Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Cliff Lee…

Update:

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired LHP Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco from the Cleveland Indians. The Indians will receive minor-leaguers Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson.

This is a great move by the Phillies for three reasons:

1. They get a very, very good LHP in Lee not only for this year, but for next year as well. Lee has a $8 million club option for 2010, which I am sure the Phillies will pick up.
2. They didn’t have to give up top prospects Kyle Drabek, John Mayberry Jr., or Dominic Brown.
3. They get the right-handed bat off the bench they have been searching for since spring training. Remember, they tried to sign Gary Sheffield before he signed with the New York Mets.

I will have more on the players the Indians recieved later.

This trade also means that any leverage the Toronto Blue Jays had in trading Roy Halladay just went out the window.

Original Post:

According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Philadelphia Phillies have focused their attention on Cleveland Indians left-handed ace Cliff Lee. While everyone thought the Phillies would land Roy Halladay (still might happen), Lee is not bad fall back option.

Not only would they get last year’s Cy Young winner who is having a very good year this year, but the Phillies wouldn’t have to give up top prospects Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown for Lee.

Pairing Lee and Cole Hamels would make the Phillies very tough to beat in a short playoff series.

More on this story as it develops.

Fantasy Week In Review, June 22-28…

The last full week of June means an end to interleague play and a return to normalcy in baseball. Last week was a really interesting week for fantasy baseball. How interesting? Two words – Chad Gaudin.

That’s right, Chad Gaudin was a fantasy stud last week. Here are the other players who were studs last week, along with players who are cause for concern, and a couple of players who might be worth picking up.

Fantasy Studs

Hanley Ramirez – .385/3/15. Even if Josh Beckett helps the Red Sox win 10 more World Series, Theo Epstein would still rather have Hanley Ramirez.

Alex Rodriguez – .368/2/9/.571. Getting lap dances from Kate Hudson in Miami has really rejuvenated the “fatigued” Arod.

Ramirez had a monster fantasy week

Lance Berkman – .389/2/7 with two SB’s. The “Big Puma” has finally decided to join us this year.

Aaron Hill – .346/4/8. If the season ended today, Hill would be in the top five in MVP voting.

David Ortiz – .333/2/5. All of a sudden I don’t hear anyone saying the Red Sox need a DH anymore.

Aaron Cook – 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA and eight K’s in 15 IP. Sooner or later, this guy should get the credit he deserves. He is a very good pitcher.

Chad Gaudin – 2-0 with a 1.20 and 20 K’s in 15 IP. Gaudin threw a one-hitter over eight innings in Texas. I don’t care who you are, that is impressive.

Francisco Liriano – 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA and 12 K’s in 12 IP. It’s good to finally see Liriano get back on track. His seven walks last week were not welcomed, but fantasy owners will take the wins from Liriano.

Reasons for Concern

Adrian Beltre – As I wrote earlier today, Beltre will have surgery to remove bone spurs in his shoulder. Beltre will be out six to eight weeks, thus pretty much ending his fantasy contributions this year.

Beltre is expected back in late August/early September.

Josh Outman – Outman was placed on the 60-Day DLand will visit Dr. James Andrews today. See you in 2011 Mr. Outman.

Mike Lowell – Lowell is getting an injection in his ailing hip today. That just sounds painful. If Lowell doesn’t respond to the injection, there is a chance Lowell could land on the DL.

Lowell is having a good year so far with a .282 average, 10 HR’s, and 41 RBI. Keep an eye on this situation, because losing Lowell for any period of time would be hurtful to your fantasy team.

Matt Lindstrom – Lindstrom is out for six weeks because of an elbow sprain. Lindstrom was shaky at best as the Marlins closer (6.52 ERA and walked 20 in 29 IP), so it’s not like he was pitching like the second coming of Bruce Sutter.

John Maine – Maine was supposed to start Saturday night in Brooklyn, but had to be scratched because of shoulder discomfort. Maine expects to be back after the All-Star break.

“After the All-Star break” in Mets language means Maine won’t be back until September.

Possible Pickups

Leo Nunez/Dan Meyer – Meyer has a 2.03 ERA and is a much better option at this point than Leo Nunez and his 4.01 ERA. However, with Lindstrom on the DL, both of them figure to get an opportunity to save games for the Florida Marlins.

I would wait to see how Fredi Gonzalez plays this. Once he makes his decision as to who is going to get the majority of the saves, pick up that option. Nunez or Meyer should get you some cheap saves, if you need them.

Carlos Carrasco – Carrasco is expected to be called up from Triple-A to face the Braves on Thursday night. Despite not having the greatest year in Triple-A (4.92 ERA), Carrasco has long been one of the Phillies’ top prospects.

It might good a idea to pick Carrasco up now before someone else does. With the Phillies starting staff struggling, if Carrasco pitches well, he might find himself with the Phillies longer than expected.

Myers Done For The Season….

In the latest injury out of “Hipgate,” Philadelphia Phillies RHP Brett Myers has decided to undergo hip surgery that will keep him out approximately three months. When asked if an autumn return was possible? Myers said it was a “longshot.” Myers joins Carlos Delgado, Mike Lowell, Alex Gordon, Alex Rodriguez, Fausto Carmona and fellow teammate Chase Utley as players who have suffered a significant hip injury in the last 12 months. Something fishy is going on here. 

Myers will be wincing more after hip surgery

Losing Myers is a big blow to the defending champs already weak starting rotation. Even though Myers has a 4.66 ERA and has given up a major league leading 17 HR’s this year, he still was 4-3  and did provide the Phillies with stability in the rotation during the first month and a half of the season. Phillies rank dead last in the NL in starter’s ERA (5.89), so Myers was pitching better than most of their starters.

In the short term, it looks like the Phillies will call up a starter from their minor league system. GM Ruben Amaro Jr named Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Carrasco, Drew Carpenter, Rodrigo Lopez or Antonio Bastardo as potential options to replace Myers.

In the long term, it’s pretty clear the Phillies will need to make a trade.Buster Olneyin his blog mentioned Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt, Erik Bedard, Brad Penny, Zach Duke, Jason Marquis or John Garland could be option for the Phillies. Peavy, Oswalt and Bedard would cost the Phillies a king’s ransom, while Duke, Marquis, Garland and Penny would be much more cost effective options.

It will be interesting to see if the Phillies can weather this storm. JA Happ has pitched well since being moved into the starting rotation, but right now their only reliable starter is Cole Hamels. If you are a Phillies fan, look at it like this. Despite Hamels missing the first month, the starting rotation being the worst in the NL, Lidge being terrible and Jimmy Rollins hitting .227 you are only a half a game out of first place. Pretty encouraging.