With a number of moveable players, Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. failed to make a trade before Thursday's deadline. What's even worse is that starting pitcher Cliff Lee reinjured his elbow in last night's start against the Washington Nationals and is returning to the disabled list.
Lee was rumored in trade talks ever since his return from the DL on July 21. In his first start since May 18, Lee got knocked around by the San Francisco Giants giving up 12 hits and six earned runs in only 5 2/3 innings. He followed up that outing with a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 26 and lasted only five innings after surrendering nine hits, two walks and three earned runs. Perhaps these two starts had potential suitors worrying about Lee's health and durability.
Additionally, Lee's contract pays him over $50 million combined in 2015 and 2016, which is a big salary to take on if a player is performing questionably and had a recent elbow injury. But Lee wasn't the only player the Phillies were able to trade, and that's where Amaro went wrong. Rumors throughout the weeks leading up to the deadline said that teams were interested in outfielder Marlon Byrd, starting pitcher Cole Hamels, and closer Jonathan Papelbon. They also may have had an outside chance of trading first baseman Ryan Howard, but the Phillies were seemingly absent during one of the most active deadline days in recent memory.
According to sources, the Los Angeles Dodgers contacted the Phillies about Cole Hamels' availability, and it was said Amaro requested the Dodgers' top three prospects: Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, and Julio Urias. Already hesitant to deal one of them, the Dodgers scoffed at the notion, especially since Hamel's owed at least $20 million per year through 2019. After the Dodgers declined, the Phillies did not rescind their demands and Amaro still wanted three top prospects and a mid-tier prospect from other teams in exchange for Hamels. He was also unable to trade pitchers A.J. Burnett and Antonio Bastardo - two other players that teams were rumored to be interested in.
With Amaro's inactivity/outright failure, the Phillies are now stuck with a number of large contracts as they sit in last place in the NL East with a 47-61 record. It's understandable that he had a tough time moving Cliff Lee, and perhaps his reluctance to move the team's ace and only hope moving forward in Cole Hamels is acceptable as well, but the fact he was unable to work out smaller trades for commodity players such as Papelbon (25 saves and a 1.79 ERA), Marlon Byrd (20 home runs), and A.J. Burnett (who doesn't have impressive stats, but was garnering interest from contending teams) is unacceptable for a team that needs to prepare for the future.
There's still the offseason to make a trade, but the Phillies had an opportunity to catch teams' interest as the postseason is approaching. The future looks grim for Philadelphia, who has an aging roster and lost a number of valuable prospects in a trade for Hunter Pence in 2011.
