MLB Free Agents 2012: 5 Possible Acquisitions after Phillies' Recent Comments

During the Philadelphia Phillies historic regular season, any talk of the upcoming offseason centered on resigning Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Madson, and potential improvements in left field and to the team’s bench.

However, that was before the Phillies exited the playoffs following their Game 5 loss in the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals.

And it was also before Ryan Howard injured his Achilles tendon on the final play of the game.

Now following comments by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., the Phillies’ offseason priorities have changed since the July non-waiver trade deadline.

In addition to attempting to re-sign Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies have also stated that the starting left field position will be up for grabs, and that the team will look to bring in a free agent should Madson sign elsewhere, rather than using a current member of the bullpen in the closer’s role. 

The Phillies also received news that Howard’s recovery time may continue into spring training, and possibly even the regular season.

Third base may be a position that is upgraded this offseason, as well.

After winning 102 games during the regular season, the Phillies now enter the offseason with a chance to find the right players to add to a roster with World Series expectations.

Here are five players who the Phillies may attempt to acquire.

Michael Cuddyer

Cuddyer has played seven different positions during his 10-year career, although he primarily played right field this past season.

Cuddyer batted .284 with 20 home runs and 70 RBI in 139 games this season for the Minnesota Twins. 

However, he also played 46 games at first base and had a .995 fielding percentage.

Following Howard’s injury and the recovery time that may cause him to miss a portion of the upcoming season, a free agent such as Cuddyer may interest the Phillies due to his versatility in the field, as well as his presence at the plate.

Cuddyer has also spent time at third base and in left field over his career, which means there is a chance that the Phillies could make room for him long-term once Howard returns to the lineup.

Aramis Ramirez

Ramirez is three years younger than Placido Polanco, played in 27 more games and batted .306 this season.

He also is set to become a free agent this offseason.

Ramirez hit 26 home runs and 93 RBI, his highest totals in the past two seasons, and had a .361 OBP.

Polanco, the Phillies’ current third baseman, has missed 49 games while taking three trips to the disabled list over the past two seasons.

His .277 average was his lowest since 1999, his second season in the major leagues.  It also came after Polanco began the season with a .323 average through the first two months of the season.

Polanco also batted .105 with two hits in the Phillies’ NLDS series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Ramirez posted a .318 average following the All-Star break, while batting over .300 for the fifth time in the last eight seasons.

Polanco will not become a free agent until next season and is set to make over $6 million this year.

However, Ramirez may provide increased offensive numbers to a Phillies team that finished with the seventh-best batting average in the National League during the regular season.

Heath Bell

Ryan Madson is set to become a free agent this offseason and is coming off of a year in which he converted 32 of 34 save opportunities; which means his price tag may be too steep for the Phillies to resign him.

Fortunately, this offseason’s group of free-agent closers has multiple players that the Phillies can look at if they are unable to resign Madson.

One of these players is Heath Bell, a player the Phils attempted to acquire at the July non-waiver trade deadline.

Bell had 41 saves and 53 strikeouts in 64 games this season for the San Diego Padres, and had a 2.44 ERA in 62.2 innings.

However, he also made $7.5 million this season, which means his price tag may also be out of the Phillies’ range.

If the Phils were to sign Bell, they would be acquiring a player who finished fourth in the National League in saves last season, and has 132 saves and a 2.36 ERA over the past three seasons.

Joe Nathan

Nathan is coming off of a season in which he had a 4.84 ERA and made over $11 million. 

However, this past season was the first season since 2004 that Nathan had less than 35 saves and an ERA over 3.00.

From 2006 to 2009, Nathan had 159 saves and a 1.72 ERA.

He also struck out 335 batters during that time.

Although this past season he saw one of the lowest saves totals and highest ERAs of his career, Nathan was still able to hold left-handed batters to a .198 batting average.

The Phillies may attempt to sign Nathan should Ryan Madson sign elsewhere.

However, after making over $11 million this season, Nathan may be too expensive for the Phillies to sign this offseason.

Rafael Furcal

If Jimmy Rollins is set on signing a five-year deal this offseason, he may not sign it with the Phillies.

And if the Phillies feel that minor league shortstop Freddy Galvis isn’t ready to take over as the full-time shortstop, the team may sign a free agent to ease the transition next season.

Which means the team may attempt to sign Rafael Furcal to help with this transition.

Furcal batted .231 with eight home runs and 28 RBI this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.

However, this season was the first of Furcal’s career in which he has batted below .250.

Resigning Rollins may be the Phillies’ top priority this offseason, but if the two sides cannot reach an agreement the team may attempt to sign one of this offseason’s free agent shortstops to take over for next season.

Furcal and his career .282 average may be the free agent that they attempt to acquire.