To nobody’s surprise, Bryce Harper earned more votes than Dustin McGowan in their matchup of the “Last Man In” free agent tournament.
We’ve come to our final first round matchup:
1. Cliff Lee, 2011
Stats with the Phillies: 118 games, 48-34 W-L, 2.94 ERA, 813 K, 124 BB, 20.7 bWAR
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The Phillies traded for Cliff Lee at the 2009 trade deadline, and he helped them reach the World Series. And then, the Phillies traded him away for a really awful return. Lee was a free agent after 2010, and with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt already in the Phillies’ rotation, most people didn’t think they were even a remote possibility for Lee.
However, Lee apparently loved it in Philadelphia and took a slightly lower offer with the “mystery team” to return. The result was the ultra-fun (at least until the playoffs) 2011 season of the Four Aces.
The rest of Lee’s time with the Phillies was somewhat disappointing, but darned if 2011 wasn’t fun.
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16. Michael Saunders, 2017
Stats with the Phillies: 61 games, .205/.257/.360, 6 HR, 20 RBIs, -0.9 bWAR
By 2017, the Phillies were starting to transition out of rebuild mode, and general manager Matt Klentak wanted to acquire some veteran “professional hitters” to supplement the young lineup. One of the guys he targeted was outfielder Michael Saunders who had made the All-Star Game with the Blue Jays the year before.
There were some warning signs with Saunders. 2016 was the first season in an eight-year career he hit over 20 home runs or had an OPS over .800. And though his first half of 2016 was All-Star caliber, he slumped badly in the second half.
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That slumped continued into 2017. By mid-June, the Phillies decided if they were going to get poor hitting from a right fielder, it might as well be from a young hitter with some potential to improve. They released Saunders who went back to Toronto and continued to hit poorly.
Who should advance? Vote now!