Should the Phillies Target Kevin Youkilis

Should The Phillies Get Youkilis?
By The Captain

A few days ago on the MLB Network Radio, Jim Bowden suggested the Phillies should call the Red Sox and offer them Domonic Brown and Antonio Bastardo for Kevin Youkilis. On the surface it seems like a great move for the Phillies to help their offense. But when you look at it more closely it might not be a smart move at all. 

Over the last few years Kevin Youkilis has been declining. In 2010 Youkilis had a drop of 1/3 in his HR and RBI numbers. In 2011 his batting average dropped 49 points and his HR numbers had a slight drop of 2 while he bumped his RBI numbers up by 18 just over half of the decline from 2009 to 2010. This season he is really struggling, hitting just .200 with 1 HR 5 RBI while walking just 3 times. The Phillies are already overloaded with aging declining starts with injury woes. Yes, there is no doubt they need a bat desperately. But, is it smart to add a player that seems to be in potentially a rapid decline with a high salary? That is a difficult thing to say about one of my favorite players in baseball but it is fair. 

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