NEWSLETTER
Talk about a fluid situation.
From rampant rumors – including many involving the Cubs – to reports of hurdles to outright claims of the unlikelihood of a trade, the Chase Utley story has been full of twists and turns disproportionate to the actual value he could provide a team. That is not to say he’s not a potential impact guy, still. It’s just that, well, there’ve been a whole lot of 180-degree twists and turns.
The latest comes from Ken Rosenthal, who puts you on high alert:
Sources: Utley situation with #Phillies coming to head. Trade possible today.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 19, 2015
It remains unclear just how interested the Cubs still are at this point, or how interested Utley is in coming to the Cubs. But the Giants were, at one time, very interested, and now they’re dealing with yet another injury. Perhaps that pushed them over the edge? And perhaps that, in turn, pushed another team to up the ante? And the Giants to go a step further? Will we know?
Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Some conflicting (and near simultaneous) postulation from Jayson Stark and Jon Heyman:
As @Ken_Rosenthal tweeted, source says Utley "could get dealt today." Would likely be to #Dodgers or #Angels b/c Utley prefers southern Cal.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 19, 2015
angels, giants, cubs seem possible for utley (perhaps in that order). @Ken_Rosenthal suggests trade still possible soon
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 19, 2015
The Cubs would very much surprise me at this point, when you consider the many impediments to a deal, and the Angels – the only team mentioned by both Stark and Heyman – seem to make a ton of sense. There’s a *glaring* hole in their infield, and if Utley wants to go out there, well, then, the Phillies might not have a choice but to make that deal happen (if they’re going to make a deal at all). There were reports last week that a deal with the Phillies and Angels was close, but fell through … might Utley have changed his mind? Might the Angels have agreed to some kind of incentive?
… or might it not be the Angels at all? In any case, my rooting interest here is mostly that I just don’t want to see Utley going to the Giants.
UPDATE 2: And Heyman quickly adds to the Angels thing:
word seems to be that LAA could be a preference for utley, a SoCal (long beach) product whose lefty bat would help them.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 19, 2015
UPDATE 3: Could be the Dodgers:
Sources: Phillies, Dodgers moving closer to deal for Chase Utley. Nothing finalized. http://t.co/SbygZUsEEd
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) August 19, 2015
Multiple sources confirm Dodgers as focal team in Utley talks. Deal being worked on. Not final.
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) August 19, 2015
Recording a podcast right now, so typing while trying to listen to Sahadev: wonder if the Dodgers will guarantee Utley’s 2016 option to get him to agree to a deal. Howie Kendrick will be back soon (but is then a free agent).
