Monday, July 28, 2008

Manny to Phillies update: Gillick says no

Rumors flew around the internet yesterday about the Red Sox wanting to part with Manny Ramirez and how the Phillies were his personal number one option. There has been plenty of speculation that the Phils have at least discussed going after him and that the Red Sox have inquired, but, according to The New York Times (article found via MLB Trade Rumors) GM Pat Gillick was quick to shoot down the possibility, saying "at this point, there’s no interest on our part, we have no place to play the guy."

Gillick is right, with Pat Burrell manning left field, the Phillies have no room for Manny. They can't move one of the two to right field and make the worst defensive outfield in major league history. So, despite FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal's rumor of the Phillies swapping Geoff Jenkins and prospect Lou Marson for Manny (which I would do in a heart beat), it looks like the Phils won't go after Ramirez. They will likely re-visit pursuing him in the off-season to replace Burrell, who will likely bolt via free agency.

Just for fun, here's what the Phillie line-up could look like if they got Manny:

Rollins
Utley
Ramirez
Howard
Burrell
Feliz
Victorino
Ruiz
Pitcher

That's scary.

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