A year after announcing that the Phillies were embarking on a rebuild, Pat Gillick still believes the club is “two or three years” away from contending.
But that doesn’t mean Gillick did not see progress in Year 1 of the rebuild.
The Hall of Fame executive, who relinquished his role as club president to Andy MacPhail earlier this week, liked what he saw of Aaron Nola, Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco in 2015.
“Franco has a big upside,” Gillick said. “This is going to be a good ballpark for him.”
Gillick stressed that it was important to continue to add to this core and mentioned the importance of the 2016 draft. The Phillies have the first pick and getting the right guy could speed the rebuild (see story).
The Phillies did not simply embark on a rebuild a year ago. They also began a simultaneous deconstruction project as they looked to move on from older players with cumbersome contracts. At the time, former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, “We’re looking to get younger and more athletic.” Gillick followed by saying, “Ruben has placed a For Sale sign on everybody.”
In subsequent months, the Phillies traded Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Ben Revere and Chase Utley for young players that they hope will spur the rebuild forward in the near future.
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“I think we probably got 80 percent done of what I think we wanted to get done,” said Gillick, referring to the deconstruction of the team’s old nucleus. “I think it took a little longer for us to move some of the players we wanted to move. I think we could have moved some a little quicker, maybe prior to the 2015 season, but we just couldn’t get right guys to dance with. Eventually we did make the deals.”
It’s clear that Ryan Howard makes up the biggest chunk of the old nucleus that the Phillies were unable to subtract in 2015. Carlos Ruiz, owed $9 million in 2016, also remains, but Howard is the guy the Phillies have long been looking to move. The desire dates back well over year.
Howard suffered a devastating Achilles injury in Oct. 2011, has suffered from other injuries since, and for years hasn’t been close to the player he was in his prime. He is still owed $35 million in salary and buyout. MacPhail has said the plan is to have Howard in spring training in February, get him healthy and see if he can build on the 23-homer, 77-RBI season he had in 2015. Those were both club highs.
Plans can change, however.
Howard remains very much available for a trade, and there’s always the outside possibility, however slim, that the club could swallow hard, eat his salary and move on.
Time will tell.
“I don’t think it’s an issue,” Gillick said of the Howard situation. “Ryan is a good person, a good teammate and a good guy to have around. Hopefully he can be a productive player in 2016.
“It’s easy to say cut bait, but again, it all depends on who the replacement is. (Darin) Ruf played better late in the season, but is he ready to be the full-time guy? If you have the right replacement it’s always easier to replace someone. If you don’t, you have to wait and take your time.”
As the Phillies were trading away World Series heroes Rollins, Hamels and Utley during the past year, Howard remained very much available. The Phillies were even willing to eat a chunk of his salary — Gillick confirmed this — as they did in many of their “deconstruction” deals.
There were no takers.
No offers.
No real interest.
“Not to my knowledge,” Gillick said. “And that surprises me at least from an American League standpoint. I think he could be productive in the American League. It surprises me there were no overtures.”
Howard turns 36 in November.
His status could remain a topic of conversation for months. But there will be a finish line. The guaranteed portion of his contract expires after the 2016 season.