The Philadelphia Phillies wasted no time trying to take care of their needs at second base after losing All-Star Chase Utley to a broken hand. They acquired Tadahito Iguchi from the Chicago White Sox for a low-A pitcher Michael Dubee.
Utley suffered the broken hand on Thursday and underwent surgey on Friday. He should be back in 4-6 weeks if it heals properly.
While Iguchi won’t replace Utley’s 82 RBIs, which puts him third in the NL behind teammate Ryan Howard and Carlos Lee, he should get on base a little more than the alternative, Abraham Nuñez. Iguchi was hitting .251 with 6 homers and 31 RBIs while stealing 8 bases. His OPS stands at .723 which is about 100 points higher than Nuñez.
Iguchi is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. He more than likely wouldn’t be signed by the Phillies but you never know.
This is a good deal for the Phillies considering they didn’t have to give up much at all. It also shows the Phillies fans that they aren’t giving up on the season with the loss of their All-Star second baseman.
I can’t wait to see Texy’s reaction to this one.
