Winter Meetings Review: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies had their share of issues even before the offseason officially began. Ryan Howard went down with a torn achilles on the last day of the NLDS. He will likely miss the entire 2012 season to recuperate. So, the Phillies had an immediate hole to fill there. Then, they had Jimmy Rollins’ impending free agency to deal with. Before the meetings, the Phillies signed Jim Thome and acquired Ty Wigginton to cover that hole. Someone like Michael Cuddyer makes sense for them, but it will difficult to pay for him and Jimmy Rollins at the same time. Infield The Jim Thome acquisition is still a head scratcher. He hasn’t even played full-time as a DH the past few seasons much less played in the field. He hasn’t played any first since the last time he was in Philadelphia. That was two managers and two general managers ago. Some depth charts have him penciled in at first. That seems patently ridiculous, but what is the alternative? Chase Utley and Placido Polanco seem en...