Phillies Rumors: Chase Utley expected to sign contract soon

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

While it appears that Ryan Howard is waiting to receive an offer to play in 2017, his longtime teammate Chase Utley reportedly has multiple and is nearing a decision. 

Per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the 38-year-old is likely to sign with a team soon: 

chase utley has multiple offers, and is expected to pick one relatively soon

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 31, 2017

In his first full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Utley slashed .278/.361/.472 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs. He did have a six hit game in July, but didn't post an average higher than .253 in any month after May. 

While the Dodgers don't seem completely out of the picture to re-sign Utley, a return for a second full season with the Dodgers does seem unlikely after the team acquired Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays last week. It doesn't seem impossible that Utley stays in Los Angeles, however, as the Angels could use Utley in a platoon with Danny Espinosa. Even that seems less than likely, though. 

Teams like the San Diego Padres or Atlanta Braves could seemingly be fits for Utley in some capacity, though it's fair to wonder after a disappointing second half last year exactly what that capacity is. Utley certainly is capable of starting three to four days a week, but he's probably best suited to be in a platoon situation at this advanced stage of his career.