Hard to not see this one coming.
According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino has a lot of teams who have interest in his services. According to him, Victorino may be the first to go this season.
Something that should grab your attention: A high-ranking executive with one club predicted that Victorino will be the first of the big-name players to move. But he’s having the poorest of his eight seasons in Philadelphia, with a .179 batting average over his past 10 games.
The Dodgers are known to have interest in Victorino, who would supply the offense they’ve lacked in left field while perhaps becoming the leadoff man. Other teams that have scouted Victorino recently include the Rangers, Tigers, Pirates, Marlins and Giants.
Victorino, 31, is in his last year of a three-year extension that he signed in 2009. The centerfielder has definitely seen his best days, as he was a core member of the Phillies 2008 World Series run. Along with that core, only Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, and Cole Hamels remain from the team that brought this city a championship.
It seems that Victorino has not been playing up to the way he should be during a contract year. In 89 games this season, Victorino is batting .245 with 8 HR and 38 RBI. Victorino is making $9.5MM this season and it is almost guaranteed that he will be asking way more than he's worth in the offseason as a free agent. So it's a good move that the Phillies are trying to move a still-young outfielder they know they can't sign.
Follow Erik on Twitter @ErikSeyboldPHI.
