We all knew this day was coming, but it appears that it’s finally arrived – the Philadelphia Phillies are breaking up their team. The more significant move was rumored earlier today – Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The club also traded reliever Antonio Bastardo to the Pirates.
Industry source says Rollins to Dodgers is done deal.
— Jim Salisbury (@JimSalisbury215) December 10, 2014
pirates acquire antonio bastardo from phils
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 10, 2014
The return for Bastardo wasn’t significant – 23-year old Joely Rodriguez, who pitched to a 4.84 ERA, with 73 strikeouts and 43 walks in 134 innings at AA in 2014. The return for Rollins isn’t immediately known past “two young pitchers“, but it’s not expected to be a bounty of prospects for Philadelphia.
But more importantly, this tells us that the Phillies appear committed to a rebuild. They’ve also been talking about Marlon Byrd with the Orioles this week, and rumors about Cole Hamels will never stop swirling until a trade goes down. When you also figure that the Phillies will likely be desperate to dump both Jonathan Papelbon and Ryan Howard because of their massive contracts, we could be looking at a vastly different team next season in the City of Brotherly Love.
Buckle up, Phillies fans – this is only the beginning
