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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
If the 2014 Phillies are a failure, one has to hope it's limited to 2014. After all, the 2012 and 2013 Phillies were already bad teams that shed some talent. Looking ahead to 2015 though, it's hard to shed the entire roster. Two starting pitchers, five position players, and a reliever are under contract, for around $125 million. One position playing starter is under club control, and two are eligible for arbitration. Three starting pitchers are free agents. One reliever is arbitration eligible, the rest of the spots are either under club control or free agents. One bench bat is under club control, the rest are either arbitration eligible or free agents.
With all that in mind, the 2015 team begins to take shape.
Rotation-
All of this is pending the trade deadline, but the Phillies could go into the 2015 off-season with Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and David Buchanan either signed or under control. It is possible that any combination of Jon Pettibone, Miguel Gonzalez, Adam Morgan, or even Severino Gonzalez, Jesse Biddle, or Aaron Nola could be considered. The Phillies may have to pick one of these names if they trade an arm. I'd assume at least one free agent signing to be in here.
Line-Up-
Assumedly right now, Chooch, Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Byrd are all under contract, and would be back unless traded. Assumedly Byrd is on the block right now, and the other two outfielders don't seem up to be long-term starters, so the entire outfield could be different. It would appear likely that the infielders would all be back, though I could see Asche being converted to an outfielder if Franco comes up. Rollins and Utley could be off-season shopped, but it seems unlikely at this point.
Bullpen-
Let's start from the premise that Papelbon will be traded and Adams won't be back. This leaves Antonio Bastardo as a question mark for 2015. Beyond that, it's fairly straight forward. Giles, Diekman, Hollands, and De Fratus appear to be big league caliber relievers right now, and I'd assume they're back. One can assume at least two more big league spots could be filled internally. This means they'd have to choose between Bastardo and a free agent of some level.
Bench-
The Phillies bench is due to look better. If Darin Ruf isn't a starting outfielder, he could certainly fill a bench spot. Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis could too. If the Phillies decide Ben Revere is a bench piece, he could be considered. I'd like to see Grady Sizemore get an honest look though as a fourth outfielder. Behind the plate, Cameron Rupp could be an option behind the plate, if Nieves isn't back.
