The Phillies have dealt Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May for Twins CF Ben Revere. \u00a0This is my VERY initial take:<\/p>\n
The first thing you see when you look at Revere’s stats is 0 home runs and a .319 OBP in over 1,000 ABs. \u00a0We’re giving up a solid young pitcher and a somewhat decent prospect for THAT?<\/p>\n
BUT, looking past that, it starts to make sense. \u00a0Maybe. \u00a0My first thought is that the Phillies look at Revere as Michael Bourn-light. \u00a0Bourn is in the market for a contract that will pay him more than the 5 years\/$75 million that B.J. Upton got from Atlanta. \u00a0It’s easy to forget that he hit just two home runs in a full season two years ago.<\/p>\n
Revere appears to have NO power. \u00a0That’s not debatable. \u00a0But it’s worth noting that Minnesota is an extreme pitcher’s park, and Revere’s OBP in road games the last two years is .340, which is one point higher than Bourn’s career number. \u00a0Revere is a base-stealer, with 40 steals last year. \u00a0He’s considered a very good defensive center fielder, if maybe not quite on the level of Bourn. \u00a0He’s also five years younger than Bourn.<\/p>\n
So let’s say Revere gives you 90% of what Bourn does. \u00a0Here’s the clear clincher from the perspective of Ruben Amaro and the Phillies: \u00a0he’ll give you 90% of Bourn for about 3% of the price.<\/p>\n
If the Phillies only had one hole to fill this offseason to complete the championship package, I could really question this decision. \u00a0But, as we all know, they have a laundry list of needs besides CF, that includes 3B, a corner OF, and bullpen help. \u00a0So, by filling their CF need as cheaply as possible, they’re leaving themselves with a lot of financial flexibility to fill those other needs.<\/p>\n
Now, you say, haven’t they CREATED a new hole by dealing Worley? \u00a0Yeah, probably. \u00a0And that’s where you can criticize this deal, if want. \u00a0It seems that they are going to have to go out and add a proven arm to the rotation now, because there’s none that I know of waiting in the wings to fill Worley’s spot. \u00a0But, I think there’s a lot of back-of-the-rotation arms out there that can be had for a reasonable price, while the CF options were much less.<\/p>\n
As for Trevor May, he was considered a rising star a couple years ago, but he a pretty bad 2012 season and was no longer considered a top prospect.<\/p>\n
Most likely more to come, especially as the team continues to assemble pieces in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Phillies have dealt Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May for Twins CF Ben Revere. \u00a0This is my VERY initial take: The first thing you see when you look at Revere’s stats is 0 home runs and a .319 … Continue reading