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The Phillies might not trade Chase Utley. The lifetime Phillies standout is (understandably) picky about where he goes, preferring the West Coast and a contender who will play him regularly, which, respectively, eliminates the Cubs and the Giants. The Dodgers are looking for outfield help in Boston, which might take them out on Utley given their already crowded bench and the imminent return of Howie Kendrick. The Phillies might not even want to trade him, either, since they are rebuilding and don’t have a replacement worth pushing Utley aside for (no, Cesar Hernandez’s low-power, BABIP-inflated summer does not count). Utley’s vesting option will become a club option and lose some monetary value, so there is no rush to push him out unless they really believe it’s time to move on, or if Utley wants out himself.
Whether Utley is traded or he stays put, he’s likely to be useful. His bat was at its worst at the beginning of the year, and his OPS was just .403 on May 14. He rebounded and looked something like the Utley of old for about a month after that before once again struggling and landing on the disabled list for roughly six weeks. But since his return, he’s done nothing but hit. Utley is batting .291/.353/.433 overall since May 15, and while his season line is unlikely to fully recover, it’s what he does from here on out that matters to both the Phils and anyone looking to deal for him.
Utley still has something left to offer. He’s hitting the ball harder since returning from his ankle injury, and we’re talking about a down six weeks or so from a potential Hall of Famer who, as recently as last season, was still a well above-average contributor. Whoever ends up with Utley should be happy for the rest of 2015. The question is who that team is going to be.
Update 10:35 am: Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro took to the radio on Tuesday morning to say that it’s “likely” Utley is sticking in Philly for the rest of 2015.
- After a very active international signing period, the Dodgers released multiple people from their international scouting department.
- The Nationals are in trouble in 2015, and they might be in just as bad of shape in 2016, too.
- Given their respective distances from the National League Wild Card race, we do know that one of the Nationals or Mets will have their hearts broken this year.
- Minor leaguer David Denson, who came out as the first openly gay ballplayer on an MLB affiliate, doesn't have to actually make it to the MLB level to have a lasting impact on the game.
- The 2015 postseason schedule has been released, with the only planned days off coming during the World Series once again. There might be November baseball this fall, too, as Game 5 of the World Series is set for Nov. 1.
- Jackie Bradley has not proven he's actually a quality big-league hitter with his performance over the last two weeks, but he's giving you some reasons to believe this is different than the other times.
- One start after making it into the seventh inning while striking out 11 batters, rookie Carlos Rodon tossed his first complete game. He's been blown out a few times in 2015, but you can see this future rotation leader putting things together otherwise.
- Yankees pitcher Bryan Mitchell was struck in the face by a line drive and suffered nasal fractures. Thankfully, he's already been released from the hospital.
- A 5-year-old girl threw out the first pitch at the Orioles game on Monday, with the aid of a 3D-printed prosthetic hand.
- Is it championship or bust for the Royals, whose window won't be open forever?
- The Giants aren't in the best position right now, according to playoff odds, but here's how you can feel a little better about that. Or worse, if you dislike the Giants.
- When the Yankees and Blue Jays faced off this past weekend, 9 percent of Canada was watching. 9 percent!
- Should MLB look to eliminate divisions in order to create better playoff matchups? A separate postseason thought from Dayn Perry is to let the top seed in each league choose its first-round opponent, rather than having it be the winner of the wild card game.
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