Too Soon to Upgrade? 10 Early Trade Targets for the Philadelphia Phillies
April 25, 2011 by Greg Pinto
Filed under Fan News
With just 19 games in the books to date for the Philadelphia Phillies, it’s very early in the season and any trade rumors you hear at this point in time should be taken with a grain of salt. For a lot of teams it is simply too early to start dismantling their clubs, with the hope of postseason glory still within reach.
Take for instance the two teams atop the American League Central—the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. Both were supposed to be cellar dwellers throughout the season and sell off their top stars at the trade deadline. In full fledged “rebuilding mode,” people around baseball believe the Tribe will turn the likes of Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Fausto Carmona into top prospects and ditto for the Royals and veteran players like Jeff Francis.
Early in the season, however, we wonder where the Indians, who have a better record than the New York Yankees and the same record as the Phils, will be come the trade deadline at the end of July. That sentiment is echoed around the league, where every team in baseball is still in contention. There is a lot of baseball left to play.
That said, it’s not too early to notice some of the best teams’ greatest weaknesses, and in the case of the Phillies, those flaws are quickly becoming obvious. As I wrote here the other day, with Brad Lidge on the disabled list and Chase Utley recovering slowly, the bullpen and offense could become problem areas for the Phils.
Outside of Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras, the team lacks a reliable arm out of the bullpen. As the seventh inning carousel continues to turn and the likes of Kyle Kendrick, David Herndon and Danys Baez continue to get shelled, we fans are left wondering if a trade could be in the works sooner rather than later.
Of course, the same sort of woes ravage the offense. Without Utley the Phils are missing some spark and power and without Jayson Werth the need for a right handed bat has become apparent. As the likes of Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco continue to struggle, could the Phillies make a move if for nothing more than to shake things up?
At the very least, it is worth taking a look at some of the players who could be wearing a Phillies uniform this season and making an impact down the stretch run.