Staff Blog
Trade Deadline Rumors
Rumor: The Phillies are apparently considering trading Olympic shortstop Jason Donald to the Royals in exchange for left hander reliever Ron Mahay.
My Thoughts: Awful move. Mahay is a 37 year old middle reliever who has never pitched in a big moment, Donald is a real prospect in a system that doesn’t have many. That said, Gillick wants to win now and if Mahay was in a bigger market he would be drawing a lot more public trade talk these days.
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Rumor: The Padres plan to ask right-hander Greg Maddux one more time if he
would consider a trade to a team that isn’t on the west coast. The Phillies have previously expressed interest in the righthander
My Thoughts: After the Blanton trade the only way this one happens is if it is a three-team deal involving Myers. The Phillies have seven guys who can start and there is no way Maddux accepts a trade to a team where his role would be in question.
Rumor: The Orioles want a young, front-line shortstop for closer George Sherrill. The Phillies would love to get Sherrill — GM
Pat Gillick and special assistant Charley Kerfeld signed Sherrill out
of the independent leagues when they were with the Mariners.
My Thoughts: This would be the situation to move Donald, but given the Os asking price thus far, that probably wouldn’t be enough to get a deal done.
Of course, if we’re hearing these rumors it is most likely because they have fallen through. We’ll try to keep you as updated as possible.
http://www.TheBaseballCube.com is an awesome website for minor league statistics. Here are the minor league stats for
Donald: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/D/Jason-Donald.shtml
Sherrill: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/George-Sherrill.shtml
Neither guys’ stats are mind-boggling, but I would be inclined to hold on to the guy who is only 24 (Donald). Sherrill isn’t even a prospect at 31, and it blows my mind that he is surviving as a closer while walking over 5 guys per 9 innings. If I were the Phillies I would be wary of picking up a guy who is about to get violently sodomized by the law of averages; especially when I am giving up a kid who could still turn into a good everyday shortstop.
Baseball Reference now has minor league stats as well. I post the links not because I dislike the Cube (I like it very much) but because B-R is local.
Donald
Sherrill
The Cube has Sherril’s indy league stats, which B-R does not.
That said, I’m with you. This team, over the years, has given up far too much for “veteran” relievers. And you’re right, Sherrill’s walk rate is terrifying, especially when you consider that most of our bullpen plays the same if-you-can’t-get-em-out-walk-em game.