Philadelphia Phillies: Top 10 Trade Deadline Rumors for the Franchise in 2011
When Ruben Amaro Jr. explained earlier this month that "you will not see a major move this year," he never promised that there would not be a trade. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Phillies have indeed been looking at right-handed hitting outfielders to help shore up the struggling offense that is only batting .248 against left-handed pitchers this season through June 17.
Here are the 10 right-handed (or switch-hitting) outfielders the Phillies are reported to be interested in, ordered from most-to-least valuable. This ranking takes into consideration what they could bring to the Phillies as well as their price tags and possibility of acquisition.
10. Marcus Thames, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Thames is having an incredibly difficult year to say the least.
He has only appeared in 27 games, starting 10 of them. However, the most troubling statistic is that his overall batting average this season is .152 and he is only hitting .133 against left-handed pitchers. He also has struck out 13 times with only three walks, so that is not exactly the type of statistic that benefits a pinch hitter.
He has had some pretty solid seasons in the past, hitting a career-high 26 home runs in 2006, and his career batting average against left-handed pitchers is .259. However, at the age of 34, it seems as if his best years are behind him, and he is not necessarily the best option for the Phillies right now.
9. Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
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Cuddyer is crushing left-handed pitchers this season. He is batting .379 against southpaws and has six home runs in 66 at-bats. He does not strike out as much as the other power hitters on the market, and he plays in the crowded outfield in Minnesota.
He is in his prime right now at 32, and it is the year before he enters the free-agency market, so his numbers could continue to rise if money is any motivation.
Money is a huge drawback for Cuddyer. This season, he is owed $10.5 million, which is the most of any of these targets.
His price tag could be lower, though, because of the crowded outfield, but unless the Phillies can get money coming back from the Twins, he would be very difficult to afford with an already high payroll.
8. Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
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Pence is coming off the best year of his career. He hit .282 with 25 home runs, 91 RBI and 18 stolen bases. This year, he is doing even better by batting .327.
Interestingly, he hits much better against right-handed pitchers (.346 as opposed to .265 for left-handers), but his average against left-handers is still better than the Phillies' team average.
Pence is in the final year of his contract, but it is worth $6.9 million. Quite honestly, it does not seem that the Phillies would be able to make this move.
The best-case scenario would be to do something similar to what happened with Roy Oswalt last year and get money in the trade to help pay for the contract; however, the Phillies do not necessarily have the prospects to make the deal sweet enough for the Astros and a player of Pence's caliber.
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7. Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins
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Young was an incredibly highly-touted prospect. He appeared on the cover of Baseball America's 2005 Prospect Handbook, and he was essentially labeled as a future star. Maybe he isn't a star yet, but he has had a solid career so far.
He has a career batting average of .288 and is still only 25 years old. He is coming off his best campaign where he batted .298 with 21 home runs and 112 RBI. Although this year is not quite up to those standards, that performance cannot be far from the minds of Twins management.
This great production is exactly the reason that he will not be a very practical target for the Phillies. It takes a lot to trade for an athlete that finished 10th in MVP voting last season, even though the Twins do have an overcrowded outfield. Any trade of this caliber would rearrange the starting lineup of the Phillies as well because there is no way Young would be on the bench; it does not seem like the Phillies want to make a move of this magnitude.
Also, the farm system is probably not deep enough to dole out prospects for the price of Young. While he might be a great acquisition, it does not seem like this trade would be possible.
6. Carlos Quentin, Chicago White Sox
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Quentin is having a career year. He already has 17 home runs, and this season isn't even halfway finished. He is also not striking out very much and has the second-highest batting average of his career right now (.263). Against left-handed pitching, he is hitting .313 with five home runs in 48 at-bats, which is a very high ratio. At 28 years old, he is just entering his prime and is one of the centerpieces of the White Sox offense.
Chicago is probably not far enough out of the race to be selling right now. Quentin is one of the top White Sox performers, so his price tag would likely be very high. He doesn't have a very large contract ($5.05 million), and he would definitely start in right field over Domonic Brown, but that would not necessarily fill in the hole that the Phillies want to fill.
Since the Phillies seem to be very committed to Brown in right field, it seems as if pulling together the resources to acquire Quentin would be unnecessary, even though he would be one of the best fits.
5. Melky Cabrera, Kansas City Royals
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Cabrera has always flown under the radar because he began his career with the star-powered Yankees. As a switch-hitter, he is much better against right-handed pitchers than left, but he still hits .253 against lefties (.292 against righties). He is also very versatile in the outfield, which would help give Raul Ibanez and Domonic Brown a break down the stretch.
Cabrera would not be that difficult to acquire, and he is definitely affordable; however, his style seems very similar to that of Ben Francisco, except with more average and a little less power. He is a good player, and he would be a solid contributor, but he does not seem to be the type of player that the Phillies need right now.
4. Ryan Ludwick, San Diego Padres
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Ludwick is a power hitter. In 2008, he hit 37 home runs, and he has nine home runs already this season. Even though this production is a bit lower, he knows how to hit the ball hard. The tradeoff is his average is not quite as high as it could be.
Nevertheless, he is hitting .264 against left-handers, which is better than the Phillies team average.
Ludwick comes with a relatively large contract of $6.78 million for this season. The option is basically the same as it was for Pence if this deal is going to work.
There needs to be a trade that would allow money to come back to the Phillies to help pay for the remainder of the contract. Ludwick is getting older as well, so his price tag will be less than Pence's would be, which is better for the farm system.
Still, any Ludwick deal is much more possible than a deal for Pence because of the lower trade burden, and if the financial situation can be handled somehow, this could be a very good acquisition for the Phillies.
3. Josh Willingham, Oakland Athletics
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Willingham is having a good year in Oakland with 10 home runs, but he is only hitting .231. In fact, against left-handed pitchers, his average dips to .211.
Throughout his career, he normally does hit for more average, at .262 over eight seasons, and a very similar .261 batting average against left-handed pitchers.
Part of the decline might be that he now plays in Oakland, which is a very difficult park to hit in. However, he traditionally does hit with more power against left-handed pitchers, so he would fill that role for the Phillies.
Speculation is rampant that Oakland wants to trade Willingham, so he may not be that difficult to trade for. However, he would not necessarily be a great fit for the current Phillies lineup. Although he is by no means as good, he hits like Ryan Howard. He hits for a lot of power, but he strikes out a lot. If the Phillies have too many hitters like that in the lineup, there is too much possibility of having a cold day and producing very little offense.
All of this being said, Willingham could be a very good and possible acquisition.
2. Matt Diaz, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Diaz is a pure hitter. He has never really been given a great opportunity in the major leagues despite the fact that in the three seasons that he did appear in over 100 games he batted over .300. He has a career .327 batting average against left-handed pitchers. Although this season is not going as well as the rest of his career, it seems as if he has the performance against left-handed pitchers that the Phillies are looking for.
Diaz does not have much power. In 2009, he hit 13 home runs, and that was his career high. It might be difficult for him to provide the power off the bench that the Phillies seem to want. Another problem with Diaz is that he is signed through 2012. Not that the Phillies would mind having Diaz around, but it seems as if a two-year commitment is much more binding than the one-year deal that would be over after this season.
However, it does not seem that he would be incredibly difficult to trade for, so he seems like a great candidate to trade for to help the Phillies to hit left-handed pitching, despite the fact that he does not have a lot of power.
1. Jeff Francoeur, Kansas City Royals
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Francoeur has not continued to display the excellence that he showed as a young 22-year-old for the Atlanta Braves. Part of the problem has been an incredibly high amount of strikeouts with very few walks. His plate discipline is improving, though, and it should continue to improve.
One thing that hasn't changed, however, is his ability to hit left-handed pitching. This season, he is hitting .338 against left-handed pitchers. Only about one quarter of his at-bats (65 out of 201) are against left-handed pitchers, but he has over half of his home runs (five out of nine) against lefties. His right-handed numbers are by no means as pretty, but no one can doubt his ability to hit left-handed pitchers.
Francoeur has a much smaller contract than the big names that have been mentioned, with only $2.5 million due this year, and it seems as if he could be acquired for a much lower price. Again, he is weak against right-handed pitching, but the Phillies only need him to platoon in the outfield at most, so he will be able to get his at-bats against left-handed pitchers most of the time.
Out of this group of 10 players, Francoeur seems as though he would be the most easily available and the best fit to fill a hole for the Phillies. They are a solid team, and they do not need to overhaul everything. Francoeur would be an affordable option that would help the Phillies reach another level.
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