Welcome home Brandon Phillips!!! . . . On 2d thought . . .

[varoadking]

BP was worth 0.5 WAR more than Yunel was last year. They project going forward to be about equal, but Yunel's contract was a bargain while BP's is pretty much fair.

Basically, that extra money buys Trevor Gott from the Angels.

Unless Gott is who we traded to Cincy... 

[PC]

If I've heard of who we traded for him, I'm going to be pissed...unless it's Cutter Dykstra.

[PC]

Brandon Phillips
@DatDudeBP


#YeaBuddy... Touchdown in the 202!!! Can't wait to put smiles on the kids faces, see my #TeamUA, & also see #PapaPope!! #WeInDaCity #Scandal

[imref]

gotta think Difo goes to Cincy.

[JPC]

gotta think Difo goes to Cincy.

Difo is to good of a prospect and Cincy it pretty stacked with infield prospects. They probably want pitching or an outfielder.

[whytev]

If I've heard of who we traded for him, I'm going to be pissed...unless it's Cutter Dykstra.

Watch it be Moore.

[Mattionals]

Watch it be Moore.

Moore and Papelbon plus 2 Million, DO IT.

It worked in The Show.....

[BrandonK]

Eh. I don't love it, but whatever. Means Turner will be down for a couple months, unless Danny really craps the bed.

[BrandonK]

Who was traded?

[imref]

Who was traded?

We signed Bartolo Colon and sent him to cincy.  Karma. 

[rileyn]

It means he's average. It means we're paying a crap ton of money and hoping to get Yunel Escobar's performance.

Escobar was bound to regress and his defense was atrocious.  Rendon, Espi, BP, and Zimm is so much better than Escobar, dEsmond, Rendon, Robinson from last year. 

[PowerBoater69]

Bowden says multiple prospects, Talk Nats says that Nick Lee is likely one of them.

[mach1ne]

Escobar was bound to regress and his defense was atrocious.  Rendon, Espi, BP, and Zimm is so much better than Escobar, dEsmond, Rendon, Robinson from last year. 

+1. 

Escobar was a defensive liability and never learned to play second base.  For every great hit he had, he had an errant throw from third.

[3bside]

Rendon is vastly better at 3rd than 2nd, and we're losing Desi's 25-30 errors per year.  Even if Phillips isn't as good defensively as he used to be, he's a lot better than Rendon at 2nd or Murphy, if we were to get him.  This would be a very good defensive infield, which will help the pitchers immensely, particularly Strasburg.

[Slateman]

Phillips is easily a regression candidate
Escobar was bound to regress and his defense was atrocious.  Rendon, Espi, BP, and Zimm is so much better than Escobar, dEsmond, Rendon, Robinson from last year. 

[Expos]

Rendon is vastly better at 3rd than 2nd, and we're losing Desi's 25-30 errors per year.  Even if Phillips isn't as good defensively as he used to be, he's a lot better than Rendon at 2nd or Murphy, if we were to get him.  This would be a very good defensive infield, which will help the pitchers immensely, particularly Strasburg.

You nailed it. Not having Desmond and his 30 errors at SS replaced by the stellar D of Espinosa is worth at least 5 games. Add in our regamped (hopefully) pen and a full season of Rendon at 3rd (again, hopefully) and we are a vastly improved team. I'm excited about our MI defense. And I don't think we lose much offense replacing Escobar with Phillips.

Defense and the bullpen cost us dearly last year.

[NJ Ave]

I gotta say I'm not sure why I'm supposed to prefer Brandon Phillips for the next 2 years over Yunel Escobar plus a $7 reliever for the next two years, which would cost the same.

[NJ Ave]

Not having Desmond and his 30 errors at SS replaced by the stellar D of Espinosa is worth at least 5 games.

[NJ Ave]

I mean, you might gain 5 games if you replaced Hanley Ramirez with Ozzie Smith. But the difference between Desmond and Espinosa is more likely a game if you're lucky.

[Slateman]

Escobar had 7 errors last season. 7 errors in over 1000 innings. His defense was not really a problem, especially since he was hitting over .300.

Defense did not cost this team dearly last year. A crappy bullpen and having four of your top five hitters out for the majority of the season is what cost this team "dearly" last season.

But yes, let's pay 30 million for defense we could probably get for vet minimum.

[houston-nat]

Defense did not cost this team dearly last year. A crappy bullpen and having four of your top five hitters out for the majority of the season is what cost this team "dearly" last season.

Aren't you forgetting someone?

[NJ Ave]

Escobar had 7 errors last season. 7 errors in over 1000 innings.

I'm with you on this one, but you're using the Jeter defense and that's not a great argument. Being reliable on the balls you get too isn't very good if you're not getting to many balls.

[Slateman]

Aren't you forgetting someone?

(Image removed from quote.)

No. Honestly, had we had the lineup and Rizzo signed Andrew Miller, David Robertson, Luke Gregorson, or Francisco Rodriguez, the Nationals would have won the division by 5 games, easy.

I'm with you on this one, but you're using the Jeter defense and that's not a great argument. Being reliable on the balls you get too isn't very good if you're not getting to many balls.

It's whatever. Apparently no one truly gives a crap about having any money at the deadline in order to take on a contract and improve the lineup. So glad that Rizzo's plan is exactly the same as last year.

[HalfSmokes]

They almost replaced Yunel with Phillips...almost...for twice the price...and someone older who is sure to regress from last year...

Yunel's average the last 6 years-  .314, .258, .256,. 253, .290, .256- do you really expect him to put up .314 ever again?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Our beloved former prospect has returned!

I'm sure he prefers to be in a hockey city instead of Cinci.  He is a natural replacement for Desmond so we maintain the Expos franchise presence.