Pat Gillick, senior adviser and interim CEO of the Philadelphia Phillies, told John Clark of CSNPhilly that he doesn't think the team will be ready to seriously compete for at least two seasons - leading some to surmise that the organization could see the departure of at least one of their best players in the effort to "rebuild" the roster.
"I think where we are right now, it's probably a couple years," Gillick said Thursday, per Clark. "I wouldn't think [2015] or [2016,] '15 or '16 I don't think is in the cards. I think somewhere around 2017 or 2018."
The Phillies have suffered in recent seasons due in large part to the rapid aging their core of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and the now-retired Roy Halladay have undergone. Gillick, no doubt recognizing the blueprint for success of a team like the Kansas City Royals, sees the need for the squad to get younger and more athletic.
"Our goal, as I said, is to get younger, get better, to be more athletic on the field, so that's going to delay our goals," Gillick said. "Sometimes, again with trades, it takes two to dance. So finding that partner to dance with and to get something back that helps your baseball team, that can be difficult at times. So, as I said, they're challenges, but they're goals that we're looking at over this 2014 offseason."
Gillick, who in 1977, served as the inaugural general manager of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, turned the then-poorly regarded franchise into a title contender and eventual back-to-back champion.
He also has a history of trading players seemingly past their prime and of little or no value, like Jim Thome, Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez.
The Phillies needs combined with Gillick's history could mean that a number of older Philly players, including ace and former World Series MVP Cole Hamels, could be on their way out of town, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
"Whether he meant to do this or not -- and Gillick is a really, really smart person -- his words prepare the Phillies' fan base for a possible deal of star pitcher Cole Hamels," writes Olney.
"Given the landscape of the pitching market right now, and considering how great Hamels threw in 2014 -- a career-low 2.46 ERA in 30 starts -- his trade value will never be higher than it is right now, and the Phillies could flip him for a really good package of prospects that could help Philadelphia move forward."
Olney suggests the Cubs and Red Sox as two organizations packed with prospects and in need of front line pitching.
Gillick, acknowledging the expected pain of the two year window he and the organization are apparently asking fans to endure, dubbed it a "rebuilding."
"I think we're more toward rebuilding than reloading. That's my opinion," Gillick told Clark. "I think, it's hard to ask the fans, it's hard to ask the media, it's hard to ask, you know, anyone to be patient. Patience is kind of thin these days. But I think this is going to be more of a rebuilding, more of a restructuring than a reloading."
