Phillies

More Evidence That the Phillies Can’t Trade Anybody

By Kyle Scott

Published: Jul 31st, 2014 · 8:58 AM EDT

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The bow tie man himself, little baby Ken Rosenthal, writes that rival executives feel the Phillies are seeking too much in return for their aging, expensive stars. But “sources” (that you, Rube?) countered by saying the Phillies were willing to pay large chunks of outgoing salary. The bow tie man explains what we all know:

The stalemate is unlikely to be resolved in the final hours leading to the deadline. The back-and-forth only will intensify. But really, the argument misses the point: The seeds of this mess were sown long ago.

The Phillies are dealing with too many onerous contracts, too many no-trade obstacles, too many vesting options – too much to undo at one non-waiver deadline.

If general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is to blame – an all but inescapable conclusion at this point – it’s not because of what might happen Thursday. It’s because of all that happened before.

This comes on the heels of Todd Zolecki saying the Phillies might not be able to get a deal done, and Howard Eskin positively hurling shit at a wall:

See all these trade rumors but I'm being told @phillies have less than 50% chance of trade before thur deadline. More likely waivers in Aug

— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) July 30, 2014

Buster Olney also states the obvious:

What's most surprising about PHI's inaction is this: It's so clear that the current team/plan isn't working. In the standings,or the stands.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2014