Third Base A Place For Concern

The injury bug bit the Phillies hard in 2007. Somehow, third base escaped its bite. During a season that sent 16 players to the disabled list (including five who ended the season there), the Phillies’ platoon of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs, and Abraham Nunez on the hot corner managed to stay healthy.

The trio combined to start 161 games at third, with one-game hero Russell Branyan getting the lone leftover start. Batting only as third basemen, the three combined for 609 at-bats, 155 hits, 32 doubles, two triples, 10 homeruns, 73 RBI and struck out 116 times while putting up a very modest .255 batting average and .320 on-base percentage. Defensively, the platoon committed 25 errors in 1453.1 innings, resulting in a .949 fielding percentage.

Is this level of production acceptable from what is typically a slugger’s position? The total salary of the platoon in 2007 ($4.36 million) makes it hard to believe that third base is anything but a feeble work in progress.

Let’s take a look at the Diamondback’s platoon in 2007.

Chad Tracy was originally slated to be the everyday third baseman, but an injury-riddled season forced an early call-up which presented Mark Reynolds with his rookie season. Batting as third basemen, the duo started 143 games while accumulating 516 at-bats, 143 hits, 36 doubles, six triples, 18 homeruns, 82 RBI and struck out 155 times while posting a .277 batting average and .354 on-base percentage.

Although Tracy and Reynolds combined to start 18 fewer games than the Phillies’ trio, the duo from Arizona outperformed the Phillies’ platoon in every offensive category except at-bats and hits, not to mention their defensive edge from posting a .954 fielding percentage, and their smaller total salary at $3.13 million.

Having position prospects in the farm system will always be an advantage, just like that of the Diamondback’s situation with Tracy and Reynolds. But with the trade that brought closer Brad Lidge to Philadelphia, double-A Reading waved goodbye to the Phillies’ only third base prospect, Mike Costanzo.

This begs the question – what will third base look like in 2009?

Abraham Nunez’s option for 2008 was declined, and he just signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers after spending the offseason likely making sure he hadn’t accidentally set his phone to ‘silent’. Wes Helms has a $3.75 million club option for 2009, which, if he puts up numbers similar to his 2007 campaign, will likely be declined. That leaves only Greg Dobbs, a utility man who turns 30 this July and will become arbitration-eligible for the first time.

The farm system is depleted for infield prospects, unless the call is made to move promising single-A second base prospect Adrian Cardenas to third, which doesn’t seem like a possibility right now.

It seems as if the crystal ball has seen Cardenas’ future as nothing more than trade bait in a year or two, since his path is completely blocked until 2014 by Chase Utley and the seven-year contract he inked last winter.

The 2009 third base free agent class contains a few noteworthy names like Hank Blalock, Joe Crede, Troy Glaus and Chipper Jones, but all come with a risk of injury.

If all the club options are declined after the 2008 season and none of the free agents are re-signed (Burrell, Moyer, Lidge), the Phillies will see $36 million coming off the books for 2009, leaving many holes but creating many possibilities. The future of third base in Philadelphia is just about as unknown as Jose Mesa’s real age, and I don’t think ol’ Joe Table is going to tell us anytime soon.