Ryan Madson K’s 6

Ryan Madson

6 Outs

6 K’s

Awesome

Philadelphia Phillies Extend Ruben Amaro Jr.

By Ben Nicholson-Smith at mlbtraderumors.com

Now that they’ve locked their manager up, the Phillies have moved on to the front office.  The Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. have finalized a contract extension, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  (Twitter link)

The Phillies promoted Amaro to GM after Pat Gillick retired following the team’s 2008 World Championship. Amaro, a seven-year veteran of the major leagues, spent ten years as an assistant GM before his promotion (1999-2008). You won’t find anyone with deeper ties to the Phillies; Amaro was a batboy for the team and he and his father both suited up for the Phils at the Major League level.

Amaro has traded for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt since taking over the team and later signed Lee as a free agent. The Phillies won the NL East in both 2009 and 2010, making it to the World Series in ’09 and to the NLCS in ’10. As MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker shows, Amaro has been aggressive with extensions, locking eight players up in two-plus seasons on the job.

Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News reported this morning that the extension was “virtually done” and that the two sides were putting the “finishing touches” on the agreement.

Backup Plans For Chase Utley

By Tim Dierkes [March 9, 2011 at 9:07am CST]

Phillies team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti released a statement this morning regarding second baseman Chase Utley; here’s an excerpt:

An MRI was obtained that demonstrated his prior tendinitis, chondromalacia, and bone inflammation.  His chondromalacia symptoms persisted in spite of focused non-operative care, including a cortisone injection.  A subsequent cartilage-specific MRI was obtained confirming the initial diagnosis.  Continued non-operative treatment is being carried out and additional opinions will be obtained.

Additionally, here are comments from GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and head trainer Scott Sheridan, passed along by MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.  Amaro at least is not considering the idea that Utley could miss the season.

ESPN’s Buster Olney presumes the Phillies are at least considering which second base candidates might become available this season.  We’ll start with his two speculative ideas, and add a few more.

• Chone Figgins, Mariners: Figgins’ value is at a low point, he’s owed $26MM over the next three years at the least, and switching him to second base again would be questionable.
• Jeff Keppinger, Astros: He’s making $2.3MM this year and is under team control for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.  He could be a good fit.
• David Eckstein, free agent: SI’s Jon Heyman made this suggestion on Twitter.  On a minor league deal, there’s no harm in adding Eckstein or a similar free agent.  Others include Willy Aybar, Julio Lugo, Bobby Crosby, and Cristian Guzman, although Guzman will miss at least the first half due to family issues.
• Michael Young, Rangers: Between Young’s contract and Adrian Beltre‘s injury, this is difficult to picture.  Plus it’d create another uncomfortable situation when Utley is ready to play.  Heyman tweets that while the Phillies have not been in contact with the Rangers lately, top scout Charley Kerfeld is following them and Young.
• Felipe Lopez, Rays: Lopez is battling with out of options Elliot Johnson for the Rays’ utility infielder job.  Johnson is dealing with a quad injury currently.  It’s possible Lopez has an opt-out if he doesn’t make the team.
• Luis Castillo, Mets: If Castillo is released the Phillies could take a look, but they might prefer their internal options.  Castillo would only cost the league minimum.
• Ramon Santiago, Tigers: He “could be a possibility” for the Phillies, tweets CBS’ Danny Knobler.

Internally, the Phillies have Wilson Valdez and Brian Bocock on the 40-man roster and Josh Barfield and Pete Orr as non-roster invitees.

Six days ago, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said regarding Utley’s injury, “I’m not going to be doing anything else because of this.  I mean, we’ll watch some of the other guys play, but we expect (Utley) to be our second baseman.”  Look for the Phillies to make a minor addition at most unless Utley’s condition takes a turn for the worse.

 

Read the full article here

Eagles Sign Michael Vick To One Year Pact

2010 Comeback Player of the year, Michael Vick, has signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Vick who was given the franchise tag on February 15th, signed the tender on Wednesday.

Under rules of the current collective bargaining agreement which expires at midnight tonight, a team must pay a franchise player the average of the top five salaries at his position.  That current value is approximately $20 million.

Vick had his most successful season as a professional in 2010, earning a starting spot in the Pro Bowl and leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 10-6 record and NFC East Championship in a season where many thought they would struggle to reach .500.   In week 1, Vick replaced an injured Kevin Kolb.  He set career highs in yards passing (3,018), touchdowns passing (21), touchdowns rushing (9), completion percentage (62.6) and passer rating (100.2).