Phils Play Judas to Beloved Utley

Are the lights dimming on the Utley era?

The Phillies are trying to crucify Chase Utley.  In the process they are martyring him for anyone who cares to pay attention. 

The Cubs tried to trade for him in July while he was still on the DL.  Utley swatted that deal.

The Angels thought they had a deal Friday, but it fell through, and they've since publicly bowed out of the running.

The Giants gave up Tuesday.

That leaves the Yankees and Dodgers among teams who've expressed interest.  Utley has expressed interest in California, where he's from and makes his offseason home.  However, more than anything and with unwavering consistency, Utley has expressed devout interest in remaining a Phillies player.

Some are speculating that the Phils are declaring the Utley trade rumors "off" to up the ante.  However, many are speculating that it's Utley himself blocking these trades.

Utley, 36, signed a two-year contract extension in 2013 with vesting options for 2016-18. After 13 years with the organization, he had hoped to remain in Philly for the remainder of his career, but will likely become a free agent at the end of the year.

Since returning from an ankle injury, Utley has gone 13 for 26 in seven games with five doubles, five RBIs and a home run. Across the entire season, he is hitting just .213 with a .332 slugging percentage.

Because of his 10-and-5 rights, Utley has the authority to veto any trade, and with his contract likely to expire at the end of the season, he may want to ride it out with the Phillies, where he can get the most playing time between now and the end of the season, especially with the injury to Mikail Franco.  Franco is on the 15-day DL with a fractured left wrist, so Cesar Hernandez will spend a lot of time at third base now.  That means only Freddy Galvis might miss at-bats with Utley in the infield and how much difference will that really make for a few weeks?

Utley has clearly stated that he wants to play next year and play as a regular, not a pinch-hitter or platoon player.  Utley will be a free agent at end of season and his value-- and consequently the likelihood that he will be an everyday starter for a MLB team-- will be determined by what he does over the final few weeks of this season. 

Utley would have been happy to remain a Phillies player.  In fact, he stated that was what he wanted.   He proved it in 2013 when he re-signed with the team.  He even reiterated it in February of this year:

“Obviously I’ve said it before, I really enjoy playing with this organization,” Utley said. “They’ve done a lot for me, personally, and put together some pretty good teams over the years. So I have a lot of respect for the people making decisions. If you go back and look at 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, ’11 — they always gave us a chance to win. We’ve had some great opportunities over the years and I respect that.

“For as much respect as I have for the organization, if they ever came to me and asked me [to consider a trade], I would have to listen, but I don’t think much will change.” --Utley, 2/23/15

Now, the Phillies are pushing him out.  Before this latest move to try to trade him, the Phillies held him out on the DL long enough to prevent him from playing enough games to trigger the "vesting option" in his contract that would have extended his contract through next year, keeping him in Philadelphia.

Utley's 5 HR in '09 tied the all-time mark in 1 World Series.

This seems callous if not cruel, to Utley, but also to fans.  Utley isn't Jonathan Papelbon, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd or Ryan Howard.  The Phils sent the first 4 packing and tried desperately and publicly to get rid of Howard.  They even have offered to eat much of his millions just to be done with him.

With Papelbon, he had real star talent and trade value, but was blocking rookie Kenny Giles from taking over in the closer role.  Furthermore, Papelbon was unhappy in Philly and had said he wanted out publicly.  Ditto for Hamels.  Rollins and Byrd were veterans coming off successful seasons, who could command return while no longer served a higher purpose here.  Their work was done in Philly.  Rollins departure hurt, but his enthusiasm to embark on the next chapter of his career elsewhere made it easier to see him go.

Saying goodbye to Howard has been painful-- and ongoing.  He continues to diminish in skill and performance, while the Phils continue to be unsuccessful at finding him a suitor.  The result?  He eats up the middle of the order, while sucking down millions from the team.  Fans are left to mourn his shrinking image while being as surprised as management is scornful to see him in the lineup everyday.

However, Utley was an all-star starter just last year for the 6th time in his career.  Yes, it was based entirely on a torrid first half that catapulted him in fan votes (it helps that he is one of baseball's most popular figures nationwide).  However, he is swinging the bat really well right now.  As his manager, Ruben Amaro Jr. said this week:

"He's moving well.  His bat speed is very good. You can see his legs are underneath him. And it seems pretty clear that there was something going on in his ankle that was limiting him in some way, shape or form. He looks like he's pretty much a man on a mission."

More than all of this combined, he is one of the most beloved Phillies players of all-time.  He is a Philadelphia icon.  He is a reason people still trickle into Citizens Bank Park.

What are the Phillies truly gaining by trading him now, at this point?  The hope is they will get something in exchange for him.  They have already burned bridges by dipping into his pocket and taking millions away and freeing him up from his contract against his will via the whole extended DL stint.

So, at this point, if they have no intention of resigning him, which is clearly stated by their efforts to trade him in August, then trading him makes more sense than keeping him for a few more weeks to close out a season where they are baseball's worst team.

However, taking a step back, why did it come to this?  Why weren't they content, as he was-- significantly unlike Hamels, for example-- to have him play only for them and retire in a Phillies uniform. Would fans object to that?  What will management actually get in return for shedding themselves of Utley?  A prospect?  Likely, especially based on their track record in recent years, nothing worth mentioning.  In exchange, they are giving up a piece of team history and an opportunity to 'Derek Jeter' Utley, which is to enable him to remain, forevermore, a Philly player and icon, untarnished like Tony Gwynn for the Padres and Mike Schmidt for the Phils in a forgone era.  Utley wanted that.  Every indication is that he still does.  The Phillies soured on the marriage and are forcing Utley to split.  It doesn't seem right or fair to the player, his legacy or the fans and our devotion to the team.

When the going gets rough-- and this season they've hit rock bottom, we hope-- you stand by the flagships that call you home.  Utley is the one the Phils have left.  He beckons us to recall former years of glory.  His stoic, all out play and work ethic reminds us of why we love the game.  His commitment to the team is a commitment to us fans, a reminder that the future holds promise and that we should continue to believe in our team and our town.

The Phillies realize neither what they're doing nor the implications of who they're doing it to.