Just before first pitch between the Phillies and Red Sox Wednesday night, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. went on WIP with Jim Jackson for his first weekly segment of the regular season geared toward fan interaction.
One comment made by Amaro stuck out — his disclosure that he has “fielded plenty of calls over the last couple days” from San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
Now, let’s not make more out of this than it is — GMs talk all the time, and those talks don’t always lead to action. But you can’t completely downplay that comment given how decisive and proactive the Padres were all offseason, leading all the way up to the final Sunday before opening day, when San Diego acquired Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. from Atlanta.
“Some of them do and others are more aggressive,” Amaro said when asked if teams’ trade talks quiet down during the early part of the season.
“Clearly, A.J. Preller was extraordinarily aggressive all offseason and continues to be, and he still is. I’ve fielded plenty of calls from him over the last couple days myself. So the fact of the matter is it’s really circumstance and where other clubs think that they need to be and what holes they need to fill. Some figure that out faster than others.”
Hmmm …
Who do the Phillies have that the Padres could be inquiring about?
MLB
Can’t imagine it’s Jonathan Papelbon, not after San Diego added Kimbrel to an already strong bullpen that also includes skilled setup man Joaquin Benoit.
Cole Hamels? The Padres were one of the teams in on the Phils’ lefty ace throughout the winter, but after trading for Kimbrel, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Will Middlebrooks and Derek Norris, they have few prospects left to dangle.
The Padres’ rotation currently consists of James Shields, Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross and Brandon Morrow. That is a strong staff. Any team could use a pitcher of Hamels’ caliber, but the Padres don’t need him.
Plus, what do the Padres have that would even constitute an appropriate return for Hamels? You’d imagine that trade would have to be centered around Myers, the former top prospect who has been dealt twice already, from Kansas City to Tampa Bay for Shields and then from Tampa to San Diego in a three-team trade that sent prospects to the Rays and Nationals.
The best fit for the Padres, hands down, is Chase Utley.
There are multiple reasons.
First, San Diego has a weak infield despite its many offseason additions. The Padres are rolling with Yonder Alonso at first base, Jedd Gyorko at second, Alexi Amarista at shortstop and Middlebrooks at third base. Blah.
The Friars signed Gyorko to a six-year extension worth nearly $36 million last April. He was an intriguing prospect coming up, and the Padres took a gamble on him early in his career in an attempt to buy out some of his more expensive years down the road.
But he just hasn’t performed, hitting .230/.291/.393 in nearly 1,000 big-league plate appearances. The Padres are hoping Gyorko develops — he did hit 23 home runs as a rookie before nosediving in Year 2 — and they’ll want some return on that investment. But at the same time, this team is clearly all-in and attempting to win the World Series as soon as 2015, so it only makes sense to address the areas of need.
Secondly, the Padres are way too right-handed. Myers, Norris, Kemp, Upton and Middlebrooks are all right-handed. Alonso is the only potentially impactful left-handed bat in that lineup and even he has never reached double-digits in home runs. Utley would be an ideal two-hole hitter in San Diego and would go a long way in balancing out the batting order.
The Padres have an even bigger need at shortstop, but the Phillies can’t really fill that. Freddy Galvis is a similar player to Amarista.
If San Diego is indeed interested in Utley, a potential hurdle is Utley’s no-trade clause. As a player with 10-plus years of MLB service time and five-plus years with the same team, Utley has full no-trade rights. He has previously expressed his desire to remain in Philly despite the rebuilding stance the team has taken. Utley told CSNPhilly.com in February that if the Phillies do come to him with a potential trade, he'd "have to listen" but that he doesn't think much would change (see story).
But at some point this season, if the Phillies are a dozen or more games out of the playoff race as the summer begins, and if Utley sees that his old double-play partner Jimmy Rollins is thriving and having fun playing in front of electric Dodger Stadium crowds, you’d have to believe Utley would reconsider his stance. Especially if it is to go home to Southern California.
Stay tuned. For now, it’s all conjecture based on an interesting nugget dropped by Amaro. But if there’s one team not to overlook on the trade market, it’s San Diego.