Phillies Pick Up Carlos Ruiz's Option; Decline Wigginton, Contreras, Polanco

In the most no-brainery move of the Phillies' postseason, the club has picked up catcher Carlos Ruiz's $5 million team option for the 2013 season.

Ruiz, 33, was an offensive force, and the sole bright spot of a Phillies lineup that was racked with injuries and ineffectiveness all year long. Ruiz finishing the year at .325/.394/.540, accumulating 4.4 rWAR in just 421 plate appearances. He also reached career highs in home runs (16), RBIs (68), hits (121) and doubles (32). He also managed to steal four bases without being caught once. The Master!

In other not-very-surprising news, the Phillies also declined 2013 options on "utility" dude Ty Wigginton and injured reliever Jose Contreras.

Wigginton (.235/.314/.375), 35, was set to earn $4 million in 2013.

Contreras, 40, did not last long in 2012, tearing his UCL in June. He should miss the entire 2013 season and may retire.

The Phillies paid both Wigginton and Contreras $500,000 buyouts

NOTE: In addition, since this original posting, the phillies have also announced that they have declined the option for 3B Placido Polanco. Polanco, 37, was coming off a 0.3 WAR season where he put up career lows in avg (.257) OBP (.302) SLG (.327) and games played (90) in an injury riddled season. One year removed from an ALL STAR campaign in 2011, the Phillies payed Polanco a $1 million buyout. Polly was set to earn $5.5 million in 2013.

With the declines on Wiggington and Polanco, the Phillies internal 3B options for 2013 are now down to Kevin Frandsen, Michael Martinez or Freddy Galvis/Chase Utley. It's a good bet that they look to either a trade or Free agency to fill the void at the hot corner.