, and I hope I live a long time. We're not going to sell. You can bet on that. It doesn't make any difference what price."
But it's interesting to think about, if Middleton wanted to assert himself a little bit.
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John Russell, who managed triple-A Ottawa, is going to be the Pittsburgh Pirates' new manager.
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In case you are interested, USA Today last week listed the Elias Sports Bureau rankings for 2007. These rankings are important because they tell teams how they will be compensated should their free agents sign with another team after being offered salary arbitration. Likewise, it tells teams what they might have to give up to sign a player.
If a team signs a Type A free agent, they lose a top pick and a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds. If a team signs a Type B free agent, they lose nothing -- although the team that loses that player receives a compensatory pick between the first and second round. In effect, free agents that are Type B or unranked are much more attractive to teams than Type A free agents because it costs them no draft picks to sign them.
Here's a look at the Phillies free agents, and where they are ranked:
Type A
Aaron Rowand
Type B
Freddy Garcia
Unranked
Antonio Alfonseca
Rod Barajas
Jon Lieber
Kyle Lohse
Jose Mesa
Abraham Nunez
J.C. Romero
So who will the Phillies offer arbitration to? I'd say Rowand and Romero are smart bets. Maybe Lohse. Why not others? Because players offered arbitration don't take much of a pay cut. So in Garcia's case, he potentially could make something near the $10 million he made this season. Coming off right shoulder surgery, the Phillies wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole.
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Comments (5)
Damn, with $2.9 Billion they can almost afford A-Rod. Almost.
What kind of FA is JC Romero?
Did you notice who the second-to-last player was on the NL RP Elias Rankings? None other than the flamethrower, Kane Davis.
Apparently, the Marlins are shopping Miggy Cabrera. How good would he look batting in-between Utley & Howard? I know they don't have a shot in hell at signing them, but one can dream...
Posted by meech.one | November 5, 2007 12:28 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 12:28
well, offer rowand arbitration and if he accepts great, if not the phils get a 1st rounder which they can use too. either way, i'd be happy. they only have so much money (the 2.9 billion notwithstanding) and there is a good replacement already here in victorino. have to hope rowand's intangibles can be replaced.
i saw carlos silva is a free-agent that would not cost a draft pick to sign. that's the guy the phils should be aiming for. he's a former phillie farmhand and is a ground ball pitcher. can probably get him for 2 years at 13 million rather than schilling for one year. i'm not buying schilling as a mentor for young pitchers. the only thing he could teach them is how to be a loud mouth glory-hound. also, fix the CBP dimensions!
Posted by mike | November 5, 2007 1:03 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 13:03
Romero is unranked, #84.
I'd be careful about Cabrera, he stays in the buffet line much longer, he will eat himself out of the league.
Still beleive that we need to concentrate on pitching, pitching and more pitching.
Posted by jimmymack | November 5, 2007 1:05 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 13:05
Cabrera has two things working against him - his lackadasical Abreu-type attitude and his love for food. I certainly do not think that this team needs someone to fill Bobby A's shoes. Hopefully they have been thrown away, or do you forget the jump that the team got by giving Victorino increased playing time when Abreu was shipped out?
Romero has to be signed. He is a known quantity, performed very well last year and is a high energy guy who is not afraid to take the ball in any situation. How many of them are there around? And $13M for Rent-A-Schill? Forget it! Sure this team has a few holes, notably in pitching, but they play as a TEAM and a selfish boor like Schilling was hard to take when his heater registered 96mph. What the heck can he offer now? $13M can be better spent elsewhere, hopefully not forgetting the mistakes of last year with Garcia and Borowski...
Posted by Joe Greco | November 5, 2007 1:34 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 13:34
I liked the Silva info. JC Romero has to be signed. Then too, what would it take to get the Balt. O '3rd' baseman that didn't want to be traded to the Phils a year or so ago?? Or Atkins? It seems that the Sox will resign Lowell and the Schill. I also like giving arbit. to Row. and Lohse.
Posted by Glenn Koons | November 5, 2007 1:56 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 13:56