Philadelphia Phillies will not trade Jeremy Hellickson this season

The Philadelphia Phillies pulled Jeremy Hellickson off waivers, ending months of speculation that the right-hander would be traded this season. What happens next?

From the moment the Philadelphia Phillies traded for starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson from the Arizona Diamondbacks last November, he was identified as a possible trade candidate for the upcoming season. The 29-year-old right-hander would be a free agent after the season, and the Phillies were almost certainly heading into a rebuilding year.

Though the Phils have been somewhat better than expected, they aren’t going to make the postseason barring a dramatic final month. It made sense to explore a trade for Hellickson, even after the non-waiver deadline passed on August 1. With the window for traded players to be playoff-eligible also coming to a close in the next few days, it has become clear that Philadelphia will hold onto the pitcher for the remainder of the season.

CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports that Hellickson was claimed on waivers this month, but the Phillies and the claiming team were unable to come to an agreement on a trade. The Phils pulled the righty off waivers and will keep him the rest of the way. It is a somewhat surprising development, as you would think they would be able to move a rental pitcher who is having a solid year on the mound.

The natural conclusion is that the Phillies front office just wasn’t satisfied with what other clubs were offering for Hellickson’s services. Philadelphia does stand to benefit even by holding onto the pitcher, however. The Phils can extend a qualifying offer to Hellickson in the offseason, and if he turns it down they will receive a compensatory draft pick.

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Of course, it’s worth speculating whether Hellickson is likely to accept or refuse that qualifying offer. Next year’s qualifying offer will reportedly be set at $16.7 million, which is likely more than Hellickson would get per season on the open market. But given his performance this year, it’s also plausible that someone would offer him a multi-year deal. Even average starting pitchers are typically in demand in the winter, and with this offseason’s shockingly poor free agent pitching market, Hellickson could do surprisingly well.

That said, if he did accept the QO, the Phillies wouldn’t be happy about paying him nearly $17 million, but they probably wouldn’t mind having the seven-year veteran around again to help guide their young staff. They would also have another opportunity to trade him next year if they are out of the race and he continues to pitch well.

Speaking of Hellickson’s aforementioned 2016 performance, he is enjoying his best campaign since 2012. He sports a 3.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 3.64 K/BB ratio over 154 innings. Those aren’t quite the numbers he put up in 2011 when he won the AL Rookie of the Year award while a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, but they are certainly respectable enough for a middle-to-back-end rotation arm.

Should the Phillies have set their asking price a bit lower in fielding trade proposals for Hellickson? It’s a fair point, and it comes down to whether you think they would have received more value from a trade package or the compensatory draft selection. Keeping in mind that Hellickson accepting the QO remains a possibility as well.

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Regardless of the outcome, the Phils will have something to hang their collective hat on in relation to Hellickson moving forward. They have made definite progress on their rebuild plans this season, which they will hope will continue next year as well.