Philadelphia Phillies: Should they move Jeremy Hellickson?

There is a major lack of starting pitching options on the trading block. This could increase the value of middle-of-the-rotation pitchers like Jeremy Hellickson. The Philadelphia Phillies starter has been frequently mentioned as being available, but is it so clear cut that he will be traded?

When the Philadelphia Phillies acquired Jeremy Hellickson for minor league pitcher Sam McWilliams this past offseason, he was supposed to be the stabilizing veteran in a young rotation. He has been just that in 2016, but with promising performances from young starting pitchers like Vincent Velasquez and Aaron Nola, the former Diamondback and Tampa Bay Ray has gone somewhat unnoticed even while putting up solid numbers.

The Phillies surprised in the beginning part of the year but quickly fell back to where many people expected them to be the past month and a half. Even though they have been playing better baseball of late, the team is far away from contending and should start to sell pieces that they don’t expect to be on the next Phillies playoff team. With Hellickson being a free agent after this season, it makes him a natural trade target for many contending teams.

There are currently much fewer top-of-the-rotation starting pitchers on the trade market than last year when Cole Hamels and David Price saw themselves get dealt. This season, Sonny Gray, Julio Teheran, Drew Pomeranz, Jake Odorizzi and Rich Hill are the best starters that could be had in a trade, but none of them are on the level of the two big names that switched clubs in 2015. However, the Athletics, Braves, Rays and Padres are probably going to ask for a couple top prospects in return for these solid starting pitchers.

This may make teams looking for pitching wary of dealing for these players and will lead them to look for middle-of-the-rotation options that will cost less instead. With the amount of teams looking for pitching and the lack of serviceable starters available, pitchers like Hellickson will be coveted by many contenders. This is why the Phillies would be wise and most likely will send Hellickson packing by the August 1 trade deadline.

When comparing Hellickson to other solid starters rumored to be available like Ervin Santana, Matt Garza, Andrew Cashner, Matt Moore, Dan Straily and Jorge De La Rosa, the 29-year-old holds up very favorably.

He has been the best starter of that bunch this season when purely looking at the numbers. Hellickson is the only starter among that group with an ERA under 4.00 at the All-Star break. He is striking out around eight hitters per nine innings, while only walking 2.3 per nine. His stuff really hasn’t differed from what he has thrown in his professional career. His fastball still sits in the low 90s and he is using his breaking ball and change up around the same amount of the time, except now he is now mixing in a cutter.

After a solid start with the Rays, Hellickson is rebounding nicely from three poor seasons from 2013-2015. While pitchers like Matt Moore and Andrew Cashner have more upside because they possess better stuff, Hellickson has just been more reliable this season.

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Now, there has been the argument that the Phillies should keep Hellickson because the young pitchers in their rotation are on a pitch count and the club needs someone to eat innings. Plus, they could give him a qualifying offer and receive a high draft pick if he leaves for another organization. While this does seem like a reasonable stance for the Phillies, they need to trade Hellickson while the market is bare on starting pitching and his value is at its peak.

The Cole Hamels trade last season showed how important it is to get the most value you can for a player. At this point, Philadelphia will never be able to get more value for Hellickson than they could right now. There is no doubt that they will be able to get a solid prospect or two for Hellickson with the amount of contenders in need of starters, and the Phillies need to take advantage of the market.

The Phillies need to continue to build on their young core and while Hellickson does provide some good value at the moment, he is better served as a trade chip than a middle-of-the-rotation starter during the team’s rebuilding years.

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Will the Phillies trade Hellickson? What kind of return do you think he can fetch? Let us know in the comment section below.

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