Phillies Stay or Go: Antonio Bastardo

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We continue our look at Phillies on the bubble -- players who may or not may not return in 2015 because of their contract situation or a desire by the team to move on.

Antonio Bastardo, left-handed reliever

Age: 29

Contract: Third and final arbitration year in 2015 (made $2 million in 2014)

After six seasons, Antonio Bastardo could be nearing the end of his Phillies career.

The 29-year-old reliever is entering his third and final year of salary arbitration and is set for free agency after the 2015 season.

Bastardo made $2 million in 2014 and continues to get more and more expensive. When you couple his rising cost with his recent ineffectiveness, it's easy to see the Phillies exploring a trade this winter. They shopped Bastardo at the 2014 trade deadline but didn't find the offer they wanted.

Teams covet relief help, especially from the left side, so there should be no shortage of inquiries about Bastardo this offseason. He had a 3.94 ERA in 67 appearances last season with a career-high 34 walks, but his strikeout numbers and flashes of dominance will appeal to other clubs.

Excluding the two partial seasons Bastardo pitched for the Phillies in 2009 and 2010, he has had two very good full seasons and two underwhelming ones.

In 2011, he carried a 1.35 ERA into the first week of September before falling apart and finishing at 2.64. In 2013, he had a 2.32 ERA in 48 appearances before being suspended for the duration of the season after a positive PED test.

The clear problem with Bastardo is that he doesn't throw enough strikes. He really struggles with the first batter he faces after coming in from the bullpen, and he's not the kind of reliever you can rely on to enter in the middle of an inning with men on base because the risk of a walk or wild pitch exists. In 2012 and 2014, Bastardo was unable to work around all of those walks.

Keep in mind there is no urgency for the Phils to move Bastardo. They could easily retain him in 2015, pay him a salary between $3 million to $3.5 million and hope for a bit more consistency (which, at this point, is probably never coming). Even an ineffective Bastardo is better than nothing, and the bullpen is quickly becoming an area of strength for the Phillies.

But if the Phils do dangle Bastardo on the trade market at the winter meetings and beyond, they could probably walk away with a mid-level prospect or a player who better fills an area of need. No one trade possibility or organizational fit for Bastardo sticks out because left-handed relief comes at such a premium.

The Orioles, for example, made one of the best trades before the deadline when they acquired lefty specialist Andrew Miller from the Red Sox. The Tigers were also reportedly in on Miller. Think Detroit regretted missing out on Miller and not making an offer -- or a more aggressive offer -- for Bastardo when its bullpen was giving away its chance to advance in October?

If the Phils find an opportunity to swap Bastardo for a starting pitching prospect, the opinion here is they should do it. The Phillies already have a strikeout lefty in Jake Diekman and might be better off with a true LOOGY (lefty one-out guy) as the second southpaw to come in for situational relief.

For Miller, the Red Sox landed Eduardo Rodriguez, one of the Orioles' top pitching prospects who had only minimal experience at Double A at the time of the trade. Bastardo is not the same caliber reliever as Miller so the return won't be as strong, but that at least gives you an idea of what the Phils could seek.

In truth, Bastardo is probably better suited to be the second piece in a larger trade. Package Bastardo with a Marlon Byrd or a Domonic Brown and it likely increases the return.

The last part of this is the financial aspect. If A.J. Burnett exercises his $12.75M player option, the Phils will need to free up as many dollars as they can to make a serious run at Cuban phenom Yasmany Tomas or various free-agent starting pitchers. At that point, Bastardo's impending $3 million-plus salary might make him expendable.

But if the Phils do decide to shop Bastardo and still don't find a worthwhile offer, there is no harm in holding onto him and exploring a trade during the season. A strong first half might make him even more appealing by the July 31 trade deadline.

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