Phillies Decline Pedro Feliz's 2010 Option

Giants fans may be interested to know that the Phillies just declined Pedro “Swing-Happy Pete” Feliz’s 2010 option for $5.5 million.  It looks to me that the decision must have been a close one, because Feliz, for better or worse, was an integral part of the Phillies’ 2008 and 2009 World Championship and NL Championship teams.

The Phillies could certainly affored to pony up $5.5 million for a starting thirdbaseman.  The best reason not to is that Pedro’s hitting was terrible in 2009 (.308 OBP, .694 OPS), and at age 35 in 2010, his offensive numbers are likely to be even worse next year.

On the other hand, Pedro’s defense was stellar in 2009.  Fangraphs gives him a UZR/150 of 5.0, which ranks him middle of the pack for NL 3Bmen who played regularly enough to qualify.  However, with a league-leading 35 double plays,  a 4th-best .966 fielding percentage, and 3rd-best 2.83 chances per nine innings, I think he was better with the glove at third last year than UZR gives him credit for.

I suspect that Pedro’s defense would continue to be good in 2010, if he can hit enough to play regularly.

One thing is for certain, however.  Once again, despite the talk of how important defense is and how much teams now recognize the importance of defense, teams still by and large make decisions like this one largely on what the player does on offense.  Once a 3Bman’s OPS falls below .700, the team will start looking for a better hitter, no matter how well their current 3Bman handles the leather.