Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: Now Is the Time to Trade Vance Worley

Vance Worley tossed the first complete game of his career Tuesday night as the Philadelphia Phillies opened up a three-game series against defending World Series champions the San Francisco Giants with a final score of 7-2.

Worley is now 7-1 on the season with a 2.02 ERA, 53 strikeouts and 27 walks. He appears to be getting better with each start, showing no signs of intimidation despite being a rookie going up against tough opponents, including the defending World Series champs and the Boston Red Sox.

Even though Worley has been playing well—an especially pleasant surprise with injured pitchers Joe Blanton and Roy Oswalt—if the Phillies are going to make any moves to improve in 2011, Worley may have to go.

This is not a crack at Worley. His stock is just so high at the moment that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has to consider him a trade-able player that other teams would want to add to their rosters. 

Worley could be the bargaining chip the Phillies need to acquire a steady right-handed bat, such as Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros.

According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, the Astros are in search of a "very top pitching prospect" in exchange for Pence, who many consider the top target for the Phillies. Heyman says the Phillies are trying hard to reel in Pence, who would be a terrific addition to the outfield alongside Shane Victorino and Domonic Brown or Raul Ibanez or John Mayberry Jr.

Right now—with Worley pitching his final game before the trade deadline—is the time to cash in.

Just take a look back through recent Phillies history if you have any hesitation about trading Worley.

In 2007 Kyle Kendrick pitched his first season in the big leagues and posted a 10-4 record with a 3.87 ERA. He was never anything exceptional, but because the Phillies had few pitching options—Cole Hamels and an aging Jamie Moyer—Kendrick had his chance at the mound. Since then he has been an average pitcher at best for the Phillies.

J.A. Happ entered the big league scene in 2008 with eight games (one game in 2007) and was named the Sporting News National League Rookie of the Year in 2009. Happ's stock was as high as it would get and was enough to help bring Oswalt to Philadelphia in a trade during the 2010 season.

Since being traded to Houston, Happ has gone 9-16 (4-12 in 2011), battling injuries and earning a high run average. Although Oswalt has had his own bout with injuries few would consider trading Happ a mistake.

A general manager cannot be afraid to trade young pitchers just because they are beginning to attain some level of success in the majors.

Worley may be a different sort of animal than Happ or Kendrick, but the same philosophy should still be applied if it could make the team better now.