Biggest Offseason Additions
Marlon Byrd: There are very few players who take a last chance opportunity and turn it into something spectacular like the way Byrd did for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. If you don’t remember the story, here’s the quick version:
Byrd was suspended for the rest of the 2012 season for performance enhancing drugs not too long after the Chicago Cubs dealt him to the Boston Red Sox, but only after the Sox had designated him for assignment to make room for pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.
With only a $700,000 contract offered to him by the Mets, Byrd reminded everyone why he was such a sought after talent with the Texas Rangers by cranking 21 home runs and knocking in 71 runs with a .285 average before being sent to the Pirates to close out the season.
While in Pittsburgh, Byrd carried the offensive load for the Pirates in the Wild Card match against the Cincinnati Reds going 2-4 with a solo home run in the Bucco’s first trip to the postseason since 1992. With his game still in tact, the Phillies signed Byrd to a two-year $16 million deal with a third-year option based on how he performs.
If Byrd duplicates his performance in 2013 over the next two seasons (24 total home runs, 89 total RBI and a .291 average), the Phillies will be getting a welcomed boost in power that has faltered since Ryan Howard popped his achilles tendon in the final at-bat of Game Five of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Chad Gaudin: This may seem like a bit of a stretch, but the Phillies were in desperate need of a veteran pitcher after Roy Halladay announced his retirement back in December.
While Gaudin doesn’t exactly have the kind of resume to even remotely match Doc’s career, his 2013 season with the San Francisco Giants does provide a bit of promise. In 11 seasons Gaudin has gone 45-44 with a 4.44 ERA and 673 strikeouts in 344 appearances, but only 87 starts.
He made 12 starts with the Giants last season, which is the first time he hit double-digits in starts since 2009 (25) with the San Diego Padres and the Cubs. Prior to that, he hit double-digits in starts only one other time as a member of the Oakland Athletics (34) in 2007.
The importance of this stat is that, on a whole, Gaudin’s numbers (5-2 with a 3.06 ERA, 1.247 WHIP and 88 strikeouts) were all significantly better than his numbers in 2007 and 2009 with the exception of strikeouts.
Even though Gaudin has been used out of the bullpen for the majority of his 11-year career, he’s still young enough to be transitioned into a primary starter as he turns 31-years-old at the end of March if needed.
Biggest Offseason Loss
Roy Halladay: Not since life-long Philly great Mike Schmidt gave a tearful goodbye in May of 1989 has the city of Philadelphia taken such a huge blow emotionally as when Doc Halladay said he wouldn’t be coming back in 2014.
Halladay’s 2013 campaign (4-5 with a 6.82 ERA and 51 strikeouts) was not exactly the note that he or the Phillies wanted him to go out on, but persistent back problems and shoulder surgery to have a bone spur removed proved to be the final straw for the 36-year-old.
Halladay’s career in Philadelphia was met with great success. In his first season with the Phillies (2010) Halladay led the NL in wins with 21, struck out a then-career-high 219 batters, pitched a perfect game AND a no-hitter in the postseason and won his second career Cy Young Award.
His 2011 season was met with similar fortune, but in 2012 it looked as if his game was starting to slip a little bit after a huge spike in his ERA (4.49) and a massive dip in strikeouts (132).
Like Howard’s devastating injury in 2011, it’s almost seemed as if his woes were somehow passed onto Halladay as well. It will certainly take some time for the Phillies to find a pitcher who can dominate a game quite like Doc.
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Bobby Abreu
In a story that didn’t quite make the headlines, the Phillies signed their former 39-year-old outfielder to a minor league contract to see if he still has anything left in the tank. Abreu went unsigned for the 2013 season and hasn’t seen any action in the field since the second to last game of the 2012 season when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last time Abreu was in a Phillies uniform was prior to the trade deadline in 2006, just a year-and-a-half before the team won their first World Series title since 1980. The trade, which brought in former Chicago White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand, is considered one of the key reasons for the team’s success in 2008. Nonetheless, Abreu is still one of the all-time greats in Phillies history with a career .303 average, 195 home runs, 814 RBI, 254 stolen bases and 1,474 hits. If he makes the team it will only cost the Phillies $800,000, a bargain compared to the contract they gave Byrd, the three-year extension they gave Carlos Ruiz and the multi-million dollar deal their still paying to Howard.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Ryan Howard versus himself
There’s something wrong with Howard, and nobody seems to have an idea what it might be. Some have speculated that it’s become a mental game after his achilles tear, but he hasn’t exactly been forthright with that theory.
Prior to the 2011 NLCS against the Cardinals Howard was on a power tear, hitting 286 home runs in eight seasons (1.027 games).
Even though he was averaging roughly 151 strikeouts per season, his .276 average plus 2005 Rookie of the Year Award and 2006 NL MVP Award were enough to deter even the harshest of critics.
Unfortunately for Howard and Phillies fans, the last two years haven’t exactly reflected his potential. Howard has only managed to play in 151 total games over the last two seasons with 25 home runs and a .242 to show for it. Howard had been the catalyst for the Phillies’ offense for so many years, not to mention that he’s one of the highest-paid players in the Majors, and yet he’s barely pushing numbers that would keep any regular Joe on any other roster. 2014 needs to be his year to prove all the haters wrong, that the last two seasons were more than just mental mistakes and a few bumps and bruises.
What Went Right in 2013
Most teams who produce a rough season always seem to have a silver lining; however, the Phillies managed to do everything wrong in 2013 starting with the firing of manager Charlie Manuel with a little over 40 games to go in the season. Add that to Halladay’s woes, Cole Hamels having the worst season of his career and Howard’s troubles, the only truly astounding/positive thing to happen was that second baseman Chase Utley managed to play a full season (131 games) for the first time since 2009.
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
The Phillies, so far, are one of the few teams who haven’t really done anything to be considered an improvement for 2014. Yes they bagged a decent outfield bat in Byrd, but who’s to say that he’ll have the same success that he did in 2013. New skipper Ryne Sandberg will finally get his first full season in the Majors; however, his 20-22 record in replacement of Manuel wasn’t exactly the shot in the arm the team needed in order to finish strong down the stretch. The Phillies have been slipping deeper and deeper down the NL East ladder over the last two seasons and if they’re not careful they might find themselves at the bottom with the Miami Marlins waving above.
Overall Spring Training Preview
Sure there are better expectations for the Phillies on the East Coast, but on the West Coast they look like they’re dead in the water.
The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have asserted themselves as the dominant powers with the Mets looking to ruffle a few feathers along the way.
In fact, the Marlins even have a great shot at shaking a few things up after some decent signings have improved their outlook for 2014. But in the end the Phillies are looking like the same team from 2013 with only a few bandages added to the mix to keep the wound from festering over.
The Phillies have a lot of work ahead of them and may need to find a suitor for Hamels or Howard to make it happen. It sounds crazy, but so does spending millions and millions of dollars on a sinking ship when only a few bucks can fix the hole.