April 10, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley (58) throws during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
In spite of the mess and all of the missed opportunities, the Philadelphia Phillies’ offseason was better than anticipated. The more tint of pessimism your sunglasses have when you look at everything they’re doing, the better things appear.
Yes they still have Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Ryan Howard. But they were able to trade Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, and Antonio Bastardo. Teams know the Phillies are desperate to rebuild and certainly aren’t going to give up the farm to get what Philadelphia considers junk.
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When the trade deadline arrives in July, the holdovers that the Phillies are no longer interested in employing may appear a little more valuable. An injury to a superstar player or a team that finds itself lacking in the starting lineup would be willing to give up more in July than they would now to get a missing piece.
As bad as the Phillies are going to be in 2015, they’re not made up of only returning veteran players and inexperienced rookies. The team did go out and add to their starting rotation with two moves in particular that I think of as the perfect rentals.
One of the new arms in the starting rotation, Aaron Harang, signed with the Phillies for a one-year $5 million deal. At first, it may appear like the Phillies are unnecessarily paying a veteran pitcher to eat innings when this spot could be filled by someone for a lot cheaper and more potential for the future. Looking at the bigger picture, Harang is perfect trade bait. Harang got off to an amazing start in 2014 with the Atlanta Braves. Through his first 5 starts he was 3-1 with a 0.85 ERA. On July 31st, he was 9-6 with a 3.43 ERA.
The Phillies have absolutely no reason to have Harang around for Fan Appreciation Day. Instead, I believe the team is hoping he has a similar season like he did in 2014 and are able to exchange him for a prospect or two to help them for the future. It won’t be much, but they could get lucky.
Another player the Phillies signed this offseason was Chad Billingsley. They managed to get him for a one-year deal worth only $1.5 million. Billingsley missed all of 2014 and started only 2 games in 2013 due to injury. At only 30-years-old, Billingsley is still young enough to contribute in the long term.
Billingsley is in the same exact position as Harang with the Phillies. By the time Philadelphia can contend again, it will be too late for a Billingsley comeback to help them out. Instead, his 2015 season with the Phillies is a chance to prove to the rest of baseball that he’s healthy capable of pitching a full season. Any sign that he looks reliable will get teams interested.
There’s no predicting the kind of year Billingsley will have. He may look better than ever or could end up as another scrub the Phillies use to get them through the first 5 innings every fifth day. They bought low, and if the team has any sense, they’ll sell him at his highest value before the calendar flips over to August in 2015.