Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal(via MLBTR) talked about the possibility of the Phillies trading Jayson Werth.
The Phillies, at the moment, are not playing well enough to make a run at Roy Oswalt. However, they don’t expect to fall far enough out of contention to sell. Jayson Werth, Rosenthal says, could be moved in order to improve the team in the short-term and long-term. A Werth-for-Javier Vazquez swap could make sense if the Yankees could acquire another starting pitcher. Cliff Lee, in theory, would have been that guy.
Considering that Vazquez is also in the final year of his contract it’s hard to see how this deal would make any sense for the Phillies. Vazquez, who’s been average at best this year, wouldn’t provide as much value to the Phillies as Werth would for the stretch run… so what would be the point if both are going to walk at the end of the year anyway? I would think that any deal for Werth would have to include near MLB ready prospects coming in return.