A baseball source said this morning the Phillies are close to signing Placido Polanco to a three-year, $18 million contract. The contract also includes a fourth-year mutual option for 2013.
The deal is pending a physical. (Todd Zolecki)
It looks like the deal will be done soon if it is not already done. Polanco is another former Philadelphia athlete to return to the team in '09. I think it is a quality move for the Phils. He was a gold glove caliber player at second base and is one of the hardest guys to strike out in the majors. A good contact hitter will be a welcome addition to the lineup. He has not played third on a regular basis since he last played it for the Phils. He could be one of the better 7 hole hitters in the league if that is where he ends up. I would have rathered a 1 or 2 yr deal though.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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I like this... always felt Polanco was a solid player.
ReplyDeleteRumor is that he'll hit 2nd and Victo will move down.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to sign Polanco but not as a starter.
Did he ever play 3rd on a regular basis for the Phils?
Yeah - the one year Bell was hurt he played 3rd for the majority of the season. Only had like 1 error I think
ReplyDeleteActually he didn't play 3rd as much as I thought..I'm not worried about his defense though.
ReplyDeletePolanco is a smarter hitter than Victo so 2 hole might be the better fit.
From the Release:
ReplyDeletePolanco hit .285 with 10 home runs and 72 RBIs in 618 at-bats last season with Detroit. He hit .341 in 2007 and .307 in '08. Among all active Major League players, Polanco has the second-best career strikeout/plate appearance ratio at 15.39.
Polanco has batted above .300 in three of his last five seasons and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2007 and 2009. As a third baseman, Polanco has a .982 fielding percentage in 322 career games (266 starts).
Good to have Polanco and his giant freak-head back in town. Quintessential 2-hole hitter. Just what the Phils needed. They have plenty of guys that hit homers (or try to hit homers), they needed a guy that is situationally smart and can get on base.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that (Curb), he's a definite downgrade defensively from Feliz.
If it was up to me, I'd bat Victorino leadoff and move Rollins down.
Feliz was a top notch defensive player but was more often than not, a hole in the lineup. Polanco is a gold glove, switching positions so yeah he'll be a downgrade but I don't think too much of one. Solid upgrade overall.
ReplyDeleteRollins is not the perfect leadoff guy (and I think he is better suited for down in the lineup) but no, Victorino is not a better leadoff guy.