The Phillies/Delmon Young Deal And Its Impact On The Cubs

It’s been reported by Jim Bowden that the Philadelphia Philles and Delmon Young have come to terms on a 1 year/$750,000 contract.

The Phillies have made their interest for a right handed corner outfielder very public, but they seemed to have no interest in courting Alfonso Soriano in the process.

Oct 25, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Delmon Young (21) at bat in front of San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28, right) during the seventh inning of game two of the 2012 World Series at AT

Young, who has been described by twitter folk as Jeff Francoeur without the defense, will likely start in right field for the Phillies this season. It’s somewhat mind boggling that the Phillies would take Young over Soriano, but that’s their business and not mine. When you stop and think about it, there could be a few reasons why:

The Cubs could be inflating his value in order to try and get the best possible return for his services, which is the most likely reason. You cant blame the Cubs for going about their marketing of Soriano in this manor – they just want the best possible return for his perceived value.

It could also be that the Phillies are worried about Soriano’s age and gimpy knees which have been bugging him lately. They may see too much risk in procuring him.

Now that the Phillies have their right handed corner outfielder not named Alfonso Soriano, is the market for Sori dead? In theory, it’s about as close to dead as you can be without having the coroner come and declare it dead. Young was signed for so cheap that he’s not really hogging room for anyone else the Phillies could potentially want, but I don’t see them pursuing much else. Soriano is still a match for the Baltimore Orioles but there isn’t a whole lot of substance to that thought – just baseball theory.

It’s not all dread for the Cubs though. Domonic Brown, who is currently property of the Phillies, could be had for cheap and would fit within the Cubs lineup. The Young deal acts like a test market for other outfielders and considering the price of young? The market is very bear-ish.

Not saying the Cubs should, but it’s always good to explore options.

Regardless, Soriano remains a Cub… for now.