Phillies

UPDATE: Phillies “Could Be” Favorites to Land B.J. Upton, Josh Hamilton is Second or Third Option, Maybe

By Kyle Scott

Published: Nov 19th, 2012 · 1:27 PM EST

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As for B.J. Upton, some people involved say he could take more recruiting trips before deciding. For now, Phillies could be favorite.

— DKnobler (@DKnobler) November 19, 2012

Not much here other than the Tweet. The Phillies could be favorites to land B.J. Upton, according to CBS Sports' Danny Knobler. Upton would be their best option, in my opinion. More on Upton from our post two weeks ago.

UPDATE: Following up on the B.J. Upton report, Jon Heyman, also of CBS Sports, confirms that the Phillies are indeed interested in B.J. (aren’t we all?), but also that Josh Hamilton is their third option: [CBS Sports]

The Phillies are believed to have superstar outfielder Josh Hamilton as a fallback option in case B.J. Upton and Michael Bourn can't be signed. So Hamilton is at least on their radar.

Beyond that, it is hard to tell exactly where the best and highest-profile position player on the free-agent market stands with anyone. (And that isn't especially helpful since he isn't the first or second option there, it appears.)

The Phillies are eyeing Upton and Bourn at the moment. That could be because both those players are center fielders in their 20s or because of the price or both.

But the Phillies are at least known to be looking at Hamilton. "I don't think there's a whole lot we're not considering," Phillies president and CEO Dave Montgomery said when asked specifically about Hamilton. 

 

That’s hardly concrete, but as Heyman notes, the Phillies are the only team to at least be somewhat, sort of, maybe just a little interested in Hamilton at the moment. I wonder if he’d sign a contract on a Sunday?