Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. In this case, any flames to speak of are catching in the head of Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
The Phillies have been relatively quiet this offseason, which is a bit of a double-edged sword in my opinion. To the casual observer of the Phillies organization, they would seem to be doing next-to nothing at all, but there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Fans of the team in recent years have come to expect spectacular, monumental deals that have changed the landscape of competition in the National League. While we shouldn't be surprised anymore, the normally tight-lipped general manager always seems to spring some pretty great things on us.
Almost like when you know someone's going to throw you a surprise party, but it could be any day at any time. The good news is, while we're sitting here laughing, the Phillies brass is doing the thinking. Let's hope they remember to bring the ice cream cake this year.
But I digress...
Before I talk about what I think the Phils need to do to have a successful offseason, here's what they've done so far:
#1) Re-signed RHP Jose Contreras
This is a solid move by Amaro. One of the biggest concerns going into this offseason was suring up the bullpen. Clearly, it was the only major weakness on this team in 2009, although they turned it on during the last month and a half of the season to help them claim their 4th NL East crown. Especially concerning for the Phillies is the back end of their bullpen with Brad Lidge's inconsistency in the past two seasons.
Contreras' deal is for 2-years and worth about $5.5 million. In his first full season as a reliever, he was great, posting a 3.45 ERA over the course of the season with a 44.7% groundball rate. The Phillies are hoping they can get the same kind of production out of Contreras in 2011. The only drawback to this deal is the second year, which was most likely necessary to lock him up early in the offseason, but the good new is that it won't cost them very much.
Contreras will be 40 years old mid way through the life of the contract, and while his fastball hit as high as 94 mph, I would have concerns about any pitcher at that age. Otherwise, this decision could turn out to be a vital one for the next couple seasons.
Okay, so this is more of what they didn't do than what they did, but I feel compelled to comment on the utter ridiculousness of this deal. The Nats are paying him $126 million over 7 years. 7 YEARS!! No one, and I mean NO ONE else offered him a contract for more than 4! Not Philly, not Detroit, not even BOSTON would commit to that. As much as they are going to overpay him, that's really not what erked me the most about this deal.
The man left Philadelphia, a place where he could have gotten at least one more ring before the end of his career to go to a last place team, where he, especially after the departure of Adam Dunn, is gonna be the go-to guy; they're asking a complimentary piece to be a superstar. He produced well with Ryan Howard hitting in front of him, but we'll see how he does with a lineup filled with young, inexperienced players.
Werth is the kind of player that you sign when you're already in contention and need that extra piece to put your team over the top. The Nationals are definitely not in that position, and they might not be until the fifth, sixth, or maybe even seventh year of Jayson's contract. By that time his production could all but disappear, and his contract would prevent the Nationals from being more flexible with free agency in the future.
Honestly, I wish him all the best with the rest of his career though. The man was waiting his entire life for a chance to hit free agency and sign a mega-deal. More of the blame falls upon the Washington Nationals, who to their credit, got the player they wanted, but definitely overspent. Bad teams start with bad management, just ask the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization. You could fill out almost an entire All-Star roster with the players they've traded away or let walk over the past decade or so. Signing Jayson Werth to a deal worth that much over that period of time is just bad for business. Sorry.
#3) Signed LHP Dennys Reyes
Dennys, meet Danys. Let's hope he's not another Baez bust. The lone major league player joining the Phillies' roster from the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida is a journeyman left-handed reliever. Reyes has played for 11 major league clubs, including the Phillies. Last season with the Cardinals Reyes posted an ERA in the mid-3s. He's a respectable reliever, but there's a catch. Reyes walks a batter for every 2 innings pitched, and after starting the season with an ERA under 1 through May, he pitched to one closer to 6 the rest of the season.
The deal is said to be for one year, $1.1 million, with a club option for 2012. At this price he's a decent option for the Phils, despite not being a very attractive name in the free-agent market. This by no means indicates that the Phillies offseason plans for the bullpen are over, but I do have a small problem with this signing.
When as a team you make it known around the league that the bullpen is your biggest need, everyone (the fanbase included) expects you to spend a good wad of dough on the best arms available.
The offseason for the Phillies thus far is a bit lackluster for my tastes, but their cost-effective mindset to this point keeps the hope alive that there could be something big in the works...
Phew...I realize that was a lot folks but there's a lot to catch up on. Which is why I decided to split this entry in two. In part two I'll examine needs that the club still needs to address and some of the rumors circulating out there about the Phightins. Stay tuned!!
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