2007 Phillies Offseason Report

[Bish]

Phillies Offseason Report

SS Delino DeShields retires ...
OF Juan Gonzalez retires …
SP Tim Wakefield retires …

Verdict: Let’s be real here, all of these guys played a role in getting the Phillies their first title in HOFBBL history. Tim Wakefield ate up valuable innings in the earlier stages and then provided some good bullpen relief during the postseason when asked upon. Delino DeShields had a really solid season hitting, fielding, and base running. He then when it looked like he was toast found a 2nd wind, and was a really good hitter during our playoff run. Juan Gonazalez had a legendary world series. All played an instrumental role and while we only had them for a season, I’m sad they’re not back with us.

Jim Edmonds becomes a free agent.

Verdict: Letting Jim Edmonds walk wasn’t in the plans, but he refused to take a fair one year offer insisting he wanted more years which is fair. However, he did not take a multi-year offer from teams because nobody wanted him for more than a year which led to some frustration for Phillie fans and the front office. Either way, they’ll obviously miss his ability to get on base at an extremely high level while providing some stolen bases while also providing some pop. This is a substantial loss, but the Phillies will find a way to get it done.

Free agent SS Russ Davis has been signed to a contract of $7,500,000 per year, for 1 year.
Free agent 1B Sean Casey has been signed to a contract of $1,250,000 per year, for 2 years.

Verdict: Russ Davis was a really nice addition. He’s an upgrade over DeShields, but obviously Casey is a step down from Edmonds. We’ve downgraded overall, but we still have the financial flexibility to really still make another deep run at this thing. The Braves will definitely continue to make things difficult.

IN: SS Russ Davis and 1B Sean Casey

OUT: SP Tim Wakefield, 1B Jim Edmonds, SS Delino DeShields, and OF Juan Gonzales

Verdict: All in all, we downgraded, but it isn't a reason to panic. We have the financial flexibility to improve the roster, and even though we don’t have a good farm system (aside from Nick Adenhart), we can be creative and find a way to improve this team by the margins. With the continual improvement of young hitters such as Matt Kemp, Curtis Granderson, and Joe Mauer the offense will only get to a higher level. Also factor in that young pitchers like Cole Hamels and Chad Cordero will only get better, too. GM Stevie B has some work to do to get the Phillies even back to the playoffs, but he’s certainly excited to continue to work on that goal as the season progresses.

Good luck to all teams. The Philadelphia Phillies are now the one’s being chased for once.

Thanks for reading!

[CSCommish]

6!