The main priority of the offseason is to keep this rotation together, Cole Hamels’ contract is up and Roy Oswalt has a club option for 2012. Hamels went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA, the lowest ERA of his career. This guy has been with the Phillies since the 2002 draft. Since debuting in 2006, Hamels has a career record of 74-54 and a career ERA of 3.39, along with those stats are 1,091 strike outs. The 2008 NLCS & World Series MVP is just entering his prime. If the Phils let him go, it could be one of the worst mistakes since trading Ryne Sandberg.Roy Oswalt holds a club option for 2012 worth $16M. It’s worth it. Pitching is what carried this team throughout the season and losing Oswalt’s spot and filling it with Joe Blanton has trouble written all over it. Despite the 9-10 record, Oswalt still managed a 3.69 ERA for the season. With his previous back injury history evident this season, he can still be labeled as a liability, but his last regular season starts of the season proved that he may be healthy once again. Exercise his option and bring back Little Roy, a starter in Joe Blanton is not needed. The guy can’t even pitch out of the bullpen without getting lit up.
Over to the rest of the diamond, Jimmy Rollins has been with the Phillies’ organization since he was 18-years-old. 15 years have passed and what does J-Roll have to show? For starters, Rollins is a three-time All-Star (2001, 2002, 2005). With an MVP season in 2007 and a World Series title in 2008, Rollins forever sealed his name in the Phillies’ recordbooks. He has also claimed 3 Gold Glove awards (2007, 2008, 2009) in his career, all at shortstop. After lackluster and injury ridden seasons in 2010 and 2011, it may have come to light that Jimmy Rollins is no longer in his prime. That doesn’t mean that he’s worthless Although he only hit .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBI, Jimmy’s defense has not shown signs of quit. Rollins garnered a .988 fielding percentage and helped turn 79 double plays despite missing 24 games in all of 2011.If it were me in the office, I would offer J-Roll a contract. Rollins is the heart and soul of the clubhouse, without him there it would be as if the Phillies were just a bunch of guys in the same color uniforms. Offer him a two-year deal worth at most, that would give prospect Freddy Galvis enough time to prepare for the majors.Over to third base. Placido “Polly” Polanco, I love you man, but I think it’s time to move on. Polanco has been festered by an injured left elbow in which has taken time away from this season, and his career. A lifetime .301 hitter, Polly was a great addition in 2010, helping the Phillies get back to the NLCS. Times have changed and so has his health. Since 2010, Polanco has missed 70 games. 40 of which, came in 2011. Is Polly an everyday player still? I think it’s time that the Phillies upgraded third base. Polanco is owed $6.5 million in 2012.
In the bullpen, Ryan Madson has been a dire staple in the Phillies’ success. Being used as the closer since 2009 due to Brad Lidge’s dysfunctionality, closing out ball games has grown accustom to Ryan, as has he grown accustom to closing out ball games. Saving a career-high 32 games this year has only shown that not only is Ryan Madson becoming a great closer, but he is ready to become a long-term closer. If the Phillies sign Madson to a three-year deal plus an option for a fourth, not only may it give him a boost in morale, it may also lock the Phillies’ end-game bullpen up for a good while.Brad Lidge just needs to go, he is not what he was in 2008 and we all know it. Brad, you were great for us in ‘08, you helped us reach what no Phillies team could for 28 years. We thank you and I wish you the best of luck in your career.As for more revamping that needs to be done, Raul Ibanez is 39-years-old. The lefty has proven to be a streaky hitter, though when he is hot he is very hot. The bad part is, he doesn’t get hot as much as he needs to be. John Mayberry is being held back, the kid holds spectacular talent and we have all been given just a glimpse of it. Give this guy a starting spot in the lineup and the righty won’t disappoint. Although Mayberry may be used as the Opening Day first baseman due to Ryan Howard’s Achilles rupture, the Phillies need to look into revamping their bench in case of future injuries.The Phillies won’t be the same next year and I can assure you that. Trades and free agent signings come at unexpected times. Ruben Amaro has proven this numerous times. The Phillies will be making a lot of changes this offseason. We the fans don’t know what will happen, but we can always assume. SW- Erik Seybold Tags: Phillies 62 days ago 4 Comments Short URL Share this post! Share on Facebook Tweet This! 4 Comments
Andrew says:October 11, 2011 at 2:42 pm16M is a lot for an injury prone little Roy… and I think you need to give Worley the chance to be the 4th playoff starter after the season that he had.
Like it or not, we’re probably stuck with Blanton, Lidge and Polly until their contracts are up.
I think priority number 1 should be signing the Mad Dog. He has been extremely consistent and has transitioned well into the closer’s role.
J Roll is probably going to shoot for a Werth like deal (hear he’s already asking for a 5 year deal and is holding a press conference about himself today.) If that’s the case, he can take a walk.
I really agree with the statement about getting better bench players.
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Alan says:October 11, 2011 at 7:16 pmDefinitely sign Hamels,
$16m for Oswalt – no thanks, the pitching will be just fine, we need to invest in the bats. Same goes for Madson – Closers are over rated, someone else will step up.
You can offer J-Roll a two year contract if you want but he’ll probably injure himself laughing in response, no way he’s signing for that.
Don Brown in left, Mayberry at 1st and use the savings from not bringing back Oswalt to upgrade 3rd with Placido more suited to a bench role now.
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Capt. Scully says:October 12, 2011 at 4:29 amRoy Oswalt is no longer a 16 Million dollar pitcher. If we can bring him back for less money, great. I also agree that if Jimmy wants a 5 year deal, thanks for the memories. Polly was the only one hitting on this team early on. If getting the hernia fixed allows him to swing the bat again, I say let him play next year. We finally come to the end of the Lidge contract. Thanks for a great 2008 Brad, but you have stolen your paycheck ever since. We only have 1 more year of Joe Blanton to suffer through. It will be interesting to see the moves Ruben makes.
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Arethecaptscully says:October 13, 2011 at 3:31 pmJust curious why someone would comment as the name capt scully on a phillies blog if they werent the real capt scully. So are you the real capt scully and how can you prove it?
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