| 29 May 2009
ESPN's Jason Stark has a nice piece on 46-year old Jamie Moyer and his struggles this season. After going 16-7 witha 3.71 ERA in 2008, Moyer is 3-5 with a 7.42 ERA this season...
Couple that with the recent news that Brett Myers may need hip surgery...
After having an MRI today, Phillies pitcher Brett Myers was told that there was fraying to the labrum in his right hip, an injury that could require surgery and jeopardize the remainder of his season.
... And Chan Ho Park's recent demotion to the bullpen... and your left with Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton in your rotation.
But the Phillies remain a 1/2 game behind the Mets in the NL East despite all the problems with the starting rotation. That makes them a perfect fit for Brad Penny.
Penny is 5-1 with a 5.96 ERA this season, but a return the NL where he posted back-to-back 16-win seasons in 2006 and 2007 might result in even better numbers. With Cole Hamels holding down the fort , essentially by himself right now, the Phillies have been inquiruing about a number of starters that include Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt, Brandon Wood and Roy Halladay... just to name a few.
But Penny is clearly the best value since they would be "renting" him for half season and paying less than half of the 5 million dollar contract he signed with the Red Sox this offseason.
Penny fills a need for the Phillies and the Phillies can fill a need for the Red Sox - that need being a catcher of the future.
Lou Marson was ranked 66th on Baseball America's Top 100 MLB Prospects list this offseason. We detailed his history yesterday, but figured that the Phillies might be more interested in Clay Buchholz than Brad Penny...
With Carlos Ruiz holding down the fort in Philly, Marson is pretty much untouchable... he hit .314 in 322 Double at-bats in 2008 and has already seen a 17 major league in 2009 - despite hitting .207 in AAA so far this season.
Edes says the Phillies are looking for a starting pitcher to fill the hole that will be left by Brett Myers this offseason. A one-for-one deal with Penny and Marson is unlikely, but a Buchholz for Marson deal might work and would give both organizations a long-term solution to their needs.
... but that was before we heard the news about Myers and Moyer. The Phillies need to make a move for today if they want a shot a repeating ast WS Champs and with Wakefield in his 40s and Josh Beckett approaching the end of his contract, the Red Sox aren't to keen on parting with Buchholz... and that makes Penny a perfect fit.
Bottom Line: If the Philies won't trade Marson... maye the Sox can buy low on SS Jimmy Rollins... he's hitting .223 but he's two years removed from a 30 HR, .296 BA, 94 RBI, 139 R 41 SB season... I'm just saying...
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