As the Red Sox and Cardinals draw close to the end of the World Series, one thing is certain for Phillies fans.
HOT STOVE IS ALMOST HERE!!
Ahh hot stove. That glorious period between the end of the World Series and the beginning of spring training when hope springs eternal, rumors flow like wine, and every team has a chance to get better. And as much as you might try and pretend that you value prospects, or cost certainty, there's a place deep down in your dark twisted soul that would sell the farm in a heartbeat for Giancarlo Stanton or Mike Trout. (or Hunter Pence, if you're Ruben Amaro... but let's not go there.)
Whether the Phillies do something so incredibly stupid bold this offseason remains to be seen, but it stands to reason that, with the lack of game changing talent on the free agent market, and the reality that in today's world, free agency means paying above market value, there's better than even money odds that Ruben Amaro will be exploring the trade market vigorously this off-season.
Maybe he moves cost controlled talent for a big bat.
Perhaps he looks to unload premium high cost talent for young cost controlled future value.
It could be as simple as a few decent prospects for a relief pitcher, or maybe its a certified blockbuster deal.
Regardless, the Phillies have assets, tradeable ones, and some of them are probably gone by April.
Next week the Staff will unveil their consensus top ten trade assets, but this is YOUR chance to get in on the fun.
In the comments section we're asking each of you to rank the Phillies tradeable assets from 1-10. Here's how it works:
- Simply rank players 1-10, with 1 being the player with the most value.
- For every vote cast, a player gets points. 10 for first through 1 for 10th.
- Don't worry about no trade clauses, or whether they'll get moved, or whether you want them to be traded. We're only grading on pure value here.
- Value is subjective. You determine how you rank it. Not us.
- Players drafted in 2013 can't be included, so no JP Crawford, since he can't be traded this off-season.
- All lists added to the comments section by 6 PM Sunday evening will be included in the fan tally.
- We'll tally all the points cast, and rank them, 1-10 based on most points per person.
Next week, we'll compare the staffs rankings with the fan rankings in an sarcastic and hate filled in depth analysis piece ripe with nuggets of quality information, and realistic scenarios.
Let's have some fun with this, because lets face it, there's a pretty good chance that the best part about the 2014 Phillies may actually be what we dream and hope about them being between now and spring training.