Phillies Foul Balls

I don’t particular like the Abreu for Tejada rumors flying around. This is not a reflection on Tejada; under the right circumstances I’d be very happy to see him in a Phillies uniform. It’s just that I don’t think the net result is a gain for the team. Tejeda has been an average defensive but excellent offensive shortstop for a while now. If the Phillies move him to third base, he’d probably still be above average offensively, but not as much. He’d still be worth having, but the gain is not as high as it would be otherwise.

Put another way, I’m not sure the combination of Tejada at third and whoever they play in right would contribute more to the Phillies than the combination of Abreu and Bell. Most of all, it doesn’t really address the biggest area where the Phillies need improvement, namely the pitching staff. The Phillies were one of the best offensive teams in the league last year but only middle of the pack in terms of pitching. If they could trade Abreu for a legitimate improvement in pitching, that’s one thing, but to trade him for a possible small increase in offense doesn’t seem like a wise plan.