Welcome Back, Placido

Placido Polanco is coming back to Philadelphia.  Much like last off-season, Ruben Amaro was faced with one spot to fill in his everyday line-up, and he acted quickly in handing a three-year deal to a solid veteran.  Some questions and answers about the signing:

Was Polanco the right choice for the third-base job?

Obviously, this is a fairly complicated question that is dependent on what the other options were, and how much money it would take to sign them.  Mark Derosa and Adrian Beltre are both really good players that can do certain things that Polanco cannot do, but Polanco also has his advantages over those guys.  All in all, you can’t fault Amaro for targeting Polanco and for trusting that he will be a nice addition to this team. 

It’s true that he’s 34 and that his numbers have declined each of the last two years, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.  Statistics will fluctuate in baseball.  His ’09 numbers are better than his ’06 numbers, and his ’07 season was an anomaly on the positive side (.341 BA).  I think a fair prediction for next season would be something like .300 with 12 homers, which would be similar power numbers to Pedro Feliz, with a roughly 40 point improvement in average.  And another added benefit is that Polanco can play second-base if Utley needs a rest or gets hurt, with Greg Dobbs manning third.

Did they overpay for him?

Very possibly.  At first glance, $6 million a year for Polanco sounds fair, but considering his age, would have they been better off just making it a two year deal?  When Amaro signed Ibanez early in free agency last year, it later became clear that he wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of money had he signed a month or two later.  That could end up being the case with Polanco as well, but if Polanco produces the way Ibanez did, nobody will really care.  But at some point a youth movement will be needed, as they can’t go on forever handing out long-term deals to players in their mid- to late-30’s.

What does the choice of Polanco suggest about the team’s priorities?

By choosing Polanco over the other choices on the free-agent market, the Phillie front office basically told us two things.  One, they want to improve their situational hitting.  Polanco is basically the poster boy for “bat control.”  He’s second in the big leagues over the past five years in fewest strikeouts per at bat.  He can lay down a bunt, and he will consistently hit the other way, especially with a runner on first base.  The Phillies obviously feel like they have enough strikeout-prone power hitters in their lineup, and they probably see Polanco as someone that can add some consistency and help create some offense on the days when the ball isn’t flying out of the park.

The second thing this signing tells us is that the front-office is continuing to put a premium on team chemistry and character.  We heard throughout ’09 that one of the reasons they signed Ibanez was because he was seen as such a good teammate.  A lot of times those statements are just lip service, but early on in this off-season they’ve let Brett Myers walk, and brought in Brian Schnieder and Polanco, two guys that are also seen as great teammates.  Polanco was a semi-fan favorite in his first stint here, and he probably will be again.  These things are always speculation by someone like me, but “by all accounts”, Polanco is another great guy, a gamer, and someone that is well-liked, and well-respected, by everyone that plays with him.  He’s someone you enjoy rooting for, and that’s definitely a big part of the reason why I like this signing.

Where will he bat in the order?

It seems like the early statements from Amaro are that Polanco will bat 2nd, with Shane Victorino “moving further down the order”, presumably to 7th.  I guess that will work.  Obviously, if Victorino is your 7-hitter, you probably have a pretty awesome lineup.  But, the team will have to consider having Victorino leadoff and moving Jimmy Rollins down, maybe to 7th.  I do think that Polanco should hit 2nd because, as I said earlier, his biggest strength is his situational hitting, and he’s basically a prototypical 2-hitter.  Maybe they have to start the season with Rollins leading off, but if he can’t get his OBP at least into the .325-.330 range, it’s time to move him out of that spot.  In the end, having these three top-of-the-order hitters is a pretty good problem to have, and it will probably work itself out once the season gets going.

All in all, I’m glad to have Placido Polanco back, not only for his skills, but also for his awesome name, and his weird-shaped head.  A job well-done by Ruben Amaro.