Tagged: Wilson Valdez

Phillies Sign Chad Qualls

The Phillies have been bargain hunting this offseason, and a bargain they did find. Reliever Chad Qualls has signed a one-year, $1.15 million deal with the Fightins. In comparison, the one year pact he had with the Padres in 2011 paid him over $2 million. Qualls had a decent year in 2011 for the Padres, going 6-8 with a 3.51 ERA. His peripherals weren’t the greatest, though his ground ball rate was over 50%. This should translate well to Citizens Bank Park. At the end of 2011, in his final 19 appearances, Qualls caught fire. He held opponents to a .219 average and recorded a 1.96 ERA.

On the downside, the Phillies are now, at least according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, in line to pay the luxury tax.

Stark reports that the Phillies traded Infielder Wilson Valdez to Cincinnati in order to free up his salary of $960K and that that was not enough. The Phillies still remained at a little over $178 million, which is the luxury tax threshold. The move now puts their payroll at $180 million. As it stands now, the Phillies are in line to become the 5th club in history to have to pay the luxury tax. They would also be the first team in the NL to join the ‘prestigious’ club.

Including the upcoming 2012 season, the Yankees have paid the tax 10 times (2003-present), the Red Sox 7 times (2004-2007; 2010-present), the Angels once (2004), and the Tigers once (2008).

How would the Phillies return to the non-tax spending majority? How else have they tried to free up salary the past few seasons?

Trade Joe Blanton of course.

With the emergence of Vance Worley and the depth signings of guys like Joel Pineiro and Dave Bush, Blanton has become expendable. The Phillies hope to deal him after he proves he’s healthy in Spring Training. No idea who would be takers for Blanton. Baltimore perhaps? I’m sure Ruben will be able to work his magic if the Phillies are as desperate as Stark says they are.

Of course, this is all assuming that Stark is correct. I would expect a little more scrambling on the Phillies’ part if this was correct.

Phillies Avoid Arbitration with Hamels, Valdez

Cole Hamels has signed a one year, $15 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The deal is the largest salary given to an arbitration eligible pitcher ever, though Hamels’ record is only expected to last a short period with Tim Lincecum’s upcoming salary hearing expected to exceed $20 million. Hamels was projected to earn $14 million through arbitration. The door appears to still be open on an extension, but don’t expect something similar to Jered Weaver’s 5 Year/$85 million deal as much as CC Sabathia’s 7 Year/$161 million deal. Cole Hamels is a young, proven, left-handed ace primed to earn a big payday, and everyone knows it, especially Hamels himself. Retaining him will not be an easy task. The Phillies will attempt to rise to the challenge when extension discussions resume during Spring Training.

The Phillies also signed Infielder Wilson Valdez to a one year/$930,000 deal. He was projected to earn $950K, so the Phillies may have gotten a slight discount. This was Valdez’s first go around at arbitration.

The signing of Kyle Kendrick, Valdez and Hamels leaves Right Fielder Hunter Pence as the only Phillie left set to go through the arbitration process. He is projected to earn $11 million, though the Phillies will hopefully sign him before it gets to the mud-slinging phase.

Phillies Sign Joel Pineiro, Avoid Arbitration with Kendrick

The 2011-12 offseason has been all about improving the Phillies’ depth, and even in late January, Ruben Amaro continues to do just that.

The Phillies have signed Starting Pitcher Joel Pineiro to a minor-league deal, one that includes and invite to Spring Training. The Phillies don’t have much behind their major league rotation in the minors, so being able to stash a major league proven vet at AAA is always a great thing to be able to do.

After having a solid 2009 with the Cardinals, Pineiro signed a 2 Year/$16 Million deal with the Anaheim Angels, and the injury bug hampered him throughout the contract. Pineiro slogged through 145 innings in 2011, finishing with a 7-7 record and a 5.13 ERA. He allowed an average of 11.2 hits per 9 innings, struck out 62 batters, and finished with a WHIP north of 1.5. Pineiro should, barring any other similar signings, slot in as the #7 starter on the Phillies depth chart, providing the Phillies with some breathing room in case of any injury.

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The Phillies now only have to deal with 3 arbitration cases after signing Starter Kyle Kendrick to a 1 Year/$3.585 million deal. Kendrick had perhaps the best year of his career in 2011, logging 114 innings, posting a record of 8-6, and had an ERA of 3.22. Kendrick appeared in 34 games in 2011, 15 of them being starts.

With Kendrick out the way, the Phillies can focus on their three remaining cases: Infielder Wilson Valdez, who is projected to earn $950,000, Outfielder Hunter Pence, who is projected to earn $11 million, and Starter Cole Hamels, who is projected to earn $14 million.

Phillies sign Nix to 2-Year Deal

As many have already quipped, the Phillies have finally filled the hole Jayson Werth left when he joined the Nationals last year: An outfielder with an awkwardly placed ‘Y’ in their name. The Phillies signed Outfielder Laynce Nix to a 2-year deal on the eve of the 2011-12 Winter Meetings. Nix made $700,000 last year on a one-year deal with the Nationals, so the annual value of this deal shouldn’t be that far off. The move not only ends the Phillies pursuit of former Minnesota Twins Outfielder Michael Cuddyer, but should also end Raul Ibanez’s and Ben Francisco’s tenures with the Phillies. There is simply no more room on the Phillies roster for Francisco, and they aren’t going to waste over $1.5 Million on a player that will stay at AAA.

Nix just turned 31 in October, and played in 124 games for the Nationals in 2011. In 351 PA, Nix posted a .250/.299/.451 line with 16 HR and 44 RBI. The lefty hit .263 off of Right-Handed Pitchers in 2011, but was atrocious against fellow lefties, batting a measly .111.

It’s only December 4th, but the Phillies are just about finished their offseason shopping. Amaro recognized the Phillies biggest weakness in 2011, aside from the tendency for everybody not named Chase or Jimmy to stop hitting in the playoffs. The Phillies bench was lackluster in 2011. Brian Schneider and Michael Martinez was horrible, Ben Francisco failed to meet expectations, Valdez was nothing special, and Gload, while one of the best pinch hitters in the NL leading up to the All-Star break, was horrible afterwards.

Out of the Phillies 2011 Bench, the only players that seem like they could possibly return is Schneider, already signed to a 1-year deal, and Wilson Valdez. Martinez seems to be heading to AAA next year, Gload is leaving via Free Agency and Ben Francisco looks like he will be non-tendered. The new Phillies bench appears to be Nix, Wigginton, Thome, Schneider and Valdez. Not too shabby.

With the Winter Meetings upon us, the Phillies will turn all their attention to locking up Jimmy Rollins, or any shortstop for that manner, to a contract. The only other team that appears to be competing with the Phillies is the Brewers. The Giants appear to have dropped out of the J-Roll sweepstakes and are now pursuing Alex Gonzalez. Jose Reyes, with a 6-Year $111 Million deal on the table from the Marlins, appears destined for South Beach, so the Phillies should lock up J-Roll quickly. If Reyes signs before Rollins, J-Roll could use his position as the best SS on the market to make it a pain for the Phillies.

Aside from that don’t expect much more out of the Phillies offseason. Do not be shocked, however, if the Phillies resign a healthy Brad Lidge to a 1 year deal. He can be a mentor for the young prospects coming up, and was lights out after he returned from injury in 2011. It seems like a perfect low-risk high-reward signing, as Lidge is realistic and doesn’t expect much in the way of offers.