Phillies Trade Vance Worley For Ben Revere Because Having Zero Outfielders Is Probably Bad For A Baseball Team
MLB – The Phillies will not leave the Winter Meetings empty handed. Multiple sources confirmed to MLB.com this morning the Phillies have acquired outfielder Ben Revere in a trade with the Minnesota Twins. Right-hander Vance Worley and right-handed prospect Trevor May are headed to Minnesota in the deal. Revere hit .294 with 13 doubles, six triples, 32 RBIs, 40 stolen bases and 70 runs scored in 511 at-bats last season. He also carried a .333 on-base percentage and a .342 slugging percentage.
I dig it. The Phillies have broken their offseason silence and have begun what I believe is the first of a few key moves that will go a long way to evening the playing field of the NL East.
It may not be the type of move that makes your dick stand up right now–but it could later.
Enter Ben Revere.
The Phillies and Twins finalized a trade earlier this afternoon that sent fan-favorite Vance Worley and one of the team’s top prospects in Trevor May to Minnesota for th3 24-year-old speedy center fielder that should lockdown the Phillies’ leadoff spot and solidify their outfield defense.
Of all the things you can accuse me of, being a homer isn’t one of them, so let’s be clear that I didn’t have to put down by red pom-poms to write this. Is the Revere move in a vacuum one that’s going to send the Phillies back to the postseason? Probably not, but it’s a big step in the right direction.
Revere is young, hits for average, and can run like the wind–his 40 stolen bases in 2012 was third in the American League. His pre-arbitration eligible contract will provide the team financial flexibility to add power at a corner outfield spot which they’ll need to do because Revere couldn’t hit a fucking home run if he swung from second base. He has 0 home runs in 1,064 career plate appearances.
He stacks up pretty well for the stat geeks, too. He posted a solid WAR of 2.4 a year ago.
As he enters his fourth Major League season, Revere probably won’t find a sudden power stroke, but there is growth to improve his patience at the plate. He walked only 29 times a year ago, good for only one walk every 19.07 plate appearances. As a point of comparison, the notoriously aggressive Jimmy Rollins walked once every 11.27 plate appearances. Still, Revere’s on-base percentage was 17 points higher than Rollins, who will likely move to second or sixth in the lineup as it’s currently constructed.
Which leads us to what’s next. This move not only doesn’t preclude the team from adding another outfield upgrade, it actually makes it more likely. Signing players like Cody Ross and Nick Swisher would seemingly make sense, or acquiring another Minnesota outfielder via trade (Josh Willingham) makes sense on the surface.
As for Worley, the guy was a nice player here and many fans will be sad to see him go, but he’s replaceable. People in this city get way too carried away with players like Worley—a gritty player with likable traits and a cool nickname. Guy is okay and all, but he’s not fucking Cy Young. Look for the Phillies to add a veteran arm to round out the rotation—I don’t think Tyler Cloyd is the guy.
It’s not a blockbuster deal, and it’s not going to put the Phillies over the top, but it’s a smart trade and is a good first step to getting back atop the NL East. Now Ruben Amaro Jr. has to finish the job.
Today, in useless National League baseball information…
@chicagomatt It’s not useless for Phillies fans you dumb fuck Cuppie.
^this is the Philly site, you moron
meant for Chigagomutt
so the phillies still think they’re contenders huh? that’s cute.
good trade…well see
Where to begin…I guess the best spot would be to point out that Nats gave up Alex Meyer and got Denard Span. A better player for a fraction of the price. But aside from that your reasoning is baffling. They bring in Revere on the cheap, which is good, but it just leaves the window open for RAJ to overspend on someone else, while at the same time leaving a hole in the rotation and dealing someone who would have filled that hole. Revere is fast, but all his value is defensive if he can’t learn how to take a walk. Why not keep the mid rotation starter, don’t sign a shitty veteran arm and give up less to get more in Span? I prefer mo’s complete lack of coverage to your Jon Heyman-esque sports knowledge.
A gritty player with likeable grit. Nice insight Rizzo.
So you don’t like them obtaining someone cheap because RAJ will overspend to upgrade elsewhere? That’s not preferable to not having the ability to sign anyone or overspending in two spots? Come on, man.
Because the options for the things the Phillies actually need aren’t there and if Denard Span could have been had for cheaper it’s a much more preferable option. They could have fielded an outfield of Brown, Ruf, and Mayberry while using Gillies as a possible 4th OF or looked other places for a cheap 4th OF. It’s not that Revere isn’t good, but without knowing what the money saved ends up being used for the deal doesn’t do a whole lot for me because now we are down 1 starter and 1 potential mid rotation starter and gain 1 more OF who can’t hit for power at all, which is an issue that was supposed to be addressed this offseason. They have no power on this team but if RAJ decides to throw a few mil at a 1 year rotation fill in and wait until there is something of clear value that won’t cost a ton of money or commitment then the trade works. But if he throws a horrid combination of money/years at Hamilton its shit.
Span was hurt for 2/3 of last year and revere was hitting like .340 in the first half. rizzo this is a really well-written blog when you ease off on the f-bombs you can see some insightful baseball knowledge in there