Comments on: Guess appearance

By: egrissom

egrissom — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:27:01 +0000

I think whoever they come up with has to be someone who can play short. I think that makes Luna and Orr unlikely candidates. Frandsen seems like a possibility, but I would still say Martinez is by far the most likely candidate of the players they currently have.

Hopefully the role will be filled by a player they don’t currently have.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:10:42 +0000

According to Heyman, the Phils are “bottom fishing” for exactly that person. Don’t be surprised if they scare up someone like Pedro Feliz.

By: egrissom

egrissom — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:05:46 +0000

Just looking at the way the Reds used Horst in 2011, it looks like they didn’t see him as a lefty specialist or a one inning guy. In five of his 12 outings he went more than an inning.

He also didn’t do well against lefties in his brief time with the Reds last year. They hit 319/409/579 against him (in 22 plate appearances).

Not a whole lot of time with the Reds, so those numbers likely don’t mean a lot. Hopefully he proves to be a workHorst for the Phils.

By: DaMannse

DaMannse — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:15:20 +0000

Jim, yeah. There has to be a “somebody not currently with the Phils”.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:11:07 +0000

Valdez has a better shot at being a closer than a starting shortstop. Yeesh.

Martinez’s D looked pretty good to me, at least at short. Too bad there’s no such thing as a designated fielder. I do feel like the Phils got the better end of the trade, with a youngish lefty with a sub 3 ERA. But, given the choice, I’d prefer Martinez be the starting 2B at AAA and somebody not currently with the Phils be the utility guy.

By: DaMannse

DaMannse — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:10:55 +0000

Unloading Valdez’ contract? (Attempt at humor here)

I was at the 19 inning game right to the end. Valdez was great. The fans loved him. It was an insane night and Wilson was amazing. But in the grand scheme of things, this is not really a biggie, is it? Some guy on Crossing Broad went haywire saying that Amaro had traded our “SS of the future”. I mean, scale has to be established here. Valdez cannot be that hard to replace; there HAS to be someone out there to bring in whose name is not “Martinez”.

By: egrissom

egrissom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:04:41 +0000

I don’t really understand the trade either. Losing Valdez isn’t that big a deal, but, again, I hope it means a new utility guy is on the way rather than more Martinez.

I don’t think we’ll have to wait long for an explanation.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:03:52 +0000

Looks like the Phillies are out of the mix on Cordero as well, since he’s signed with the Blue Jays:

http://tracking.si.com/2012/01/24/report-blue-jays-sign-francisco-cordero-to-one-year-4-5-million-deal/?sct=mlb_t2_a7

I guess Horst is another lefty to throw into the mix. Looking at his numbers, he reminds me a lot of Joe Savery. Not sure that is a good thing.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:58:24 +0000

I realize Valdez is no great shakes but if I have to pick between Martinez and Valdez, it’s gonna be Valdez. I also realize if a team is picking for a trade, they are picking Valdez as well. Reading what Amaro said afterward scares me a bit. He basically felt hes in good middle inf. relief with Martinez, Galvis, Orr, Frandsen and Luna with Galvis starting regularly at the ‘Pigs. I really think that if I have to pick outta that 4 or Valdez, I’m gonna go with Valdez. Eh, I guess its not worth getting all riled up about backup middle infield depth, just a curious move to me.

I wonder if Amaro at least asked for Madson in return. I mean, late inning pitcher for late inning pitcher right?

By: Leighton

Leighton — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:57:28 +0000

I don’t get the Horst trade…lefty in the Pen…is that in case Dontrell stinks it up? My guess is they got a call about Reds needing a guy like Valdez and they took a quality young arm…so it may not help them a lot this year but having him on the team locked up in a contract for a a few years helps them in the long run, if Bastardo gets injured if D-Train’s career is over.

Personally I hope both Bastardo and D-Train have great seasons, especially Dontrell against Lefty’s and Horst joins the team and fills in nicely in the next few years.

But in general I don’t understanding the thinking…especilly with Jimmy being injury prone the last few years…Valdez is MUCH better utility than Martinez.

I can say that Valdez def was a fan favorite and will be missed as a solid fill in player that brings it.

But who knows what Ruben is thinking on this one or if there is something else in the works.