Bit of Phillies news for you on a Monday afternoon via Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
We all know that the Phils’ rotation needs help.
These are the numbers the Phillies starters are currently posting, with their MLB ranks in parentheses:
4.57 ERA (17th)
8.14 K/9 (20th)
1.69 HR/9 (26th)
1.36 WHIP (17th)
4.87 FIP (21st)
Not great, as you can see. Greinke and Ray would both be upgrades at the top of the rotation behind Aaron Nola.
Greinke is making $35 million per year over the next two seasons and is 35 years old. He has the Phillies on his no-trade list, so that would need to be waived for him to come here. He was again named an All-Star this season and has a 2.93 ERA over the course of 135 innings pitched.
Ray is a lefty and is currently posting a solid 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, though he’s walking 4.4 batters per nine at the same time. Still an upgrade though. He’s arbitration eligible after this season and making just over $6 million dollars this year. He’d be a free agent after the 2020 season, so you’d have to give up more to get a guy who is not a rental and relatively affordable as well.