Philadelphia Phillies: What happens if they “sell” at the trade deadline?
By David Esser
Vince Velasquez
One of the few bright spots from this year’s season, Vince Velasquez has seemingly rebuilt himself as a serviceable starting pitcher. Granted I’m writing this before tonight’s game against Miami – Vince could very well get shelled during it.
Vinny Velo has seen his name pop up in trade talks before, and that was before he put together a stretch of games like we’ve seen from him recently. His trade value is at an all-time high, and the Phillies would be wise to pounce on it if teams are selling themselves on him continuing to produce.
For what it’s worth, a majority of Velasquez’ Baseball Savant numbers are extremely below average. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll continue any sort of extended production. However, all it takes is one team to like what they’ve seen from the right-hander for a deal to be completed.
Similar to Neris, Velasquez is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and it’s really hard to imagine a scenario where Dombrowski is looking to hand him a new contract. The Phillies need to completely overhaul their pitching depth this upcoming offseason, an overhaul that shouldn’t (and likely won’t) include Vinny.