Some News to Start the Off-Season

As the first couple days of the off-season are now upon us, there is plenty in the news about trades, free agents, and speculation about who will go where- especially pertaining to the Phillies. Here’s the rundown:

• Aaron Rowand, Abraham Nunez, Antonio Alfonseca, J.C. Romero, Jon Lieber, and Jose Mesa all have filed for free-agency already.
• MLB.com reports that the other four eligible players, Kyle Lohse, Freddy Garcia, Rod Barajas, and Tadihito Iguchi to file by the November 8th Deadline, suggesting all 10 elgibile players will enter free-agency
• We can expect Romero, Rowand, and Lohse especially to test the market for a better deal than what the Phillies would offer them. My guess is that Rowand and Lohse will pretty easily find a deal the Phillies won’t be able to match. Romero is pretty likely going to remain a Phillie, seeing how he likes the Phillies, they like him, and the Phillies need relievers.
• Don’t expect to see Lieber, Garcia, Barajas, or Iguchi to be signed. Pat Gillick has made it clear he isn’t going to sign Lieber or Garcia after their bad 2007 season, and the Phillies are covered at catcher and second base.
• Nunez was overpaid and didn’t live up to the expectations the organization had for him. He may be re-signed at a reduced salary
• Alfonseca and Mesa didn’t have impressive years, but the Phillies have a pretty strong need for relievers at this point.
• According the new Astros’ General Manager, (and former Phillies GM) Ed Wade, the Astros are interested in signing Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter.
• The general consensus among the Phillies and all journalists is that the Phillies have little or no interest in Alex Rodriguez.
• After writing goodbye letters to his teammates, and filing for free-agency, it’s now pretty certain that Curt Schlling will not be returning to the Red Sox.. Since he says that he’s looking for a one-year deal with a playoff-conteding team, and since a one-year deal is what the playoff-contending Phillies are looking for too, it seems even more likely that he will end up in Philadelphia for the 2008 season. Of all the possible acquisitions the Phillies could make, Schilling seems the most likely at the moment.
• Mariano Rivera filed for free-agency on Monday. Negotiations between him and the Yankees has started, but with Joe Torre gone Rivera’s heart might not be in New York. Rivera will probably test the market a bit, and hopefully will show interest in the Phillies. The Yankees are reportedly offering Rivera (as well as Jorge Posada) about $40 million over three years. Money will probably not be the biggest factor in Rivera’s decision of who to sign with.
• If you think Pat Burrell should be traded, keep dreaming; the $14 million dollar man has repeatedly expressed interest in staying in Philadelphia, and the no-trade clause in his contract means he’d have to approve any trade involving him.
  MLB.com recently released an article http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071030&content_id=2288203&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi about the Phillies’ pitching prospect Josh Outman, suggesting he may be ready to play for the Phillies in the near future.
• The Phillies recently hired former Devil Ray’s GM Chuck LaMar as their Director of Professional Scouting. It should be noted that LaMar was the one who traded Bobby Abreu to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.
• In the first off-season trade, the Braves traded Edgar Renteria to the Tigers for two prospects, outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and pitcher Jair Jurrjens.
• Joe Torre will be the Dodger’s manager, after the Dodgers and manager Grady Little “parted ways” yesterday to make room for Torre. Joe Girardi, the 2006 Manager of the Year for the Marlins will take Torre’s place in the Yankees’ dugout.
• Barry Bonds is a free agent… talk about a possible way to bring in fans, and replace Aaron Rowand as a “veteran leader”. Okay, maybe these points are both useless, but there haven’t really been any rumors about where Barry will go…

Coming Soon... Projected 2008 25-Man Roster

Could Mike Lowell be a Phillie in '08?

From the Boston Globe, 10/22/07:

The biggest question marks [for the Red Sox are third baseman Mike Lowell
and pitcher Curt Schilling. Lowell has said his first choice is to come back,
and the Sox have said they would like to make that happen. But he is likely to
command serious interest from other clubs, including the Yankees, especially if
Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract. Lowell began his career in the Yankees
organization, and has not said he would reject them out of hand, like Schilling
said he would.

Another team Lowell recently expressed interest in is the
Phillies. "Where would I fit in the offense? You look at Jimmy Rollins and Chase
Utley and guys like that, and that has to bring a smile to your face," Lowell
told the Philadelphia Daily News. "And I've always hit well in that park. So
that would definitely be a team I would consider."

Lowell had the only
three-homer game of his career in Philadelphia, and is batting .353 (24 for 68)
lifetime in Citizens Bank Park. His father, Carlos, spent two years at Saint
Joseph's in Philadelphia and played for the Hawks.

"I grew up an ardent
Phillies fan because, on that trip with my parents, we stopped at a Burger King
and they were giving away baseball cards. I got a Mike Schmidt," Lowell told
Paul Hagen of the Daily News in '03, when the Marlins were in the World Series.
"I asked my dad, 'Is he a good player?' He said, yes, he was a very good player.
That was 1980 and Schmidt won the MVP that year."

Lowell, currently the Red Sox 3rd Baseman, has been talked about previously as a possible acquisition for this off-season. With Alex Rodriguez possibly on his way out of New York, he could be a free agent this off-season. While I'm sure a lot of people would love to see him in Philadelphia, they can all keep dreaming. The Red Sox, however, would be definitely interested in A-Rod, and that would mean they probably wouldn't hang on to Mike Lowell, who is their 3rd baseman, who is also eligible for free-agency.

Currently, with Abraham Nunez gone, the Phillies' are down to two possible third baseman, Greg Dobbs and Wes Helms. Both are mediocre players, but neither of them would really be a hole in the lineup. Still, acquiring Lowell, who was .324 during the 2007 season, with 21 homers and 120 RBIs, would be huge. He could fill a crucial role in the lineup and in the locker room that may be vacated with the possible departure of Aaron Rowand.

If Rowand does not return, acquiring Lowell would mean that the Phillies can keep their impressive, powerful offense intact, and still have a lot of money for strengthening their Pitching Staff. If Rowand does return, the need for Lowell may be slightly diminished, but acquiring him could still be a very wise move.