Philadelphia Phillies Make Big Trades, Victorino and Pence Gone! More Coming?

By: Mike Gill 

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the San Francisco Giants have acquired Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies while Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Phillies have traded outfielder Shane Victorino to the Dodgers for right-handers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.

Two major deals and the Philadelphia Phillies might not be done just yet.

In dealing Victorino, the Phillies get back a good bullpen arm in Lindblom.  The 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.02 ERA and 43/18 K/BB ratio over 47 2/3 innings of relief this season.  Martin was the Los Angeles Dodgers first-round pick in 2008 and has maybe the highest ceiling among Dodgers pitching prospects.

Overall, reports are that the Phillies did pretty well in the deal for Victorino.

Tommy Joseph is headed to the Phillies basseball club as part of the Hunter Pence deal, according to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler.  He was the San Francisco Giants’ second-round pick in 2009 and is currently playing at the Double-A level.  He played in the Futures Game this season and just turned 21.  Pegged as San Francisco’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com, Joseph hit .260 with 8 HR and 38 RBI at Richmond prior to the proposed deal.

He could eventually replace Carlos Ruiz as the Philadelphia Phillies catcher after the 2013 season.

Phillies Surge Past Mets To Tie Giants For Wild Card Lead

Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against a left handed loaded Mets lineup, grabbing the Phillies the rubber game at Citi Field with a 3-1 victory. Brad Lidge picked up the save.

The victory kept the Phillies within two games of the National League East leading Atlanta Braves and pulled them into a tie with the San Francisco Giants for the Wild Card lead. The teams will square off in a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park starting Tuesday. Despite the intrigue of the match up, Philadelphia has attempted to downplay the significance of the upcoming series. “I never even look at the Wild Card,” Manuel said. “I don’t think about the Wild Card. Winning the division is what I look at.”