After their disastrous season in 2000 (65-97), the Phillies brought up baseball’s #31 rated prospect, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, to the big leagues. The Phillies’ front office also hired a new manager in Larry Bowa. The future was bright when Rollins and Bowa joined the Phillies’ squad in 2001, and they didn’t disappoint. Despite the fact that Philadelphia had 3 other mangers for the next 14 years besides Bowa, it didn’t stop the team from averaging 89 wins/season from 2001-2011, while capturing 5 NL East titles (2007-2011) and winning 1 WS title out of 2 appearances on the way. This great 11 year run that the Phillies had featured some great players, such as Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, etc. All of those players have now either already left or are taking a nose-dive in their career, such as Jason Werth signing wit the Nats after the 2009 season and Halladay retiring after the 2012 season. The Phillies record is 227-259 the last 3 years though, after winning the NL East in 2011, so the last year and a half or so, Philly’s GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., has made it clear of the direction the team is heading in; complete rebuild.
One of the first moves in the direction of tearing down the champion team of 2008 was trading Shane Victorino to the Dodgers at the trade deadline in 2012. Then injuries took over for the next 2 ½ years, as Utley, Howard, and Rollins all dealt with injuries as well as declining numbers. The combination of injuries, declining numbers, and the departure of a few key players, confused the fan base of what direction the team was heading in. But during the Winter Meetings this year, the Philly’s GM made it clear what path he had the Phillies heading down, as Rollins was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for prospects. When the commander in chief for the last 11 seasons is traded, it most likely means: rebuild.
Now that Rollins is gone, GM, Ruben Amaro Jr., looks to keep clearing the house for at least the next year or so. What is left of Philly veterans mostly consists of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, and Marlon Byrd. Trade rumors have been surrounding Utley, Howard, and Byrd heavily this offseason. Utley has been rumored to be of interest for multiple teams, and was extremely close to going to the Dodgers in the Rollins trade, but LA decided to trade for Howie Kendrick instead. Howard has not drawn much interest, as he has been injury prone the last 3 seasons and Ryan’s numbers have seriously downgraded, so the rumors now suggest that the Phillies might release Howard and eat his salary. There are no trade rumors, however, for veteran pitcher Cliff Lee though, but he does become a free agent after the 2015 season, so Cliff will most likely not be re-signed. Speaking of veterans, right fielder, Marlon Byrd, reportedly is most likely going to be dealt to Cincy along with cash in return for a prospect, so that will mean that the Phillies free up more cap space and say goodbye to another key vet. One guy though that is not an original member of the remarkable 11-year Philly team that is on the trade block currently is lefty starting pitcher Cole Hamels. For over a year now Cole Hamels has been heavily shopped around by the front office, but why? The GM is thinking that he could get a lot of great young talent in return for Cole, as Hamels may not be valuable to the Phillies who are rebuilding to compete in 2017 or later.
The whole roster of the original 2008 champion team might not be stripped down by Spring Training, but it will most likely be torn down by the end of the 2015 season. From there Philly can focus on signing new young stars and developing their prospects. Assuming the rebuilding process goes according the plan, the Phillies should be prepared to make a run at least for the NL East title, if not the WS in 2017.
