Hamilton would look good in a Phillies uniform.
Ruben Amaro is known for his big winter signings, and it seems he made the first move in trying to acquire the star of this year’s free agent class, outfielder Josh Hamilton. 94.1 FM reported that Amaro offered a three-year deal to Hamilton, worth approximately $80 million ($25 million per year with incentives).
Hamilton was previously asking for five-seven years, but his age—he’s already 31—and his injury record have few teams willing to offer him long-term deals. Even so, he will be one of the highest-paid players in the league thanks to his incredible numbers last season. His strikeout rate went up, but he also hit 43 home runs and drove in 128 runs to go a long with a .285 batting average.
The Phillies have been looking for a power bat to add to their lineup with Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley aging, and the first piece was infielder Michael Young who will fill their hole in either the No. 3 or No. 5 spot. If they were to sign Hamilton, he would likely protect cleanup hitter Ryan Howard. The addition of his bat would make the Phillies one of the more potent offenses in the league; they would be be able to run out the following lineup on a daily basis: CF Ben Revere, SS Jimmy Rollins, 3B Michael Young, 1B Ryan Howard, LF Josh Hamilton, 2B Chase Utley, C Carlos Ruiz, RF Darin Ruf/Domonic Brown.
That lineup would have the perfect mix of speed and power, making the Phillies one of the top teams in the NL East with their already strong rotation.
What the lineup should look like if we were to sign Hamilton:
Revere
Utley
Hamilton
Howard
Rollins
Young
Ruf
Kratz
Pitcher
Ugh, just realized that’s 4 lefties in a row…
I agree with that, although Rollins/Utley could be switched in my opinion. Yes, I think you’re analysis that too many lefties in a row will be bad is correct; how would you feel about Young batting 3rd and Hamilton 5th or vice-versa?
why would young bat 3rd? even though it helps the lefty issue young doesn’t deserve to bat 3rd unless he returns to 2011 and before form. More likely is:
1.Rollins (charlie wont move him)
2. Revere
3. Utley
4. Howard
5. Hamilton
6. Young
7. Chooch (ruf until hes back)
8. Ruf (kratz until chooch is back)
9. pitcher
Charlie said in an interview that he would consider playing Revere at the #1 spot.
And considering how poorly Utley hit last year (worse than Young in fact), it’s really up in the air. And yes, the righty factor definitely makes a difference.