There's still no certainty that Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Philadelphia Phillies will ship out second baseman Chase Utley, but it seems the San Francisco Giants have made their pitch for the gritty infielder. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Giants have made an offer to Amaro and the rest of the Phillies brass for Utley. As of Thursday night, Giants GM Bobby Evans said he's "just waiting to hear" from the Phillies.
Giants starting second baseman Joe Panik is expected to come off the disabled list soon and while there's no certainty that day will be Monday, the back injury that has kept him off the field since Aug. 1 won't likely sideline him for much longer.
Utley has a full no-trade clause in his contract. Utley, per a report from Buster Olney of ESPN, will only accept a trade if he's "assured of playing time" with whatever team acquires him. Olney also reports that he plans to continue playing beyond the 2015 season.
The Giants obviously can't guarantee Utley playing time with Panik expected to return. Other teams said to be interested in Utley - the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees among them - seem to face the same issue in a trade. The Cubs infield has been in flux recently though, with manager Joe Maddon recently benching shortstop Starlin Castro and moving second baseman Addison Russell to short and bringing in Chris Coghlan from the outfield to take over duties at second.
Utley is due over $4 million for the remainder of the 2015 season and another $2 million if the Phillies or another team buys him out of his 2016 option. He also has an $11 million option for next year, according to CSNPhilly.com.
