To sign “Doc” or not to sign “Doc”? That is the question. Well, actually the Phils have many questions to be answered heading into the off-season. Hernandez or Revere for CF? Or do they look outside the organization? Is Asche the future 3B? If so, what do they do with Franco? Do they make a run at Brian McCann (FA to be) or do they bring back Chooch. Has Ruf done enough to win the job in right-field? Or do they make a run at Nelson Cruz, who they can likely get cheap now. Has Rosenberg and Diekman earned a spot in the pen next season?
I mean, I could keep going here. There is just a ton of questions that need to be answered over the next few weeks of this season and the off-season. You could say that the Phils have a plethora.
To go back to my main point, should the Phils bring back Doc next season? That might be the hardest question for Amaro to answer. The Phils have Hamels, Lee, newly acquired Gonzales as their likely top three in next’s year’s rotation. The last two spots are wide open. Kendrick seemed to have one of those spots locked up in the first half of the season, but now? Not so much… I like to call him Mr. “Non-Tender”.
Jonathan Pettibone was decent, until he had shoulder issues. Ethan Martin looks to be better suited for the pen. I mean, I would think that the Phills would like to go with one veteran and one kid in those 4th and 5th spots. Let’s just say that Phils give Jessie Biddle the 5th spot for the fun of it. That is where the veteran comes into play. I know some might like another kid in that spot, but Amaro is always looking to reload and make another run. You might not agree with it, but that’s Amaro.
One of the few players that the Phils can maybe look at would be Phil Hughes (former 18 game and 16 game winner), He is just 28 years-old and leaving the AL could be recipe for success for him. Phils could get him for around 5-6 million I would think. I am not really crazy about him, but he is an option.
Another guy they could look at could be Ubaldo Jimenez (likely to void the last year of his contract). The 30 year-old has been very good of late for the Indians, showing the flashes of when he was dominant for the Rockies. His problem over the past few years has been control issues. He has averaged around 4 BB/per 9 innings over the past 4 seasons. Well, actually he has average 4.1 BB/per 9 innings for his career. Amaro loves taking chances on those “low-risks, high-reward” type of players. Or is it ‘high-risk, low-reward”? Whatever…
There are others out there. There is Paul Maholm, Jason Vargas, and Bronson Arroyo. All those fit that 4th starter types. Now, that leaves us with “Doc”.
The two-time CY Young Award winner has an ERA of 5.07 in four games back from shoulder surgery. Overall, he is 3-4 with 7.28 ERA. In his last outing, he couldn’t escape the fifth inning after walking four consecutive batters for the first time in his career. His fastball is topping out at 87 mph, though Doc has never been labeled as power-pitcher anyway. His best year was in 2008, when his fastball average in-between 92-93 mph, according Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News.
His main issue is his control. The dude has no clue where the hell the ball is going. Doc himself, and us fans are not used to seeing anything like this from him. That is likely why Doc looked ready to have aneurysm on the mound the other day. Obviously, the main reason for his control issue is the shoulder surgery (still amazing how quick he returned from it). In 2006 through 2012, he only averaged 36.8 BB a year. This year has he 31 BB in just 11 starts. His control issues can be straightened out by the more he gets comfortable and finds his arm slot again.
By next spring training, Doc should be throwing around 90 mph again. To be honest, it’s not like he getting knocked around out there. Overall he has only given up 51 hits in 55 innings, and since returning from the DL, he as given up 18 hits in 21.1 innings. Like I said before, he just doesn’t know where the ball is going right now.
I might be in the minority here, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Doc back in a Phils uniform again. I know, I am not getting the “old” Doc, but I believe that guy still knows how to pitch. The Phils would not be asking him to be a number 1 anymore. They would be asking him to be a 4th starter.
