Were the Philadelphia Phillies Wrong to Trade Vance Worley

Were the Philadelphia Phillies wrong in trading Vance Worley to the Minnesota Twins? It depends on your perspective of what is more valuable, hitting or pitching, but overall I’d say no.

I’m bringing this up because Vance Worley was named the Opening Day starter by the Twins. Did you hear that? Every Phillies fan in the Delaware Valley just said “How?!?” at the exact same time. How isn’t a bad question, Vance has been dismal so far this spring, or so his 6.35 ERA suggests. Like I said, Worley is opening for the Twins, and Roy Halladay isn’t inspiring confidence in Phillies nation, so it leads to the inevitable ‘what if we still had the Vanimal?” question.

An argument for the trade being a mistake would involve ignoring spring training statistics, which most people do anyway, so I’m fine with it. If Vance Worley turns into a reliable number three starter for the next few years, and Ben Revere disappoints then I would call the trade a disaster, but I do not think that is going to happen.

What did the Twins get by acquiring Vance Worley? They got a young pitcher who has enjoyed medium success on a winning team (2011 Phillies). He provides Minnesota a much needed major league ready arm on a team full of highly touted prospects and seasoned veterans. Vance went 11-3 as a rookie with a 3.01 ERA in 2011, and followed it up in 2012 with a 6-9 record and a 4.20 ERA. I think Vance caught some rookie magic in 2011, and his 2012 numbers are more accurate.

The Phillies unloaded a young pitcher at the height of his value to fill a need. That’s how trades are supposed to work, and its not the first time the Phillies have done it (remember J.A. Happ?). Just because the Twins are happy with the Worley investment doesn’t mean that it was a mistake for the Phillies. Ben Revere is a promising outfielder that will progress better than Worley over the next three years.