Cost-cutting moves may have sold Phillies short

The issue: Wilson Valdez and Ben Francisco were shipped out because the Phillies felt they could replace them internally for less. The severity of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley’s injuries could test that theory.

The Phillies have trumpeted an improved bench, but one can’t help but wonder if all the new parts will fit exactly how they were intended. Ryan Howard's Achilles is still stuffed inside a walking boot and there is no real indication that Chase Utley will take the field anytime soon. John Mayberry Jr., who starts at first again today, has seen the lion’s share of time at that position. Considering his tools and approved numbers against righties, all signs point toward Mayberry earning something closer to an all-out first base assignment rather than a platoon. That could have something to do with freeing up Ty Wigginton for second base; Wigginton gets the start at second today.

With Mayberry and Wigginton possibly tied up in the infield, and with Jim Thome ideally suited to pinch hit in big situations, the Phillies could be left with Michael Martinez as the lone utility option and no right-handed hitting option for left field. Laynce Nix can’t hit lefties, and nobody really knows how much Scott Podsednik or Juan Pierre have left in the tank.

Which brings us back to the original question: did the Phillies sell themselves short when they traded away Wilson Valdez and Ben Francisco?

Comments

[Edmundo]

Valdez** a mild yes, Francisco, a mild no. The BenV2012 is pretty replaceable.

** I'm higher on Wilson's defense than most. And he was Clutchy McKeyhit last year (I know, that's not a repeatable skill).

[EastFallowfield]

Because maybe Valdez and Francisco are not all that special?

Because maybe Utley isn't playing yet because it's not even St Patrick's Day?

[GBrettfan]

They should have kept Valdez, yes.

I saw that Dontrelle Willis evaluated his performance yesterday as "horsh$t". I like his blunt honesty. I root for him, seems like an earnest guy, so I hope this arm fatigue is a hurdle he gets over. I'd like him to do well, although I'm not exactly holding my breath with expectation.

Re: Worley. I saw the video & read this article. Seems he was working on a new changeup grip, courtesy of Doc who got the grip from Dubee.
http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/phillies-talk/post/Phillies-Worley-gets-a-new-grip-on-thing?blockID=665348&feedID=693

[Fatalotti]

A starting lineup with Laynce Nix, Ty Wiggington and the ghost of Placico Polanco:

Things I fear seeing on Opening Day.

[NEPP]

Any decision that allows Michael Martinez to remain on an MLB roster is a serious mistake.

[Jbird]

should have kept Valdez. If Ben Francisco were still here would anyone honestly feel any better about the situation?

[Jbird]

Any team missing 2 All-star level players (Howard & Utley) is going to have lineup issues. Even the Yankees.

[Kegel_C]

I just don't think that the money that was earmarked for Valdez in '12 was well spent bringing in Qualls. That alone makes me say that it was a mistake to jettison Valdez, considering the options behind him to replace the 2B, SS, and 3B primary backup job.

[Fatalotti]

Getting rid of Francisco was fine. Nix and he are probably about equal offensively, but Nix is supposed to be a better defender. Obviously, you have Mayberry, Vic and Pence in your outfield, and if you really need another outfielder, you have Brown in the minors. Francisco was more than expendable.

Valdez, on the other hand; I'll take him over Mini-Mart any day of the week.

[clout]

Fatalotti: Who should start at 3B for the Phillies?

[Scotch Man]

I might go on to miss Valdez if it means Mini Mart's stinking the joint up in the bigs. As for Francisco, he stinks. Pierre or Scotty Pods can't be any worse.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, under which scenario?

[clout]

Well, you said you feared seeing a lineup with Nix, Wigginton and Polanco so I assume you have someone else in mind.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, no one else in mind. A lineup with Utley and Howard in it mitigates Polly's vanishing bat. A lineup without those two, replaced by Nix and Wiggy, exacerbates Polly's vanishing bat. That's all.

[clout]

Jbird: "If Ben Francisco were still here would anyone honestly feel any better about the situation?"

No

[Zeke]

Are you kidding me? Heck no. Valdez and Francisco are at most equally as good as what we've got. People gave Valdez way too much credit for his role and what exactly did Ben do all season?

[bigmyc]

How many more runs could Valdez save than any other input, especially behing this pitching staff? You'd have to think that whatever runs he did save could be put up by his replacement via their bat(s). Ben Fransisco is a non-issue...even on an injury riddled team.

[NEPP]

Zeke, Mini-Mart hit .196 last year...and just .175 in the 2nd half.

Trust me, we'll miss Valdez if Martinez ends up getting his ABs.

[Lynsk]

The scariest thought for me is if Polanco, Utley AND Rollins are banged up at the same time. Obviously this is a worst case scenario but it could happen. Again, not many teams would fare well losing three starting IF's.

[NEPP]

Lynsk, fortunately none of them are on the wrong side of 30 and none of them have injury concerns.

Otherwise, I'm sure Rube would have gotten a legitimate backup infielder at some point.

[Fatalotti]

Even if you think people overvalued Valdez, you have to admit, he had certain skills. he had a tremendous arm for SS, he could field to a degree, especially at certain positions. His bat sucked, but it wasn't the worst bat of all time. He was a perfectly acceptable utility infielder. Certainly not the best, but he was capable.

Michael Martinez, though, has NO discernable skills. he can't hit AT ALL, he doesn't seem like he can field worth anything, really anwhere on the field. he's supposedly fast, but can't steal bases. He's worhtless to a major league team. Getting rid of Valdez and keeping Martinez, all for $.5M just doesn't make sense.

[MG]

Valdez is a basic utility infielder but if there is anything that the first couple of camp has shown is that Mini Mart/Frandsen/Orr are downgrades defensively & offensively.

[GBrettfan]

What Fata said.

[PhillyRhetoric]

I think EFF is right about Utley. In his first presser of the spring, he told reporters you wouldn't be seeing much of him in the first two weeks of ST. This seems like the plan. These early games could be a place to get Mayberry reps at first, but I suspect we'll see him more in left in the last couple weeks of ST, with Thome and Wigginton getting the starts at first.

[Edmundo]

With our seemingly universal lack of sense of loss over BenFran, watch him fluke out a 400 PA .300/.360/.550 year this year.

[Jbird]

For those who think Valdez was over-valued, It's not so much that the Phillies will miss his contributions, it's that they didn't replace him with anything better even though those options were readily available. They "replaced" Valdez with Mini-Mart.

[NEPP]

I also tend to feel that replacing Valdez's arm in the bullpen with Chad Qualls will likely prove to be a downgrade there as well.

[MG]

The issue seems like it will be what it was last year - the Phils will have a great roster but battle injuries and the last 3-4 positional players on this roster very well could be below-replacement value players.

Last year it was Gload, Mini Mart, Francisco and Schneider. It didn't really matter though because the pitching was so go and the Phils ran away with the NL East after Labor Day.

This year I wonder if it does because the Phils won't win 100+ games this year and the 2-3 wins could make a real difference in the NL East race.

Schneider is back. Ditto Mini-Mart who has my nod as the worst player in a Phils' uniform since I became old enough to understand the game. I would bet decent dollars both will be below replacement value again.

Thome is an upgrade over Gload but there is the big injury risk factor. Finally, Francisco was the 5th OF last year after the first few months. This year it will be Podsednik or Pierre to start the year. Arguable they are a real upgrade over Francisco.

If it Nix, then I see him being a slight upgrade.

[GTown_Dave]

Well damn. I wish I had noticed the potential issues caused by dumping unceremoniously Valdez for Chad friggin' Qualls. Good catch, all.

[Michael Martinez]

I'm sorry.

[lorecore]

Valdez was moved to help the pen. You can argue that Qualls doesn't help it, but I agree with the train of thought.

I strongly disagree that Mayberry is playign 1B fulltime while Howard is out. I really think he will rotate between 1B and LF, while Nix/Wigginton are the ones who platoon. Wigginton sucks and limiting him to only playing when a lefty starts and only at 1B in the field is the best way to hide him.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I'm not that high on Qualls, but I need to see a little more before I call him a total bust.

[lorecore]

The real mistake that Ruben made is that Martinez is so utterly bad that it throws off the magnitude of everything.

He tried solving an equation but forgot you can't divide anything by 0.

[bay_area_phan]

I'm not really excited about Qualls either but, aside from 2010, he has a pretty consistent track record as a durable and above average reliever. To break out the analogy that we use for just about every modestly better-than-average middle reliever: he's like Chad Durbin but with better control and, hence, greater reliability.

[The hook]

Ben Fran glad he's gone. Wilson sure we would like to have him. Let's let the rosters for other teams play out. I am sure a utility type guy will be cut or refuse minors and become a free agent. And on top they will prob be better then mini mart. I like the team where it is. Health is biggest concern. Madson having elbow troubles huh???

[clout]

Jamie Moyer threw two scoreless innings Wednesday in his Cactus League debut against the Giants.

[NEPP]

The Phillies should trade Hamels and Lee for Moyer straight up.

Also, with the money such a move would save us, we could find a better utility IF and BP options.

[Lake Fred]

Mini Mart must have goat photos. That's the only reason that I can think of that explains how he remains on the Phillies MLB roster.

I agree with the concensus that missing Be Fran is no loss and that Exxon was better than Mini Mart, but even Exxon was not someone I liked seeing coming up to bat with a game on the line.

[Fatalotti]

I love the Moyer story, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he can succeed at the ML level, still. Why only query is, why would Colorado, of all places, seem like a good place for him to test his ability?

He's never been a groundball pitcher, and it would seem like going to a place that swallowed up fly balls would have made more sense. Colorado may be one of the harder places to pitch in this league, and I just don't think that it's the best place for Moyer to prove he can still hack it in the majors. We'll see, though.

[NEPP]

***Mini Mart must have goat photos. That's the only reason that I can think of that explains how he remains on the Phillies MLB roster. ***

27 years ago this Thursday, David Montgomery, Chris Wheeler, Dallas Green and Michael Martinez's father were out for a night on the town in S. Philly. In the course of the night, one of the escorts got a little pushy and Monty choked her and then bludgeoned her with a bar stool. They all agreed that it would be best if it never happened and they drove the body out to the Pine Barrens and dumped it. Wheels and Green were promised lifetime employment in exchange for their silence. Monty turned to Michael Martinez's father and said "Look, if your son ever become a pro ballplayer, I will make sure he gets to the Majors and stays there regardless of how bad he is". That was the price of silence and that is the reason Mini Mart is on the 25 man.

[Jbird]

NEPP: That's the most plausible reason I've heard so far.

[Lake Fred]

NEPP, that definitely explains the existance of Mini Mart on the roster. It also gave me a good hearty laugh.

[GTown_Dave]

Dom Brown sprained his thumb misplaying a ball Monday. MRI scheduled for today. He should have saved us all the trouble & broken his arm.

[mm]

GTown: I thought that was last years excuse for him not being Major League Ready...

[Fatalotti]

GTown is even more miserable than usual this year. Didn't think it was possible...

[schmitty's stache]

What's Luis Castillo up too? I mean, we already got Pierre right?

[lorecore]

Schneider guns a runner down at 3B in the first.

[GTown_Dave]

Fatalotti: I'm not one to rest on my laurels.

[AT]

WIGGY!First run of the game.

[fumphis]

WIGGY!Terrible baserunning.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

That Schnieder caught stealing will only probably count 1/2 of what a Kratz caught stealing would count for on BL.

[Willard Preacher]

JW, any hard-hitting info on the pronunciation of "Galvis?"

[Willard Preacher]

Pitcher hitting in Spring Training alert!!!

[Willard Preacher]

For those concerned, Utley took BP and ran today before the game. All indications are that he's not an arthritic vegetable.

No rush to get him into Spring Training, per Cholly.

[Fatalotti]

WP, how many homeruns did he hit in BP?
What percentage of his swings were line drives? Ground balls? Fly balls?
How did he look running? Was he fast, slow, was it a jog, a sprint, somewhere in between?????

I NEED TO KNOW!!

[fumphis]

WIGGY!Booting balls!

[AT]

No more Wiggy at shortstop talk, please...although could he be worse there than Mini-Mart? Hmm....

[Jimmie J.]

It would not surprise me if Juan Pierre became the starting LF at some point. Put him at lead-off and move JRoll down to 6 or 7. Charlie'd never do it, even if Rollins is hitting .200 by June.
It's way too soon to give up on Qualls.

[clout]

WP: Freddy's name is properly pronounced with a Dave Zinkoff inflection: Fred-DEE GalVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEssssss. If it takes less than 10 seconds to say his name, you are not pronouncing it correctly.

[Luis]

I think we could of got a little more production out of Ben Fran. Saying that he was somewhat expendable. The Valdez move was silly. Especially when the next candidate was Martinez. Im still confused by the whole thing. In concept i somewhat understand what RAJ was doing but overall RAJ should of kept Valdez. Dumb Dumb DUMB!

[Bubba]

Will that be important in LEEE-hi val-LEEE or reddd-DING?

Not so much in ful-delf-ya.

[Bubba]

New thread- like 20 minutes ago.

[Jimbo]

I'll take Pete Orr as my infield utility man before Martinez.