Philadelphia Phillies Notes: Chase Utley

Rewind the calendar to October 4, 2011. The Philadelphia Phillies were atop the baseball world, or at least close to it. They had the deepest rotation in baseball headed by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt. They were just one win away from defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs, and it wasn’t difficult to see them going all the way. Two games later, Ryan Howard lay crumpled on the ground somewhere between home plate and first base, and his team’s season was over. Since that time period, almost nothing has gone right for the Phillies.

Howard is still out from what would later be classified as a torn Achilles tendon, Oswalt wound up in Texas after failing to generate enough interest to get a contract before the season began, Halladay has missed the last month with a sore shoulder, and Chase Utley has yet to appear in 2012 due to chronic knee ailments. Philly fans are desperate for some good news involving their baseball team, and they may finally have found it: Utley may be activated from his minor league rehab stint as soon as Wednesday.

Utley is coming off his worst season since becoming an everyday player in 2005, having hit .259/.344/.425 in 454 plate appearances a year ago. He continued to provide the Phillies with excellent defense at second base in addition to stealing 14 bases in as many attempts, however, so he was still able to contribute 3.7 WAR in just 103 games. The 33-year-old is hitting .156 in 38 minor league plate appearances while rehabbing, and while his bat may not be as potent as it once was, there’s little doubt that his return will give the struggling Phillies, just 7-13 in June, a much needed boost.

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