Philadelphia Phillies MLB Trade Rumors: Phillies Reportedly Interested in Angel Pagan
Angel Pagan is really drawing a lot of attention in the past few weeks. The free agent outfielder's name has been linked to the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles this offseason, but the list of potential suitors is about to get bigger because a new team is about to join the mix.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports has reported that the Philadelphia Phillies are also interested in signing Pagan.
Well, that's a little unusual. Acquiring a veteran outfielder like Pagan looks good on paper, but will he really fit in with the Phillies? Will they even have the roster spot to for the 35-year-old veteran?
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The team has already locked up their starting outfield spots with Odubel Herrera, and new signees Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders. Tyler Goeddel and Aaron Altherr will fight for playing time behind the starters, and they also have two non-roster outfielders competing for a roster spot in Chris Coghlan and Daniel Nava. So, why should the Phillies pursue Pagan?
MLBTradeRumors.com's Mark Polishuk actually has a good explanation.
"The Phils have stressed Kendrick's value as a multi-position player, however, so the club could now be considering giving Kendrick less time in left than originally anticipated. The right-handed hitting Kendrick isn't exactly an ideal time-share candidate for second baseman Cesar Hernandez (a switch-hitter), third baseman Maikel Franco or first baseman Tommy Joseph (both right-handed bats), though if Kendrick could spell any of these young players on a regular basis and still maintain an everyday presence in the lineup," Polishuk said in his report.
Pagan played in 129 games last season and he had a slash line of 0.277/0.331/0.418. He also had a career-high 12 home runs along with 15 stolen bases and 55 runs batted in.
ESPN has reported that Pagan is looking for a contract in the range of $5 million.
