Halladay deal is still hard to stomach
by Scott Butler 12/15/09
It's been about two weeks since the Halladay and Lee trade, but it still does not sit right with me. I know we got the best pitcher in baseball, but when you trade away your playoff MVP player and a guy who recently said he wanted to finish his career here, something is just not right.
Cliff Lee epitomizes everything that is right with a baseball player. He showed guts in the postseason. And he wanted to be here. Do you want to compete with teams like the Red Sox and Yankees globally? This was your chance. People truly like these players and this team, and Cliff Lee extended that likability. But instead the Phillies tried to save a couple draft picks and $9 million. Just doesn't sound right.
Halladay deal: Hmmm
by Scott Butler 12/15/09
The Roy Halladay deal seems inevitable now. From what it looks like, we will give up Cliff Lee, Kyle Drabeck, and Michael Taylor and in return get Halladay and a couple picks from Seattle.
If it shapes up that way, I'm sure people will have many conflicting emotions. What do you think?
Cliff Lee upset with Halladay trade
by Scott Butler 12/17/09
Cliff decided to let everyone know his feelings about the big trade for Roy Halladay. He was not happy. A clearly emotional Cliff Lee called into 97.5 The Fanatic, during his vacation no less, to give his side.
He said that he was shocked that he was traded, because the Phillies had told his agent not to listen to what he was hearing and that they were all rumors. The next day Cliff Lee was traded.
When asked about the negotiations, Lee said there were none. He said that each side gave an offer, but there were no negotiations beyond that. Additionally, he denied that he was looking for a CC Sabathia type deal. He mentioned several times that his was the most fun he had in his career and he fully hoped and expected to finish his career with the Phillies.
"At first I didn't believe it," Lee said. "I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies. I thought I would spend the rest of my career there."
Cliff Lee's comments have been troubling to many fans. Most of us assumed by Lee's previous comments that he was looking for nothing less than a huge Sabathia deal, so this comes as a big surprise. And the fact that the Phillies did not even entertain the idea of keeping Cliff Lee here long-term is troubling.
If he really did want to remain in Philadelphia, would it be such a terrible deal to keep him here for another season and see what happens? Worst case scenario, you get a Cy Young winner for a dirt cheap $9 million and two first round draft picks if you can't re-sign him.
Cliff Lee was a guy who pitched his heart out for this team and almost single handedly won the World Series for us. And HE WANTED TO BE HERE! But the Phillies ownership was so dead set on keeping their budget down that they let him walk. That is tough to swallow.
It's official: Phillies sign Roy Halladay and say goodbye to Cliff Lee
by Scott Butler 12/16/09
The Phillies have finally made the blockbuster deal of the offseason by trading Cliff Lee and acquiring Roy Halladay. In the first of what was actually two separate deals, the Phillies traded minor league right-hander Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor and catcher Travis d'Arnaud to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roy Halladay. The second deal sent Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners for right-handers Phillippe Aumont and JC Ramirez and outfielder Tyson Gillies. Toronto flipped Taylor to Oakland for prospect Brett Wallace.
Halladay agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the Phillies that includes a $20 million vesting option for a fourth season. The Phillies got their man. They had been eyeing Roy Halladay for some time now and he was willing to sign for a relatively cheap price.
The Phillies just signed the best pitcher in baseball to a three year deal. Yet the big question Phillies fans have is, "why trade Cliff Lee?"
In the press conference, Ruben Amaro kept saying that they traded Lee because they needed the prospects. If that is the case, then this is a terrific deal that makes a whole lot of sense. Trading Cliff Lee basically gives us back the prospects we lost by trading for Halladay.
But I don't buy the prospect response. The more likely reason is simple: money. The ownership appears to have set $140 million as their budgetary limit, meaning that we could not afford Cliff Lee's $9 million salary. Lee also made it clear that he wanted to test the free agency market, and maybe they decided that a deal was not possible and needed to part ways. However, if the Phillies could bite suck up the $9 million (which is a steal for a pitcher like Lee) and are not able to re-sign him, they will get two first round draft picks anyway. And if you can work a deal, that gives them a front line rotation of Halladay and Lee. Oh well, it would have been nice.
Just don't forget that we just signed the best pitcher in baseball. Most baseball people say Halladay is a better pitcher than Cliff Lee and we were able to sign him for three years and keep the farm system healthy.
I will take that.
But it would have been nice to have both...
Phillies 2010 Payroll
by Scott Butler 11/25/09
Now that the 2009 season is over, it is time to look ahead to next year's team...and that means payroll.
Before we begin thinking about bringing Roy Halladay to Philadelphia (a move I am not a fan of), we need to put ourselves in the shoes of Ruben Amaro. The Phillies opening day payroll last year was $130,844,098. It will need to be at least that much to keep most of the pieces in place for next year.
Making some assumptions about who will return, let's begin by assuming that next year's opening day roster looks like this:
Position Players Pitchers Bench
Ryan Howard Cliff Lee Greg Dobbs
Chase Utley Cole Hamels Ben Francisco
Jimmy Rollins Joe Blanton
Carlos Ruiz J.A. Happ
Raul Ibanez Jamie Moyer
Shane Victorino Brad Lidge
Jayson Werth Ryan Madson
J.C. Romero
Scott Eyre
Chad Durbin
Chan Ho Park
The above anticipated roster gives a combined payroll of $128,476,400. That is very close to last year's payroll, but the Phillies still need to fill 5 roster spots that include a third baseman and 4 relief pitchers. If you assume spending $5 million on a third baseman (which is what Feliz was scheduled to make) and $1million each for your bench, the 2010 payroll would be around $138 million.
To look at it another way, let's start with last year's team salary and adjust. 130,844,098 minus 21.4 mil from old guys is 109,444,098 and add salary increases and you have 146,798,384
Don't forget to thank guys like Adam Eaton, Geoff Jenkins, and Jim Thome, because without finally dumping their salaries that total $21.4 million, there is no way we could keep our current superstars. One final note: without knowing how much players will make in arbitration, I did a little research and came up with reasonable numbers. Here is how the payroll breaks down:
Players Under Contract in 2010 (includes option for Cliff Lee)
Ryan Howard $19,000,000
Chase Utley $15,000,000
Brad Lidge $12,000,000
Raul Ibanez $11,500,000
Cliff Lee option for $9,000,000
Jimmy Rollins $8,500,000
Jayson Werth $7,000,000
Cole Hamels $6,650,000
Jamie Moyer $6,500,000 plus $4.5 million in incentives
Ryan Madson $4,500,000
J.C. Romero $4,250,000
Greg Dobbs $1,350,000
Arbitration Eligible Players (includes 2009 salary and anticipated 2010 salaries)
Joe Blanton $5,475,000 ($7.25 million ant.)
Shane Victorino $3,125,000 ($6.5 million ant.)
Chad Durbin $1,635,000 ($2 million ant.)
Eric Bruntlett $800,000 (should be released)
Tyler Walker $750,000 (minor league contract ant.)
Clay Condrey $650,000 ($750,000)
Carlos Ruiz $475,000 ($2 million ant.)
Free Agents
Brett Myers $12,083,333
Pedro Feliz $5,000,000
Chan Ho Park $2,500,000
Scott Eyre $2,000,000
Pedro Martinez $2,000,000
Matt Stairs $1,625,000
Jack Taschner $835,000
Paul Bako $725,000
Miguel Cairo $500,000
Other notables not eligible for arbitration
J.A. Happ $405,000
John Mayberry $400,000
Antonio Bastardo $400,000
Ben Francisco $421,400
Others
Rodrigo Lopez $650,000
Andy Tracy $420,000
Steven Register $401,000
Andrew Carpenter $400,000
John Ennis $400,000
Sergio Escalona $400,000
Paul Hoover $400,000
Mike Zagurski $400,000
Off the books
Eaton $9,000,000
Geoff Jenkins $8,000,000
Thome $3,000,000
Tom Gordon $500,00 buyout
Other 2009 salaries
Chris Coste $460,000
Ronny Paulino $440,000
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