Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Reasons They Should Sell
Reasons Why Philadelphia Phillies Should Sell
The MLB trade deadline is now four days away. Teams will be trading players and gaining new ones to get ready for the playoffs. Or teams will be selling players and be rebuilding their team for the future. It will be an exciting next few days in baseball.
The Philadelphia Phillies have not exactly made up their minds on what they are going to do. Last night, they made a surprise signing. They signed the Cuban right hand pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. The surprising part is they signed him for $50 million over six years. He is only 26 years old. Hopefully, he will grow with the team well. It was just surprising the way things are going now.
The Phillies are currently on a six game losing streak. They dropped a series to the New York Mets and were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. They lost the first game in a three game series against the Detroit Tigers last night. If the Phillies want to try and savor this season they need to figure out what is going wrong.
With the way things are going, the best thing to do would be to sell. Give the veterans a chance, such as Michael Young, at winning a World Series. It could take time for the Phillies to be able to rebuild and be contenders for the playoffs. As difficult as it is to say goodbye to a player, this is a game. They should be listening to the offers because those offers are not going to be around forever. The Phillies should be sellers right now and here is why.
9 Games Out of First Place
The Phillies have major ground to make up to catch the Braves who are in first place in the National League East. The Phillies cannot have long losing streaks like this. They need to have six game winning streaks. They also have been back and forth between second place with the Washington Nationals. They have to find a way to break away and that seems near impossible at this point.
Injuries
The Phillies have had their share of injuries this season and they just keep coming. The biggest were to the outfielders Ben Revere and Domonic Brown. They were two of their offensive hitters and brought life to the team. With them both being out it has left an empty space in the outfield, which has been hard on the team trying to fill their spots. There have also been injuries to the pitchers--both starters and the bullpen. They have been able to get through this the best they can, but it has still been hard and put them in the spot where they should sell.
Offense
The Phillies offense has been absolutely terrible this season. They are tied for 14th out of 30 in all of baseball with a team average of .256. They have not been able to give much run support to their starting pitchers, especially Cole Hamels. The pitchers can’t be the only ones keeping the team in the game. Baseball is a two way sport. Both sides--the offense and pitchers--have to contribute. The Phillies should consider selling and getting players that can provide offense for the future.
The Bullpen
The bullpen has been shaky all season. It is mostly filled with rookies. They have given up many leads and have kept everyone on their toes. They have also not been able to fully rely on their closer Jonathan Papelbon. He has blown five saves so far this season. The Phillies should consider selling and focusing on reconstructing their bullpen. The bullpen should be a strong point for a team. The Phillies do not have that at this point and need to look to improve that.
No Heart
It has been a long season for the Phillies. It has not gone their way at all. The team just seems exhausted and that they have no fight left in them. The fans of Philadelphia deserve a team that is going to fight for every game and show that it wants to win. If that means waiting a year or so then that is better than dealing with a team who does not seem to care anymore. Selling and rebuilding will give the team a fresh start. A fresh start seems to be what the Phillies need.
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