The Phillies Have Traded Chase Utley To The Dodgers

The Phillies’ much-reported deal to send Chase Utley back home to California (and to Jimmy Rollins) to play with the Dodgers is finally complete. The deal was first reported by Jon Heyman earlier this afternoon:

The Phillies have agreed to trade veteran second baseman Chase Utley plus $2 million for two minor-leaguers to the Dodgers, sources confirmed. The deal has not been signed yet, though both sides have agreed to the trade … In recent talks, the Dodgers were not offering to extend Utley, whose deal runs out after the year.

At least he’ll be with Jimmy. Utley leaves as the sixth all-time player in Phillies history in runs, total bases, and home runs, and he’s got the second best WAR in team history. The Dodgers really could have hammered this thing through during the game to give Chase a final, official, send off in front of the fans, but like Dodgers fans themselves, they weren’t paying attention until the seventh inning.

In return for Utley, the Phillies will reportedly get INF/OF Darnell Sweeney and RHP John Richy, both ranked as mid-level prospects.