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NiceLee done?
By egrissom | July 29, 2009
This says that the Phillies have “reached agreement with the Indians on a trade that would bring them left-hander Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco for Class A right-hander Jason Knapp, Class AAA right-hander Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson” and that “the deal is pending a review of medical records.”
That would be very good news for the Phillies.
Ben Francisco is a right-handed outfielder who can play all three outfield positions. He turns 28 in October and has a career 261/332/437 line. He’s played regularly for the Indians this year and has posted a 250/336/422 line in 308 at-bats with ten home runs and 13 stolen bases.
He’s hitting 269/383/463 against left-handed pitching this year.
Lefty Cliff Lee turns 31 next month. He won the AL Cy Young in 2008 and is 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.30 ratio in 2009.
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July 29th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
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July 29th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
When your starting outfield goes Allstar/Allstar/Allstar, and you have bench outfield that goes Big Bopper/Great defense & power prospect/A couple guys that can play any position on the team except (possibly) pitch.. what exactly does Ben Francisco do for us?
July 29th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I’m kind of excited about Francisco. The Phillies have needed a right-handed bat off the bench for a long time that’s better than Bruntlett or Coste or Mayberry. I think he’s the guy and he’d slide in nicely to Mayberry’s spot. Also think it’s nice that he can play center field as well as left and right.
Less importantly, the Phils might get a chance to rest their regulars a lot down the stretch and having more guys who can play in different places should help.
The right-handed hitter thing is the big one, though. If Francisco does join the team he’ll arguably be the second-best right-handed bat on the Phils behind Werth.
Sorry to see those four guys go, but I think it’s a really good deal for the Phils.
July 29th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
It is a double edge sword for me with this deal. I had hopes for all three of the guys going that were on the Pigs. But I guess thats why I dont work for the Phils either! I never got to see Knapp but only heard great things about him.
But when you give up talent, you expect talent in return and Lee is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and it doesnt get much better than that.
Apparently the Phils love Lefties b/c we seem to have a bunch. Can we honestly say that our top 5 starters right now consist of 4 lefties?
Let’t not forget hitting either. The Phils have been lefty heavy all season. Francisco should be a nice addition.
July 29th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I am very down with this deal…nice job!
and getting that Righty Bat will help for sure…the rest etc.
Just get Lidge in check and we are good to go!
July 29th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I agree that Knapp is pretty exciting. A lot can go wrong between 18 and the majors, though.
I think it’s just the top two starters are lefties. Then I think you’ve got to put in Blanton before Happ and the rest. It is a lot of starters for the Phils — it will be interesting to see what they do. I think there’s a good case to make for keeping Lopez and putting Happ in the pen.