Report: Phillies Players on the Block

ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Phillies have reached out to other teams to let them know Michael Young and others are available via trade – not surprising considing the Phillies have now lost seven straight games and are 1-7 since the all-star break.

Young is a free agent at the end of the year and has drawn interest from the Yankees, the Red Sox and Rangers, though a reunion in Texas reportedly won’t happen.  Young, is hitting .277 with seven homers on the year.

While Young seems like a shoe-in to be dealt, what about some of the other attractive names the Phillies have?  Last week, GM Ruben Amaro admitted that he will be willing to listen on any player and couldn’t definitively rule out trading anyone.

Amaro has publicly stated his desire to see Chase Utley play out the remainder of his career in Philadelphia and has said that developing another closer of Papelbon’s caliber would take time that the club doesn’t have.  It has also beem reported that coveted starter Cliff Lee is not among those players on the block but that teams are making calls to the Phillies about the starter.

Young however seems to be the one Phillie that you can be sure won’t be here after July 31.  Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com names the Orioles as a primary team involved in talks for Young, the versatile Young appears to make the most sense for Baltimore as a DH, Edes says.

Young also has a full no-trade clause, so he can effectively control the process, but so far it doesn’t seem likely that Young will balk at a deal to a contender.